3.5 DIGITAL GOVERNMENT IN KENYA
A digital government framework should holistically
look at the role of ICTs in driving the national de-
velopment goals. By adopting and implementing this
Digital Economy Blueprint, African governments can
generate more revenue; reduce waste; improve Gov-
ernment services and efficiency; increase citizen par-
ticipation in a transparent and trusted environment.
Kenya’s ICT vision is guided by the Kenya Nation-
al ICT Master Plan that is based on Kenya’s Vision
2030, which envisages Kenya as an ICT hub and a
globally competitive digital economy[2]. The Master
Plan has three pillars namely:
i. E-Government services, which aims at ensuring
provision of eGovernment information and ser-
vices as key to improving productivity, efficiency,
effectiveness and governance in all key sectors;
ii. ICT as a driver of industry, which aims at trans-
forming key Vision 2030 economic sectors to sig-
nificantly enhance productivity, global competi-
tiveness and growth; and
iii. Developing ICT businesses that can produce and
or provide exportable quality products and ser-
vices that are comparable to the best in the world.
The Government of Kenya has made great strides
in providing e-Government services. Currently, the
Government is registering all citizens inside or out-
side of Kenya and foreigners residing in Kenya will
soon issue a new digital ID called the “Huduma Nam-
ba” (service number). The Digital ID, which will be
a first of its kind on the continent, involves biometric
registration (digital fingerprints and photo) of all per-
sons in the country.
Kenya’s flagship Government to Citizen (G2C) plat-
form is the e-Citizen (https://www.e-Citizen.go.ke/).
E-citizen is a Kenya G2C portal that provides services
including business name search and registration, no-
tice of marriage, registration of marriage, driving
licenses, land searches and clearances, passport and
visa applications. The system allows citizens to sign
up, apply for government services and conveniently
pay using mobile money, credit cards, debit cards
and online banking. The system also allows foreign
residents to apply for services. Users receive email
and SMS notification every time their application has
progressed.
In addition to e-citizen, Kenya has adopted a one-
stop-shop model (or Huduma Centre). A Huduma
Centre is a one stop shop for various government
services. Huduma Centres are mandated to deliver
governmental services from “a single location and are
amplified by online e-Huduma: e-citizen. As indicated
above e-citizen provides integrated services offered
by various government ministries, departments and
agencies and a unified and integrated channel Hudu-
ma payment gateway to facilitate ease of payment for
government services”.
This Blueprint proposes that a digital government is
a prerequisite for a digital economy. To enhance the
security of the digitised system, there is also a critical
need to authenticate people and/ or businesses through
a digital ID. Digital IDs will enable trust and will pro-
mote other aspects of the digital economy such as dig-
ital business including digital financial services.
[1]
A European Union study estimated that e-govern-
ment (online systems) could reduce costs by 15-20%
while e-procurement systems could save over $100B
per year across the EU
[2] The Kenya national long-term development blue-
print, Vision 2030 (http://www.vision2030.go.ke/)
aims to transform Kenya into a globally competitive
and prosperous nation providing a high quality of life
to its citizens.
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