Issuance of driving licences to go online from next month

Driving licences taken by traffic police officers from motorists after a crackdown of unroadworthy vehicles. The National Transport and Safety Authority says more than 1,800 driving licences were returned to the agency by the Postal Corporation of Kenya after their owners failed to collect them. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • Citizens can access the eCitizen portal through mobile phones, laptops, and desktop computers linked to the Internet.
  • Payments for the services will be made using mobile phone-based transaction services such as M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Orange Money, PesaPal and even credit cards.

Renewal and application for new driving licences is set to go online next month as part of the government’s roll out of web-based systems to ease service delivery and curb corruption among civil servants.

The move is a part of a wider government plan to offer all its services online through the eCitizen portal.

Payments for the services will be made using mobile phone-based transaction services such as M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Orange Money, PesaPal and even credit cards.

“From next month renewal and application of new driving licenses will be online. We are currently talking to all mobile operators to come with a single paybill number that will be used by all mobile phone uses regardless of their respective networks,” Mr Harry Ruhiu, the chairman of Digital Payment taskforce secretariat told the Business Daily in an interview.

Other services that are currently available online but can still be accessed by visiting the relevant ministries or agencies include business name registration, notice of marriage, business name search and issue of certificate of good conduct, among others.

Citizens can access the eCitizen portal through mobile phones, laptops, and desktop computers linked to the Internet.

Mr Ruhiu said that the government intends to have its 3,000 services online and is targeting to upload at least a set of five every week. To access the eCitizen portal, consumers or business entities will have to create their accounts.