PS Reveals How 3 Firms Pocket Over Ksh3 Million Every Day to Run eCitizen

Immigration Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang has disclosed that three technology firms contracted to maintain the eCitizen platform collectively pocket Ksh1.1 billion annually, about Ksh3 million daily.
Speaking during an interview onNTV, Kipsang defended the arrangement, arguing that maintaining the system is crucial for the government to deliver services efficiently to Kenyans, hence the need to invest in its upkeep.
The PS was responding to growing criticism over the continued Ksh50 convenience fee charged on the platform, despite users also paying service fees. The charge has been at the centre of audit debates, with several reports questioning its legality.
According to a Special Report on eCitizen published in March, Kenyans have irregularly paid over Ksh2.1 billion through the Ksh50 transaction fee. The report indicated that the fee was imposed unlawfully, contrary to Gazette Notice No. 9290/2014 dated December 23, 2014.
Between December 14, 2023, and June 30, 2024, an additional Ksh50 convenience fee charged on the first collection gateway resulted in overcharges of more than Ksh30 million. The gateway had been in use by government institutions already on board beforePresident William Ruto directed all MDAs to migrate payments to eCitizen.
Kipsang explained that the three companies play distinct roles: one manages the technical aspects of the platform, another handles the payment gateway, while the third oversees the SMS feedback mechanism.
“We are talking about Ksh115 to Ksh120 million per month that the companies get for their maintenance work. This amounts to about Ksh1.1 billion per year,” Kipsang revealed.
“It is important to note that these three firms were brought on board through a competitive tender and procurement process. It is not like we woke up one day and said that these three are going to run the system,” he clarified.
Government data shows that more than Ksh250 billion is collected annually through the eCitizen platform, with the collection going directly to the Treasury’s single bank account. This translates to between Ksh750 million and Ksh1 billion daily from all transactions.
Meanwhile, according to the March Auditor-General’s report, the National Treasury had not signed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with financial service providers responsible for collecting and settling payments through the eCitizen portal.
In the absence of these binding agreements, a staggering Ksh7.05 billion held in collection and settlement accounts remains in limbo, the audit said.
Nancy Gathungu, the Auditor General, warned that without SLAs, service providers might be utilising the public funds for their benefit, undermining service delivery acrossMDAs that rely on the timely remittance of collected revenue.
“This lack of formal agreements compromises accountability and poses a risk to effective public service delivery,” the AG noted.