Uhuru says youths without birth certificates should get IDs

President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to trace and follow pastoralists and register them as voters in the ongoing listing exercise.

He said the registration officers should follow the pastoralists in their pursuit for food, water and pasture for their livestock.

“Because of the ravaging drought many pastoralists are leaving their homes in search of water. It is impossible for them to find time to come and register. You should pursue them,” he told IEBC clerks in pastoralist regions.

He asked registrar of persons officers to ensure that youths are issued with national identification cards to enable them vote in August.

“Chiefs and their assistants know their people. Those without birth certificates…the administrators by writing letters is enough authority to enable the youths get IDs without being asked questions. Many youth don’t have these certificates but chiefs should ensure they get their IDs,” he said.

The president asked Marsabit residents, who in the last elections voted for the opposition almost to a man, to throw their weight behind his re-lection bid to complete his development agenda in the county.

President Kenyatta said the government would allocate money to revive the stalled Sh2.4 billion Badasa Dam to improve agriculture in the area.

The project was started in 2009 and was to take 30 months to be completed.

Construction however stalled in 2011 for unknown reasons after the contractor on site had spent Sh2 billion of the allocated Sh2.4 billion.

DROUGT RELIEF

At the same time, Mr Kenyatta announced that the government will double the distribution of relief food in the county to alleviate the effects of the prolonged drought.

He said the government was reviewing its budget to allocate more funds for the purchase of food to assist those affected by drought.

“We are reviewing the budget to step up distribution of relief food in the affected counties,” President Kenyatta said.

Early this week, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri flagged-off distribution of 420 tonnes of relief food in Marsabit where he assured residents that the President’s directive that the food be ferried straight to the divisions so as to reach the beneficiaries on time will strictly be adhered to.

Additional reporting by PSCU.