Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has warned that starving his ministry of funds is now derailing decentralisation and ease of access to government services through Huduma centres.
The minister said the ministry had been starved of Sh2 billion every year hampering the setting up of modern Huduma centres, one-stop shops for government services, across the country.
The CS noted that the centres are supposed to provide standardised government services for citizens’ access and convenience.
However, he said that there is zero development budget in the ministry in regards to functioning of the Huduma centres.
The former National Assembly speaker further pointed out that his ministry has also suffered budget cuts as part of austerity measures taken by the Kenya Kwanza government in reducing budgets in all ministries following the withdrawal of the controversial Finance Bill, 2024.
“Every year, the Ministry asks the National Treasury, through Parliament, for Sh2 billion towards setting up of modern Huduma centres across the country but sadly, we always end up with zero allocation,” said Mr Muturi.
The CS said there are only 57 Huduma Centres across the country with each county having one centre except for Nairobi which has five, Tharaka Nithi four, Kiambu, Kajiado and Laikipia with two each.
Grappling with a zero development budget, CS Muturi said they have been forced to partner with MPs, through a co-funding model, to set up Huduma digital centres in the 290 constituencies in order to close the service deployment gap with the cost of each of the centres will be between Sh84 and Sh89 million.
He said the partnership was to see MPs use NG-CDF to fund the construction of the centres with Huduma Secretariat operationalizing the centres by branding, providing ICT infrastructure, furniture, deploying services and management of the day-to-day operations of the Huduma Centre.
But given that the Court recently ruled the NG-CDF as unconstitutional, effective 2026, the strategy is now hanging in the balance.
CS Muturi said Huduma Kenya has operationalised four Huduma centres in Marimati, Maara, Kathwana and Gatundu North.
In the current financial year, the agency is planning to operationalise seven such centres in Runyenjes, Molo, Malindi, Kaloleni, Ganze, Maua and Ikolomani.
Further, the process had commenced MPs in Sotik, Lafey, Mandera South, Dadaab, Kinango, Kapenguria, Soy, Mathare, Funyula, Teso South, Bura, Rabai, Kitui East, Embakasi Central, Tetu, Kipipiri, Likuyani and Kajiado South had commenced the process of establishing the Huduma Centres in the constituencies.
“Huduma Kenya is complementing this agenda by providing in-person and assisted support to citizens who need help accessing these services through 57 Huduma Kenya Cybercafes in all the Huduma Centres,” said Mr Muturi.
He urged senators to lobby their respective county governments to deploy county services in Huduma Centres across the country so as to ensure that country residents are able to enjoy these services from a centralised place just like the national government was doing.
In April this year, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi issued a circular to all Ministries and Departments to utilise the Huduma Universal Staff to ensure critical public services are conveniently within the reach of Kenyans.
At the same time, CS Muturi told the Senate that 25, 519 customers were served at the Hola Huduma Centres in the last one year.
