The credibility of the eCitizen platform, which the government intends to use as a one-stop shop for making payments to access its services, has been called into question by Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo.
Because the platform lacks a policy guiding its implementation and has yet to be put up for debate in the National Assembly or public participation, Maanzo believes it to be just another vehicle for corruption.
Speaking on Thursday's Daybreak program on Citizen TV, Maanzo claimed President William Ruto may own the platform. He said his attempts to close graft loopholes by introducing it would fail miserably.
"Unfortunately the president has failed completely he has not followed the procurement law, he is part of the corruption system, he knows it, he should start cleaning it himself," he said.
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"How does a private company run eCitizen? How was it procured? Who does it belong to if it doesn't belong to him?"
The lawmaker also questioned the government's illegal use of the platform, which does not guarantee transparency as the custodian of public funds.
"We need to have procurement procedures. We need to make sure that this is the most efficient company in the country. This is a monopoly," noted Maanzo.
"There is something very wrong with this; there is no law about it; it was never brought to parliament. It is just a scam. It cannot be forced against people."
On December 20, 2023, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u issued an order stating that all government services would be integrated into the eCitizen platform and that access fees would apply to each service.
However, several quotas opposed the proposal vehemently, claiming it had numerous flaws.
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The High Court in Nairobi temporarily suspended a directive requiring parents to pay school fees through the platform in February 2024 after Nakuru doctor Magare Gikenyi filed a petition challenging the initiative, which he called illegal and claimed went against the principles of good governance.
Judge Chacha Mwita of the Milimani Law Courts halted the circular issued by Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang until further instructions were given in the case on February 13, 2024.
Principals of all national schools were instructed to provide the State Department's Director General's office with information about their school bank accounts by Tuesday, February 6, 2024, in a memo signed by PS Kipsang and dated January 31, 2024.
Several Kenyan universities have used the same platform to accept payments for cafeteria services.
Moses Kuria, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management (CS), has also made suggestions that the government is developing a plan to have all music copyrights and royalties paid through the controversial platform.
