Over 600 residents accessed Government services during a one-day Huduma Mashinani outreach in Belgut Sub County Monday, that brought multiple public services closer to communities, reducing the need for residents to travel to established service centres to seek for assistance.
The one-day exercise, held at Kabianga School, brought together a range of Government services under one roof, creating a convenient point where residents could address different service needs while participating in or attending a major community event.
In an interview with the Kenya News Agency (KNA), Kericho Huduma Centre Manager Peter Liaulo said the 662 customers served demonstrated the strong demand for accessible Government services at the grassroots, noting that the 100 per cent service completion rate reflected effective planning and coordination during the outreach.
“Serving all the 662 customers who had booked appointments and joined the queue demonstrates that there is a real demand for Government services at the community level. More importantly, it shows that when services are taken closer to citizens and properly organized, people are able to access them conveniently and have their needs addressed without travelling long distances to established service centres,” Liaulo said.
The centre recorded a 100 per cent queuing and closing ratio, meaning that every customer who had registered and joined the queue was attended to before the exercise concluded, while the pattern of services sought offered a clear insight into the everyday needs of residents and demonstrated the practical value of taking Government services closer to communities.
Applications for duplicate national identity cards topped the list at 162, followed closely by 160 SHIF registrations and 86 birth certificate applications.
The three services accounted for 408 clients, or about 62 per cent of the total 662 customers served, making identification, health insurance and civil registration the dominant areas of demand during the outreach.
Strong demand for replacement identity cards reflects the importance of the national ID as a gateway to numerous services and transactions. For citizens who lose or damage their documents, accessing a replacement promptly can be important for employment, financial transactions, registration and interaction with Government agencies.
Julius Ngetich, a Belgut resident, demonstrated the practical value of bringing such a service closer to the community. He said he lost his national identity card and was not sure he would afford to travel to Kericho town to have it replaced. At the Huduma Mashinani centre, he received assistance to make the application and complete the replacement process.
“I am grateful for the services I have received today through Huduma Mashinani. I had lost my national identity card and was not sure I would manage to travel to Kericho to have it replaced. When I came to the Huduma Mashinani centre, I was assisted to apply for a replacement and successfully completed the process,” Ngetich said.
He said the outreach saved him the time and expense of travelling to Kericho town and encouraged residents to take advantage of Huduma Mashinani whenever the programme is brought to their communities.
The strong uptake at Belgut also demonstrates that community-based registration points can complement permanent Government service centres by reaching residents at the grassroots rather than expecting them to travel to distant centralized locations.
The 86 birth certificate applications further demonstrate the importance of civil registration services at community level. Birth documentation establishes an individual’s official identity and supports access to education, identification, registration and other Government services.
Other services recorded significant activity, with 66 clients accessing IEBC services, while police abstract services served 42, police clearance 36 and HELB 26.
Residents also accessed UFAA enquiries, cyber services, applications for initial identification cards, ID collection, KRA services, NTSA enquiries, smart driving license services and birth certificate enquiries and collection.
The programme extends the Huduma service delivery model beyond permanent centres by taking selected Government services to communities, particularly areas where distance and the cost of travelling to urban centres can affect access.
Kericho County Usajili Mashinani Coordinator Kennedy Ngetich said taking registration and other Government services to locations and sub locations was strengthening access to public programmes by bringing essential services within reach of communities that might otherwise face difficulties travelling to urban service centres.
“Decentralizing services means that the Government is able to reach citizens where they live and address their needs at the grassroots. When services are taken to locations and sub locations, residents spend less time and money travelling to access them, while Government agencies get a better opportunity to serve communities directly and ensure that no one is left out because of distance,” Ngetich said.
He commended the Government, residents, chiefs and sub county administrations for supporting the exercise and providing the infrastructure and local coordination necessary for service delivery.
Ngetich said chiefs and local administrators remained important partners in mobilizing residents and facilitating access to public facilities, helping Government agencies connect with communities more effectively.
The 100 per cent completion rate recorded at the outreach also provides an indication of the importance of planning and coordination in decentralized service delivery.
The initiative also fits within the broader development philosophy of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, where reducing barriers to public services can help citizens participate more effectively in economic and social programmes.
For Belgut residents, the outreach offered a practical alternative to travelling to established service centres, allowing them to access several Government services closer to home while saving time and transport costs. The strong uptake, particularly for identity documents, SHIF registration and civil registration, also demonstrated the relevance of bringing essential services directly to communities.
With all 662 customers who had booked appointments and joined the queue served, the exercise underscored the value of coordinated service delivery at the grassroots. For Huduma Mashinani, the Belgut outreach provided a direct platform to respond to residents’ needs, while for the community it brought Government services within easier reach.
The experience at Kabianga School therefore reinforced the practical importance of Huduma Mashinani in extending public service delivery beyond fixed centres and ensuring that residents can access essential Government services closer to where they live.
By Gilbert Mutai
