APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA Best practice: Huduma Centre improving public service delivery Huduma Kenya is an initiative by the Government of Kenya that aims to transform Public Service Delivery by providing access to citizens of the various Public Services and information from One Stop Shop public service centres called “Huduma Centres” and through integrated technology platforms. As of 2016, there are 11 Huduma Centres across the major cities of Kenya, three of which are in the capital Nairobi. The government plans to establish a Huduma centre in every county. The programme includes also online e-Huduma web portal to provide integrated services offered by various government ministries, departments and agencies and a unified and integrated Huduma payment gateway to facilitate ease of payment for government services. Others are introduction of m-Huduma platform to offer government services to citizens from their mobile phones and a Huduma call centre to provide customer service using a single dialing prefix. Services delivered at Huduma centres include: Renewal of Drivers licenses Status check, duplicate National Identity Card, NHIF Registration and Claims, assessment and Payment of Stamp Duty – Lands, Search and Registration of Business Names, Registration of Welfare Groups, Student Loan Application and Repayment Services; Reporting Corruption, EACC Clearance Certificate; Status of Pension Claims; Kenya Police Abstract, Public Complaints through the Commission on Administrative Justice (Ombudsman). During CRM visits to the counties, stakeholders expressed their satisfaction of Huduma centres in the way they have eased access to government services and brought them closer to the people. The use of technology platforms has reduced personal contact and minimized the opportunity to offer bribes and above all improved revenue collection. 164. Generally speaking, there is a good relationship between the leadership and public services of the national and county governments at the level of planning. The collaboration is rooted in the 2010 Constitution, although evidence points to the need to fine-tune the instruments and frameworks for that relationship, including enacting further legislation in this regard. Relatedly, the CRM learned that this collaboration extends to tax matters, and that the national Kenya Revenue Authority has stepped in on invitation to assist County Governments in operational and capacity building functions related to tax. Similarly, the National Assembly has stepped in to assist County Government Assembly member and their staff in capacity building. 165. Jurisdictional matters still do arise, however, between national and county government public services either because of lack of constitutional clarity in jurisdictional partitioning or due to matters arising from operations of specific policy guidelines. For instance, it is not yet clear whether there is a consistent position on the implementation of health under devolution, but there is agreement that health has suffered in specific areas under the devolution regime. | 103 |