Many people in the African region are largely yet to exploit the benefits of ICT services due to prohibitive costs of installation of the technology despite the positive developments the continent has realized.
Stakeholders have noted that the major challenges inhibiting improved access to cost effective ICT services are uneven and fragmented implementation of policy and regulatory framework’s across the continent to promote competitive markets among member states.
However, the Kenyan Government is striving to create an enabling and suitable environment for ICT development to thrive, Principal Secretary State Department for ICT & Digital Economy Eng. John Tanui said.
He observed that the initiative will help in reaping the benefits of the digital economy which include the creation of job opportunities, facilitate ease of doing business and trade, quality health care, quality education, efficiency in delivery of public services and boosting the region’s long-term competitiveness.
He made the remarks when he presided over the opening ceremony of the 3rd steering committee meeting for Enhancement of Governance and Enabling Environment in the ICT sector (EGEE-ICT) Programme in East Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region.
Eng. Tanui in his keynote address called on the need for the continent to expanded digital infrastructure to avail more services online.
He said that the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy has committed to digitalize all government services, lay 100,000km of fibre optic cable across the country under the Digital Superhighway, install 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, establish 1,450 digital village smart hubs and studios and enhance cyber security management, in the next five years.
This, Eng. Tanui explained was critical in laying the foundation for availing Government services online as well as ensuring vibrant legislative and policy frameworks are put in place to encourage investments in the ICT sector.
“The e-commerce sector is vibrant and the Government is in the process of finalizing the National Addressing System, Kenya Digital Economy Strategy and E-commerce Strategy to grow the creative sector and spur livelihoods”, he added.
The PS said that accessibility and affordability were the key factors to enhance wider reach to consumers of information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions for e-services.
“One of the major lessons from the impact of COVID is the acceleration of digital connectivity which will influence the growth of the ICT sector in the near future. The pandemic brought out the extent of digital divide in many African societies and communities and the urgency to have each and everyone connected”, he said
The Government, the PS said has prioritized digital transformation as a key pillar in its development agenda and when successfully implemented, it will transform this country immensely.
Eng. Tanui said the digitalization of the services will not only enhance service delivery to the people but eliminate the bureaucracies and related bottlenecks that hampered and delayed efficient provision of government services in public offices.
“The Commissioner provides data subjects with rights and remedies to protect their personal data. As a matter of ensuring online safety and protection of citizens data, the government is extending the commission’s services to more than 10 regions and all huduma centres to enhance personal data protection”, Eng. Tanui said .
The PS said COMESA and the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund, signed a Contribution Agreement worth 8 Million Euros in 2020 to implement the Enhancement of Governance and Enabling Environment in the Information Communication and Technology (EGEE-ICT) sector programme running from January 2021 to 2024
The programme targets 29 African countries under COMESA, IGAD, EAC, SADC and IOC regions with an objective to create an enabling ICT environment to promote linkages that foster regional integration.
“This programme will support the development of ICT regional policy and regulatory frameworks in a harmonized manner to facilitate the establishment of improved access to cost effective and secure ICT services”, Eng. Tanui said.
Some of the key areas the EGEE-ICT programme is expected to deliver will include harmonized regional roaming networl, e- commerce, Open access fibre and infrastructure sharing and universal access.
The output of the meeting, the PS said, is therefore very important as it forms the basis of development of guidelines that will be applied to make the dream a reality.
Eng. Tanui called upon all stakeholders to support the implementation and successful delivery of the ICT programme, as all work towards building the digital economy in Africa.
Jean-Baptiste Mutabazi Director – Infrastructure & Logistics at COMESA said the EGEE-ICT Programme faces a number of hiccups in the continent such as the digital divide, high cost of services, high cost of devices, coverage gaps, low ICT literacy levels, cyber security as well as limitation in policy development
“These challenges need to be addressed with urgency so that we are not left behind as a continent in the 4th Industrial revolution and the digital economy”, he said.
Mutabazi added that the right ICT policy initiatives will be a key enabler at both regional and continental levels for ICT and digital growth to be realized and for economic and sustainable development
Programmes such as the EGEE-ICT that target the ICT sector, he noted are significant because they ensure that current ICT development issues are prioritized and regional harmonization is one of the best approaches in achieving success in development.
“Regional cooperation needs to be strengthened. The EGEE-ICT programme creates an exceptional opportunity of bringing together multiple stakeholders to work towards handling some of the critical ICT issues with the aim of creating an enabling environment that will foster the growth of ICT”, the Director said .
The EGEE-ICT programme will be implemented in five regional economic communities namely COMESA, East African Community (EAC) , Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the South African Development Authority (SADC) with COMESA as the lead.
It is meant to look at policy harmonization and regulation in order to facilitate cross border interconnections, strengthen pan regional competition and competitive tariffs, and expedite deployment of safe and reliable ICT services as well as addressing the digital divide.
By Wangari Ndirangu
