Team Europe launch Digital Readiness Study for Kenya to support Kenya’s digitalisation efforts as the Silicon Savannah
A Fireside Chat on the Digital Readiness of e-Government in Kenya was hosted as part of the Kenya Internet Governance Forum in Nairobi to introduce the Kenya Digital Readiness Study. After a year-long process, the Kenya Digital Readiness Study is a significant milestone in Team Europe’s efforts to support the Government of Kenya in the achievement of Kenya’s digital transformation goals, as stipulated in the National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032.
The Republic of Kenya is considered a leader in digitalisation in Eastern Africa, often referred to as the Silicon Savannah. Building on its good connectivity, a hugely successful mobile money service, and a wide range of electronic services available to the public, Kenya has taken the next step to envisage digital transformation for the next ten years.
The recently launched National Digital Master Plan for 2022–2032 covers twenty flagship programmes, which strive for better connectivity at the local level, digitisation of government records and automation of all Government systems to maximise the benefits of interoperable government services, products and data management. It also envisages training and capacity building for 20 million citizens, 350,000 teachers, and 300,000 civil servants on digital skills. All in all, it is seen as a key enabler towards achieving the ambitions of Vision 2030 and the Big Four Agenda.
The new National Digital Master Plan is very comprehensive and sets clear objectives to be achieved. However, the question remains on how to build an ecosystem that effectively supports the implementation of the Master plan in terms of organisational aspects, digital skills, financing, legal framework, digital infrastructure and other aspects.
The aim of the current study was to review the current status of digital governance in Kenya and to provide ideas for better supporting the key areas related to the achievement of strategic objectives. The report is based on desk research and interviews conducted with more than a dozen Kenyan stakeholders from the public sector, business sector, academia, and civil society organisations.
The findings of the study and the resulting recommendations will form the core reference for further strategy setting and digitalisation programming in the next years – both for the Government of Kenya, as well as its European and international partners. The key strengths and opportunities for improvement are the following:
- A clear vision and ambitious objectives for Kenya’s digital transformation are in place in the form of the Digital Master Plan and significant attention should be put on the operationalisation of the ambitious vision and policy goals.
- The Digital Master Plan is linked to the country’s economic and social objectives defined in Kenya Vision 2030 and implementation plans covering short-term activities would help to meet the objectives of NDMP.
- The Digital Master Plan covers all crucial pillars of an effective IT policy (connectivity, skills, eGovernment, data protection and cyber security etc) while a clear governance structure and rules for cooperation would help to manage cross-ministry projects more effectively.
- An agency with the clear responsibility for coordinating the implementation of the ICT strategy (ICTA) is assigned as government use of ICT would be more unified if common standards were enforced
- A coordination model is provided for the implementation of the strategy but a comprehensive communication strategy would help to inform stakeholders of ICT initiatives and create trust.
- Flagship projects have been designed for all objectives of the strategy but it’s crucial for the ICTA to have a say on the funding decision of ICT projects as it may help to avoid duplication
Main recommendations:
- Improved strategic and operational coordination, which includes developing short-term implementation plans for the strategic documents, establishing a high-level digital council to mainstream the national digital agenda across sectors, creating the Government CIO position, conducting a comprehensive legal review, and placing a strong emphasis on strategic digital governance communication
- Establishment of interoperability, which starts from developing an up-to-date inventory of information assets and services and agreeing on data governance principles, culminates with the mandatory implementation of a data exchange layer to ensure seamless data exchange between registers and information systems.
- Digital identity and digital signatures should be considered core components of public service development and can be further supported by the creation of a national authentication system in a manner that is inclusive and respects rights.
- Digital skills form a cornerstone of any digitalisation. A digital competency model would help to better manage the ever-changing digital competencies needed in the public sector, but equal attention should be turned to increasing the level of digital skills of the general public.
- E-participation and inclusion have proved to be a pitfall in the past. Clear engagement guidelines should be developed by a responsible public organisation to involve all relevant actors in the digitalisation discussion and implementation. To make sure that everybody benefits from digitalisation, the government must lead in an open and inclusive manner.
- Global best practices can not only help lead the way but deal with implementation. There is a lot of value in international cooperation – both in the region to boost digital economies through cross-border services, but also internationally, either through bilateral relations or in larger partnerships such as the Team Europe initiative.
Read the full study here.
Related articles