The government’s push to digitise services through the e-Citizen platform has transformed public service delivery while dramatically increasing revenue collection, new disclosures show.
According to the Draft 2026 Budget Policy Statement, the platform now generates Sh8.2 billion each month, up from Sh1.45 billion monthly in 2022. The growth reflects the Treasury’s drive to streamline payments, reduce leakages, and make public finance more transparent.
Over the past three years, more than 350 government agencies have joined the e-Citizen platform, offering services ranging from business registration and immigration to land transactions, licences, and regulatory approvals.
“To modernise public service delivery, over 17,668 services were on-boarded onto the e-Citizen platform from over 350 agencies,” the Budget Policy Statement notes.
Launched in 2013 as a pilot between the National Treasury and the World Bank, e-Citizen initially offered just 10 services. Today, it provides over 22,000 services.
The platform has sharply reduced cash handling, discretionary charges, and fragmented payment channels—areas long associated with revenue loss and corruption.
By recording payments in real time and automatically transferring them to government accounts, e-Citizen has closed gaps that previously allowed under-reporting or diversion of funds.
The BPS adds: “The digitisation of extra 5,000 government services on the e-Citizen platform also reduced service turnaround times by 70 per cent.”
Treasury describes digital systems as more than efficiency tools, saying they have become “core instruments for fiscal discipline,” helping expand the tax base, seal revenue leakages, and strengthen financial management.
This comes at a time when Kenya faces revenue shortfalls, rising expenditure, and limited borrowing options. By September 2025, total revenue fell below targets, prompting plans for supplementary budget adjustments.
The Budget Policy Statement highlights the role of technology-enabled collection as a low-cost, politically safer alternative to introducing new taxes.
Functions once handled independently by ministries, departments, and agencies are now more closely monitored through centralised digital systems.
This move aligns with wider reforms, including full e-procurement, digitisation of payroll and pensions, and gradual adoption of accrual accounting.
In the pensions and insurance sector, the government is implementing reforms aimed at broadening coverage, strengthening regulation, and improving efficiency.
“Digitisation and re-engineering of public sector pensions, including the Public Service Superannuation Scheme (PSSS) and non-contributory schemes, are underway to improve monitoring, ensure timely payments, and enhance sustainability,” the BPS notes.
