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Queries as Sh144m missing from e-citizen agencies’ collections
The Auditor General Nancy Gathungu when she appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Energy at the Bunge Tower Nairobi on Monday, November 11, 2024.
At least Sh144 million collected by different government agencies through the e-citizen platform is missing and cannot be accounted for, raising queries of possible embezzlement amid the digital shift of government services.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has sounded alarm over the discrepancies in the actual balances recorded by several ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the year to June 2024, and the amounts shown by the digital receipts generated by the e-citizen platform.
“Review of the e-citizen revenue accountability platform and the revenue statements revealed variances between balances reflected in the revenue statements, e-portal system and the ledger,” noted Ms Gathungu in the latest national government audit report.
The largest difference was in the Alice Wahome-led Ministry of Lands, which received Sh7.237 billion through e-citizen but only had Sh7.1 billion in actual balances at the end of the year, a variance of over Sh138 million.
In its financial statements, the ministry reported a balance of Sh7.239 billion, which is more than both the amount collected through the e-portal and the actual balance it had, indicating an overstatement.
The ministry, through different State agencies and departments, offers 17 services through e-citizen, including registration of architects and surveyors, title deed searches and change, construction permits among others.
Business Registration Services, which has 13 services offered through the e-citizen platform, had system receipts for Sh1.18 billion, but only had an actual balance of Sh1.176 billion by the end of the year, a difference of Sh4.2 million.
This comes amidst renewed efforts by the government to move more digital services online as part of the priorities of the Kenya Kwanza government.
In the year to June 2024, the government onboarded 5,084 more services onto the e-citizen platform, bringing the total number of State functions online to 17,692.
The Registrar of Motor Vehicles is missing Sh2.5 million from its e-citizen collections, as it raised Sh3.635 billion through the system, but only had 2 billion in actual balances.
It overreported its balances by Sh7.8 million, indicating that it had Sh3.64 billion instead of the actual Sh3.632 billion.
Other agencies, which had matching actual balances and e-citizen receipts, had overstated balances painting a picture of higher collections but which could not be verified through actual system receipts.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which collected Sh20.6 billion through the platform during the 2023/24 financial year, reported that it raised Sh20.738 billion although its actual balances were just Sh20.6 billion, an overstatement by Sh128.9 million.
Ms Gathungu also found that the e-citizen platform is still marred by a number of challenges and irregularities that hinder its optimum performance as a tool for accessing government services digitally.
For instance, over the period, about Sh1.9 billion was recorded by e-citizen as partial, incomplete and duplicated payments, which means they were received but not used for the intended purpose by the payer.
“It was not clear why the balance had been classified as partial, incomplete and duplicated and what efforts Management was taking to clear the amount from its records,” Ms Gathungu noted.
The platform is also still controlled by a private sector player and the government has no full control over it, and has to consult the external player for any alteration of the platform including onboarding of new services.
The Government Digital Payment Unit, which is in charge of the platform, has also been in breach of the law as it is not registered as a data controller at the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and has no data protection policy.
It also doesn’t provide quarterly reports on receipts and disbursements as required by Public Finance Management Regulations, again breaching the law.
The Office of the Auditor General is currently doing a special audit of the e-citizen platform, which is “expected to provide highlights on the credibility and reliability of the E-Citizen system including assurance on whether data processed through the system was accurate and complete,” Ms Gathungu said.
