{
  "id": 18373877,
  "title": "Elgeyo Marakwet County MP raises alarm over unequal distribution of registration officers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/elgeyo-marakwet-county-mp-raises-alarm-over-unequal-distribution-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T21:12:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KahawaTungu",
    "slug": "kahawatungu",
    "url": "https://kahawatungu.com/elgeyo-marakwet-county-mp-raises-alarm-over-unequal-distribution-of-registration-officers/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Elgeyo Marakwet County Woman representative, Caroline Ngelechei, has expressed alarm over the uneven distribution of civil registration and national identity card officers across the country. At a meeting between the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security and the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, Ngelechei highlighted the shortage of personnel in remote areas, which is hindering access to essential government services for all Kenyans. She pointed out that while urban centers have a concentration of officers, rural communities struggle with inadequate staffing.\n\nDuring her testimony, Ngelechei raised concerns about the deployment of officers in Elgeyo Marakwet County. For instance, Keiyo North Sub-County has approximately 15 officers, while its neighboring Keiyo Valley has only one officer. She questioned the logic behind such disparities, especially when areas with fewer officers recorded nearly the same monthly outputs as those with larger workforces. For example, in Keiyo Valley, a sub-county with the farthest location, there is only one officer, a clerk rather than a civil registration officer, yet the one or two officers stationed there manage to produce almost the same number of documents as the 15 officers in other areas.\n\nNgelechei also criticized the concentration of personnel at the National Registration Bureau in Nairobi, where about 37 officers are stationed despite limited office space and limited capacity. She argued that this distribution indicates poor utilization of public resources, as some officers in urban areas may be underutilized while those in rural areas are overwhelmed by demand. Additionally, Ngelechei accused the department of failing to enforce staff deployment decisions, with some officers returning to headquarters despite being posted to rural stations.\n\nShe called for the decentralization of human resource management, giving county officials more authority over staff deployment. This move, she argued, would ensure that officers remain in areas where their services are most needed. Ngelechei emphasized the importance of a fairer distribution of personnel, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, to achieve universal civil registration and to ensure that every eligible Kenyan obtains an identity card. She urged the authorities to address this issue promptly and fairly distribute officers to meet the demand, especially in remote areas.",
  "summary": "Elgeyo Marakwet County Woman representative Caroline Ngelechei has raised concerns over the uneven distribution of civil registration and national identity card officers across the country, warning that the shortage of personnel in remote areas is undermining efforts to ensure all Kenyans access essential government services. Speaking during a meeting between the Departmental Committee on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}