Embrace e-citizen or quit, President Ruto warns parastatal bosses

President William Ruto during the first anniversary of the E-Citize platform at the KICC, Nairobi.[PCS]

President William Ruto has issued a seven-day ultimatum to parastatal bosses and heads of State agencies that are yet to onboard services on e-Citizen. 

According to Ruto's directive, about 35 chief executive officers are "dodging" transitioning the delivery of their services to the digital platform.

He said the alternative means of offering and payment of services within the State corporations are avenues of abetting corruption.  

Some of the notable agencies whose bosses the President put on notice are Kenya Power (KPLC), Independent Police Oversight Authority (Ipoa), Kenya Airports Authority, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) and the newly introduced Social Health Authority. 

Others include Kenya Reinsurance Corporation, Private Security Regulatory Authority, Kenya Space Agency,  Health Records and Information Managers Board, National Cancer Institute of Kenya, Kenya Hospital Authority Trust Fund and the Kenya Nutritionist and Dietitians Institute. 

Professional bodies like Kenya Institute of Supplies Management Board and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya were also put on notice. 

"These entities have yet to comply with my directive that their services and revenue payments must be on e-Citizen so that the Treasury can track the revenues collected by the government. They have one week to comply. Otherwise, they know what to do, they can make use of the door,” Dr Ruto said.

The move is a fresh bid to tackle corruption and redeem his administration's image that has faced criticism from the public over wastage and plunder of public resources barely two weeks after issuing a State of The Nation address where the President pledged to fight graft. 

Ruto issued the warning on Thursday at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) where he presided over the first anniversary of the e-Citizen platform since it was inaugurated in November last year.

So far, the government has on boarded 22,515 on the platform, from 394 since its inception, with over 13 million "thriving community users."

"Revenue collection through the platform has grown significantly, enabling the government to mobilise critical resources for public projects," he said. 

Similarly, agencies that have complied with the directive but occasionally use "alternative means of payment" for services other than e-citizen also found themselves on the list of corporations on Ruto's integrity radar. 

The bosses were ordered to fully revert to e-Citizen for all transactions within the next three months or face disciplinary action.  

"But once in a while, they will keep using alternative means of payment methods including supplies. I want to refer to the last three months. There are Government agencies that are already on e-Citizen's but have decided to use alternative means to offer service," he said. 

He said the digital platform has been instrumental in offering essential services to citizens including payment of cash-transfer by government to vulnerable citizens and payment of health scheme funds to hospitals, announcing measures to seal loopholes for theft of public funds. 

"We are working with Kenya Revenue Authority, together with other partners, to make sure that our revenues collected are not subject to usual pilferage and losses," he said. 

He also announced his government's plan to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the digital platform to enhance efficiency in delivery of services and minimise fraud. 

"AI offers opportunities to reimagine service delivery. For Instance, an AI powered bot on e-Citizen could provide instant solutions to inquiries reducing wait-time and minimising opportunities for fraud," he said.