CHEMOLONGOT, Kenya, Nov 23 — The government has opened a new office to register births and deaths in the expansive Tiaty constituency in Baringo County.
Immigration PS Julius Bitok said the Civil Registration Services (CRS) office, located at Chemolingot shopping center, will provide relief to residents who have been traveling long distances to Kabarnet town to obtain the same services.
The new station is expected to increase the percentage of registered births among the predominantly pastoral residents, many of whom currently have unregistered children due to challenges related to distant registration centers, harsh terrain, and insecurity.
“We know some residents have been traveling nearly 300 km to Kabarnet, which has been costly in terms of both time and money. We want to put an end to this so that birth certificates can be obtained as soon as possible and at affordable costs,” the PS said.
He also announced that a mobile registration drive for National ID cards, targeting late registrations, will be conducted in Tiaty for the many eligible residents who have yet to obtain the document.
Population-based approach
Chemolingot is the fifth CRS office in Baringo County, which has an estimated population of 900,000 and six constituencies.
Besides Kabarnet, the other CRS offices are in Mogotio, Ravine, and Kabartonjo.
Tiaty MP William Kamket and other local leaders blamed the long distances to government offices for the low levels of registered births and deaths in the constituency.
“The journey from Kolowa to Kabarnet is about 300 km, and there are no roads. It costs Ksh 3,000 one way. You have to sell a goat or something else to raise the money. It takes more than a day, so you also have to factor in food and accommodation,” Kamket said.
The leaders argued that the constituency was missing out on its fair share of population-based national government resources, especially in the education sector, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), and other funds.
“If you go to our primary schools, for instance, you will find only around 200 learners are registered with the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), yet the school has a population of over 700,” said Baringo County Woman Representative Jematiah Sergon.
The same challenges were attributed to the low number of registered voters in the community. According to IEBC records, there are 39,059 registered voters in Tiaty, but leaders believe the number of eligible voters is much higher.
Other leaders present included Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap, West Pokot Woman Representative Rael Aleutum, Kesses MP Julius Ruto, CRS boss Paul Mwangemi, and his Nairobi counterpart Christopher Wanjau, among others.
Source: capitalfm
