The Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation met to consider the National Addressing Bill, 2023 which seeks to provide a framework to the naming of streets and numbering of property in Kenya

The sponsor of the Bill, Kiambu MP, Hon. Macua Waithaka appeared before the Committee chaired by Dagoretti South MP, Hon. John Kiarie where he took Members through the provisions of the Bill.

The Bill seeks to ensure that all addressable objects in the country are identifiable by an address and provide for the establishment of a comprehensive and reliable national addressing system.

In addition, it proposes a standardized system for assigning unique addresses to every household, business, and institution in Kenya

According to Hon. Waithaka, this will enhance the efficiency of emergency services, enabling quicker response times from ambulances, fire services, and police.

 “With this system, we will save lives by making it easier for responders to locate those in need,” he said.

In addition, Hon. Waithaka emphasized the revival of the Postal Services, which he said will be crucial in a growing e-commerce landscape. The system will also facilitate tax collection, improving revenue streams for counties and supporting local development projects. Moreover, the implementation process is expected to create jobs in sectors such as tech, mapping, and logistics.

Hon. Kiarie proposed leveraging existing technology, such as Google’s open-source mapping system, saying this could reduce the estimated cost to Kshs.2 billion.

Members pointed out the importance of implementation and partnerships with Global Positioning System (GPS) and Google Maps to ensure success noting that it could significantly improve infrastructure, particularly in housing development.