REPUBLIC OF KENYA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY

REMARKS BY DR. FRED MATIANGI CABINET SECRETARY MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE CONNECTED KENYA 2014 SUMMIT AT LEISURE LODGE MOMBASA ON TUESDAY, 15TH APRIL 2014 AT 9.00AM.

Fellow Ministers from the region, Cabinet Secretaries present, Principal Secretaries, Governors Senators Industry Players, stakeholders, colleagues in the sector

Good morning/Afternoon May I begin by welcoming you all to Connected Kenya 2014 here at a Diani, South Coast. This is our signature annual event that seeks to create a platform for networking and collaboration between the Public and Private Sector. Ladies and Gentlemen This is the sixth Connected Kenya Summit and I am happy to note that this year it has brought together industry players and stakeholders from the public, private sector, development partners, and for the very first time fellow ICT ministers from the East African Community. This is confirmation that this forum does indeed have a role to play in our ICT development agenda both here in Kenya and in the Region as a whole.
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The theme adopted this year Breaking the Barriers is quite ideal for exploring methods of overcoming challenges that hinder our efforts to leap into a digital economy. I truly trust that the deliberations that will take place at this summit will set us on a path to making progress in National ICT implementations, growing the ICT Industry and achieving more public participation. It is indeed a pleasure for my Ministry (through the ICT Authority) to host this forum, and a great honor to have so many distinguished minds and experts participate in the various sessions that will take place.. Looking back at what was discussed here last year, we made commitment to revise the National ICT Master plan, develop a Broadband Strategy and an Information Security Master Plan. We also talked about the citizen service centers In this regard, I am pleased to report that we have since revised the National ICT Master Plan 2017 and it will be launched here later today. We have also launched the Broadband Strategy and the Information Security Strategy is now in its final stages. We also witnessed the launch of the Huduma Centers thanks to the good work of Ministry of Devolution & Planning and the Ministry of Interior & Coordination. The overall goal of the National ICT Master Plan is to guide the implementation of key transformational ICT projects. These will be key in creating efficiencies across the whole of government as well as delivery of trusted public sector services. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are one year into the devolved system of government. In order for us to harness the county system of government, my Ministry is also collaborating closely with our colleagues at the county level to ensure implement systems harmoniously. Projects such as NOFBI and County Connectivity Project (CCP) are some of the ICT infrastructure developments currently underway that will see all 47 counties fully interconnected. This will provide a basis for the development of robust e-government framework for not only improved quality of public service
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delivery but also enhanced citizen participation in mainstream decisions affecting their social, economic and political development.

Before I conclude, I wish to emphasize that my ministry has a grand vision of an information and knowledge-based Kenyan society. We will therefore implement the projects outlined in the Master Plan diligently in order to ensure maximum connectivity and access to information for all Kenyans as we transition the country to a knowledge economy. It is my hope that during this forum you will engage with government and other players as we seek to establish partnerships across the board: government to government or Government to Private sector. At the end of the Summit I would like you to identify 6 main projects informed by the ICT Master Plan and the Broadband Strategy and form a committee comprising between 15-20 people drawn from both private and government bodies to review progress quarterly and report to this forum annually. I wish to challenge the organizing team to reflect on issues that were agreed on during last years connected Kenya, track the achievements so far and look at this years expectations and derive an action plan. In conclusion, I wish all of us fruitful deliberations during this forum and hope that next years summit will examine the achievements made following the discussions that we will have arrived at during this summit.

Thank you and God bless you all.%

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