Apply for marriage certificates online on E-Citizen, PS Bitok reveals the 5000 state services digitized

Principal Secretary of Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Bitok

The Principal Secretary of Immigration and Citizen Services, Julius Bitok, says that the e-Citizen portal gives people access to more than 5,000 state services, such as getting a marriage certificate or new license plates.

The Principle Secretary (PS) stated on Friday in Nakuru, when he was closing a session on the digitalization of infrastructure by the national and county governments, that 5,318 services can now be accessed via mobile phones, with the government targeting a doubling of that figure by the middle of the year.

The workshop was all about how the national and county governments can improve their services by making them more digital.

"Marriage is one of the examples of services that have gone digital," Professor Bitok said.

"If you are interested in getting married, you can now apply for a marriage certificate from the comfort of your phone. You apply online, go for interviews, and get your marriage certificate online."

Digital service solution providers and telecommunications companies, led by Safaricom, were also present at the conference, which lasted for three weeks and included the onboarding process for the services on the e-citizen platform.

According to Professor Bitok, the fact that digitization simplifies processes is one of the technology's most significant advantages.

He also said that the e-Citizen platform would lead to lower prices for services because people wouldn't have to go to government offices in person or spend time there.

"One of the most significant advantages that digitization offers is a reduction in the costs of the services that the government must deliver to its residents."

"You can now access the services from the convenience of your phone rather than having to take a matatu from point A to point B and pay Ksh200 to go and the same amount to come back in order to get them," explained the PS.

The administration is also anticipating that the digitization effort would boost the daily e-citizen income collection from the current level of around Ksh. 80 million to a level that is more than 10 times that amount, which would be Ksh. 1 billion daily.

President William Ruto gave an order to the State Agency for Immigration and Citizen Services, which is in charge of e-Citizens, to make it easier for people to use a number of government services. This order required that more than 5,000 services be digitized.