ICT Ministry seeks more funds to improve service delivery

The Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs now wants more resources so as to discharge its mandate effectively.

Ministry’s top officials including heads of Parastatals and Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGA) on Monday met the Parliamentary Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation on a three-day retreat to deliberate on the Ministry’s budget estimates for the financial year 2021/2022.

During the meeting in Mombasa, Committee Chairman William Kisang acknowledged that the ICT Ministry plays a crucial role in various sectors of the economy in the Country.

Kisang said the Ministry needs to be adequately funded to help in the Country’s economic growth and improve Government services through enhancement of technology.

Kisang singled out the National Optic Fibre Backbone (NOFB) project which has improved communication through connectivity in all the 47 counties.

He said through the improvement of the digital platforms, the Government services have significantly improved its services and has also transformed operations in public offices.

He said the ICT Ministry remains key to the realization of the Big Four Agenda of food security, affordable housing, and universal health care and manufacturing.

He advised the Ministry to move some of its departments, SAGA and Parastatals to Konza Smart City so as to save huge financial resources that were being spent on rent in commercial buildings.

Among the top Ministry officials who were present included ICT and Innovation Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng, his counterpart in the State Department for Telecommunication and Broadcasting Esther Koimett.

Others were KBC Managing Director Naim Bilal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenya Film Classification Board Ezekiel Mutua and Government Spokesperson Col (Rtd) Cyrus Oguna.