Services to be charged at Huduma centres

According to Moses Kuria, the Public Service Cabinet Secretary, the government intends to charge a fee for the services provided at Huduma centers all around the country.

After officially taking over from Aisha Jumwa on Monday, Mr. Kuria stated that the tax will be applied to both public and commercial sector services.

The CS stated that the fees on the 60,000 daily transactions will make the centers self-sustaining without specifying how much would be charged.

“My first area in that endeavour is to ensure Huduma centres do not depend on money from the Exchequer but we generate our own revenue,” he said. “You have been enjoying this service for so long without paying for it. Now there will be no more free lunch. You have to pay for it.”

He clarified that the new development aims to ensure that the 52 Huduma centers across the country are able to produce their own income.

The centers have long relied on money from the Exchequer, but Mr. Kuria drew attention to the fact that they seek to change that. However, the CS claimed that President William Ruto pressed his ministry on the matter of the centers’ sustainability.

“We are going to introduce a fee for service, be it government and private sector services to support our e-commerce because Huduma centres can be the backbone of our national e-commerce initiatives,” he added.

Some of the services provided at Huduma centres are; the renewal of driver’s licences, national identity cards, and the National Social Security Fund.