In his state of the nation address on May 2nd, President Uhuru Kenyatta said his government has and will continue to digitize government services in order to seal loopholes used by corrupt individuals.
“To deepen good governance, we have continued to digitize key services to seal loopholes used for fraud. And I expect the new officials now in offices charged with prosecution and investigation mandates to bring cases against the most powerful and privileged, to show Kenyans that none of us is above the law. I urge the Judiciary to do its part in ensuring that orders are not frivolously used by the wealthy and corrupt individuals to avoid justice. I urge you, Hon. members, to give us the legal tools we need to win the war against the lords of the graft.” Kenyatta said.
Well, digitization of government services is just one of the ways of curbing corruption but only to a small extent. It will take more than digitization of services to end corruption in Kenya. A person with corrupt morals using a computer will still manipulate data and steal money. Like they say, the garbage you feed the computer is the same garbage that it produces. Two incidences have proved to us that digitization of services is not really the key to ending corruption in Kenya.
They include:
1. ifmis
The government came up with integrated financial management information system through which government firms make financial transactions. It is operational in both national and county governments. This was meant to help reduce cases of theft but it has proved otherwise. We have heard of large sums of money being swindled through ifmis. The current National Youth Service (NYS) scandal is also believed to have happened through ifmis.
2. e-citizen
Another platform which many Kenyans use to make payments is the e-citizen. It has made payments very easy and convenient for many Kenyans. But it has not proved to be entirely efficient. Corrupt individuals have also taken advantage of this portal to swindle taxpayers' money. In November last year, the treasury disowned a firm which had allegedly been contracted to collect revenue on its behalf from the e-citizen portal. Sh5.6 billion was reported to have been lost in this multi-million scandal.
Digitization must go hand in hand with good morals for it to end corruption in Kenya. Kenyans must take the fight against corruption to the doorsteps of their hearts. They must resist the temptation of stealing and receiving stolen money. It is the only way we can end this menace.