MPs demand contract details of private company running e-Citizen platform

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Planning, National Treasury officials were tasked to explain why a private company still moderated the platform and whether the Ministry monitored how every coin was spent. 

Bernard Ndung'u, the Director General of Accounting Services at the National Treasury, argued that the private company continues to run the platform until the government sets up its system. 

He expressed confidence that no coin is lost as all funds from the platform go directly into government accounts. 

"The vendors handed over the system to the government after the court case, but they have been retained on contract to continue offering services while the government sets up its system," Ndung'u stated. 

As of October 2024, Treasury CS John Mbadi told the Senate that the e-Citizen platform processed about 120,000 transactions daily and collected Ksh.100.8 billion in the financial year 2023/24.

During the session, Committee chairman Kuria Kimani questioned why the government delayed in setting up the system years after it was handed control. 

Turkana South MP John Ariko echoed Kimani's sentiments and demanded the contract details between the government and the private vendor. 

In response, Ndung'u explained that the private vendor is paid based on milestones achieved. 

"The convenience fee now goes to the government, which then uses it to service the contract," he noted. 

Further, the lawmakers questioned why the Department of Immigration is the custodian of the agreement as opposed to the National Treasury; that is responsible for revenue collection. 

Ndung'u explained that the Treasury Ministry has a dedicated unit to monitor all transactions within the platform. 

Following the meeting, the MPs directed the officials to present the contract details next week. 

The revelation was unearthed by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu last year who warned that the government has little control of the system and relies on the private vendor for critical functions. 

"The lack of full control of the system exposes the government to the risk of revenue leakage, lack of full accountability, system unavailability or downtime, security vulnerabilities and threats including lack of business continuity," Gathungu said in an audit report on the national government.