The developers behind Kenya’s eCitizen platform have responded to growing scrutiny over the accuracy of government revenue collected through the portal, insisting that all payment records are verifiable and intact.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu recently flagged Ksh.15.5 billion in revenue receipts from the financial year ending June 2023, stating the figures could not be confirmed. Further discrepancies were reported between digital receipts issued via eCitizen and balances recorded by several ministries and departments for the year ending June 2024.
ECS (Electronic Citizen Services) LLC, the three-company consortium managing eCitizen, says its systems are robust, and every transaction is traceable. “We invoice for every transaction monthly, and the government verifies each one,” said David Kiprono, ECS Director of Government Relations. “We can trace transactions down to the ID number, service type, and phone number.”
Kiprono emphasized that ECS, as a vendor, only operates the platform and is not responsible for the government’s internal accounting discrepancies. Webmasters Kenya Limited, one of the ECS members, also handles customer care and related services for the platform.
The platform, launched in 2014 under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, has since grown to host over 22,000 government services, including those from the NTSA, KRA, and National Registration Bureau.
A key concern from both Parliament and the public has been the Ksh.50 ‘convenience fee’ charged per transaction. Kiprono explained that this fee is the consortium’s only revenue source, covering salaries, cybersecurity, and other operational costs. “We don’t even retain the full Ksh.50, as ministries deduct a share for running their departments,” he added.
eCitizen’s cash collection process has also faced legal challenges. Initially, Goldrock Capital handled collections via the M-Pesa Paybill 206206, but the lack of a formal government contract prompted its removal. The Paybill is now under the National Treasury, with Pesaflow replacing Goldrock.
Kiprono concluded that the platform currently processes up to Ksh.1 billion daily, underscoring eCitizen’s central role in Kenya’s digital public service delivery.
