Public Universities to Avail All Services on eCitizen
In an effort to meet the state’s deadline for transitioning to the online portal, public universities will shortly make over 1,000 of their services available on the eCitizen platform
Senior administrators from 47 public universities, including vice-chancellors, are assembling in Athi River to conclude the implementation of admissions procedures in accordance with President William Ruto’s directive.
As part of President William Ruto’s directive authorizing all government entities to embrace digitization, more than a thousand services provided by public universities will soon be accessible via the eCitizen portal.
On June 30, President Ruto mandated that all public institutions, including universities, digitize their services by the end of the year.
In addition to reducing the cost of time and money for clients seeking government services, the campaign is anticipated to reduce corruption and revenue-eroding theft, which are estimated to cost the government millions of shillings.
In accordance with this directive, Vice Chancellors and other senior administrators from 47 public universities convened on Thursday, August 10 in Athi River to finalize onboarding admission procedures and other essential services.
Principal Secretary of Immigration Julius Bitok, who presided over the retreat, enumerated the advantages of digital migration and added that universities could now monitor online and real-time revenue collection from student payments and other services provided by the institutions.
He added that the digital migration initiative would coincide with the rollout of the digital and Unique Personal Identifier number, which is scheduled for release before the end of the year.
According to the PS, the digitization of all institutions would further enhance their transparency and accountability. Thus, all pupils will have access to all university services via Gava Mkononi, the government’s eCitizen mobile application.
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He stated that they believed that once all the services are available on the platform, a student who wishes to pay for a meal or a book can do so through the phone, enabling the university to receive the funds in real time.
By joining the Citizen platform, universities will help the Kenya Kwanza administration reach its revenue goal of Ksh4 trillion by June 2027.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Ksh2.166 trillion in revenue during the 2022–23 fiscal year, compared to Ksh2.031 trillion during the previous fiscal year.
Bitok stated at the retreat that they are currently collecting Ksh2.1 trillion, but they anticipate collecting Ksh4.5 trillion through the implementation of technology to enhance tax collection.
He also emphasized the intention to eradicate corruption, acknowledging the presence of numerous leakages.
He added that they would also generate employment opportunities, as the Gava Mkononi app was planned to be introduced in every village, operating through a mobile money framework.
Bitok reaffirmed President Ruto’s directive to implement a uniform pay bill by August 31, 2023.
On June 30, 2023, the chief of state mandated that all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies collect revenue for government services using a single pay bill number. This resulted in the termination of more than 1,448 pay bill numbers.
Over 5,127 government services are presently accessible through Citizen, and an almost identical number is slated to be available online end-to-end by December 2023.
Public Universities to Avail All Services on eCitizen
