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{
    "id": 699489,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/699489/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 226,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on matters of governance, the United States of America (USA) has made tremendous steps regarding the use of ICT. President Obama has a unit within the White House that deals with matters of ICT, creates and resolves problems using ICT. That alone makes one to understand and have a grasp of where the world is going and how far back we are being left. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Ohio State Government received an award of USD40 million from the Federal Government of the USA for improvement as far as governance is concerned by use of ICT. The Ohio State Government was given low marks for financial transparency in 2014, earning an F from the USA Public Interest Research Group; a national non-governmental organisation that monitors the relationships between citizens and Government. However, the State received A-ratings in 2015 and 2016 from the same organisation. The story behind that is that remarkable turnaround can be provided by experts from the elements of state government that have enhanced citizens’ ability to observe their states, use of taxpayers’ funds and related functions and access the benefits of the state. This was done by implementing ICT solutions to some of the challenges that they were facing. We are talking about a state in the USA and so on. We are impressed with what we heard and read. The question is; where will Kenya be in that state of affairs? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in 2007, I was then the Minister for Information and Communication. We set up to build a structure in Kenya where the cost of internet was going to be equal to or less than that in India. The reason being that the counties that were and are still engaged in the outsourcing businesses tend to name India as the place where they outsource their business. As we try to create more jobs in our country, it is important to note that one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy is the ICT sector and mobile phones, but we are not growing fast enough and we are not taking the opportunities that we could. We have a Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) who is infused. He is an ICT guru and understands ICT very well. All we need to do is to support him, his departments and enthuse energy.When it comes to budgeting, the Treasury should allocate sufficient funds to the Ministry of ICT in order for the Ministry to be able to make the changes that are necessary for it to make its input as an enabling Ministry to all the other Ministries. As a country and Government, we need to do a lot more in placing ICT where it belongs. When you see the ICT input that the other countries put in agricultural research and the way they handle crop husbandry through the use of ICT, you then realize that we should have been the first ones to implement this technology because we are the ones who rely more on agriculture than any other country. Japan invests massive amounts of money in managing agriculture via ICT yet it does not base its economy on agriculture. However, it appreciates the importance of agriculture in terms of food security for it leads to national stability. It does not matter how civilized or how advanced people are, they still need to eat. Therefore, ICT is an enabling area and the Ministry must be funded adequately. For the last ten years,the Government has always given disappointing results every year even when you get to the point where you think that they now appreciate the importance of ICT and will, therefore, fund the Ministry sufficiently. Therefore, on The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}