IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The new funding which will increase financing under the Kenya Transparency and Communications Infrastructure Project (KTCIP) to Sh14 billion ($169.5 million), will enable the country to consolidate the gains it has made in the ICT sector.

Such information is necessary to create awareness and sensitise Kenyans on preventable or treatable diseases.

Kenyans will soon be able to get information on diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and epilepsy on their mobiles phones through a partnership by Safaricom, the Ministry of Health, and five associations that create awareness and support patients and families with the diseases.

Utilising a mix of private-public partnerships and government funding, the State hopes to roll out a minimum of five new service portals in the next year that will allow citizens to access a wide range of services using the Internet or mobile phone.

“The amount of information that State and local governments have to capture, manage and deliver continues to grow , the only option is for the country to embrace technology as an enabler for government services,” said Bitange Ndemo, Information permanent secretary.

Already, 4,300KM fibre optic cable has been laid out since 2009. In the second phase all 47 County Governments are earmarked for connection.

NOFBI Phase 2 is funded through USD72.5 million loan from EXIM Bank of China, through a concessional Government to Government loan agreement and M/S Huawei Technologies of China is the project contractor, delivering from a tried-and-tested business model.

He was speaking yesterday in Nairobi while launching a two-day workshop on e-health. The conference seeks to discuss ways of integrating m-health into e-health.

Principal Secretary Joseph Tiampati said the ambitious e-government project will connect 28 counties through a high capacity network providing voice, data and video capability to connected government offices in a secure manner.

The announcement comes two days after the government signed a Sh1.2 billion loan with the Belgian government to finance the project.

If things pan out as planned, mobile penetration will increase from the current 75.8% to 90% in 2018 while wireless broadband will grow to 10% within the next five years from the current 2.4%.

The government is in the process of developing a national land use policy to regulate the planning and use of land for sustainable development, Land Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has said.

Prof Kaimenyi observed that sound land governance is fundamental in achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday commissioned two key projects at the Konza Technopolis, signaling the Government’s commitment to the completion of the country’s first smart city.

The President, who was on an inspection tour of infrastructure projects implemented by the Government and partners at the technopolis, inaugurated an eight-storey headquarters of Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA).

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is counting on cutting-edge technology to prepare a new and more accurate voter’s roll.

With memories of the botched disputed 2007 election still fresh, IEBC is approaching the voter registration knowing full well that a botched voter registration process could have negative consequences for the credibility of the coming election.

President William Ruto on Monday launched the Phase 1 infrastructure and smart city facilities at Konza Technopolis.

Themed “Powering Kenya’s Future – A Smart City Open for Investment,” the event signified the operational readiness of Konza Technopolis as a fully enabled investment destination and innovation hub driving Kenya’s digital and knowledge economy.

Falling under the directorate of e-Government services, it comes when manual records are being upgraded into electronic forms, rasing the possibility of increased cyber crimes.

It will take charge of electronic security on government systems, including the telecoms infrastructure and data storage, migrating from an arrangement where individual ministries and departments were in charge of cyber policing.

The government is keen to take Internet to rural Kenya to allow it offer services such as registration of births and deaths, passport issuance and tax collection under the e-Government plan.

While the government objective is to boost internet penetration and electronic commerce, private players who have been aggressive in laying similar cables reckon that the multibillion shilling plan will hurt their investments.

The association's CEO Peter Ndoro yesterday said they plan to integrate ICT and ensure they add value on learning.He said that under the Education Device Acquisition Programme, the association will partner with Microsoft Corporation, Intel East Africa, Safaricom Ltd, Mitsumi Computer Garage and Equity Bank to buy the laptops.

Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru said the exercise would help determine the actual number of public servants.

"This will also be used to cleanse the payroll at both levels of government, hence bring a stop to the issue of ghost workers," said Waiguru in a statement.

President uhuru Kenyatta will launch the exercise Nairobi even as the Kenya Civil Servants Secretary General Tom Odege warned the government against victimizing innocent workers who were hired competitively in the rationalization programme.

In a programme launched on Wednesday by the National Council for Law Reporting -- Kenya Law Reports (KLR) and all parliament proceedings in the Hansard will be relayed to www.kenyalaw.org

In the programme KLR has partnered with Kenya National Assembly, Kenya Information Communication (ICT) Board and Google search engine to digitise more than 1,750 editions of parliamentary debates from 50 years ago.

“We kill too many trees. I’ve been to countless meetings now where I cringe at the amount of paper in front of me. We have iPads, we should start using them, but we have to create the platform in the background that provides things digitally and in a format that we can easily got through the information. There is no need to be printing tons and tons of paper anymore,” said Mr. Suckoo.

Speaking in Nairobi yesterday, Planning Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti said the Capacity Assessment and Rationalisation of the Public Service (Carps) will be followed by restructuring, which will see workers redeployed to areas that match their skills and experience. The registration is expected to be completed in October.

What you need to know:

• Smart cities are urban settings planned technologically to improve quality of life and services, enhance security, and collect up-to-date data.
• For urban centres to function efficiently in the coming years, experts urge that they be designed to withstand climate shocks.

Climate change and the increasing urban populations are creating new demand for smart cities with capacity to provide efficient services while using resources sustainably.