ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo has said that only 12% out of 6,000 Government Services across Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and County Governments are fully digitised and are available through end-to-end digital channels.
Kabogo told the Senate Information Commission Technology Committee that 30% of the services are partially digitised, requiring a combination of online and manual processes, while the remaining 58% continue to be delivered primarily through manual processes.
Additionally, only 12 per cent of government services are fully integrated across relevant systems and institutions, underscoring the need for enhanced interoperability, process re-engineering, and the adoption of shared digital platforms to achieve seamless end-to-end service delivery.
“In terms of digital service delivery performance, the average online transaction completion rate was found to be 37 per cent, indicating that a significant proportion of users are unable to complete service transactions entirely through digital channels,” said Kabogo.
An assessment done established that government institutions collectively manage approximately 635 million physical records; however, less than 10 percent of the records have been digitised, highlighting continued reliance on paper-based records management systems across the public sector.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey sought to know the number and categories of Government services that have been digitised through platforms such as eCitizen, and asked Kabogo to indicate the extent of integration across Ministries, Counties, Departments, and Agencies.
Kabogo said the government has prioritised digital transformation as a strategic pillar for enhancing public service delivery, transparency, accountability, and economic growth, and through the eCitizen Platform, the Government has established a single digital gateway that enables citizens, businesses, and visitors to access services online anytime and from anywhere.
The Cabinet Secretary told the Senate Committee, chaired by Trans Nzoia Senator Allan Chesang digitisation initiative has significantly reduced service delivery timelines, increased accessibility, improved transparency, enhanced government revenue collection and enhanced revenue traceability.
“As a result of the digitisation of government services, revenue grew from a very low average daily collection of Sh50 million when collections were fairly manual to an average daily collection of Sh600 million post onboarding of 22,000 services on the eCitizen platform. this translates to a revenue of 1200%,” said Kabogo.
He said that the National Government has progressively onboarded County Governments onto the eCitizen platform to facilitate the delivery of devolved services and enhance county revenue collection. In total, about 450 services have been onboarded from the few county Governments so far on the platform. This means, therefore that there is still some work to be done regarding onboarding Counties.
Cherarkey sought to know the measures in place to ensure interoperability of digital systems across government institutions, including integration with foundational registries such as the National Registration database and other relevant systems.
Kabogo said that his ministry is implementing a Whole-of-Government approach to ensure that digital systems across Ministries, Departments, Agencies and County Governments are able to communicate securely, exchange data efficiently and support integrated service delivery.
“The main objective of the Whole-of-Government approach is to move Government from fragmented and stand-alone systems to an integrated digital ecosystem that reduces duplication, improves coordination and enables citizens to access services more efficiently,” said Kabogo.
The Nandi Senator sought to know the details on the implementation and operational status of the eCitizen Digital Payments Platform, including revenue collected to date, safeguards against revenue leakages, and audit mechanisms.
Kabogo said that the eCitizen platform was originally developed and managed by private vendors, with the government relying heavily on external contracts for system maintenance and revenue collection. In 2022/23, the government initiated a formal transfer process from the private vendor to the ICT Authority (ICTA).
He said this was framed as part of Kenya's broader digital transformation agenda, ensuring state ownership of critical infrastructure with transition involved contract review, definition of responsibilities among involved government agencies, and procurement adjustments to bring the platform under ICTA's operational control.
“I would like the Cabinet Secretary to elaborate on the legal and policy frameworks guiding digitization, including alignment with the Data Protection Office and compliance with the Data Protection Act, 2019,” asked Cherarkey.
Kabogo responded that Digitisation is a cornerstone of Kenya’s digital transformation agenda, which is aimed at enhancing service delivery, fostering innovation, and positioning the country as a regional technology hub.
He said that effective digitisation requires a robust legal and policy environment that safeguards citizens’ rights, ensures institutional accountability, and aligns with international best practices. Central to this framework is the Data Protection Act, Cap. 411C, administered by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
Cherarkey asked Kabogo to outline the cybersecurity frameworks and safeguards deployed to secure Government digital infrastructure, including incident response mechanisms and collaboration with relevant national security agencies.
Kabogo said that the Government has undertaken comprehensive institutional, legislative, and operational reforms to strengthen national cyber resilience and secure the country’s digital transformation agenda through a coordinated whole-of-government approach.
“The Ministry is mandated to spearhead the development, operationalisation, and management of the National Cybersecurity Infrastructure, including implementation of Government-wide cybersecurity policies, standards, and national cyber resilience programs in close collaboration with security and law enforcement agencies,” said Kabogo.
