NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 6 – Deputy President William Ruto says the government will digitize all its payment systems as it seeks to enhance efficiency.
Ruto said the plan to phase out cash payments should be completed within the next six months.
“As opposed to what has happened over the years where the only mode of payment for government services has been cash, we want to make it possible in the next six months one can pay through M-PESA, credit cards, in every conceivable way on a digital platform,” he said.
Ruto said this will see the government enhance its revenue collection by 30 percent and reduce corruption in the public service.
He says that government has mobilised all the ministries to see this come to reality.
“It’s not necessary to go and queue at the Attorney General’s office to pay for business name or queue to get rates clearance for your piece of land, or to pay for a certificate of good conduct. It should be possible for us to have all those payment applications online,” he said.
Ruto was speaking during the launch of the Online Transactional Mining Cadastre Portal at the Ministry of Mining.
The portal records and manages all types of licenses from exploration to production and issuance of titles for these licenses.
On his part, Mining Principal Secretary Patrick Omuita said the issuance of mining licenses and rights will be done in three months from the current 18 months following the adoption of the online portal.
Omuita said the portal will enhance efficiency and transparency in the issuance of mining licenses.
He said It’s a transparent tool that includes a public interactive map of all mining licenses indicating exact location, ownership status and tenure with Investors able to apply online anywhere, anytime.
“Those investors who are used too hording blocks of mineral rights, their hording time is no more, from today because everybody will know who has been hording an area and is not working on it,” he added.
In the last seven months the ministry has collected about Sh700 million in royalties and targets to collect a Sh1 billion by the 2014/2015 financial year.
