KICTANET whiles following my earlier posting should also request a sitting with the President if possible to make a case for why ICT should be the central element of the countries vision. We have gone through this in Ghana and this was the process. Now ICTs are an integral part of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) which is many cases should not be but we pushed for it to happen. We are now pushing for the national plan to have ICTs as the engine, though this is being TOUGH. Eric here ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: John Walubengo <jwalu@yahoo.com> Reply-To: Kenya ICT Policy - kictanet <kictanet@kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:27:47 -0800 (PST)

How tragic indeed. Huge oversight if ICT has no central role in this Vision 2030....further more it seems to focuse on Industrialisation (halloo! that used to be the target for economies in the 1950s).

Now people talk about a Knowledge economy. Indeed Industrialisation per-se no longer provides a competitive advantage. The advantage lies in leveraging Information Technologies to create value beyond Industrialisation.

Vision 2030 might be targeting the future - but using the 'side' mirror i.e driving into the future but relying too much in the previous, economical fundamentals. We need to refocus it into the right direction. I don't know how and if there is room and a role for KICTANet here.

walu.

--- Nation Media <news@nationmedia.com> wrote:

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eadera@idrc.or.ke has sent you this article from Nationmedia.com with this message: Colleagues,It is TRAGIC! that vision 2030 has not given prominence to the role of ICTs as an enabler - it's not highlighted in the article, maybe in the document itself?. Who's working on the strategy to deliver this vision? and what role can we play as KICTANET to change this? This is a challenge I throw to all of us! We must do something! The countries mentioned in this article have been fundamentally transformed by ICTs. your views on practical steps we can take to ensure ICTs are well integrated in the strategy? EdithKibaki launches vision for growth Published: 10/31/2006By: MUGO NJERU ---------------------------------

President Kibaki yesterday launched an ambitious economic programme aimed at transforming Kenya into an economic powerhouse with a sustainable growth rate of 10 per cent by 2030. The President told leaders to keep politics out of the project dubbed Kenya Vision 2030.

President Kibaki greets Nation CEO Wilfred Kiboro and other members of the National Economic and Social Council yesterday before officially launching Vision 2030 at KICC in Nairobi. The vision is expected to transform Kenya into a prosperous nation. Photo/William Oeri.

He said: "Vision 2030 goes beyond any single government, party, political persuasion or religion. It is a call to all Kenyans to make it possible for us to wipe out from our land absolute poverty, famine, mass unemployment and preventable deaths from malaria and water-borne diseases."

Although President Kibaki said he was optimistic that the development goal would be achieved, it will depend on how the country manages its affairs in the next five years. High quality of life "Under Vision 2030, we see ourselves becoming a middle-income, prosperous country, providing a high quality of life for all our people," the President said at the launch of the initiative at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi. To realise the goal, he said Kenyans must build on the competitive advantages in key sectors of the economy to expand the country's share of the global market. Besides the 10 per cent growth over 25 years, another pillar of the programme will be building a just and cohesive society with equitable social development and a clean and secure environment. The initiative also aims at building a democratic political system that nurtures issue-based politics, the rule of law and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual and society. Several leaders at the meeting described the vision as noble and said it should be supported by all Kenyans. ODM Kenya secretary-general Anyang Nyong'o said the vision was good but its success would depend on the goodwill of successive governments. "The Government and the opposition are united on this vision," he said. Finance minister Amos Kimunya said its success depended on people working together as one nation. He and other speakers said it was possible to propel the country to the levels of economies like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Chile and South Korea, most of which which were in the same economic footing with Kenya in the 1970s. Trade and Industry minister Mukhisa Kituyi said the vision is achievable if it is not held hostage by any government and if it receives support from the media and the private sector. President Kibaki said for the country to realise the success of the vision, it was important to put in place a clear strategy detailing what needed to be achieved for each of the pillars of the programme for the next five years. He said that over the years, coffee production has been declining from over 120,000 tons a year to less than 50,000 this year, which had a devastating effect on farmers' incomes and employment opportunities. "We need to make sure that under Vision 2030, the strategies that will be developed will not repeat the mistakes of the past and avoid imposing a costly burden on the people of this country," he said. On manufacturing, the President said the sector had barely grown in the last 20 years. "The textile industry which was very vibrant in 1970s and 1980s has virtually been wiped out while the EPZ-based enterprises are experiencing serious competition in the global market," he said. Leather and other livestock-related industries have also not made significant breakthroughs in the global market although these are sectors in which Kenya could have competitive advantage and growth if the right strategies and policies were applied. "I challenge the experts who are developing the strategies to pay special attention to these sectors for the next five years, because they have the greatest potential for delivering widely shared economic and social benefits for the Kenyan people," President Kibaki said. On tourism, he noted that although the number of tourists visiting Kenya had increased over the last few years, income from the sector was far below that of small European countries, the Caribbean and North Africa. With proper planning and investment, the country should be able to attract and accommodate five million tourists by 2012, the President said. He said the economic performance of any country was closely tied to the application of science and technology and that was why the country was investing considerably in higher education and research institutions. The vision strategy, he said, should be geared towards enhancing Kenya's scientific and technological capacity, promoting a scientific culture and integrating science and technology into the production and service sectors. There was also need to expand, upgrade and sustain health facilities while ensuring that they remain accessible and affordable to all Kenyans. President Kibaki said rapid urban population growth had resulted in serious unemployment, growing slums and an increase of hawkers. It was also causing a severe strain on the provision of services such as maintenance of law and order, water supply, sewerage and sanitation, education and health facilities. The President said: "Effective planning of and ability to enforce compliance for the proper administration of our cities and major towns requires to be accorded high priority in the strategies that will be developed to meet the challenges of urbanisation." He directed that measures to wipe out slums and replace them with well-planned, low-cost houses in all major towns be implemented without delay.

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