PS Julius Bitok: e-Citizen set to net Sh1bn daily
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok.
What you need to know:
- PS Bitok insists hat the 34 agencies had no choice but to comply within the one week the President had ordered them to.
- He emphasised that all government agencies must fully integrate their services into the platform without exception.
The government has described as revolutionary the success of the e-Citizen platform, the one-stop shop for all government payments, for its two-pronged success: The sealing of corruption loopholes and its 1,300 per cent growth in daily revenue from Sh60 million last year to Sh900 million now.
President William Ruto, who this week gave a one-week ultimatum to 34 government agencies including Kenya Power and Kenya Ports Authority, to on-board onto the platform he says should be the only way to make payments for government services.
“When we re-launched e-Citizen, we set out to dismantle inefficiencies, delays, bureaucratic red tape and frustrations that have plagued delivery of government services for decades. . . we aspired to build a system that prioritises integrity over corruption, efficiency over waste, and inclusivity over exclusion,” President Ruto said this week when he celebrated one year since the e-Citizen relaunch.
Since then, 22,515 services have been on-boarded, with 13 million active users.
Now, Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Prof Julius Bitok says the e-Citizen platform was on course to surpass its Sh1 billion daily revenue, with citizens, at the touch of a button, getting services such as passport applications, birth certificates, and police clearances.
“This increase in revenue collection is a testament to the efficiency and transparency brought about by digitising services. We are on track to hit Sh1 billion in daily collections, which will significantly boost our national revenue, up from Sh60 million a day last year,” Prof Bitok said.
The PS insisted that the 34 agencies had no choice but to comply within the one week the President had ordered them to.
"I have engaged most of them today, and every one of them is working hard to ensure that they meet the presidential directive. I can say 98 per cent of them, to be conservative, have complied across the government in all ministries," said PS Bitok.
He emphasised that all government agencies must fully integrate their services into the platform without exception.
“There is no choice about it,” Prof Bitok said.
The 34 agencies include National Cancer Institute of Kenya, Kenya Hospital Authority Trust Fund, Kenya Nutritionists & Dieticians Institute (KNDI), Health Records and Information Management Board, National Syndemic Disease Control Council, Occupational Therapy Council of Kenya, Digital Health Authority, Kenya Biovax Institute Limited, Kenya National Public Health Institute, Kenya Health Human Resource Authority, Kenya Water Institute, Tana Athi Water Works Development Agency, Water Sector Trust Fund and Kenya Engineering Technology Registration Board, Kenya Ports Authority.
Others include Kenya Power, Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA), Kenya Ports Authority, National Defence University, Nairobi International Financial Center, Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation, Financial Reporting Center, Kenya Institute of Supplies Management, Consolidated Bank of Kenya and Development Bank of Kenya. The Head of State has also cautioned Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examination Board, Institute of Certified Secretaries, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, Rural Electrification and Renewal Energy, Geothermal Development Company, Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited, Kenya Space Agency and Kenya Shipyard Limited against defying his directive.
The e-Citizen platform, which facilitates access to public services online, has onboarded 22,515 services — far surpassing the initial target of 5,000.
“As of yesterday, we had 22,515 services on boarded. Our target actually was 5,000 at the beginning, but we surpassed the target by four times,” he said.
The platform came after the government order the closure of over 1,130 paybill numbers.
