The e-citizen scandal in Kenya

The next scandal to rock Kenya. As Kenyans suffer economic hardship, President William Ruto's silence on the multi-billion dollar e-Citizen scandal is causing outrage and deepening mistrust. The Auditor General's shocking revelations regarding the misappropriation of Shillings 9.4 billion from the e-Citizen platform; an audit has produced a damning report that the funds were illegally diverted and disbursed to "foreign" companies and private entities. The report, submitted to the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, describes how the digital service platform may have led to a total loss of Shillings 9.4 billion and how it was used to illegally charge Kenyans Shillings 2.6 billion in fees for using the platform. With millions of Kenyans struggling to make ends meet, struggling with high living costs, unemployment, and relentless tax increases, a shocking revelation has gripped the nation. The loss of 9.4 billion Kenyan shillings related to the e-Citizen platform is primarily attributable to a questionable contract between the Kenyan government and a consortium of three companies (Web Masters Kenya Limited, Pesaflow Limited, and Oliveree Media Limited). These companies operate the e-Citizen platform, which runs 22,000 government services and generates approximately 700 million shillings daily. In the fiscal year ending June 2024, the service providers earned approximately 1.45 billion shillings from fees and maintenance costs. The contract contains a controversial exit clause that gives these companies the right to shut down the platform if the government terminates the contract, which could jeopardize control of critical data. Members of Parliament and committees have serious doubts about the legality and transparency of this deal, which also poses security and financial risks for Kenya. There is criticism that those responsible at higher levels of government were not sufficiently involved in the contract negotiations. In addition, Kenya has a generally deep-rooted corruption problem that also affects large sums of taxpayer money, which in many cases can lead to loss or waste. Political scandals and opaque financial flows are common, making the situation complex. In short, the money largely went to the private companies operating the e-Citizen platform under a controversial and controversial contract, fraught with oversight and transparency issues. This poses financial and security risks to the Kenyan state. Even more deafening than these facts is President Ruto's silence. The self-proclaimed champion of a "digital government" and a "ruthless fight against corruption" has not uttered a single word since the scandal came to light during a hearing of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this week. Now, following a damning report by the Auditor General, former Chief Justice David Maraga has called for the publication of all domestic and foreign bank accounts allegedly used to siphon billions of shillings from eCitizen. The presidential candidate also demanded that the owners of these accounts be publicly identified and prosecuted under existing laws. Maraga accused the government of impunity and called for the immediate resignation of all officials implicated in or connected with the reported irregularities. In the report, Attorney General Gathungu uncovered a series of irregularities at eCitizen, including the illegal collection of Ksh2.1 billion via the Ksh50 transaction fee for accessing government services on the platform.   According to the special report on eCitizen published in March, the government illegally increased transaction fees, contrary to instructions published in Official Gazette No. 9290/2014 of December 23, 2014. The audit revealed that the Ministry of Finance continued to charge a processing fee of Ksh 50 per transaction, instead of the officially set nominal administrative fee per transaction, which should have been a pro rata percentage of the amounts paid. The report also uncovered the illegal diversion of funds from the mandatory 222222 payment invoice for government services to private accounts. The bank statements showed that four transactions were made from the paybill account to private companies instead of the specified clearing account totaling Ksh 127 million. Another damning revelation of the report was the payment of over Ksh 492 million for services provided to improve the system to a company that was not a party to the contract. Meanwhile, Maraga assured that the public will not tire of seeking answers, adding that Kenyans will not relent in their quest for accountability and good governance. The eCitizen platform currently powers 22,000 government services and collects a whopping Ksh 700 million daily. 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