Dear Kiplist,
The Directorate of e-Government recently embarked on a
countrywide Awareness and Education campaign which
aimed at sensitizing public servants on the on going
modernization of government services using ICTs.
The programme was an eye opener. Most civil servants,
especially at rural districts have never used email or
even the computer. But there were a few surprises
though. Kakamega DC Njenga Miiri is a true convert of
the technology. From the day he got the request from
e-Government to hold a day’s workshop at Mumias County
Hall, Mr. Miiri spared no effort to ensure it was a
success. He mobilized all concerned, postponed some
commitments that fell on the day and was among the
first to arrive at the venue-with his wife! The DC
spoke at length on the opportunities that come with
the use of ICT in Government.
The Bungoma police boss, who had worked a systems
administrator at a reputable organization abroad, was
a disappointed man. He did not have a computer in his
office and so you wouldn’t talk to him about
connectivity.
The programme was carried out in conjunction with
Postal Corporation of Kenya using the Posta Surf
outlets as training facilities in North Rift and
Western Kenya. The day would start with presentations
aimed at stimulating interest on the potentials of
Information and Communications Technologies to about
50 civil servants. This would be followed by a live
demo on how to activate official email addresses which
had been set up for them by the Directorate of
e-Government on the kenya.go.ke domain in advance.
They would then go to the Post Surf Internet cafes
where they would be provided with Ksh.100 Surf cards
each for a hands-on session.
The impact has been tremendous. A number of them, who
had never touched the mouse, were now able to email to
friends and relatives locally and abroad. They now
frequently make enquires with e-government on varied
issues like courses and training opportunities. Plans
are now underway to roll out the programme in other
Districts after the evaluation of the first phase.
To make e-Government reality in Kenya, a change of
mindset is crucial. There is a lot individuals can
accomplish even with little resources once they are
convinced that the technology can work for them.
In Nairobi, where civil servants had been trained on
web development, most government websites now boast
some content. Some are beginning to get transactional.
They are now more “under construction” tractors
welcoming you to our home pages.
The road to realizing e-Government will need more
resources and commitment. But there is no doubt the
journey has begun.
For those of you in Kenya, you could watch
e-Government documentary starting today on:
KTN and NTV Wed. 9th August 2006 -9:30 pm
Citizen TV Wed. 16th August 2006 -8.45pm
KBC Channel One Thurs 17th August 2006-9.30pm
Hi Kiplist
What about This,
Mission: Facilitation and Provision of competent
and powerful insights for consensus
building in the ICT industry.
Vision: Communication is everything
Macharia Paul
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Submitted by: Paul G. Macharia
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communication)
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Submitted by: Andrew Limo - Snr. Media & Publicity Officer - Dir. of E-Govt. <
mostoyal@yahoo.com> 2006-08-09 11:16:43 EDT4
(Please reply to original submitter for private communication)
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