Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria on Wednesday announced the exact date when the government would initiate biometric registration for all civil servants .
During an interview with KTN News, Kuria stated that the government would commence mandatory registration in May.
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Kuria explained that the registration would be conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health as part of the implementation of the new digital health system.
Under the new system, all Kenyans seeking enrollment in the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) must undergo biometric registration.
“I intend to do biometrics re-registration of all public workers starting from next month. As part of digital health we have to take the biometrics of everybody so that they can access social health which is a good thing,” He stated.
According to Cs Kuria the new move is part of the government’s efforts to eliminate ghost workers from the payroll.
Kuria emphasized that technology is crucial for accurately identifying ghost workers within the state payroll. “We are addressing this issue, and since traditional methods have not been effective, I will utilize technology,” stated Kuria.
In February , Kuria for the first time announced the biometric registration of civil servants . However, during the first announcement, he did not specify the exact date for registration.
He highlighted that the registration would involve recording the biometrics of all employees, estimated to exceed 900,000 individuals.
“This country is full of ghosts. We are paying ghost civil servants and ghost teachers. We are spending capital on ghost students. We are sending cash transfers to ghost elderly citizens,” he stated.