In April 2004, the Kenya Government launched an ambitious and comprehensive strategy on information and communications technology. Under this strategy it is estimated that a whooping Kshs. 3billion, will be gobbled up by the time it becomes fully operational in 2010.

This is the E-government strategy.

While the term e-government scares a lot of people, the reality is that, e-government is less on technology and more on services rendered. For one to fully appreciate the value of e-government a good example is the one epitomized each year by transport stakeholders. Each and every year Public Service Vehicles (PSV) operators converge at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) headquarters, to renew their licences with the Transport Licensing Board (TLB). The long unending daily queues made up of operators who have traveled from across the country, make everyone to wonder if there lacks an easier system. The same can also be said of other key government ministries. And this is where e-government comes in.

According to the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), “E-Government is not about technology but rather how government can be effectively transformed through the use of technology for better ways of functioning and serving the public. It is also part of the reform process and a tool to further good governance As with all reforms, e-government requires changing how officials think and act, how they view their jobs and therefore a re-engineering of the government business process… Through e-government services access to such services by rural citizens can reduce their financial burden and increase their chances to better livelihoods. ICTs can be used as an effective governance tool for ensuring transparency and reducing corruption in government departments. The digitization of mass data with web-based applications forms, for example can streamline operations while providing citizens with information that was often not accessible.”

Under this plan is a weighty and expensive attempt to not only introduce but also entrench ICTs in the day-to-day operations of the government. Already a directorate of E-government has been created at the Office of the President complete with a director. Currently in both formulation and implementation stages are the creation of an E-security department. This will be a unit within the E-government Directorate. The sensitive-security operations manual and programme are estimated to cost some Kshs. 12million.

At Nyayo House, Jogoo House ‘B’ and the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), Local Area Networks (LANs) have already been installed. From this seemingly miniscule installation of LANs in some of its key departments, the government hopes to assess efficacy of information flow; sharing and dissemination. This trial LAN installation has already guzzled a cool Kshs 147 million.

In the Draft National ICT Policy currently under discussion by various stakeholders, notes on e-government:
“The overall goal of e-Government is to make the Government more result oriented, efficient and citizen centred. The e-government strategy will focus on redefining the relationship between government and citizens with the objective of empowering citizens and eliminating the current practice where government officials deal with citizens in an ad hoc manner. The broad objectives of e-government will be to: improve collaboration between government agencies and enhance efficiency and effectiveness of resource utilization; improve Kenya’s competitiveness by providing timely information and delivery of government services; reduce transaction costs for the government, citizens and the private sector through the provision of products and services electronically; and provide a forum for citizens participation in Government activities. The e-government initiative will be a shared vision between government, private sector and civil society. The implementation process will involve all stakeholders including government, citizen groups, associations, business, NGOs, unions and other civil society groups.”
In this financial year the government hopes to spend not less than Kshs 613 million on research and development (R&D), capacity building, and other related works to be able to enhance e-government.

There is no doubt; an e-government strategy is an expensive multi-million affair. Again there are no prizes for guessing its importance as a socio-economic development enabler for this country. This in place however there are some hard questions to be asked?
Are Kenyans aware and ready to embrace e-government? The answer to this is yes. A majority of Kenyans are eager to welcome any new changes provided it adds value to their lives. But despite their willingness to embrace these new changes, they are let down by their own government which has limited their access to ICT related facilities. Kenya has a population of 30 million people. Of these 30 million only a fraction have access to mobile phones; Internet; postal services; fixed telephone lines; and generally to computers. As for radio access is higher. The same applies to television. The Draft National ICT Policy has some telling statistics worth referring to:

“By September 2004, there were 240,000 fixed telephone line subscribers and 2.8 million cellular mobile subscribers. This translates into fixed teledensity of 0.75 per hundred inhabitants for fixed and 9.75 per hundred inhabitants for mobile against the world average of 19 and 21 respectively. It is also lower than that of many African countries like Tunisia (11.3% and 16.9%) and Egypt (10.8% and 17.7%) respectively. There are about 121,000 applicants on the fixed telephone waiting list. By April 2004, there were 73 registered ISPs, 16 of which are active, approximately 1,030,000 users and over 1000 cyber cafes and telephone bureaus. There were also about 520,000 personal computers in active use at the beginning of 2004 giving the number of computers per hundred inhabitants as 1.6. The government has licensed 16 television stations and 27 FM stations… Approximately one million inhabitants are estimated to have access to the Internet.”
These are Kenyan ICT statistics. It is true, that the country has both human and technological capacity to implement and even support e-government. On the legal front it is also true to say that there is enough legislation and institutional framework necessary for the smooth operations of e-government. However the bitter points are also not lacking

With a population of 30 million inhabitants the only ICT components enjoyed by a majority of Kenyans are TV, Radio and newspapers. As the government statistics indicate fewer Kenyans enjoy the other remaining ICT elements. If only one million Kenyans have access to the Internet, and yet more than half of the country’s entire population seeks for government services on a daily basis, how then will the e-government strategy work? Has the government come up with other alternatives for accessing credible, efficient and adequate government services without going online? Again has the government prepared its citizens for e-government by sensitization, education and publicity? In other words are citizens satisfactorily prepared for e-government?

Ever since the government launched the e-government strategy last year it has cared little to explain to Kenyans, what they stand to gain through e-government. Again there seems to be a lack of convergence in terms of leadership and strategic thinking. This is because whilst the government has a multitude of initiatives aimed at maximizing the benefits of ICTs, much of it is from different sources. Each ministry appears to be on its own as far as e-government is concerned. There lacks a central coordination point. Hopefully it is expected that the new Directorate of E-Government will do just that and also address the niggling question of the adequacy of the current existing infrastructure to support the envisaged data systems.

On another plank the government should come out frankly and explain to Kenyans, how services will be improved and who in particular will benefit from this undertaking. The question of access should also be answered. Equal opportunity for everyone particularly rural and informal settlements women should not be overlooked. Also as a feature of e-government the question of local content and local languages should feature prominently. As only a simple minority of Kenyans uses the Internet, e-government must involve government intranets, radio, information kiosks among other applications to enable it serve a huge public.
As it now stands only a fraction of the Kenyan populace are likely to gain once e-government comes into force. The Kenyan e-government strategy seems to be exclusive rather than inclusive. And in the building of an effective information and knowledge society exclusivity is a costly mistake both financially and politically. There is still time to make amends, and the sooner the better.

By Wanjohi Kabukuru