NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 — The National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo amid concerns on financial reporting from the government’s E-Citizen platform.PAC issued the summons on Wednesday after it emerged government departments remained in the dark about revenues generated from services they provide.Lawmakers said the lack of transparency raises serious accountability concerns over billions of shillings collected through the digital platform, which hosts hundreds of government services.The legislators resolved to demand Kiptoo’s appearance after Solicitor-General Shadrack Mose admitted, during a PAC sitting, that his office, which oversees revenue from services such as the issuance of marriage certificates, does not receive financial reports from E-Citizen.“E-Citizen does not give us a report,” Mose told the committee when pressed to account for revenue collected by the State Law Office in the 2022/2023 financial year.The revelation drew sharp criticism from PAC Chairperson Tindi Mwale (Butere), who immediately directed that Dr Kiptoo appear before the committee to explain how revenue from E-Citizen is managed and why earlier recommendations on reporting have been ignored.“The PS must come and shed more light on this matter because it affects multiple government departments,” Mwale said.Accountability questionsPAC members expressed frustration at the Treasury’s persistent failure to implement previous recommendations, including mechanisms to enhance financial reporting and accountability across ministries and agencies.Turkana Central MP Joseph Namuar questioned whether revenue from E-Citizen reaches the exchequer, while Aldai MP Maryanne Kitany raised concerns about transparency.“We are talking about billions of shillings in public funds. The reporting mechanism of E-Citizen is wanting,” Kitany said, also demanding clarity on where the platform is domiciled and how collections are tracked.Rarieda MP Dr Otiende Amollo warned against downplaying the matter, calling it systemic and long-standing.“It would be idle of us to treat this as routine. The Treasury should have acted as far back as 2017,” he said, urging the committee to formally demand an explanation for inaction.Audit findingsAccording to Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu’s 2022/23 report, Sh116.83 million was collected from fifteen of the thirty-four gazetted marriage centres, leaving revenue from the remaining nineteen unaccounted for.The report attributes this gap to the State Law Office’s failure to prepare and submit quarterly and consolidated revenue reports from county and sub-county offices.“In the circumstances, the existence of effective internal controls that ensure all revenues are collected and reported on in a timely manner could not be confirmed,” the audit reads.The audit also found that the State Law Office continues to rely on Deputy County Commissioners (DCCs) and Assistant County Commissioners (ACCs) to conduct and register civil marriages, despite the Marriage Act requiring these duties to be performed by Registrar of Marriages appointed by the Cabinet Secretary.Mose cited frequent staff transfers of DCCs and ACCs as a barrier to effective record-keeping and compliance with the law.PAC warned that digital platforms must not become “black boxes.”“Digital platforms must not become black boxes. The public has a right to know how their money is being handled,” Mwale said.