GOVERNMENT | Kenya Deputy President Launches 2 Digital Platforms to Boost Government Transparency and Efficiency

Kenya has introduced two innovative digital platforms aimed at enhancing the transparency and efficiency of government operations. The new systems, named:

• The Presidential Directives Management Information System (PDMIS), and
• The Foreign Travel Management Information System (FOTIMS)

are designed to modernize how presidential directives and foreign travel approvals are managed for senior government officials.

At a launch event, Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, highlighted the significance of these tools in the government’s broader digital transformation agenda. He explained that the platforms are expected to increase efficiency, transparency, and accountability within the government.

“The FOTIMS platform will streamline the application, processing, and approval of foreign travel for public servants, ensuring a more prudent use of public resources and better accountability for travel-related expenses,” Deputy President Gachagua said.

He also noted that PDMIS will play a crucial role in tracking and implementing presidential directives more swiftly and effectively.

Eliud Owalo, Kenya’s Deputy Chief of Staff, underscored the importance of the new systems in promoting good governance.

“The PDMIS and FOTIMS platforms are central to advancing accountability and effective governance. By managing and tracking presidential directives and automating foreign travel approvals, these systems will significantly enhance transparency,” Owalo stated.

The PDMIS system will be exclusively accessible to cabinet secretaries and principal secretaries, allowing them to download directives through their designated portals. This move eliminates the need for physical copies of directives, thereby reducing paperwork and streamlining communication.

Meanwhile, the FOTIMS platform replaces the traditional manual approval process for foreign travel with a digital solution. This shift ensures that all travel requests are justified and that resources are managed efficiently.

The Kenyan government has expressed its commitment to using technology to improve governance, with these new platforms expected to play a key role in modernizing public service delivery.

As reported by BitKE, in September 2018, the Kenya Government, under the Kenya Blockchain and AI Taskforce, instituted in February of that year [2018], was hard at work looking for opportunities and ways in which newer technologies like blockchain and AI can be applied in government.

Some key developments highlighted at the time included:

• Track and trace of supply chain for imports and exports
• Creation of a single identity
• Creation of a local cryptocurrency
• Creation of a regulatory sandbox

In 2023, the Kenya government introduced a new digital identity scheme to replace the Huduma Number. It is not clear how different the new scheme will be from the Huduma Number but the ICT Minister said to refer to it just as a digital identity.

Huduma Number was reportedly built on blockchain.