Safaricom to partner with the Nairobi County government to create “My Nairobi Hub”, a platform to make access to government services easier
The Nairobi County Government and national telco Safaricom are partnering to offer county services with the app “My Nairobi App”. It will be available from March 2023. The app will be part of the “My Nairobi” hub that provides other digital services and enables citizen engagement.
What is the My Nairobi Hub?
It’s a centralised platform containing an app, website, and shortcode. My Nairobi Hub will provide Nairobi citizens with a one-stop shop for making payments and providing real-time communication. It will also be available through Safaricom’s M-PESA app. For people without smartphones, users will access it via a USSD code.
There will also be a channel where citizens can provide feedback to the county government. It will be called “Bonga na Sakaja”.
Benefits of Safaricom digitisation of county government services
1. Convenience
The digitisation of county services by Safaricom will make them easier to access for end users. In addition, they will operate more efficiently, reducing costs for the county government. The services will reach more people at an affordable cost.
The optimisation will also make revenue collection more effective for the county. The infrastructure will enable higher availability of services. There will be an integrated Traffic and Parking Management Solution. The services will be provided at no extra cost to the county. Citizens will also get credits on the Digifarm platform. It’s a Safaricom-powered financial assistance platform providing farmers with input and discounts.
2. Affordability
There will be a closed user group providing discounted rates between employees.
In addition, there will be better provision of medical care for low-income citizens. The service will provide WiFi connectivity for poor people in low-income settlements and at bus stops.
3. Emergency Services
Safaricom’s hub will make accessing emergency services such as an integrated Disaster Recovery Site easier. This helps Nairobi residents access emergency services.
4. Easier improvement of county services
When running, the Safaricom engagement hub will allow citizens to provide first-hand data about their interactions with the service. This makes it easier for the county to improve service delivery. Citizens will also find public participation easier. The user experience will reduce latency from the county government because they’ll have better access to feedback.
5. Better inter-government collaboration
With overarching government data, it will be easier for other agencies to access necessary data to optimise service delivery. With citizens having better choices and insights, the data gathered from Nairobi County can help other county governments improve how they deliver services.
Improving the citizen’s experience reduces lag when it comes to accessing services. It also reduces labour costs for government offices.
Digitisation provides a cost-effective way for governments to let citizens access services. This additionally improves the quality of life. There is also more transparency for government watchdogs and oversight committees to ensure any revenue leaks are plugged in. Safaricom’s digitisation of Nairobi county government processes will make services more consumer-focused and provide more transparency. This reduces the risk of corruption and better civil-government collaboration.
Hopefully, once this partnership is complete and other counties see the results they will be willing to develop their own apps like the My Nairobi App. Digitalization is always a win for the people so we look forward to more counties digitalizing their services.
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