Study heaps praise on revolutionary Huduma Centres
Kirinyaga locals seek services at a Huduma Centre in Kerugoya town on February 14, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Started in President Kenyatta’s first term, the government has now built a total of 52 Huduma Centres, one in each of the 47 counties.
- According to the report, Huduma Centre services have contributed to low corruption in accessing public services by 96 percent.
Huduma Centres have reduced the time taken by citizens to access government services from an average of seven hours to one, an internal impact assessment survey has shown.
The study found that due to fast delivery of services, Kenyans were now saving millions they would have spent on transportation.
Further, the study said, in its 100 days of rapid results initiative, Huduma Centres served a total 814,151 people on the Big Four related services.
“The collective social impact of the Huduma programme for the 814,151 citizens seeking Big Four related services during the rapid response initiative was Sh2.4 million,” the impact assessment study dated August 23 said.
In total, each of the 814,151 people that used the centres saved Sh3,060, broken down to Sh422, Sh1,338, and Sh510 saved on transport, number of visits, and time spent, compared to if they had used traditional government service providers.
REVENUE
The study was done in July to assess the views of Kenyans towards the services offered by Huduma Centres in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda.
The President has listed manufacturing, universal healthcare, food security, and affordable housing in his Big Four Agenda.
Started in President Kenyatta’s first term, the government has now built a total of 52 Huduma Centres, one in each of the 47 counties.
Nairobi County has four at the GPO, City Square, Kibra and Eastleigh, with Kajiado having one in Kajiado West, and Kajiado East.
The centres have been serving up to 30,000 people daily and have collected over Sh12 billion for government ministries, departments and agencies through the Posta Pay System during the last financial year.
CORRUPTION
Huduma Centres offer frequently-needed government services under one roof, with the highly sought being application of identity cards and birth certificates, as well as services offered by the National Hospital Insurance Fund and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
According to the report, Huduma Centre services have contributed to low corruption in accessing public services by 96 percent.
The report recommends that Huduma Centres should create more counters to serve citizens better.
