The Kenyan government has announced that all payments for government services will be made through its eCitizen portal.
Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Njuguna Ndung’u has gazetted the portal as the official government digital payment platform, with the aim of increasing revenue collection, reducing the cost of collection, and enhancing service delivery.
The move is part of President William Ruto’s plan to migrate all government services to a digital platform within the next six to twelve months.
According to the notice, the eCitizen portal is “a wholly owned domain and portal of the Government of Kenya” and is “integrated with all available electronic payment platforms in Kenya, including mobile money payment services.”
It will generate invoices for various services, which can be paid for using mobile money platforms through the government’s pay bill number. Once payment is made, the system reflects the transaction and generates a receipt for the user to print.
The eCitizen portal provides a range of government services, including motor vehicle ownership, land searches, and birth and death registrations.
The Kenyan government aims to increase revenue collection and minimize the cost of collection through the use of the digital payment platform, which is also expected to enhance service delivery.
“E-citizen.go.ke is a wholly owned domain and portal of the Government of Kenya. E-citizen.go.ke is the official Government Digital Payments Platform,” said Ndung’u in a gazette notice dated December 20, 2022, adding, “The official Government of Kenya Pay Bill Number is 222222.”
The cabinet secretary also noted that the official identifier of Kenyan citizens will be the national identity card number, while foreigners will use an alien identification card number.