No shilling has been lost in the eCitizen – Treasury PS

The National Treasury has dismissed claims of financial loss in the eCitizen platform.

The response follows a report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu that raised questions over the handling of billions of shillings transacted through the portal.

Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo on Thursday told MPs no shillings has been lost, maintaining eCitizen remains one of the government’s most transparent and traceable systems for collecting revenue.

“I want to assure from 2017 to now, according to my knowledge there is no money that has been lost,” he told MPs sitting at the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

PAC chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale has been investigating the operations of the digital platform following reports that payments to the system could not be accounted for.

This came a day after the Auditor General’s report flagged unexplained variances and lack of traceability of payments, risking close to Sh10 billion transacted on the platform.

The special audit further revealed some payments were diverted to private accounts, sparking concerns of possible loopholes that could allow theft or mismanagement.

But Kiptoo downplayed the concerns, saying the system has enhanced transparency and visibility of transactions.

“We have interest like everybody else to resolve this matter so that Kenyans can know the truth,” he said. 

Since 2014, Kiptoo told the oversight team Sh360.1 billion worth of transactions were made through the digital platform.

According to the ministry’s submission to PAC, Sh425 million was transacted in 2014-15, Sh3 billion in the following financial year and Sh8 billion in 2016-17.

In 2017-18 the platform recorded Sh12.2 billion worth of transactions, Sh17 billion in 2018-19 and Sh14.4 billion in 2019-20.

According to Treasury documents, Sh16 billion was transacted in 2020-21 and 2021-22, Sh20.1 billion in 2022-23 and Sh88.7 billion in 2023-24.

The system recorded the highest in the last financial year at Sh163.8 billion, when more government services were onboarded on the platform.

“The total number of identified services is 25,604 out of which 21,685 have been onboarded,” Kiptoo explained.

The PS was accompanied by his Immigration counterpart Belio Kipsang and ICT’s John Tanui.

Kiptoo blamed the Office of the Auditor General for the alarming report, saying the ministry was not given the opportunity to react to the findings before it was tabled.

“The Auditor General did not share the final audit report before tabling it in Parliament as required by law, this omission limited our ability to rectify the audit findings,” he said.

Meanwhile, officers from the Auditor General’s office present at the committee stood by its findings, insisting the PS himself was present during the exit meeting.

“Before we finalised the audit report, we had an exit meeting where PS Kiptoo attended. We have the management letter, responses and I can even go on record here to say that some responses that have been submitted that were not submitted to us,” the residence auditor responded.

“There are some responses that he [Kiptoo] has provided here that are contradicting the submission he made to us.”  

Kiptoo also clarified the government fully owns the eCitizen platform, citing the handover agreement signed between the vendor and the government.

“As per the agreement, the vendor agreed to completely and unconditionally handover the eCitizen platform to the Government of Kenya,” he said.

However, members of the committee demanded full disclosure even as they requested for more time to go through the bulky response.

“Given this matter is very heavy, and we are interacting with the document for the first time, I would propose that we adjourn so that we go through the document and have the PS here again for meaningful engagement,” Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo said.

“Considering the bulkiness of the report and time factor, it is only fair that we get time with the document then we engage the PS on another day,” Teso South MP Mary Emaase said.

PAC chairman, while granting the calls for adjournment, directed the PS will appear before the oversight team within two weeks.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

eCitizen provides a centralised online platform for accessing and paying various government services. It allows citizens, non-citizens, and businesses to access services like passport applications, driving licence renewals, business registration and more, all in one place. The platform also serves as a digital payment gateway for these services, offering convenience and accessibility.