Thursday, December 5, 2024 - Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has defended the government's decision to increase fees charged on the application of birth and death certificates.
Appearing before the
Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Legislation yesterday, Bitok said the
decision was reached due to inflation.
The PS informed the committee
that it was the first time the government was revising the fees upwards since
1988 when the administration at the time formulated an Act that imposed the
levies.
According to Bitok, the cost of
processing the documents also informed the decision, adding that the government
spent a lot of money in acquiring the materials used to print birth and death
certificates.
“These fees are being revised 36
years down the line, from 1988 up to now, and inflation is currently more than
ten times. We proposed to increase it to 200 because of the inflation and cost
of material,” Bitok said.
Bitok was forced to clarify the
hike in fees after the parliamentary committee raised concerns over the
exorbitant amount imposed on Kenyans seeking to acquire the essential
documents.
Through a gazette notice, the
government imposed several penalties on late application of birth and death
certificates, forcing Kenyans to part with up to Ksh500 as a penalty.
Additionally, the government
revealed that Kenyans who lose their birth or death certificates would be
charged Ksh910, an upsurge from the initial Ksh90.
For Kenyans living in the
diaspora, the government announced Ksh19,000 fees that would be charged during
the process of acquiring the two documents.
Further, Kenyans seeking to
amend errors emanating from the printed documents would incur Ksh1000, up from
Ksh30.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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1 Comments
So all other presidents were fools?Kasongoo is a genius in taxes collections
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