Hundreds of tourists visiting the Nairobi National Park were disappointed after the eCitizen platform temporarily collapsed, hampering payment of entry fees.
The tourists, on Saturday, expressed their frustrations via social media after the payment system jammed due to the numerous transactions that were carried out via the system.
As a result, a number of park visitors had to wait in long queues for several hours before they were allowed to access the park.
Technical hitches witnessed were attributed to President William Ruto's directive ordering all government agencies to onboard their services onto the Citizen platform.
After booking entry via eCitizen, the tourists ought to pay via the government's only accredited pay bill, 222222. The pay bill was maintained after Ruto authorised state agencies to collapse all other existing pay bills.
"Please get the eCitizen platform registration process sorted. This is Nairobi National Park Saturday morning, a bigger number of visitors are foreigners," Friends of Nairobi National Park advised on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Reports indicated that some park visitors were forced to wait more than six hours, with some leaving after they were tired of waiting.
"As is usual for most Saturdays, people went to the Nairobi National Park at 6am to catch a few glimpses of the animals before the sun got too hot.
"Unfortunately, some genius somewhere decided that all several thousands of GoK services, including KWS park entrance fees, must be paid for through one pay bill number," Polycarp Hinga, social media influencer and strategist, lamented.
The Park visitors also pleaded with President William Ruto's administration, especially the Ministries of ICT and Tourism, to work on modalities that will fast-track and enhance the system.
"It is now midday, many local and foreign tourists have been frustrated and have decided to head home. Suffice it to say it is not going great. Government of trial and many errors," Hinga claimed.
Consequently, Kenyans.co.ke, reached out to Paul Jinaro, Kenya Wildlife Service Communications Director, who admitted the prevailing challenge but noted that the service will be restored.
"What we have been experiencing since we adopted the new payment system on e-Citizen is what I can refer to as teething problems as a result of technological changeover," Jinaro explained.
The communication strategist explained that the technical hitches were expected due to the nature of the new payment system. Still, Kenya Wildlife Service was tracking the changes and will soon advise accordingly.
He noted the delays were more severe a few days ago when Kenya Wildlife Service reverted to the eCitizen payment system for the first time.
"We can also report that we have seen significant improvements as many visitors continue to use the system to pay for the park services," Jinaro explained.
