Residents of Kasasule in Thange Ward, Makueni County que for different services during the Huduma Mashinani Exercise. Photo Courtesy. 
By Andrew Mbuva.
Residents of Kasasule in Thange Ward, Makueni County, have welcomed the rollout of the second phase of the Huduma Mashinani programme, an initiative aimed at taking essential government services directly to communities.
The outreach programme, jointly implemented by the Makueni County Government, the Huduma Kenya Secretariat and the National Government through the Office of the County Commissioner, seeks to eliminate the cost and inconvenience of travelling long distances to access public services.
Speaking during the launch, Makueni County Executive Committee Member for Gender, Children, Youth, Sports and Social Services Sebastian Kyoni said the county had completed the first phase of the programme across all wards and was now conducting a second round to reach residents who had previously missed out.
Kyoni said the programme has significantly improved access to services such as national identity card applications, replacement of lost identity cards, birth certificates, death certificates and other government documents.
He noted that many residents had been unable to obtain or replace crucial documents due to the cost of travelling to government offices, adding that the outreach programme had removed that burden by bringing services directly to the people.
"The County Government is committed to ensuring every resident, regardless of where they live, can conveniently access government services. Instead of citizens travelling to government offices, government services are now reaching the people," he said.
Kyoni further revealed that the county plans to work closely with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to encourage residents receiving new national identity cards to register as voters once they collect the documents.
He said the collaboration would strengthen civic participation by enabling more eligible residents to exercise their democratic right to vote in future elections.
Deputy County Commissioner for Kambu Sub-County Teresia Mburu lauded the partnership between the National Government, the County Government and Huduma Centre Makueni, saying it had enhanced access to vital public services in remote areas.
Mburu observed that the majority of residents who attended the outreach were seeking national identity cards and urged eligible citizens to take advantage of both the mobile registration exercise and the existing registration offices within the sub-county instead of delaying their applications.
She said residents were also accessing several other government services that would ordinarily require costly trips to Wote, Kibwezi or Kambu, saving both time and money.
Mburu called for continued cooperation between government agencies and the public to ensure no resident is left behind in accessing essential services.
Thange Ward MCA Eric Katumo described the exercise as a clear demonstration of effective collaboration between the County and National Governments.
He said the outreach had transformed the lives of many residents, citing cases of two elderly women aged 88 and 73 who had never acquired national identity cards since birth but successfully applied for the documents during the exercise.
Katumo said the women expressed joy at finally being recognised as Kenyan citizens through the issuance of national identity cards, adding that they expect to receive the documents within a month.
The second phase of the Huduma Mashinani programme is expected to continue across all wards in Makueni County as part of efforts to expand access to government services and ensure every resident is reached.
