The government is set to take sterner action on the billions transacted through the eCitizen platform by roping in Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o.
In the new considerations that arose on Friday, April 18, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi was to tap into Nyakang’o in a move that would see public entities seek approval from the COB to access money paid to them.
As per the CS, this would be a significant step in curbing the misuse of the funds transacted through the platform.
Mbadi, through a senior Treasury official, revealed that even after the introduction of a single paybill to improve oversight on all cash inflows and outflows, more work still needs to be done to prevent any misuse or theft of the funds.
“On critical review, it would be very necessary to bring the above funds under the purview of the COB to enhance oversight during withdrawals, rather than waiting for the annual audits,” noted Mr Bernard Ndung’u, Treasury’s Director-General of Accounting Services.
The lack of regular oversight on cash outflows generated through eCitizen, which are accounted for in the Consolidated Fund—the government’s official public account—has brought about the need to tighten the noose around such transactions.
“As we speak, there are concerns with accountability, reporting, and oversight of funds received and spent outside the CF in terms of AIA (Appropriations-in-Aid), as the funds are solely under management of the individual entities,” Mr Ndung’u asserted.
In the new push to add controls to funds flowing through eCitizen, entities would be required to disclose the purposes for which they withdraw money and follow up on whether they end up spending the money as stated and in line with their approved budgets.
Bringing in the COB would ensure tighter controls, with the CS noting that her absence in such transactions may compromise accountability and oversight of the use of public funds.
Since 2023, the government has added more than 22,000 public services to eCitizen—the single platform where Kenyans must log in to access various services—after a directive requiring all public entities to close the accounts they previously used to receive payments.
Since then, Kenyans seeking public services such as hospital treatment or applying for IDs, driving licences, and passports have been required to pay through a single paybill, which credits the relevant entity accounts.
However, with the increased number of services on the platform, revenue generated by public institutions has risen drastically, making the funds collected more susceptible to theft or misuse.
For instance, in the financial year ending June 2024, Mbadi revealed that eCitizen collected Ksh100.8 billion, after 120,000 daily transactions. On a day-to-day basis, the money collected by the platform ranges from Ksh700 million to Ksh1 billion.
