Belio Kipsang: Govt spends Ksh1.1B per year to maintain eCitizen platform
By Cynthia Lodite, September 9, 2025Principal Secretary of Immigration Belio Kipsang has announced that the government spends at least Ksh1.1 billion annually to service and maintain the eCitizen platform.
According to the PS, the government pays at least three tech firms, one of which maintains the technical aspect, while the second company is for the gateway, and the third company maintains the feedback mechanism through SMS.
The PS made his remarks on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, during an interview with a media house, where he revealed that the government collects up to a billion shillings per day.
“Today we collect up to a billion shillings per day. On this particular system. So in a year, we pay almost 1.1 billion shillings to maintain this system,” Kipsang said.
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He also revealed that the government has been paying a monthly fee of at least Ksh120 million to the three tech firms.
“And I have seen today, on average, on average would be up to the other day, as we start the new year, I think we’ve been paying almost 115 to 120 million per month, which is an average of around 1.1 billion shillings in a year,” Kipsang noted.
Tech firms maintaining eCitizen
He also noted that the three tech firms, which include Webmaster, Pesa Flow, and Olive Tree, were brought on board through a procurement process.
“One for technical, which is the webmasters. Two is for the gateway, which is the Pesa Flow. And three for feedback mechanism through the SMS, which is Olive Tree,” Kipsang revealed.
“These three firms were brought on board through a procurement process. So it is not that we woke up one morning and said, “These are the people who will maintain our system.” They went through a process, and they were identified,” he noted.
On his part, the PS defended the three firms, saying it was easier for them to take up the task, as they had a better competitive advantage, having been the ones who developed the system.
“And one is that it was easier for them, and maybe they had a better competitive advantage, having been the ones who developed the system. And therefore it was easier for them to be able to give the way in which they’ll maintain,” Kipsang stated.
Further adding, “So as much as we have the e-Citizen system and the machinery, we still would go to the service provider, somebody who would make sure that it is maintained; that is the essence of acquiring these three firms.”