Ruto holds first paperless Cabinet meeting

President William Ruto has for the first time chaired a paperless Cabinet meeting.

The inaugural meeting of 2023 held on Tuesday, January 31 at State House Nairobi saw Cabinet Secretaries use portable electronic devices during the convention.

"Today's meeting was a historic first as our nation’s apex policy-making organ ushered a new dawn in the management of public affairs by transitioning to a paperless system (e-Cabinet)."

Speaking during the meeting, Ruto said the digitisation of cabinet meetings was a clear signal that the Government was going digital.

He said it will enhance service delivery by fostering efficiency and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy in government.

"Kenyans will be able to access government services from anywhere, from their home or offices, without having to go unnecessarily to government offices and wait in long queues," he said.

During the meeting, the Cabinet further considered the progress made in the automation of Government Services which seeks to automate over 5,000 government services within six months.

"In the delivery of public services Cabinet similarly seeks to automate the provision of over 5,000 Government Services within six months. Towards that end, the day’s meeting noted that over the last month over 1,200 services have already been onboarded on e-Citizen," a press release stated.

At the same time, it approved the consolidation of the existing State-sponsored health insurance schemes into a single pool with a harmonized benefits package and provider-payment mechanism/rates.

"The consolidated programme will feature a Health Insurance Subsidy Program (HISP) for orphans and vulnerable children, older persons, and persons with severe disabilities."

This comes a day after Ruto opened the National Assembly Post-Election Seminar and thereafter attended a Conference of the African Prosecutors’ Association (APA) in Mombasa.

• Cabinet