National Treasury PS Kamau Thugge. He insists that the exchequer did not give permission to any private firm to collect funds on its behalf. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP By the time that the government asked the service provider, Safaricom, to stop Goldrock from collecting the money in 2014, more than Sh5.6 billion had been paid through the eCitizen platform.
Documents indicate that it was Webmasters Kenya which built the World Bank-funded eCitizen platform after being contracted by the government.
Webmasters Kenya also argues that Goldrock illegally obtained documents that are now part of the court record.
Ten months after Treasury disowned a firm that had been collecting all the revenue from eCitizen users, the battle for the control of the online portal has taken another twist, with new information indicating that the two firms involved in the Sh5.6 billion saga are related.
In court papers, Treasury principal secretary Kamau Thugge had previously stated that the government did not authorise any private firm to receive eCitizen payments on its behalf.
eCitizen is an online portal through which the government provides essential services such as applications for passports, driving licences, business registration certificates, vehicle logbooks and title deeds but — unknown to Kenyans — the money was going into an M-Pesa paybill account set up by a local company.
SERVICE PROVIDER
By the time that the government asked the service provider, Safaricom, to stop Goldrock from collecting the money in 2014, more than Sh5.6 billion had been paid through the eCitizen platform.
New filings in court in the case where Goldrock wants to control the platform now indicate that Goldrock Capital and Webmasters Africa — the two firms at the heart of the matter — share directorships.
It has emerged that Mr Sidney Ngunyi Wachira, the chief executive officer of Goldrock Capital, is also a director of Webmasters Africa, which subcontracted eCitizen fund collection under mysterious circumstances.
Documents indicate that it was Webmasters Kenya, wholly owned by a Mr James Ayugi, which built the World Bank-funded eCitizen platform after being contracted by the government. It rolled out the online service provision portal in July 2014. FUNDS COLLECTION A few months later, a firm called Webmasters Africa approached Goldrock Capital and subcontracted the funds collection works to it.It was Goldrock which registered an M-Pesa paybill number to which the Sh5.6 billion was sent to by Kenyans seeking government services.But with questions […]