Directive on eCitizen will hurt operations of some agencies

President William Ruto and Principal Secretary for Citizen Services Prof Julius Kibet Bitok during the first anniversary of the e-Citizen Directorate, at KICC, Nairobi on Nov 28, 2024. [File, Standard]

The request by the government for the Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institute (KNDI) to integrate its payment system into the eCitizen platform is neither in good faith nor acceptable. This directive, announced by President William Ruto on November 28, 2024, during the first anniversary of the eCitizen platform, gave agencies like KNDI a one-week ultimatum to comply.

Failure to do so, the President warned, would result in disciplinary action. While the government emphasised the need for transparency in revenue collection and better service delivery, the mandate has sparked concerns about its impact on professional autonomy and the operational stability of self-sustaining regulatory bodies like KNDI.
KNDI operates independently, with no financial support from the government. Despite this, it has established a solid operational framework, funding its activities and providing regulatory services to nutritionists and dieticians nationwide. Directing KNDI to shift to the eCitizen platform creates additional costs and technical challenges, which are impractical without financial or infrastructural support from the government.