The days of walking to government institutions to get services, filling out paperwork and wasting man-hours on queues are long gone.
With the dawn of the digital era, all information-providing entities, including the national and local governments, have embraced technology to improve the delivery of services for citizens and maintain transparency within government processes.
One of those areas in which the Kenyan government has utilised technology to its advantage is through the use of websites.
Vibrant websites offer state and local governments opportunities to provide citizens, workers, and businesses innovative services that streamline operations, reduce costs and ultimately better serve communities.
Nonetheless, security concerns and poor user experience, stymied by budget, staffing, and technology limitations, have prevented some agencies from realizing the full potential of website services.
In this article, we will breakdown some of the most commonly used government websites that you probably need to know about.
iTax (https://itax.kra.go.ke/KRA-Portal/)
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) upgraded the tax collection and management system from Integrated Tax Management System (ITMS) to the new iTax System.
iTax enables ever Kenyan citizen of legal age to file KRA tax returns online with ease and efficiency.
This innovation was introduced to Kenyans by KRA on March 1st, 2014 and can be accessed on KRA’s official website.
Apart from filing returns, you can also follow through on your payments using iTax and access your data at any time from any location in or outside the country.
You can now file KRA income tax returns online from the comfort of your couch or your office.
It is, however, important to note that the iTax website usually gets a lot of traffic around June since a lot of Kenyans usually try to beat the deadline for tax returns around that period.
eCitizen (https://www.ecitizen.go.ke/)
Kenya’s eCitizen portal is changing the way the Government of Kenya delivers services to its citizens.
This is arguably one of the most popular government-linked websites in this list.
The whole point of eCitizen is to be a ‘gateway for all government services’ and it has been trying to accomplish that.
Currently, you can find 8 major services on the eCitzen platform.They include:
a.) NTSA where you can apply for a provisional driving licence, book a driving test, get a driving licence or apply for a driving licence renewal
b.) DCI where you can apply to get your Police Clearance Certificate
c.) KRA where you can access customs, domestic taxes or other KRA services
d.) Business Registration Service
e.) Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice
f.) Civil Registration Department where you can apply for birth and death certificates
g.) Department of Immigration Services where you apply for a passport visa and work permit
h.) Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning where you search for title deeds, land rent clearances and more.
Ajira Digital (https://www.ajiradigital.go.ke/home)
Youths in Kenya can easily make a living through online jobs by enrolling to Ajira Kenya.
The Ajira Digital Program carries out constant training, mentorship and also offers guidance on how to work online.
It is a government initiative driven by the Ministry of Information, Communications, and Technology to empower over one million young people to access digital job opportunities.
The program seeks to position Kenya as a choice labour destination for multinational companies as well as encourage local companies and the public sector to create digital work.
The website shows you the online training youths can obtain such as:
a.) Local work in Kenya
Niko Job
EVA Virtual Assistant
Tuko Works
Kuhustle
Crowdsource Africa
Cloudfactory
b.) Writing
Freelancer
Upwork
iWriter
c.) Engineering and architecture
Upwork
Peopleperhour
MachineDesign
Cadcrowd
d.) Software development and programming
WordPress
Metafilter
Gigster
Problogger
e.) Support and customer services
Smallbiztrends
Upwork
Freelancer
Peopleperhour
f.) Sales and marketing
Guru
Freelancer
Truelancer
Fiverr
g.) Transcription
Upwork
Transcribe
CloudFactory
GoTranscript
h.) Data science and analytics
SpringBoard
R-Users
Toptal
Kaggle
i.) Web design/ graphics and creatives
99Designs
Krop
LocalSolo
DesignCrowd
NTSA’s TIMS (https://tims.ntsa.go.ke/login_csp.jsp)
Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority is the government body tasked with the mandate to harmonize operations of key transport departments and managing the road transport sub-sector.
They have their TIMS (Transport Integrated Management System) which is a database that holds information about driver licences and vehicle inspections.
TIMS allows individuals, dealers, financial institutions or companies to use services search as:
a.) Car Registration
b.) Transfer of car ownership
c.) Change of particulars
d.) Duplicate Logbook application
e.) Reflective Number Plate application
f.) Vehicle inspection
g.) Online car search using either the registration number or the chassis number
h.) They also recently added the ability to book an appointment to get the new smart driving licences on TIMS.
NHIF (http://www.nhif.or.ke/healthinsurance/)
The National Hospital Insurance Fund is a state body that is mandated to provide health insurance to Kenyans over the age of 18.
If you are employed, you have seen a monthly or annual deduction that goes to pay for your medical insurance.
The NHIF website gives you information about what benefits they offer from your monthly deductions as well as give you links to download forms, register online for NHIF, hospital only logins, employer logins, list of hospitals and more.
Kenya Law (http://kenyalaw.org/kl/)
The National Council for Law Reporting is a state corporation in the Judiciary that is responsible for reporting on the development of Kenya’s jurisprudence through the publication of the Kenya Law reports and more.
You can check out a lot of information from the website like publications, information regarding tribunals, laws of Kenya, case search and the Kenya Gazette.
The Kenya Gazette usually contains a lot of interesting information about what the government has approved or new appointments and so much more.
It is a very valuable website and it not only gives information to lawyers, journalists, and the likes, it can also give information to the general public alike.
KUCCPS (https://students.kuccps.net/)
Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) is the body responsible for placing Kenyan students in public universities once the KCSE results are out.
Through the portal, one can access information concerning available programmes in different institutions, programme clusters, preceding cut-off points, weighed cluster points, and the procedure of application.
The KUCCPS portal is an excellent avenue for all students looking to join public universities in Kenya.
After registering, you can also check your admission status through this portal.
TSC (https://www.tsc.go.ke/)
Members of the teaching profession have a lot to thank the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for streamlining and managing affairs of all teachers in the country is one of the fundamental functions of the commission, and that is just but one of the many tasks that the commission does so well.
With the inception of the TSC portal, members of this noble profession can do so much at the comfort of their homes.
The TSC portal allows teachers to carry out the following in relation with their jobs:
a.) Get access to their payslips online,
b.) Register as teachers under the commission,
c.) Fill their wealth declaration forms, as well as
d.) Fill in their TPAD forms, and
e.) Apply for duplicate certificates of registration.
HELB (https://www.helb.co.ke/student-portal/)
HELB loans Kenya (Higher Education Loans Board) is an organization that gives HELB loans, bursaries and scholarships for training at public institutes, which are recognized by the Ministry of Education of Kenya.
Thanks to HELB loans, all Kenyan citizens can empower their dreams by getting an academic degree and embarking on a successful career.
The system is very easy to use. When you register and login you will have access to everything from loan application to allocation and disbursement status.
GHRIS (www.ghris.go.ke)
Government Human Resource Information System (GHRIS) portal is an online platform by the government in which its employees can access their salary payslips anywhere and at any time.
GHRIS has brought efficiency and convenience since anyone anywhere can now download his/her payslip at any time.
This service covers all civil servants in both County and National Government including teachers, military officers, county employees, medical officers.
