Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Bitok/FILE
According to the director general of the directorate of eCitizen Services, Ambassador Isaac Ochieng, the platform now has 13.5 million active accounts.
"We have 13.5 million account holders and this service is open to any Kenyan who is 18 years old and above,” Ochieng said.
In a statement, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Kibet Bitok, has revealed that the government is now collecting close to Sh900 million every day up from Sh60 million, as citizens across the globe conveniently access different services.
“This one is a promise delivered. It was one of the pledges of the Kenya Kwanza government, and it has been seamless. Gava Mkononi is a reality," Bitok said.
According to Bitok, the platform has helped Kenyans overcome the challenge of bureaucracy in accessing government services.
"Consequently, it has contributed to cutting down queues at government offices. It has also helped to seal leakages in revenue collection."
The platform is projected to collect upwards of Sh2 billion every day in the coming year, going straight to the National Treasury.
"We have synchronised payment through only one pay bill number, that is, 222. Initially we had well over 1,000 pay-bill accounts,” Bitok said.
State data shows that NTSA tops the list of the busiest government departments on eCitizen due to services like applications for driving licenses, vehicle registration, and vehicle inspection.
It is followed by Immigration due to passport applications, with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in the third position because of applications for certificates of good conduct.
The Kenya Wildlife Service is in the fourth position, followed by Business Registration Services.
“We are actually an international case study, and many countries from across the world are coming to the benchmark from us,” Ochieng said.
According to Bitok, the platform has enabled state agencies like KWS to double its revenue despite initial resistance from stakeholders.
He added that several countries are lining up to benchmark, with the Zambian government, for instance, already taking notes.
Ruth Murungi, a boutique entrepreneur in Isiolo, is among the six million Kenyans using e-citizen services every month. She says she is able to fulfill her tax obligations instantly.
In Kisumu, David Osino, the owner of a cybercafé known as D-Lan Networks & Communications, says he spends most of his time assisting clients seeking eCitizen services.
Kenyans living abroad are also enjoying the services. Steve Biko, a Kenyan artist living in Amsterdam, says he no longer makes trips back home or to the Kenyan Embassy to apply for government services like passport renewal as he can access them on his phone.
Asa Makori, a taxi operator in Kisumu remembers the days when one was forced to go to KRA offices for the services being offered NTSA, but now one can access them from anywhere as long as you are online.
Also speaking about its advantages, Maxwel Munyendo, an office administrator at Chams Adventures, says eCitizen has led to a reduction in the cost of doing business because so much can be done on the desktop without making many trips to government offices and paying bribes to government officials and middlemen to ‘assist you’.
The Ministry of Information, Communication, and Digital Economy has played a critical role in providing the necessary digital infrastructure to support the running of the eCitizen platform.
According to the principal secretary for ICT and Digital Economy Engineer John Tanui, his department is responsible for deploying technology that enables various state departments to be able to perform their duties.
“Our department played a key role by ensuring that we have a clear technical solution for the eCitizen platform.”
‘In our tripartite arrangement, the State Department for eCitizen Services handles all matters Citizen Services, the State Department for ICT handles technology-related matters while the National Treasury handles matters related to revenue collection," Bitok said
