Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo has dismissed allegations of financial impropriety flagged in a recent Auditor General’s special report on the eCitizen digital payments platform.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee on Thursday, August 7, Kiptoo — accompanied by Immigration PS Belio Kipsang and ICT PS John Tanui — defended the government’s management of the platform, which has faced scrutiny over alleged discrepancies exceeding KSh 10 billion.
Kiptoo termed the audit findings incomplete and misleading, saying the special audit process did not allow the Treasury to provide clarifications before conclusions were reached.
“We are subject to audits, but this special audit didn’t allow for engagement or feedback before conclusions were drawn,” he told lawmakers. “We’re equally invested in getting to the bottom of this.”
He explained that eCitizen operates under Executive Order No. 2, with all revenue management guided by the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2012.
Addressing concerns over ownership and data security, Kiptoo assured the committee that the platform is hosted in a National Treasury-managed data center. He added that all third-party vendors and their obligations were fully disclosed in the initial contract and reaffirmed during the system handover.
“There was full disclosure of third-party arrangements and liabilities related to eCitizen at the time of contracting and during the handover process,” he said.
The Auditor General’s report had also questioned the use of flat-rate convenience fees, which allegedly contravened gazetted prorated charges. Kiptoo acknowledged delays in implementing the revised structure but attributed them to technical challenges rather than administrative negligence.
