Up to 5,000 government services can now be accessed through digital means in Kenya since President William Ruto launched a dedicated platform called 'Gaba Mkononi' to fulfill his promise last year to accelerate the country's digital transformation efforts. Now you can. Gaba Mukononi is a local expression meaning “government contact”. Speaking at the launch of the platform at the Kenyatta International Conference Center in Nairobi, Ruto also directed two ministers to ensure that the process of issuing digital IDs begins within the next 90 days.
Digital government platform eliminates inefficiency
According to Ruto, the new platform will facilitate access to various government services by giving users access to digital signatures that they can sign for the services they seek, The Star writes.
According to the President, this novelty will improve the efficiency, transparency and customer satisfaction of services such as payments to the national treasury, tax registration, civil registration and online transactions. Part of the idea is to prevent cash payments that would make public services unavailable within a month.
He said a program is planned to train the public on how to access and use digital signatures.
The platform will also be made available to long-marginalized communities in Kenya, Capital News quoted the president as saying. He asserted that even users without smartphones can access the platform.
Your new digital ID will be issued within 90 days
While assuring that more government services will be digitized in the coming months, Mr Ruto assured Minister of Interior Kisre Kindiki and Minister of Interior for ICT and Digital Economy Eliud Owalo that the issuance of digital IDs would be It requested that it be started within the next 90 days.
The President took some time to emphasize the importance of the new system to replace the controversial Huduma Number system. He blasted Fuduma Namba as being unnecessarily expensive and riddled with fraud and red tape.
“Huduma Namba was a complete fraud because we suffered a loss of nearly 15 billion.” [Kenyan] shillings (US$106 million), but there was little to be gained from it. You can get a digital ID without spending 15 billion and without deceiving Kenyans. Those who did that should be ashamed,'' ITWeb quoted Citizen TV as saying, expressing Ruto's lament.
Plans for the rollout of new digital IDs in Kenya were discussed in detail at the ID4Africa Expanded General Assembly held in the Kenyan capital in May. The country is seeking the expertise and cooperation of the National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan (NADRA) and possibly India's UIDAI for this project.
Article topics
Africa | Digital Government | Digital Identity | Government Services | Huduma Namba | Kenya
