In 2016, the government of Kenya and key stakeholders revealed that they was going to set up a National Addressing System (NAS) for the state. NAS will see streets and buildings assigned names and numbers for easy identification.

The project named the Communications Authority of Kenya as a primary player, which also developed a framework for numbering of streets, properties and parcels of land to aid recognition.

According to the ICT Ministry, the government is now in the final stages of developing NAS.

“The Govt, through the CA and other stakeholders, is at the final stages of developing a National Addressing System for Kenya. In this regard, the necessary national standards for naming and numbering streets and property have already been developed,” reported Ms. Julia Yampan who was representing CS Joe Mucheru in a recent event.

For context, NAS is backed up by the Kenya Information and Communications (Numbering) Regulations 2010, which tasks the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to set up a National Communications and Addressing Plan (NCAP) for postal codes, communication numbers and addresses in collaboration with global organizations that deal with numbering and addressing systems; and make sure that NCAP includes geographical postal points of delivery.

This development is preceded by a 2016 inaugural workshop that was attended by several stakeholders, including KEBS, IEBC, and HELB. The exercise has since seen the development of draft NAS standards and other critical guiding frameworks for implementing the addressing system.

“The system, once implemented, will go a long way in stimulating and enhancing national security and the growth of e-commerce and m-commerce in the country, and thus open up additional opportunities for the Post,” concluded Ms. Julia Yampan.