The government is getting ready to publish the amended draft of the ICT Authority Bill, 2024 for another round of public hearings.

This is even as the nation scrambles to set up barriers to protect the citizens, State and business entities from cybercrimes and cyber-attacks. 

In July last year, the government called for public comments on the Bill, which critics say aims to regulate the ICT industry by licensing and registering ICT companies and professionals. 

However, the ICT Authority says the Bill is good despite stiff opposition from some ICT experts, who fear the government wants to stifle the sector. 

“The comments from the public were taken into consideration by the Committee and some clauses of the Bill amended for conformity,” says the ICT Authority chief executive Stanley Kamanguya.

“We want to assure the public that the ICTA Bill is fashioned as a catalyst for sector growth rather than stifling innovations. There shall be another session of validation for both the public sector and private sector in January 2025 before it goes to Cabinet and the Attorney General for finalisation.” 

He said the ICT Authority Bill 2024 was aimed at anchoring the ICT Authority under an Act of Parliament. 

“The ICT Authority Bill 2024 is not a re-introduction of the ICT Practitioners Bill. The ICTA Bill does not in any way seek to regulate ICT Practitioners but encourages responsible development and use of ICT tools and platforms especially in the wake of increased cyber threats,” noted Kamanguya.

He said the government’s digitisation agenda requires a robust regulatory framework to prevent cases of cybercrime and protect infrastructure that supports the digital space.

“One of our challenges is vandalism of infrastructure, there is also destruction of infrastructure by other utility installations such as roads, electricity, water and rail,” he noted. 

“The OFC (Optical Fibre Cables) network deployed across the country is critical infrastructure that is installed to ensure connectivity for the citizenry.” 

The Authority is also keen to see the development of a policy on infrastructure sharing – this seeks to ensure the utilisation of existing public infrastructure to cut costs and connectivity to the unserved and underserved areas of the country.

Digital Super Highway

The Authority is also implementing several projects in the meantime. They include the Digital Super Highway, whose purpose is to increase the fibre network coverage across the country, reduce cost of internet connectivity and enhance the delivery of e-government services, including health services, agricultural services and financial services.

“The key components of the project include the deployment of 100,000 km of fibre cable, Installation of 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, the establishment of 1,450 Digital Village Smart Hubs and Studios, establishment of three (3) data centres and data protection and cyber security management,” says Kamanguya. 

Another project is the Digital Skills Programme, which aims to train 20 million Kenyan citizens and equip them with relevant and necessary skills. “So far, 114,038 citizens have trained on Basic skills and Cyber Security and more than 10,000 Public servants have so far been trained in ICT and emerging technologies,” says the CEO.

Under the Presidential DigiTalent Programme (PDTP), he said the State agency has trained 2,900 Interns who graduated in ICT by placing them in various institutions in the public sector for 12 months.

Of these 1500 of the interns are gainfully employed. 

 In early December last year, the Authority onboarded 400 interns to Cohort IX. The interns shall be deployed across Ministries, Counties, Departments and Agencies) to support critical government services.

Further, they shall undergo training and mentorship from captains of industry and stakeholders in the digital space. 

Partnerships with universities 

The Authority in collaboration with Konza is implementing the Jitume labs programme in TVET institutions to install digital labs with connectivity and devices for the students to have access to digital opportunities and training. 

And in a partnership with JKUAT, the agency is also seeking to minimise the impact of e-waste. “We are cognizant of the fast evolution of digital devices and the millions of obsolete devices we have laying around. JKUAT established an industrial park to see to the rehabilitation of these devices and the safe dismantling of the same. Through the ambitious program, The Authority has been receiving obsolete devices from MCDAs for destruction,” notes the CEO. 

The Authority also partners with Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) for scaling innovations and incubation of innovators for proposals received through the Huduma Whitebox program.

The university holds innovation boot camps and hackathons to link innovators with angel investors and train the youth on the sustainability of the innovations, mentorship from industry players and access to financing opportunities. By Nanjinia Wamuswa, The Standard