The Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy will next week host the Connected Summit in Diani, Mombasa.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo says the conference themed “Endless Opportunities Shaping Our Future” will provide a forum for stakeholder engagement on challenges and propose interventions for optimal uptake of available opportunities in the ICT space.
“It is an important forum because we will come out from that meeting with a clear roadmap as to what we need to do to position Kenya effectively as ICT hub of Africa,” Owalo said.
The CS said the government is keen on maximising on opportunities in the digital space vide the digital superhighway which will involve the laying of 100,000kms of fibre optic cable, establishment of 25,000 free Wifi hotspots, 1,450 digital hubs and digitising government records and services.
“In the same vein, we want to introduce a digital identity so that Kenyans can interface virtually with government in the course of consumption of services.”
Owalo said the government is working on policy review to align the interventions in the ICT space with emerging issues and global best practices.
He said the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act will for instance need to be reviewed to ensure new opportunities in the digital space are utilised within the law.
“We may need to update that a little bit to be in tandem with emerging trends. We will be engaging stakeholders so that we get their input as to what we need to do as a Ministry to align the policy legal and regulatory framework to best practices elsewhere,” Owalo said.
The CS further revealed that the government is keen on adopting paperless transactions in the near future to phase out challenges Kenyans have been experiencing in seeking government services because of low levels of automation.
He said they will utilise the Universal ICT Fund to ensure that areas which are not served with ICT infrastructure have fibre optic connectivity.
“As we do the digitalization, we will ensure that no critical segment of the Kenyan society is left behind. We want to carry aboard everybody,” Owalo said.
