National Addressing Bill 2025 gains momentum as MPs engage stakeholders

Parliament has begun deliberations on a Bill that seeks to establish a unified national addressing system, with stakeholders backing the proposal while opposing plans to create a new state agency to oversee its implementation.

The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation on Friday conducted stakeholder consultations on the National Addressing Bill, 2025, a private member’s Bill sponsored by Kiambu MP Machua Waithaka.

The proposed law seeks to establish national addressing standards to streamline e-commerce logistics, emergency response, security coordination and service delivery by replacing Kenya’s fragmented spatial referencing systems with a standardized national framework.

While stakeholders largely supported the Bill’s objectives, sharp differences emerged over a proposal to establish a standalone National Addressing Council to manage the system.

Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Stephen Isaboke said efforts to establish a national address system had stalled for nearly a decade under three successive Cabinet Secretaries, underscoring the need for legislation to anchor the initiative.

However, he warned that creating a new council would undermine the government’s fiscal consolidation agenda, which seeks to rationalize and merge state agencies.

The State Department, supported by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the Council of Governors and other technical agencies, instead proposed a centralized governance model anchored within existing institutions.

Communications Authority Director General David Mugonyi told the committee that the Authority was best placed to coordinate the national addressing system due to its existing legal mandate under the Kenya Information and Communications Act and its role in developing technical standards in collaboration with the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

“The important tasks for this Committee on the Bill are to establish a legal framework that ensures efficient implementation, while the Authority is uniquely positioned to serve as the national custodian and coordinator of the addressing system, given the existing mandate,” Mugonyi said.

Committee Chairperson John Kiarie said Kenya had delayed establishing a reliable and integrated national addressing framework despite its importance to development.

“As a country, we should have reached a point where we are clear about how we handle our addressing system,” he said, describing the proposal as still being at a “green paper stage” ahead of public participation and second reading in the National Assembly.

Committee member Erastus Kivasu termed the proposal timely, saying it would help create a clear roadmap for the country’s addressing system.

Government agencies from the security, housing, lands and roads sectors also expressed support for the Bill, citing its potential benefits across multiple sectors.

Deputy Chief State Counsel Prisca Wambui from the State Department for Interior said the framework would strengthen emergency response, disaster management and administrative efficiency, although she called for robust data protection safeguards.

The State Department for Housing and Urban Development said the addressing system should be integrated into county spatial plans and development control frameworks rather than operate as a parallel administrative structure.

Officials from the Lands and Physical Planning Department said accurate geospatial identification would enhance land management and registration, while the Roads Department noted that standardized road and street classification would improve infrastructure planning and help identify accident black spots.

Defending the Bill, Waithaka said the absence of a structured national addressing system continued to hamper commerce and logistics operations in the country.

Drawing from his academic experience in the United States, the legislator noted that Kenya still relies heavily on informal directions and dropped-pin locations due to the lack of formal addresses.

He argued that a standardized addressing framework would support the growth of e-commerce and improve last-mile delivery services, adding that the Postal Corporation of Kenya could significantly expand its operations if neighbourhood postal codes were fully implemented.

Isiolo South MP Tubi Mohammed Tubi said the Bill could help streamline the country’s expanding logistics sector, while committee member Joyce Bensuda called for clear implementation, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

Isiolo Woman Representative Mumina Bonaya raised concerns over data security and the country’s preparedness to protect sensitive geolocation information.

The committee will now consolidate stakeholders’ views and refine the Bill before it proceeds to public participation.

Lawmakers are also expected to consider proposals to separate street-naming functions from physical address data management before the legislation returns to the House for further consideration.

The post National Addressing Bill 2025 gains momentum as MPs engage stakeholders appeared first on KBC Digital.