Garissa lobbies reject county’s allocation of bursaries to MCAs
They say move disrupts separation of powers and leads to favouritism by ward reps
1mon agoSTEPHEN ASTARIKONorth-eastern
An ICT resource centre has been set up in Hulugho subcounty, Garissa county to enable youth access online services.
The centre also seeks to help residents to access e-government services such as KRA Pin registration and also apply for online jobs.
Hulugho ward MCA Adow Omar said Sh1 million was spent to set up the centre.
He said the hub has a 5G WiFi and an instructor to man it.
It will also train youth on ICT and can accommodate about 10 learners at a go.
Adow said he is paying a watchman to guard the facility.
He said the move he took the initiative to ensure the youth are occupied and safeguard them from the risk of falling prey to drugs and illegal activities.
The resource centre is the first such public facility established in the entire Garissa County.
The hub was officially opened Omar and Hulugho OCPD Joseph Munene.
Chiefs, assistants chiefs, departmental heads and local elders were also present.
Former ICT CS and now deputy chief of staff in the office of the President Eliud Owalo last year urged MCAs to establish ICT hubs in their wards to advance the country’s digitisation.
Owalo said MPs have amended the NG-CDF Act to permit the construction of ICT hubs at the lowest level of government.
“I urge voters to question their MCAs about the ICT hubs as a reminder that the digital dream is being realised nationwide for the benefit of our youth, enabling them to participate in the growing world of technology,” he said.
Owalo said the national government’s role will be to deploy devices, train the youth, connect internet cables and link the youth to digital jobs.
He said since the start of digitisation a year ago, more than 300,000 youths have been trained and more than 1,000 digital jobs have been created.
The former CS said within the next two years, 2 million digital jobs will be generated.
Owalo said ICT offers many job opportunities for the youth to realise their full potential unlike traditional white-collar jobs.
He said job opportunities are readily available with just a click on a computer, eliminating the need to travel abroad.
Owalo said the digital space will be transformative, committing addressing lack of job opportunities.
The national government plans to
install 150 ICT hubs.
