Aasai

The Auditor-General, Ms Nancy Gathungu, has exposed a major flaw in the management of the state digital payment platform-E-Citizen-a a situation that could have caused more than Sh10 billion paid by Kenyans to access public services. In a special audit report presented before the National Assembly, the Auditor-General warned that the platform, which is controlled by its seller, is a risk and strategic threat to the public service. Such weaknesses increase the possibility of deterioration, data leaks, and violations of information security terms, while relevant government agencies fail to take action.

The Deputy Auditor-General, Mr Isaac Nganga, when he presented the report to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (PAC), said the audit not only showed the loss of billions of taxpayers dollars, but also revealed that Kenyans were charged high fees, paying Sh2.6 billion when they used the platform.

 As a result, the PAC has called on key ministries to provide information on public money laundering. Among them are Dr. Chris Kiptoo (Ministry of Finance), Dr. Belio Kipsang (immigration and civilian services), and Mr John Tanui (ICT). "What the Auditor-General has revealed to us today is a disaster," said Alfai MP, Ms Marianne Kitany. And Rarieda MP, Otiende Amolo, referred to the situation as "high fraud." The special audit involved the financial years of 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24, in which you revealed

Significant limitations in the system, including vague repair payments, unimaginable receipts, revenue directed without permission, and illegal release of money from the M-Pesa payment number 222222. Previously, the E-Citizen Forum was a Government project funded by the International Monetary Fund (IFC) of the World Bank, which entrusted Webmasters Kenya Ltd the responsibility to create and maintain it.

 In 2017, the IFC handed over all assets, including contracts and source code, to the Ministry of Finance. However, it was discovered that on January 13, 2023, the ICT Ministry re-entered the agreement with Webmasters, indicating that the control of the forum had returned to the seller without any explanation. "It was not defined how the ownership and control of the E-Citizen platform returned to the seller after it was already handed over to the Ministry of Finance by the IFC in 2017," says the audit report.

Auditor General uncovers massive theft through e-citizen. Now the members of parliament  MPs,  demand a shutdown and a forensic audit of the payment system and  full information and clarity are needed to discover the pure truth in –E-citizen platform