E-Government Development in Kenya

The Kenyan Government attaches great importance to the digital transformation of public administration. One of the pillars of the National ICT Master Plan 2014–2017 (extended till 2022) was the development of e-Government services. This resulted in the creation of the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), an integrated security surveillance system, a citizens’ portal, as well as the launch of a citizen's portal for land titles, a smart driver’s licence system, and e-procurement systems. In addition, the Government Data Centre (GDC) Private Cloud facility was upgraded.

Following the completion of the previous national digital plan, the ten-year Kenya National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032 was launched in 2022 with overarching objectives that include developing Kenya as a leading ICT hub and a 'globally competitive digital economy'.

After announcing in December 2022, that in six months all public services would be accessible online (as of March 2023, according to the President, 2,800 public services were available online), on June 30th, 2023, the Kenyan President William Ruto officially launched Gava Mkononi app with more than 5,000 e-services.

Private Kenyan companies, along with international organisations and multinational corporations such as the UN and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), also invest in assisting the development of the Kenyan e-Government. 

Despite the high level of development, a single design for public services platforms has not been developed yet. Integrated identification has not been fully implemented—individual registration is required for most systems. On some platforms, a Swahili translation is available, and a number of sites (for instance, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate) provide automatic translations of multiple languages (including Tamil, Chinese, and some European languages).

Nevertheless, improvements can be suggested regarding the implementation of the stated functionalities, in addition to meeting basic user needs.

Rankings

As of 2022, Kenya ranked 113th in the UN E-Government Development Survey (compared to 116th in 2020), with an EGDI of 0.56. This places it in the top five African countries. 

According to the World Bank GovTech Maturity Index, Kenya was among the countries with significant focus on GovTech with GTMI amounting to 0.745 (compared to the Sub-Saharan average of 0.394).

Integration of Public Services

The eCitizen platform was launched in 2014. The eVisa and eBusiness modules allow Kenyans to access public services such as driving licence renewal, passport applications, business registration, etc (a total of 48 services). Users can check the status of their applications via SMS or email. Since January 2023, it also facilitates payments for services (such as applying for national IDs, passports, driving licences, visas, business permits, filing of taxes, etc) through banking apps and mobile money. A unified authentication is utilised to access the services on the platform.

Source: eCitizen

On June 30th, 2023, the President officially announced the launch of governmental app Gava Mkononi which allows citizens access to more than 5,000 public e-services using their National Identification Number.

Source: e-Citizen - Gava Mkononi app

e-Taxes

iTax is a system introduced by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to simplify tax payment in Kenya. iTax allows users to update tax registration details, file tax returns using Microsoft Excel or Open Office, register all tax payments and monitor the application status.

G2B Services

The Micro & Small Enterprises Authority platform is an information resource only; it does not have authorisation and does not allow visitors to apply for support programmes. 

Identification and Biometrics

The National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) is a system designed to create and manage a national population register as a single source of information about Kenyan citizens and foreign residents in the country. All registrants will have a service number known as a ‘Huduma Number’ and hold a Huduma Card. The system has not been fully implemented, as a significant part of Kenya' population has not received the cards. In January 2023, Kenyan President William Ruto highlighted the importance of deploying a digital identity system by the end of the year.

During the 2013, 2017, and 2022 presidential elections, biometrics for voter registration and identification were implemented, as were electronic machines for transmitting results. In 2022, more than 55,000 electronic machines were deployed across the country for identifying voters and sending results. However, there is still a strong distrust of the use of ICT during elections due to alleged failures of the electronic voter identification system and the results transmission system.  

Healthcare

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) portal allows users to register new products, indicating ingredients, country of origin and other information, raise appeals, etc. However, the service lacks confirmation of the accuracy of the information provided by the user at the first stages of registration.

The website of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (a Kenyan state corporation with a mandate to provide health insurance to Kenyans) provides information on insurance and hospitals broken down by categories (such as cancer hospitals, CT-Scan hospitals, Rehab hospitals, etc). There is also the NHIF SelfCare Platform, where Kenyans can select a facility, and the My NHIF app. A platform for making online doctor appointments and digital medical cards has yet to be implemented.

Source: NHIF

Education

Online public services in the field of education are currently limited to the National Education Management Information System platform, which contains information on students’ performance, class attendance, mobility (transferring from one school to another), as well as teaching materials. The system also tracks all the institution’s incomes and expenditures. However, it is not integrated with Kenya Education Cloud, a platform for posting educational content implemented by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD). 

Source: Kenya Education Cloud

A school digital pass system that allows users to check all school passes and purchases, add funds to students' personal accounts to pay for meals, and set a limit on daily spending on the card is yet to be implemented.

Public Procurement

The Public Procurement Information Portal, provided by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), serves as a hub for publishing contract awards and tender notices. It allows users to view and download tender documents, but only government procurement entities can register in the system.

Source: Public Procurement Information Portal

Transport

In February 2023, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced that the Kenyan Government plans to implement an Advanced Passenger Information (API) system and e-Gates. The API system will be integrated into the international immigration system and will provide information about passengers arriving in Kenya.

Citizens Participation

It is possible to file a complaint via the Complaint Management Information System (CMIS) accessible through the Commission on Administrative Justice website, which offers a unified submission form as well as updates on the complaint status via email or phone. The service was created with the support from the German Agency for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).

Data Management and Infrastructure

The adoption of cloud services is led by the private sector . Nevertheless, the Kenyan government has invested in the adoption of cloud services by establishing the Kenyan Government Data Centre in 2011 under the ICT Authority project. The aim of the project was to support public services and facilitate access to government data. According to research conducted by the Communications Authority (CA) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in 2016, almost 36% of government institutions in the country were already using some form of cloud service (with 44% planning to deploy a service), compared to the 23% adoption rate among businesses in the private sector. According to the 2022 Kenya Data Center Market Outlook to 2027F, the Kenya data centre market is expected to grow by 21.6% annually during the period 2022–2027.

In 2022, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that Kenya will host one of two mega data centres in Africa. The centre's multiple high-bandwidth servers will enable faster access and ensure better protection from cyberattacks.

Authors:

Olesya Kalashnik, research fellow

Nikolay Golovko