• The implementation will be guided by 2019 Digital Economy Blueprint to achieve the Kenya Vision 2030.
• Mucheru also said that with the current digitalization, the government has rolled out over 300 government services available in e–citizen platforms.
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The Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Joe Mucheru, has urged public institutions to embrace digitalization and leverage innovation to improve service delivery in their institutions.
Citing innovation as the new frontier of creating value and solutions to present challenges, Mucheru noted that the digital transformation journey that the government has embarked on will support enhanced service delivery in government institutions.
The implementation will be guided by the 2019 Digital Economy Blueprint to achieve the Kenya Vision 2030.
According to the Mucheru, digitalization of government services is also aimed at driving the country's knowledge economy, supported by laws such as the Data Protection Act 2019 which guides the use and management of electronic data and Business Laws (Amendment) Act No. 1 of 2020 which seeks to enhance the ease of doing business in Kenya.
Speaking at the Konza Technopolis – Intel Corporation Forum Themed Accelerating Government Digitalization or the realization of Vision 2030 held in Mombasa, the CS lauded the institutions that have embarked on the digitalization process adding that they will be competitive regarding service delivery to the public.
“I am glad that you took part to create this dialogue because it is very critical. As a country, we need to embrace technology to move to the next level and I think it is great that many corporations are determined to move forward,” he said.
He added that organizations must keep up with the trends in digital markets to drive the economy.
“I want to challenge organisations to look into the online market and leverage on the opportunities available on the internet. We are in an era where people are creating solutions online that are now trading with attractive returns. This goes to show that indeed we can support with job creation in the digital space,” he added.
Mucheru also said that with the current digitalization, the government has rolled out over 300 government services available in e–citizen platforms and the technology is saving time and money for many citizens.
On his part, Eng. John Tanui, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), said that the engagement with Intel Corporation and government entities on digitalization will be an annual event to evaluate the initiative's progress.
"We have agreed with Intel Corporation that this will be an annual event aimed at bringing the private sector on board to work with government in this digital transformation journey. Each organization is committing to championing a journey for our country to be ranked top in digital operations and service delivery," Tanui said.
While noting that at the end of the conference, all participating organisations will have clear action points towards digitalization, Tanui added that Konza Technopolis is already hosting several institutions at the Konza National Data Centre and they will be looking forward to hosting more institutions, both public and private.
His remarks were supported by Eng. Patrick Obath, Chairman of the National Oil Corporation of Kenya, who noted Konza Technopolis’ National Data Centre as an infrastructure that can be utilized to accelerate digital transformation by both private and public institutions.
During the event, KoTDA Chairperson, Arch. Dr Reuben Mutiso led over 40 Chairpersons and Chief Executive officers drawn from the public sector on a discussion geared towards accelerating digital transformation in the government.
According to the 2020 Gartner report on digitization, 80 per cent of government organisations are still at the initial or developing digital maturity stages.