Columnists

LETTERS: Integrated identification database way to go

komu

Parents queue outside the Kirinyaga Huduma Centre in Kerugoya Town to apply for their children’s birth certificates last February. PHOTO | NICHOLAS KOMU | NMG

Now that the government has launched the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) dubbed Huduma Namba pilot project it may be a good opportunity to look completely afresh at integrating our National Identification database into a single view. This means having a single identity used for all purposes. If that is digital it unleashes further opportunities for government, people and business.

The current review seems intended to respond primarily to the challenge of delivering seamless public services to citizens and residents as well as address terrorism and crime. Thinking a little about it will open up incredible opportunities for business and citizens and help further fuel Kenya’s economic transformation that is underway.

At the design stage, therefore, the Huduma Namba should incorporate the needs of government, citizens and business for a coherent database they can use to facilitate business and personal interaction and transactions.

Today we have a myriad identification databases including the national identity card (ID) that is issued to all citizens when they reach 18 years of age, passport for traveling outside the country, driving licence, National Social Security Fund (NSSF), National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Kenya Revenue Authority Personal Identification Number (PIN) among others.

It is not unusual for these to vary on the same individual.

Granted, these different identification systems are useful in their own ways but they can lead to problems outside their area of use. Business transactions are very slow because of the need to verify the identification of parties due to the many databases to refer to. Innocent mistakes in spelling of names, for instance between Caroline and Carolyne, can hold up the opening of a bank account. On the other hand, even services from government agencies that supposedly own the databases can equally be slow. For example, it still takes the Police two weeks to issue a police clearance certificate.

With the proposed use of biometric data in the Huduma Namba verifying identity can take a few minutes and cost less.

It is therefore commendable that Kenya has taken the bold step of launching this project. The unique identification should ideally start at birth registration and the Huduma Namba would be linked to the person’s birth registration.

With such a system enhanced by GPS capabilities, there will be no need for regular census and we would generally have very accurate population numbers.

The idea is to continue linking the information collected at different points in life starting at birth then at the allocation of Huduma Namba, during school enrolment, application for a passport, registering for tax, registering a business, opening a bank account, hospital admission, retail loyalty cards, insurance policies and mobile phone number registration.

In the US and Canada the Social Security and Social Insurance Numbers (respectively the SSN and SIN) are widely used as a means of identification, and, despite their low integrity, provide a basis for data interchange and data matching. In New Zealand, the Wanganui Data Centre is specifically empowered to operate driver and motor vehicle licensing and police criminal records data in an integrated fashion. Proponents of national identification systems have suggested these systems as a solution for a variety of political and social problems, everything from preventing terrorism to keeping bad drivers off the road, stopping teenagers from drinking, foiling drug traffickers, thwarting cheats from cashing bad cheques, running background checks on gun purchasers, prohibiting criminals or sex offenders from employment, controlling the spread of disease and halting illegal immigration.

Some also point out the convenience factor—one could potentially use the same card at the bank, as a driver's licence, or to be whisked through long lines at airport security checkpoints and customs controls.

I believe that time is ripe for Kenya to explore the adoption of such a national database with individual information. It is possible that the Kenyan government is now in a great position to deploy the right information and communication technology to create a central database of all Kenyans and foreigners. That way any cross-checking by public and private users will easily generate the requisite information about any individual in the country.

James Rebo, policy advisor, Altima Africa Consulting, Nairobi.