MPs Push for Cancellation of Multibillion e-Citizen Deal Over Contract Loopholes

Members of Parliament are calling for the cancellation of the government’s multibillion-shilling e-Citizen platform contract after identifying serious loopholes that they claim primarily benefit suppliers while exposing taxpayers to financial risk and potential data breaches.

The parliamentary Administration and Internal Affairs committee has raised alarm over what they describe as a “lopsided contract” that handles hundreds of millions of shillings in daily government service payments but was signed by junior officials without the necessary oversight signatures from key government authorities.

Missing Signatures Raise Concern

According to committee members, the contract conspicuously lacks the signatures of the Attorney-General—the government’s chief legal advisor—as well as Cabinet Secretaries from the National Treasury and Interior Ministry, despite the platform’s immense financial implications and security considerations.

“You cannot have an agreement to which trillions of shillings are going through without the signatures of the Attorney-General, the Cabinet Secretaries of the National Treasury and the Interior Ministry. It is scary,” revealed one committee member.

Instead, the agreement was signed by Stanley Kamanguya, CEO of the ICT Authority, on behalf of the government and witnessed by Thomas Odhiambo, acting director at ICT Authority, and Isaac Ochieng, the Director-General of e-Citizen.

Auditor General Conducting Special Audit

The call for cancellation comes as the Auditor General conducts a special audit of the platform following discrepancies noted in the 2023/2024 financial year audit.

The report highlighted variances of Sh44.8 billion between “balances reflected in the revenue statements, e-portal system and the ledger.”

“The special audit is informed by the current strategic importance of e-Citizen in the financial architecture of the government,” states the Auditor General’s report, adding that it would “interrogate both IT and physical security, governance arrangements and the adequacy of the controls in place.”

Contract Duration Ambiguity

MPs also raised concerns about ambiguities in the contract terms.

While the agreement is supposed to run for three years from 2023 to 2026, it does not specify exact effective and due dates—a loophole that parliamentarians fear “could be explored at the government’s expense.”

Data Security Risks

Perhaps most alarming to the committee is a termination clause that potentially puts government data at risk.

The contract stipulates that if terminated, “the suppliers shall be entitled to rescind, withdraw or otherwise uninstall all their proprietary infrastructure and resources including all technical infrastructure and resources whether software or otherwise defined in the Service Level Agreement.”

Kisumu West MP Rozzah Buyu criticized Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Dr. Bellio Kipsang for failing to provide the required contract information in a timely manner, despite multiple requests since last year.

“We oversight you on behalf of the people. Kenyans want to know where the money they pay goes,” said MP Buyu during a committee session.

The Consortium Behind e-Citizen

The e-Citizen ecosystem is supported by a consortium of developers registered as Electronic Services Solutions (ECS) LLP, which includes:

– Webmasters Kenya Limited: Responsible for support, maintenance, and customer care services
– Pesaflow Limited: Handles payment matters in accordance with the National Payment System Act of 2011
– Olive Tree Limited: Manages bulk messaging, security support for notification services, and revenue mobilization

The consortium was represented in the contract by James Ayugi, CEO of Webmasters Kenya Limited, with signatures from Evid Araka, director at Pesaflow Limited, and James Kabiru, director of Olive Tree Media Limited.

As parliamentary scrutiny intensifies and the special audit continues, questions remain about the future of Kenya’s primary government digital payment platform that processes billions of shillings in public funds.

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