Issuance of driving licences to go online next month

Driving licences seized during a past crackdown of defective public vehicles. Application for new driving licences is set to go online next month. PHOTO | FILE 

 IN SUMMARY

• The move is a part of a wider government plan to offer all its services online through the eCitizen portal.
• Payments for the services will be made using mobile phone-based transaction services such as M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Orange Money, PesaPal and even credit cards.
• Citizens can access the eCitizen portal through mobile phones, laptops, and desktop computers linked to the Internet. 

Renewal and application for new driving licences is set to go online next month as part of the government’s roll out of web-based systems to ease service delivery and curb corruption among civil servants. 

Payments for the services will be made using mobile phone-based transaction services such as M-Pesa, 

 Airtel Money, Orange Money, PesaPal and even credit cards.

“From next month renewal and application of new driving licenses will be online. We are currently talking to all mobile operators to come with a single paybill number that will be used by all mobile phone uses regardless of their respective networks,” Mr Harry Ruhiu, the chairman of Digital Payment taskforce secretariat told the Business Daily in an interview.

Other services that are currently available online but can still be accessed by visiting the relevant ministries or 

 agencies include business name registration, notice of marriage, business name search and issue of certificate of good conduct, among others. 

Citizens can access the eCitizen portal through mobile phones, laptops, and desktop computers linked to the Internet. 

Mr Ruhiu said that the government intends to have its 3,000 services online and is targeting to upload at least a set of five every week. To access the eCitizen portal, consumers or business entities will have to create their accounts. 

For individuals, they will use their names as they appear on the IDs and the ID numbers while businesses will use their business names.

Once the registration is successful, the users will get SMS and email notifications every time they are transacting, updating them on the progress of applications. 

“Driving licenses renewal and application are now fully online. Those who don’t have phones with Internet access can get the services in Pasha centers or Huduma centers,” Mr Ruhiu said.

Francis Meja, the director-general of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), said the move will enable them clean the data they have and include fresh details such as mobile phone numbers and email addresses that were previously not captured.

“The cost of applications won’t change. However, we expect speedy delivery of services, those who were forced to travel long distances can now do it in the comfort of their homes or at cyber cafes,” said Mr Meja. 

Lack of proper communication channels to applicants saw NTSA return 1,883 driving licences last month and 2,573 logbooks after their owners failed to collect them from post offices countrywide.

“The logbooks are currently kept at the Registration and Licensing Department at Times Tower building. We appeal to owners of the returned logbooks to arrange to collect them,” he said in an advertisement placed recently in the local dailies.

Nairobi leads in the number of returned driving licences with 802 uncollected; Rift Valley 297; Central 264; Meru 203; Mombasa 160; Eastern 117; Western 29; Kisii 4; Kisumu 4 and North Eastern 3.