The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto presiding over the launch of E-Citizen Services at KICC in Nairobi
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- We shall set aside some funds meant to motivate them and others will be hired on contract basis to help the state department of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) fast track this.
- At the time, Dr William Ruto will give this assurance while responding to a flurry of complaints lodged by Kenyans.
- These services were being offered at Divisional or District headquarters. To reach there, one needed to look for bus-fare and would spend a whole day.
- Sometimes you find a long queue and end up not being attended to. So, you are forced to spend the night there rather than travel back home and return the following day.
I watched President William Ruto presiding over the launch of E-Citizen Services at KICC in Nairobi.
This once again demonstrated his commitment to walk the talk.
As we recall, this was one of his campaign pledges.
If elected, I will provide the much needed leadership of ensuring the challenges that hindered Kenya from realizing its full potential in the space of digital migration are addressed.
We know the whole world is going digitally. I will ensure that Kenya is not left behind. It will lead and others will follow. This is by joining the league of powerful nations across the world that were fast rolling out and embracing this technology.
He would mention countries like US and others within the European Union.
In Kenya, we also have experts in this field. The only thing we will do is to reach out to them and tap on their potential.
We shall set aside some funds meant to motivate them and others will be hired on contract basis to help the state department of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) fast track this.
At the time, Dr William Ruto will give this assurance while responding to a flurry of complaints lodged by Kenyans.
These services were being offered at Divisional or District headquarters. To reach there, one needed to look for bus-fare and would spend a whole day.
Sometimes you find a long queue and end up not being attended to. So, you are forced to spend the night there rather than travel back home and return the following day.
These delays were caused by the fact that much of this work was done manually.
Besides, the machines for processing some of these documents were old and at a time they would break down.
Speaking at the launch, President William Ruto assured Kenyans that the problems they encountered will now be a thing of the past.
Today, I’m delighted to announce we have digitized 5,000 services. You will only need to have a phone and get the service that you need by a click of a button.
For me, President Ruto’s message was clear. If, for instance, you want to renew your driving license or apply for a Good Conduct, you will just click the relevant App.
Once you make the request, you will be guided on what to do next.
If you were required to give your personal details, the Form will be immediately sent to you. You will fill it and then re-send it back.
Once the information is verified and found to be correct, you will be served immediately. You will get the document you had applied in a matter of seconds.
However, it is worth to note this. It is not all documents that will be processed immediately.
Some personal information will need to be subjected to a thorough verification. This is because of national security reasons.
The Certificate of Good Conduct processed and issued by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is one of them.
Once you fill the information online, you will be required to present yourself in person at DCI headquarters.
Your finger print will be taken. If you are a law abiding citizen, there is nothing to worry. You will receive your certificate online in the next few days.
Those applying for Identity Cards (IDs) would go through almost the same process. The only difference is that they will not be attended to by DCI.
They are required to present themselves to registration centers located at the offices of sub-county commissioner and county commissioner, respectively. The fingerprints will be taken. Once this is done, the ID will processed.
To me, the launch of E-Citizen services resonated very well with President Ruto’s bottom-up economic transformation agenda.
The citizens of this great Nation will no longer waste time and spend money to look for these services.
As they say, time is money. Instead, they would engage in gainful activities that would better their lives and contribute to the growth of the economy.
After the launch, I said. I will now wait to hear what the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Party leader Raila and his brigade will say.
This is because they known to oppose everything that the President was doing.
If they opt to oppose E-Citizen, this will once again do more harm than good to their political ambitions. This will give more credit to the views held by many Kenyans that they did not believe in their cause.
They were just taking them for a ride. These leaders were pursuing selfish and personal interests and so they were out to use us as conveyor belts.
Once they have their way, they will abandon us like a hot potato.
E-Citizen is a noble idea. It will help all of us. Why oppose it?
A time has come for Azimio leader to tone down on political rhetoric. He should accept the bitter truth that Dr Ruto defeated him at the ballot and move on.
As the leader of opposition, he ought to know he is leading an alternative government. As such, he is supposed to support the government of the day when it has done the right thing. He is also duty bound to correct them when they go wrong.
He ought to engage them in a structured and constructed dialogue. This is what happens in mature democracies. Raila should change the tack if he truly believes he is a democrat.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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