Tapping ICT benefits for development

Information Communication Technology (ICT) continues to make a major impact on economies, education and development. The newly devolved systems in Kenya are fast adopting 21st Century technologies to improve the living standards of their people.

Marsabit county executive for ICT, Ms Hawo Abdullah, says it is almost impossible to operate manually in today’s digitalised world. “It would be like trying to apply 18th Century life tools in the 21st Century,” she observes.“For that reason, the county government has embarked on a comprehensive ICT infrastructure development programme that will see most if not all our operations digitalised,” she adds.

The Governor’s office in Marsabit is already connected to the fibre optic line at a cost of Sh200000 and soon the service will be extended to other critical government offices and departments. The administration is also in negotiations with a local mobile telephone service operator to provide the physical infrastructure for an electronic revenue collection platform.

The establishment of this infrastructure is expected to boost revenue collection by up to 90 per cent from the current paltry 25 per cent. Safaricom Ltd is likely to provide the physical infrastructure and technical support for the switch to an electronic revenue collection system from the current manual system.

Under the new system, a hand-held device to record all transactions will be provided to officers in the field and other outer offices. The device will then transmit all transaction data to a main server at the county’s treasury at the headquarters in Marsabit town. 

The ICT rollout will be carried out in all county establishments next year. “Given the harsh terrain and lack of transport infrastructure, we have no choice but to turn to ICT to achieve our development agenda,” Hawo says.

Girls in an  ICT room

Marsabit County  experiences  difficulties in collecting information, especially data from sub-county offices and at the ward levels due to the poor road network and lack of connectivity .“Our officers must travel  long  distances in difficult conditions to transmit this data. Most have to make this difficult journey to do simple things like applying for leave. However with ICT, it will only take an email to do this. The rollout started at the headquarters will be cascaded down to the ward level to ease communication,” adds Hawo.

Youth enterprises will be involved in the ICT rollout to fast-track development. “We do not just see ICT as a tool for communication, but we will also utilize technology as a tool for development by encouraging youths to join the sector as business entrepreneurs,” she says.

The technology, she says will also come in handy in sectors such as health and security through the quick  and  efficient sharing of information. The county is also in negotiations with another ICT provider, Orange Telkom, to fast-track other development projects.