3066
Securities Exchange
will also encourage
domiciled in Kenya,
retain global talent in
and attract foreign direct investment. The policy
both local and international businesses to be
and get high returns. This will in turn attract and
Kenya.
The Government will leverage our skills and innovations to grow
our businesses and provide a strong intellectual property infrastructure
to ensure innovations are protected. It will enable a 24hr economy,
enforce the use of the National Public Key Infrastructure and ensure
all safety nets are in place to protect our money and investments.
43
Our people need gainful work, by ensuring incentive and
educational alignment with global market requirements; Kenyans will
be in demand both locally and internationally for technical work. We
want to be leaders and innovators in the fourth industrial revolution
and so we want to attract and create the best educational institutions in
the world. We will continue to encourage partnerships such as the
International Space Program in Malindi and ensure that our curriculum
takes into account the gig economy, generating a skilled workforce
that is attractive globally.
By 2020, there will be over 5 billion connected people worldwide;
the average internet user will be from the emerging markets and we
want to connect with them on all digital platforms. Our unique culture
and languages put our Country in a strategic position to innovate for
the emerging markets, forming partnerships and strategies that guide
our training and skills generation.
The Government will support and enable the development of a
robust technology entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country through
an ICT Co-Fund that will unlock requisite capital, avail easy access to
critical technical assistance and actively promote the adoption and
utilisation of local innovations. Public long-term funds will be
incentivised to set aside 5% of their investments for the local ICT
ecosystem.
The Government will work to encourage early Initial Public
Offerings in the Growth Enterprise Market Segment of the Capital
Market (GEMS) and support the growth of Permanent Listed Vehicles
that build bridges between investors and the businesses that need
investment to grow.
Government ICT procurement, including security and defence, will
prioritise award of tenders to new and innovative local businesses to
permit greater participation by emerging enterprises and preferentially
adopt home grown solutions. Kenyan built solutions will be preferred
over any other solution; where there are no local businesses that meet
the tender requirements, skills transfer to local firms and personnel
will be a mandatory requirement.
Public Service Delivery
It is our policy that all government services must be available
online, that every Kenyan has online access and that government
services are delivered quickly and fully at the time and place that they
are needed. This ICT policy requires all arms of government to build,
deploy, operate and manage locally built back-end and front end
systems to deliver services. This policy also requires that Kenyan data
remains in Kenya, and that it is stored safely and in a manner that
protects the privacy of citizens to the utmost. Government services
will be delivered in a manner that ensures we have a prosperous, free,
open and stable society.
This policy aims to promote the collaboration of the National and
County governments to ensure that all services, both physical and
digital reach every citizen at a guaranteed high level of quality. The
ICT policy requires that:
*
Service charters be published by the public sector and citizens
sensitised about them.
¢
Government services be easily accessible to all citizens using
their mobile devices anywhere and anytime.
¢
All procurement and tender
published and open to all.
processes
be
electronically
¢
Revenue collection to be transparent and accountable.
¢
All arms of government implement and manage locally built
back-end and front-end systems to deliver services.
¢
E-services are provided on platforms that are secure from fraud
and breach of privacy of personal information.
¢
All government systems currently developed
systems be integrated with each other.
e
All government services be available online. Every citizen to
have online access and that government services are delivered
quickly and fully at the time and place that they are needed.
¢
Kenyan data remains in Kenya, and that it is stored safely and
in a manner that protects the privacy of citizens.
Skills and Innovation
This policy outlines a careful plan designed to jump-start a selfsupporting ecosystem
that will produce
world-class
research,
technology products and industries. The technology environment is
changing fast and Kenya needs to not just keep up but to lead the
charge. In order to ensure that we are always on the right track, every
two years we will reassess research and development priorities and set
five new technology goals. The government will fund investment in
the selected new technologies, encourage the private sector to focus on
the identified research and investment priority areas and help create
skills in those technologies by funding scholarships, grants, challenges
and innovation awards.
44
7th August, 2020
THE KENYA GAZETTE
The
Government
will
be
efficient,
secure
and
and
open.
all future
It will
be
recognised internationally for its innovations and quality in public
service delivery. This policy requires and mandates the use of
Universal
Personal
Identifier (UPI)
for all civil servants
and a local payment scheme for Government transactions.
and
citizens
5. Background
5.1
ICT and Vision 2030
The Vision 2030, Kenya’s Long Term Development Blueprint
aims to create a globally competitive and prosperous nation,
transforming Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income
country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 ina
clean and secure environment. Vision 2030 three pillars, namely the
Economic, Social and Political are anchored on macroeconomic
stability; continuity in governance reforms; enhanced equity and
wealth creation opportunities for the poor. The Economic Pillar that
captures the expectations of the ICT market seeks to improve the
prosperity of all regions of the country and all Kenyans by achieving a
10% GDP growth rate by 2017.
ICT is identified as enabler or foundation for socio economic
transformation. The Vision recognises the role of Science, Technology
and Innovation in modern economy in which new knowledge plays a
central role in boosting wealth creation, social welfare and
international competitiveness. This will be done through: economic
and institutional regime that utilises existing knowledge; creation of
new knowledge and entrepreneurship; educated and skilled population;
dynamic information and communication infrastructure that facilitate
processing and dissemination; and effective innovation system and
research.
5.2 Rationale for Policy Review
The review of the policy has been necessitated by the rapid
changes and developments since 2006 in order to keep abreast with
development of emerging technologies. The review is therefore
necessary to cater for the changes in legal and regulatory frameworks,
technology advancement and emerging issues. These developments
include:
*
Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Enactment of Constitution
of Kenya 2010, Kenya Information and Communication Act
2013, Media Act 2013 and restructuring of Government
functions.
*
Technological Advancement: There have been many changes
in the technological and competitive space since 2006, some of
these include the convergence of ICT technologies, Migration
from analogue to digital TV broadcasting and its effect on
broadcasting
market segment
and radio spectrum, and
advancement of mobile technology enabling new services.
¢
Emerging
demand
Issues:
on
Increased
bandwidth
and
IT
enabled
services,
for
Quality
of
increased
Service
(QoS),
Challenges of cyber security, Regional integration projects and
Harmonisation of ICT policies in the international and regional