40,000 Public Schools To Benefit From Deployment Of 100,000 km Of Fibre Optic Infrastructure.
Kenya National Digital Master plan 2022-2032 which is a sequential progression of the master plan 2014-2017 has been unveiled to guide the country forward on ICT deployment and investments.
It’s the blueprint for leveraging and deepening the contribution of the ICT sector to accelerate socio-economic growth.
The newly unveiled master plan emphasizes the reduction of the digital divide in order to spur rural economic growth and proposes the deployment of 100,000 km of fibre optic infrastructure to 40,000 public schools and other learning institutions, 20,000 government institutions, 13,000 health facilities, 25,000 hotspots to support youth and innovators, and the establishment of 1,450 wards digital innovation hubs.
“This master plan has incorporated the use of emerging technologies such as block chain, internet of things, artificial intelligence, big data and quantum computing,” said Mucheru.
According to ICT, Innovation, and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Joe Mucheru, the plan is expected to guide stakeholders’ responses to gaps such as closing the digital divide, unstructured deployment of ICT across the public sector, and the need to enforce standards in order to assist the country in addressing its various challenges.
The plan identifies 19 flagship projects on which the government will focus in order to accelerate the country’s digital transformation.
According to him, the new broad-based master plan comes at a time when the digital economy is also changing the way people work and the skills they require to do their jobs.
Mucheru unveiled the digital master plan on the eve of the annual ‘Connected Kenya summit,’ which was held at the Leisure Lodge Resort in Kwale County.
The four-day ICT forum, themed ‘Accelerating digital transformation,’ has drawn a slew of ICT experts from both the public and private sectors.
Dr Chris Baryomunsi, Uganda’s ICT Minister, is in attendance, as is his Tanzanian counterpart, Dr Faustine Ndugulle, and Rwanda’s Director-General for Digital Transformation, Gordon Kalema.
Mucheru was accompanied by the ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary Maureen Mbaka, Principal Secretaries Jerome Ochieng (ICT) and Esther Koimett (Broadcasting and Telecommunications), ICT Authority Ag. Director-General Dr Kipronoh Ronoh, and Government Spokesperson Colonel (Rtd.) Cyrus Oguna, among others.
“The master plan is critical at a time when the world is entering a new round of industrial revolution and countries all over the world are accelerating their digital economic expansion, necessitating the need to modernize government services,” he said.
Mucheru stated that the plan aims to create job opportunities for youth, as well as to boost local manufacturing and the growth of small and medium-sized businesses.
ALSO READ:
“The master plan proposes the establishment of two software factories and another two electronic manufacturing factories that will serve Kenya and the region and are estimated to hire over 10,000 software engineers among others,” he said.
According to the CS, the master plan proposes digital literacy capacity building for all citizens beginning with 20 million citizens, training of 300,000 public servants, and building adequate technical support through training of 10,000 ICT professionals in order to enable citizens and public servants to effectively use technology in their businesses and work.
40,000 Public Schools To Benefit From Deployment Of 100,000 km Of Fibre Optic Infrastructure
