State to spend Sh500 million to modernise Huduma Centres

The Huduma centres across the country will undergo a major transformation, with an allocation of Sh500 million from the government.

Set aside for the Financial Year 2025-2026,  these funds will be used to renovate existing centres and upgrade their equipment, boosting both operational efficiency and the quality of public services offered to citizens.

The announcement was made by Amos Gathecha, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Public Service, on Wednesday at the second annual Huduma Centre Managers' conference held at the Kenya School of Government's (KSG) Mombasa Campus.

Gathecha said the government is committed to improving service at the centres, which serve as a vital link between citizens and government services.

"Our goal is to enhance the customer experience, where all our customers leave our platforms with a smile, as per the theme of this conference's 'service with a smile", Gathecha said.

The PS added that this initiative aligns with the government's Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and called on staff to adopt cost-effective measures to further improve service delivery.

Huduma Centres, renowned for providing a variety of government services in one location, have significantly contributed to improving the public's perception of the government.

According to PS Gathecha, most people consider the centres to be convenient and user-friendly, and they have swiftly addressed the few instances of staff misconduct.

E-Citizen

He also praised the e-Citizen platform, which has grown rapidly since its launch in August 2023.

"In August 2023, during the first conference, the government had just launched the e-Citizen platform with 5,000 services. Today, this platform offers over 20,000 online services," Gathecha said.

The government plans to expand Huduma Centre services further by offering them at police stations, making it easier for citizens to access government services close to home.

Huduma Kenya CEO Benjamin Chilumo shared that a training curriculum has been developed with the Kenya School of Government to equip police officers with the skills needed to provide these services effectively.

The creation of the Huduma Kenya programme facilitated the provision of a wide range of government services in a single unit known as Huduma Centres.

For this reason, Huduma Kenya merges numerous related public services within one location, possibly on the same floor, so that Kenyans can easily access them.

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The first Huduma Centre Nairobi was launched in 2013 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta alongside then Deputy William Ruto at the Teleposta Building in Nairobi.

The Huduma Centre has undergone various transformations as it offers judiciary services in six Huduma Centres.

They include Nairobi GPO, City Square, Makadara, Kibra, Eastleigh and Kiambu.

Judicial staff man the judicial desks at the centres.

Some of the judicial services to be offered at Huduma Centre are filing of new civil cases, filing documents of existing cases, and requests for and issuance of summons to enter an appearance, notice to appear in divorce cases, extracted court orders, decrees, certified and uncertified proceedings, and a copy of a ruling or judgement.

Also, requests and issuances of mention dates, general case enquiries, e-filing support, payments of fines and deposits, and virtual court support