The government is targeting to collect at least Ksh1 billion daily revenue on eCitizen by December by increasing subscribers to its digital services platform to 30 million.
Speaking on Wednesday during the NADPA Conference in Windsor, Kiambu County, Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok said the targets up from the current Ksh 700 million from 13 million users will be driven by ensuring all eligible Kenyans obtain an ID which is required to register an eCitizen account.
There will also be an aggressive publicity campaign to promote the benefits of eCitizen, such as the convenience of 24-hour access to over 16,000 online government services, regardless of the customer’s physical location.
“On average, we are enrolling about 20,000-30,000 people every day. We are at 13 million and we’re looking at the entire population of Kenya which is 32 million adults. We are halfway and within one to two years, we should have everyone with a digital ID,” said Bitok.
Prof Bitok said the elimination of vetting committees for the issuance of IDs along border communities beginning this month is meant to make it easy for every Kenyan to access a digital National ID and the attendant benefits.
“We have removed vetting for identity documents which is an effort to ensure no Kenyan is left out or discriminated as far as getting the documents is concerned,” the Immigration PS stated.
The government is also banking on the new digital Identity card also known as the Maisha Card and its supporting ecosystem to provide a registration regime that is more secure from forgery and identity theft.
According to the PS, the Unique Personal Identifier also known as the Maisha Namba which will be a lifelong number will negate the need for different government institutions to collect personal data that is prone to breaches.
“There are four components in this digital ID ecosystem. Maisha Number, given to newborns which will run across their lives, in primary school, secondary, university, NSSF, and NHIF and will appear in one’s death certificate,” he added.
To protect the large volumes of data involved in eCitizen operations, the PS said periodic data impact assessments, data safety audits, and compulsory MoUs with third-party data handlers are being undertaken.
The Data Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait, said her office was happy with efforts undertaken by the State Department to safeguard data security and privacy concerns.
