IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The portal will allow users to compare information at national, province and county levels. Users will also create maps and other visualisations and directly download data on their computer or mobile phone.

The Kenya Open Data Portal uses published data from various ministries on indicators like government spending at national and county level, Constituency Development Fund budget allocation and the status of projects in the county, data from the national census capturing demographic and development information, as well as the location of key infrastructure in the county, such as health facilities and schools.

Kenya says the ongoing digital infrastructure upgrade will triple the number of IT professionals in Kenya and boost the adoption of e-government across all ministries, reports Business Daily. ICT secretary Joe Mucheru said more online jobs will be created once all government departments embrace e-platform. The platform will also make information on health, agriculture and investment readily available for quick decision, the minister said last week.

Muchero spoke when he ushered in 400 management trainees currently enrolled in the twelve-month Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP) that is jointly managed by private sector players. Mucheru said that ICT staff in government would also spearhead adoption of ICT in the counties where county governments are currently involved in laying infrastructure for both Wi-Fi and broadband services. He welcomed the public and the private sector partnership saying it would inculcate a working culture among ICT and engineering graduates from local universities.

The Mundeku Digital Village is the brainchild of Gibson Shiraku. "With this facility, the children of this area will become skilled in ICT [information and communication technology] and will not have to travel to Nairobi or other towns and cities to acquire such skills," says Shiraku.

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said the use of fibre optic cable in Kenya will enhance business process outsourcing and software development.

He said that Kenya is at the threshold of becoming a digital economy which will be instrumental in building and broadening the investment base in the country and its neighbours who are benefiting from the connectivity.

Kenya Data Networks (KDN) and ICTvillage.com have unveiled a model digital village centre in the sprawling slum, the first in an expansive roll-out of similar units under the Sh210 million digital villages project.

“Digital Villages” are actually communication centres to house computers, fax machines, scanners and Internet connections for local residents. The Kenyan government wants to bring the centres on board so that people outside of urban areas will have access to information, in step with the government’s rollout of e-government services.

The move makes Kenya the first country in Africa to implement a real e-governance system. The Kenyan government launched the opendata website last week and released several large data sets, including statistics on government spending at the national and county level, to enhance transparency in governance and access to information.

The strategy when implemented will see Internet connectivity increased countrywide and transform the country into a knowledge-based economy driven by a nationwide broadband network.

The government has underscored that deeper collaboration with Japanese partners will directly support Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

This came during a high-level Kenya-Japan workshop hosted by Konza Technopolis, under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy (MICDE) in the smart city.

This strategic event focused on establishing areas for digital and technology collaboratiom between Kenyan companies and Japan enterprises.

Kenya is an economic engine for East Africa, but its rise on the global stage has long been stunted by corruption.

Now, though, it's making progress against the old-fashioned scourge through new-fangled IT. The solution is simple, but powerful: Remove bureaucrats through "e-government."

Citizens can now access data and participate in constitutional implementation process as well as hold the government accountable, President Kibaki said.

The government has released several large datasets, including the national census and statistics on government spending at national and county level to enhance transparency in governance and access to information.

Collusion to fix Internet connectivity prices coupled with lack of willingness to reduce charges by ISPs in the region has forced the Kenyan government to slap a four-month deadline to cut down the charges or face an official price cap.

The Kenyan government's directive is the first of its kind and is likely to influence other countries in the region to impose similar directives in order to make the Internet cheaper and more accessible.

It is not an altruistic endeavor however, as both companies hope the move will see their profit margins increase, after prices wars have devastated the countries telecom sector in recent months.

This new battle has analysts worried that it could quickly become a pitted battle between companies if efforts are not made to ensure price wars on e-health services do not begin.

The Kenya Information and Communication Technology Board said at a press conference that they approved 37 applicants who demonstrated “various business ideas ranging from youth training, electronic library services, website development, software development to teacher training and KCPE/KCSE online registrations.”

The revolving fund, which is run through the Kenya ICT Board Digital Villages Project (DVP), started disbursing funds in 2011 and is aimed at addressing disparities in the information flow between rural and urban areas. In the first round, 37 Pasha Managers were awarded loans, and a total of KES 47.9 million was approved for disbursement in April 2011. To date, KES 34.4 million has been disbursed through Family Bank, which is the administering institution for the fund.

According to ICT Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang’i, the process shall be complete by April 2, 2014 and is aimed at improving accountability, efficiency and transparency in Government transactions and prevent revenue leaks,

He said electronic payments have been proven to boost economic growth, while advancing financial inclusion.

Six years ago, the World Bank teamed up with the Kenyan government to launch an ambitious digital villages project, commonly known as "Pasha."

The project was met with a lot of optimism mainly because the government had just unveiled the Kenya ICT board, comprised of private sector executives earning Word Bank-level salaries, and expectations were high. The idea was to set up a digital center in each of the 210 constituencies in the country. The centers would provide digital services, mainly government services, allowing people to reduce the distance they needed to travel in search of government services.

The Kenya ICT Board Centre of Excellence Project, announced in July, seeks to develop an international standard curriculum that will set the standard for BPO workers in Kenya and bridge the skills gap prevalent in the Kenyan outsourcing industry.

Previously eGovernment was under the Office of the President, which was expected to drive IT adoption across government by the virtue of being under the office.

HumanIPO reported last year South Korea, which is considered a global leader in e-government, had signed a similar deal with Kenya’s neighbour Uganda.