IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

A Sh500 million project to tighten loopholes in payments, budgeting and procurement transactions in Government has stalled midstream after a technical hitch marred payments last week.

The move raises the possibility of suppliers to government offices not being paid on time, leading to a pile up of unpaid bills that have posed challenges in the past by providing opportunities for fraudulent claims.

As the usage of mobile devices such as phones and computers races ahead of traditional computer internet use, the resulting changes in public service delivery have been dubbed ‘Mobile Government” (M-Government).

M-Government takes public services and makes them available via mobile devices such as mobile phones and Palm Pilots (PDAs), bypassing the need for traditional physical networks.

It is difficult to find the words ICT and politician within the same sentence. The two words have had very little in common in the Kenyan context.

Yet, for ICT to have any meaningful impact on society, it must begin to get intimate with politicians. Getting Kenyan politicians genuinely interested in information technology has continued to be a challenge. It is probably the biggest obstacle towards achieving the full potential of ICT within our society.

While the Internet is changing the world economy, large parts of rural Kenya are losing out on jobs, economic development and civic participation because of inadequate access to the Internet. Broadband should be considered as essential and as commonplace or a "traditional" utility service. In this wake of knowledge economy, development of a nation largely depends upon the proliferation of technologies and utilisation by the people.

The Kenya Transparency and Communication Infrastructure Project (KTCIP) will, among other things, facilitate connectivity for the country’s emerging business process outsourcing industry, support the creation of digital villages in rural and urban areas and accelerate provision of e-Government services.

According to the Information Permanent Secretary, Dr Bitange Ndemo, the deal will enable the government take the burden of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) from the private sector.

This is not the first time the government and the World Bank are partnering to help the BPO sector.

The directive comes at a time when the local BPO sector has been urging the government to lead the way and provide its non-core jobs to third parties to promote the sector.

Kenya’s BPO industry is estimated to be worth $5 million (Sh400m) with the US market accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the business.

The proposed 'e-Transaction Bill' is expected to spur growth in the e-Commerce sub sector and attract investors.

Electronic-Commerce is a means of doing business online, typically through the World Wide Web. It implies that goods and services can be purchased online.

Ministry of Information and Communication PS Bitange Ndemo said the State had set aside Sh670 million to kickstart the project. Private sector players who have expressed interest in being part of the initiative include Kenya Data Networks, Popote Wireless, Telkom Kenya, Celtel and Safaricom.

However, he says the wallet is not home to wads of notes — it houses five important documents that he carries along routinely.

They include his national identity card, a medical card, the National Social Service Fund (NSSF) card, a driving licence, and at times a passport.

Apart from fear of being mugged by thugs mistaking his bulging wallet for a mobile mini-bank, his other worry is the number of offices he would be forced to visit in the event the documents got lost.

The project, Integrated Population Registration system IPRS was designed to be fully implemented in a period of three to four years.

It is currently at its third phase which involves the creation of National Population Register that was launched yesterday.

The government plans to introduce biometric voting by the next election date in 2012, hoping to use technology to streamline the critical process and eliminate corrupt practices.

Biometrics is the term used to describe automated methods of recognising a person based on a physiological or behavioural characteristics.

A new parastatal to spearhead developments in the sector has been set up, and indications are that the Government is considering introduction of tax concessions for ICT investors venturing into the rural areas.

Kenya's public procurement takes about 10 per cent of the GDP. To show how much an efficient procurement system can save the country, Mr Kimunya said that for a GDP of Sh1,234.69 billion in 2006, total expenditure on Government procurement is Sh124 billion annually.

The strategy is expected to introduce an electronic payment system of utility bills such as water and electricity bills.

The initiative, which is supposed to take off beginning the next financial year (July), comes at a time when the government is trying to cut down its budget across the various ministries.

The websites will make it easier to manage finances, including the payroll, National Security minister Chris Murungaru said yesterday.

The Internet will make it possible for Kenyans to vote online and strengthen the ability of the police to enforce rules and fight crime.

The digital technology makes its possible for one frequency channel to accommodate more than one program such that many broadcasters can share one frequency channel.