The government government has announced that it is in the process of developing a plan to transition all music copyrights and royalties payments to the eCitizen platform.
The announcement was made on Sunday, February 11, by Public Service, Performance, and Delivery Management Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria through his official X account.
According to the CS, the government aims to amend the Copyright Act to establish a government-operated Collective Management Organization.
Under this proposed system, each artist will have control over their royalty payments.
“The government is spearheading amendments to the Copyright Act to create a government run Collective Management Organisation. All music, copyrughts and royalties will be paid through E-Citizen. Our artists will be individually registered. They can view online how much money is collected. Siku 40 za wezi wa jasho ya artists zimeisha,” Kuria said.
The decision to integrate music royalties payments into eCitizen follows a directive issued by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, stipulating that all government services must be accessible through the eCitizen platform, and service fees will be applicable as of December 14, 2023.
The directive has seen the University of Nairobi direct all staff and students using the cafeteria to make payments through eCitizen.