In an appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today, Principal Secretaries from the National Treasury, ICT, and Immigration addressed the Auditor-General’s Special Audit Report on the Government Digital Payments Platform, eCitizen.
Eng. John Tanui, Principal Secretary for the State Department for ICT and Digital Economy, was among the Principal Secretaries who appeared before the Committee led by Hon. Tindi Mwale. Dr. Chris Kiptoo, Principal Secretary for the National Treasury, delivered a comprehensive briefing on behalf of the team, which also included Dr. Belio Kipsang, Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services.
The session underscored Parliament’s critical role in strengthening governance and oversight of Kenya’s national digital infrastructure while providing an opportunity to clarify the platform’s progress and the measures underway to further reinforce it.
Dr. Kiptoo walked the committee through eCitizen’s journey, which began in 2013 as an International Finance Corporation (IFC)-supported pilot. What started with a handful of services has since scaled to host over 22,000 government services, fundamentally transforming the delivery of public services and cementing eCitizen’s reputation as one of Africa’s most impactful digital platforms.
The Principal Secretaries highlighted the platform’s tangible achievements, noting that daily revenue collections have surged from under KSh 60 million in the manual era to over KSh 600 million today.
This leap reflects a broader success in enhancing transparency, plugging leakages, and revolutionizing public finance management through technology. For citizens, the impact has been equally transformative, with the platform enabling seamless, anytime-anywhere access to services while drastically cutting both the cost and time previously spent navigating government processes.
Acknowledging the Auditor-General’s findings, the Principal Secretaries confirmed that governance structures around eCitizen have been significantly strengthened.
They outlined additional measures underway to bolster accountability, system resilience, and operational efficiency. Citizen data protection and system security, they emphasized, remain paramount, supported by enhanced safeguards, improved institutional capacity, and coordinated government-wide cybersecurity efforts.
More than a payment gateway, eCitizen now stands as the digital face of government—a critical national asset driving transparency, efficiency, and equitable access to public services.
The leadership reaffirmed their commitment to continuous improvement, accountability, and the shared vision of a digital government that serves every Kenyan with efficiency, integrity, and trust.
By Anthony Solly
