Wananchi to pay for more public services electronically

More government services are expected to go online and be paid for electronically, in a move aimed at sealing corruption loopholes and eliminating revenue leakages.

In his budget speech yesterday, Treasury CS Henry Rotich said the Government Digital Programme intends to make all payments electronic. However, he did not provide timelines for this.

The decision to migrate to electronic payments follows the government's move last year to provide most of its services under the e-citizen portal.

“We are moving all payments to government onto the digital platform,” Mr Rotich noted in his budget speech. “The objective of the Government Digital Programme is to ensure that all payments to government are made electronically so as to significantly reduce administrative costs, minimise leakages and expand access to payment points.”

Over 1.7 million Kenyans have registered on the eCitizen payment platform, which allows them to access 115 services from different agencies, including some from county governments.

Some of the services available include land transactions, business registration, motor vehicle and driver’s licence services and the registration of persons, including passports, work permits and visa applications.

The platform has processed over 2.4 million applications and collected Sh4.2 billion in revenue.

Some of the additional services the government intends to bring on board include assessment and payment of stamp duty, application for identity cards and inspection of company files.

Making payments digital is the government's latest effort to improve services while also reducing the cost of transactions and safeguarding government revenue.