Barrack

I don't really understand what you mean by the 'the days of Kenswitch'. Kenswitch was great progress in its days and I'd say one of the earlier attempts at bringing Fintech to the general public.

I'd suggest we don't throw the baby with the bath water. My final word on this:-

1. One government gateway is not a phenomenon that is unique to Kenya. Singapore, the UK, and India are some of the examples that this has been implemented. Let me reiterate - We DON'T NEED TO PAY FOR PAYMENTS. Fees for Payments are a race to zero. This will happen even in the private sector. Consolidation into a Unified Govt Payment Gateway is efficient. In fact, far from what my brother, Victor Kapiyo, may think...😅 a payment gateway is not equivalent to a bank account so let's not compare apples to oranges. 

2. Execution, Execution, Execution. That is the problem. So guys, let's not see goblins around the corner every time the government wants to do something! Let's rather view this issue without jaundiced eyes and let's help the government in this endeavour. 

I'm sure the Mandarins at MOICT are reading these conversations with the interest they deserve. 

Regards

Ali Hussein

Fintech | Digital Transformation                                


Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

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Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.


On Tue, Aug 22, 2023 at 2:47 PM Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> wrote:
@ Ali, imho the myriad of payment solutions were a response to challenges citizens face when making the payments. I see the presidents point in minimizing leakage of funds. I think this act returns us to the days of Kenswitch.

Best Regards

On Tue, 22 Aug 2023 at 13:40, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Barrack

Curious. How would this government decision stifle innovation? On the contrary, this creates a great opportunity for the Fintech Ecosystem to innovate on top of the Gateway.

Here's my concern (and I suppose that's the reason some people are going to court! 😅) :- 

For how long are we going to pay for payments? Why would someone charge you for making a payment? This is not something we have asked as Kenyans...time we do! 


Ali Hussein

Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim



   

On Tue, 22 Aug 2023, 1:33 pm Barrack Otieno via KICTANet, <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
@mwendwaKivuva asks. What level of autonomy do State Corporations have? I guess that’s the prerogative of the government to decide. I see the point in JBs comments and @ Ali Hussein’s comments as well. Just wondering for debates sake again whether such a move would stifle innovation in the fintech sector since government is a major spender. 

Best Regards

On Tue, 22 Aug 2023 at 13:25, Ohaga JB via KICTANet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Thanks Ali.

I, however, beg to differ that this should be designated as a nuisance case. Public participation ought to have been conducted for such a far reaching decision to be undertaken. Senior Mwenda has asked whether public participation is sought when public entities open/close accounts, the answer here is an emphatic no, because those decisions are often limited to the administrative elements of those specific institutions, they do not affect the entire government revenue collection system in a manner that the President's directive will.

One question that I've been thinking about that relates to this is, when counties collect their own revenue, they usually retain that for usage within the counties themselves. So what happens when the national govt decides that revenue will be collected in one pot? What happens to the county specific revenue? What will be the mechanism for accessing this money by the counties? Remember, county share of the revenue is often 3 to 4 months late, and what helps counties run in the interim is the own revenue that they collect. But if this is not the position in the President's directive, then this needs to be clarified, which is why that court case is timely. There are way too many unanswered questions up in the air.

The directive might be well intentioned and might actually be good, per Ali's point, but it needs to be backed by law and citizens need to have a say on how their revenue is collected and managed. As Thatcher loved to remind us, there is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers' money and tax payers should have a say on mechanisms for collection and management of their money if they're expected to keep paying it.

Regards,
JB.

On Tue, Aug 22, 2023 at 12:50 PM Ali Hussein via KICTANet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
That is a great point, @Mwendwa Kivuva. I actually think that this is a nuisance case. However, having said that here are my thoughts about this issue of the Government Payment Gateway:-

1. It's a great initiative and one we should support. 
2. Unfortunately, whoever is implementing this is making shoddy work out of it! This will eventually deprive the government of revenue or at the very least delay revenue and create unnecessary opportunities for 'alternative' payment models. 
3. This is a Project Management and execution issue, not a court case issue! 

Regards

Ali Hussein

Fintech | Digital Transformation                                


Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

LinkedIn: Ali's Profile










Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.


On Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 8:21 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via KICTANet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
For the sake of debate, is there public participation when a public entity is opening or closing a bank account? What level of autonomy do state agencies have in running their operations?

On Mon, 21 Aug 2023 at 16:30, James Mbugua via KICTANet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers,

Two petitioners have gone to Court seeking to reverse President Ruto's directive for all government services to be paid for through  a single Paybill number.

The petitioners want it quashed for want of kegality/Constitutionality because:

- That the directive is not grounded in the PFM or any other Statutory Act.
- That there was no public participation regarding the same
- That it does not distinguish, as it should  between County and National government services.

We're the Court cases regarding the eCitizen payments system resolved by the way?

Regards,

JG

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