Kenya: Biometric System to Help Curb Graft At Lands Ministry

By James Kariuki

The Lands ministry is betting on controlled access to sensitive offices at Ardhi House in a new war against cartels.

The system is expected to provide access to selected staff with special entry cards. It will record their details.

Lands and Physical Planning Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said the biometric access control system (BACS) will capture up-to-date data of all visitors and the offices visited.

“It will also track arrival and departure time of employees, while enabling top officials to know how long it takes to serve a customer at a particular station,” said Prof Kaimenyi.

He spoke when he launched the BACS platform in Nairobi this week.

Unfettered access to sensitive rooms has in the past been blamed for loss or alteration of land records, following collusion between some workers and outsiders.

“Everyone will have to use their fingerprints to register at the main entrance while staff will use the biometric access cards to open restricted doors. This will ensure employees arrive early, as required, and stay at their workstations serving Kenyans during official hours,” he said.