An Israeli firm has been contracted to set up and manage the fresh registration of Kenyan citizens on a digital platform, setting in motion a process that will see all data on individuals and their assets stored in one data bank, starting February next year.

The government expects that once the $145 million registry is set up, all Kenyan nationals, including children, will be issued with electronic national identity cards by October next year. The new IDs will then be used universally from 2016.

The e-card will contain biodata of each individual, their kin, assets, bank accounts, driving licence, passport number and personal identification number (PIN) and an array of information that could also enhance the war against tax evasion, loan default and corruption.

The government also hopes the new IDs, similar to social security numbers in place in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, will aid the war against terror.

The Israeli firm, which officials declined to name, is the lead implementing partner under a public-private partnership and will work with a consortium of technology solutions providers.

The project is being conducted by the Kenyan Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Service and includes the Civil Registry, National Registry Bureau, Immigration Department, Department of Refugees Affairs and Integrated Population Registry Service.

“The Israeli company was chosen because of the track record Israel has on security services. The reason for the National Digital Registry Service (NDRS) is the increase in insecurity, especially after the Westgate attack,” said Mwende Gatabaki, director-general of the Kenya Citizens and Foreign National Management Service, during a sensitisation meeting on Wednesday.

The government will provide a Letter of Comfort and grant an exclusive concession to the consortium to run and supervise the registry for a period of at least six years before handing it over to the government.

The government is looking for $35 million from USAid, DfID, the World Bank and AfDB to support a management office, capacity building, change management, communication and public awareness.

The government has committed $10 million to cover the early phase of the registration, which will see all Kenyans issued with new identity cards.

“All citizens of all ages will be required to undergo a national digital registration at the designated centres to be announced so as to capture correct and complete biometric data using their unique digital identifiers referenced from birth to death,” said Ms Gatabaki.

The financial sector is expected to be the main consumer of the data by way of checking credit history and tracking of assets offered as collateral or securities earmarked for auction in cases of default.

Ms Gatabaki said that the government is in discussions with the Association of Credit Providers, which includes associations for bankers, Saccos, insurance companies and microfinance institutions, to be the anchor client of the PPP.

The digital ID is expected to be costly as details to be captured are more than those in the current IDs and digitisation of such data (hopefully capable of future updates) involves a high-end technological system hence a bigger budget to run the project. It will cost Ksh500 ($6) for people over the age of 12 years and Ksh100 ($1.1) for children below 12 years.

Updating of the cards will be free while replacement of a lost card will cost Ksh1,000 ($11).

Payments from citizens for acquiring the cards are expected to raise Ksh3 billion ($33 million) annually, from which the Israeli firm would recoup its initial investment of $100 million.

“The identity authentication platform is expected to generate revenue of at least Ksh3 billion ($33 million) per year, which will be used to pay back the PPP financing. The aim is to minimise the financial burden on the government,” said Ms Gatabaki.

She added that the digital registry would boost intelligence-based security services, evidence-based planning, strengthen governance, combat the financing of terrorism, curb money laundering and increase revenue collection.

Requirements

The Israel company is expected to build the national digital registration platform, set up civil database and sub registries, formulate a security audit form at the country’s border entry ports, establish a registry and security platform and set ICT infrastructure.

The NDRS project will register people (Kenyan citizens, foreigners, refugees), establishments (companies and co-operative societies), land (digital maps, L/R numbers, infrastructure, physical addressing) and assets (buildings shares, vehicles, livestock).

Phase one of the national biometric registration will be launched in Nairobi County then rolled out to the other counties in February 2015.

Ms Gatabaki said digital fingerprint scans, digital iris scans and passport photos would be embedded in the ID.

The digital IDs (DID) will contain information on school entry, company ownership, employment, log book, certificate of good conduct, PIN card, health, insurance, banks, e-driving licence, property, pension, voters registration, vehicle registration, travel visas and e-passport.

Issuance of DID smart cards to all citizens except children, will start in October 2015 before the project is cut off in December 2015.

All the refugees in the country will be issued with an e-refugee card that will contain their biometric data.

According to government statistics, over 40 per cent of births and 50 per cent of deaths are not captured; the ID database (the core identifier) has over 10 per cent deceased people while the percentage of fake information, number of illegal birth certificates, IDs and passports is not known.