Members of Parliament are urging the State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services to review and republish its new charges and levies, citing concerns over the affordability of services such as acquiring national identity cards and birth certificates.
MPs criticized the proposed increases, particularly the new fees for applying for or replacing identity cards, which they described as unjustifiable.
“There is no proper justification for increasing the fees for applying for new identity cards or replacing the document.
The department should lower the fees to encourage more Kenyans to apply,” said Samuel Chepkong’a, chairperson of the Delegated Legislation Committee.
During a review meeting of the proposed regulations, lawmakers questioned Principal Secretary Julius Bitok about the sharp fee hikes, which they argued disproportionately burden ordinary citizens.
“Why should someone correcting an error in their document be forced to pay more than three times what a new applicant is paying?
These errors could be caused by staff, and citizens should not be penalized for them,” said Gichugu MP Robert Gichimu.
The proposed regulations include amendments to the Registration of Persons Rules and the Births and Deaths Registration Rules, 2024.
The Key changes include: A new fee of Sh300 for applying for a new identity card, which was previously free, Replacement or updates to ID cards would cost Sh1,000, up from the current Sh100 and Re-registration of births is proposed to increase from Sh100 to Sh1,000.
Several MPs, including Pauline Lenguris (Samburu), Kibet Komingoi (Bureti), and John Paul Mwirigi (Igembe South), opposed the increases, emphasizing the tough economic conditions many Kenyans face.
“This trend of increasing fees for government documents and services is concerning.
We must be careful not to place undue burdens on ordinary citizens,” said Lenguris.
Komingoi also questioned why fees remain high even as the government moves toward digital systems, which are expected to reduce operational costs.
Principal Secretary Julius Bitok defended the fee adjustments, citing inflation and increased costs of raw materials.
“The fees are being revised after 36 years to account for inflation, which has risen tenfold during that period,” Bitok explained.
However, MPs like Chepkong’a proposed more reasonable caps, such as reducing the re-registration of births fee to Sh500 instead of the proposed Sh1,000.
The legislators called on the department to balance revenue needs with the economic realities faced by citizens, ensuring essential services remain accessible to all Kenyans.
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