President William Ruto's goal of collecting school fees through eCitizen has continued to encounter obstacles including from the chairperson of the National Assembly's Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, Jack Wamboka.
Addressing a congregation in Bungoma on Wednesday, Wamboka, who also serves as Bumula MP, vowed to lead his committee in pushing back against the directive.
The legislator argued that the directive was punitive to Kenyan parents and questioned the rationale behind the aggressive push to ensure school fee payments are channeled via the consolidated government platform.
"Mr President, when you say it is unstoppable for people to pay school fees through eCitizen, you are hurting Kenyans," Wamboka told the congregation.
"As the PIC Chair, we shall reject the directive because we want the government to be respectful. They are already charging in the health sector and rolling out CBC."
A week ago, the Ministry of Education directed all students attending national high schools to pay school fees through eCitizen.
The Ministry headed by CS Ezekiel Machogu explained that the directive was in line with President William Ruto's plan to consolidate state payments through a single pay bill number, 222,222.
The new directive, therefore, is expected to protect the school fees from corrupt teachers and accountants long accused of creating imbalances on institutions' balance sheets.
Wamboka argued that with a Ksh50 fee the State charges per transaction, Ruto's administration stood to benefit from a colossal amount of money while disadvantaging parents.
"When you charge a fee of Ksh50 on eCitizen and we have nearly 10 million Kenyans, how much money is that? Stop making money from the poor," he added.
Shortly after the directive was issued, the court halted the rollout until a case filed challenging the directive was heard and determined.
On Tuesday, February 13, Justice Chacha Mwita extended the orders stating that the government would not be affected in any way whatsoever by the suspension pending the hearing and determination of the case.
