The government has urged Lari residents to collect their Huduma cards.
Civil servants are touring villages and trading centres to sensitise the people to the need to have the cards. From their records, about 50 per cent of young and middle-aged people have yet to go for their documents, despite having received text messages to do so.
Area registrar of persons Eliphas Njagi on Tuesday said many people have ignored their pleas.
“The need to have these cards has not sunk in people’s minds well. Some are telling us that they will come for them once they start being used,” he said.
Njagi said they realised the issue when they started tracing and delivering the cards to owners at their homes.
"We have been seeking an audience at trading centres, hotels and public places, including funerals, just to ask people to come and collect their cards early because once they start being used, those who will not have collected will have a hard time rushing to our offices and queuing,” he said.
Speaking at his office in Kimende town, Njagi said they deliver between 50 and 100 cards to people at their homes every day.
“We are assisted by the chiefs and their assistants and Nyumba Kumi officials to identify people from their locations and villages. About half of what we receive, we take them to people's homes,” he said.
A 27-year-old resident, Simon Maina, said he will not collect it because he does not need it and will only do so if brought to him by the officials.
“Even if I go and collect it, I will not use it the following day or the next minute. Let the government move around and bring these cards. If they are being used, I would rush there very early in the morning and collect it, but for now, let me relax,” he said.
Area deputy county commissioner Agnes Karoki has been mobilising the officials to use every strategy to deliver the cards to their owners.
She said a lot of people have failed to collect the cards after they changed their phone numbers, while others secured jobs far away from where they were registered.
Last week, Central was listed as one of the regions with a slow distribution.