Dear all, a day or two before the Christmas holidays began I received a call from the new PS in the Ministry of Information & Communication inviting me to an ICT stakeholder brainstorming meeting. The meeting opened with an introduction by the PS of the new Assistant Minister, Hon. Koigi Wamwere and an apology that the other Assistant Minister Hon. Were was unable to make it. During the introduction the PS said that he wanted to give Kenyans 10,000 jobs using ICTs in 6 months and had called the stakeholders so that the strategy on how to do this could be mapped out. In the ensuing discussions (brainstorming) it became 100% clear that the government is totally serious about this - and wanted to exploit the outsourcing/call centre opportunities in order to achieve the target. As a result a number of working committees were defined and the initial drafting of a concept paper began. I am attaching herewith a copy for your further input. Please send me your comments by Monday. I will also inform KICTANET of the next meeting so that there can be a broader participation. I will also circulate the meeting minutes as soon as they are available. On another note, in the same meeting both the PS and the Assistant Minister confirmed to us that the new Minister is totally determined to get the ICT Policy that is with cabinet high on the agenda and passed asap. Regards, Brian