The Computer Society of Kenya

Since 1986

mucheru-picDAILY NATION By LILIAN OCHIENG

Thursday January 21, 2016

The ICT Authority (ICTA) has fallen short of an estimated Sh8 billion to effectively run government’s ICT functions, Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has been told.

The Authority’s board chairman Edwin Yinda told the CS that they needed the funds urgently when Mr Mucheru toured the ICTA’s offices for the first time on Wednesday.

“There is however a need to increase funding for ICT projects, from the current paltry 0.3 per cent to 5 per cent of the total annual national budget,” said Mr Yinda.

ICT functions by all state departments, ministries and agencies are managed by the ICTA since October last year.

It also manages three critical projects; the Presidential Digital Talent Programme, Digital Literacy Programme and Enterprise Kenya.

The ICTA is also in charge of the County Connectivity project, National Optic Fibre Backbone (NOFBI), Transport Integrated Management System (TIMs) and digitisation of government records.

"We need to promote economies of scale by consolidating ICT budgets across government and also ensuring proper project governance," said Mr Yinda.

With the help of the new CS, the authority aims to deliver ICT services nationally as guided by the National ICT Masterplan 2017.

"In the 21st Century, technology is the driver of industries. We need to speed up deployment and adoption of technology to avoid being left behind. I personally will ensure we are aligned to this vision," said Mr Mucheru.

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