The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary, Julius Bittok, has said that government on course in digitising all its services. Amb. Bitok said that through automation, government services will be made available even in remote areas without travelling long distances, creating opportunities for people to build trust in their government. He added that 2,560 services have been digitised end-to-end, with 5,000 services at various stages. ‘New skills for data and new technology are fast changing; the central challenge for e-citizens is how to harness technological changes for the public good so that service delivery is enhanced and hence improved livelihood,’ he said. Speaking today during the closing of a two-day sensitization workshop on e-Citizen at a hotel in Machakos County, the PS said automation of government services will enhance revenue collection and seal most leakages, and all the money that belongs to the government will be secure. ‘This means that government services will undergo a re-evaluation of our approach to service delivery on development matters and citizen change of attitude on our services,’ he said. ‘The need for greater efficiency and continuous improvement is not just about adding new skills, people, or equipment, but also looking at how to reprioritise and reduce work that is less relevant,’ he said. ‘We have a duty to continuously strive to deliver better value for money, demonstrate impact through advanced evaluation, and harness rapid technological changes for the public good,’ he stated. The e-citizen Director General, Amb. Isaac Ochieng, said that the government will close down all over 1200 e-citizen gateway pay bills serving 2,560 services to one Pay Bill number 222 222, stating that they were expensive for the government and not worth the value they were created for. He assured Kenyans that they will enjoy government services as there will be no interruption of departmental services; all services should be online in the next six months. Ochieng said the service will raise the bar on spending controls to be more assertive in using spending controls to improve the quality of services in all government departments and agencies by December this year. ‘The new service delivery will change the trends in revenue collection and give the government visibility on one platform but not one server,’ Ochieng said. ‘Officers must be transparent in government services; services are available at the convenience of the citizenry,’ he added. He said e-citizen uses a multi-agency team, with one government approach to collaboration that is not limited to within the government or the public sector but with other stakeholders. ‘We already work with a range of commercial suppliers and private sector organisations who share our goals and values; Telcos and local banks are already onboard to partner with us,’ he noted. Ochieng said the service has undergone a digital transformation and is now cybercrime-controlled; no hackers will have access to the system as it is safe and secure, and no one will sabotage the system. The workshop drew participants from 50 government agencies and stakeholders.
Source: Kenya News Agency