ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo described retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Huduma Namba project as a brilliant idea, but noted that it failed due to a lack of proper sensitization.
Owalo, who spoke to Citizen TV on Tuesday night, said the Huduma Namba idea is consistent with the Kenya Kwanza administration’s philosophy.
The CS stated that, like Huduma Namba, the KK government’s plan is to make government services more accessible to Kenyans.
“The intention of Huduma Namba was good because it was trying to ensure that we have a digital identity that could facilitate virtual transactions between the government and the public as far as the provision of services is concerned,” Owalo stated.
“It is the same thing we are going to do as we roll out this government digitization process because it is still imperative that we don’t need as Kenyans to go to government offices flashing identity cards,” he added.
President Kenyatta’s biggest blunder, according to Owalo, was launching the project when Kenyans were gearing up for the 2022 general elections.
“The pitfall that befell Huduma Namba is that there was no adequate sensitization at the beginning. And if you remember it was being launched at a time when there was also a crowded political atmosphere. So there were suspicions about it,” said Owalo.
The CS revealed that President Ruto’s government was going to leverage on the project, to propel its ‘Digital Superhighway’ agenda.
“It is the same thing we are going to do as we roll out this government digitization process because it is still imperative that we don’t need as Kenyans to go to government offices flashing identity cards,” he added.
The Huduma Namba programme, which was launched in 2018, did not get off the ground after the High Court ruled that it violated the Data Protection Act, 2019.
