The Directorate of eCitizen under the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services has announced the restoration of normal operations on its online platform following a temporary disruption earlier today.
According to Isaac Ochieng, the Director-General of eCitizen, the platform experienced hitches caused by an internal network issue that affected its operating system.
“Our technical teams have successfully resolved the problem, and the platform is now fully operational,” Ochieng confirmed.
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He acknowledged the inconvenience caused to users and expressed gratitude for their patience and understanding during the disruption.
“We remain committed to providing convenient, reliable, and accessible government services,” he added.
The eCitizen platform is a critical digital gateway for accessing various government services, and its functionality is integral to delivering efficient public services.
Users seeking services through e-Citizen continue to face payment challenges due to slow processing, leading to delays in accessing services and long queues.
It was meant to ease access to public services by enabling Kenyans to apply and pay for them at their convenience, away from the frustrating bureaucracies in government premises.
However, several months after the government announced the transition of all its services to the e-Citizen portal, it has been chaos and confusion for millions of Kenyans who can’t access the services they so desperately need.
When they do, it is with more difficulty than before. e-Citizen has aggregated more than 19,000 public services and created a single mobile payments account through which people pay.
In a high-profile complaint recorded last year, about the digital payment platform, German Ambassador to Kenya Sebastian Groth on Thursday expressed frustration over the slow payment process on the platform after experiencing delays in accessing Watamu Marine Park.
“I really like #Watamu Marine Park for a nice snorkeling tour. BUT: getting the ticket via eCitizen is more difficult than seeing the big fish,” Mr Groth tweeted.
