DG Calls on Counties to Be Proactive in Supporting ICT Investments

The  County Governments should be more proactive in supporting ICT investments in their jurisdictions, CA Director General Ezra Chiloba has said.

Speaking during the 8th Devolution Conference, which also marked the 10th anniversary of the devolution in Kenya in Eldoret, Mr. Chiloba observed that different policies adopted by Counties were hampering the effective deployment of ICT infrastructure by private investors.

He noted that some Counties had instituted fiscal policies that were scaring private investors in their jurisdictions, evidenced by the prohibitive way leaves charged for deploying ICT infrastructure in the devolved units.

‘‘We think the County Governments need to have a more facilitative role in encouraging investments in their respective Counties when it comes to providing ICT services,’’ said Mr. Chiloba.

The Authority used the forum to showcase projects implemented through the Universal Service Fund (USF), which has connected 750,000 people across 127 sub-locations. So far, 108 towers have been deployed, while 117 other sub-locations are currently being connected.

The Authority has also connected 884 public secondary schools to the Internet and established 56 e-resource centres in partnership with the Kenya National Library Services.

The CA is also partnering with the ICT Authority to roll out about 2,500 km of last-mile fibre connectivity across 19 underserved and unserved Counties.

To enhance universal access to justice, the Authority is supporting the automation of the Judiciary, where 47 courts have been earmarked for connectivity with Local Area Networks (LANs).

The CA and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) are currently working on a project to digitize educational content and avail it to all learners on a portal. It also partnering with the Kenya Institute of the Blind (KIB) to create educational content and provide assistive devices to visual-impaired learners.