Over 600 people at the Ololulunga Trading Centre in Narok South Sub-county received critical government services after the Narok Huduma Centre staff took services to the grassroots. The initiative dubbed ‘Huduma Mashinani’ saw residents benefit from services from various departments, among them: national registration, civil registration, the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA), reporting of lost documents and obtaining police abstracts, and free health consultations, among others. The officers were led by Narok Huduma Centre Manager, Ms. Naserian Katampoi, who said the aim of the initiative was to reach out to more people who could not afford to travel to Narok town, where their offices are based. ‘We are happy that the turnout was so overwhelming. The exercise began at 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the majority of those served being people seeking birth certificates and National Identification cards,’ she said, adding that the community had requested an extension of the human machining. Narok South Deputy County Commissioner, Felix Kisalu, who launched the programme, said it aims at taking government services close to the people. Kisalu encouraged residents to take advantage of such forums to benefit from government services, saying the services were done free of charge. ‘You do not have to bribe the officers in order to be served. They are here to serve you free of charge. If you are asked to pay for any services, then you should be provided with an official receipt,’ he said. The beneficiary of the programme commended the government for taking services close to them, calling on the government to do such exercises on a regular basis. Antony Mintilla, a resident of the Melelo area, which is a few kilometres from Ololulunga Trading Centre, said the officers were very friendly and carried out their duties in a professional manner. ‘The residents feel honoured to receive such services close to them. Most of them could not afford to travel all the way to Narok town. We thank the government for such an initiative,’ he said.
Source: Kenya News Agency