Rural villages to benefit as Govt plans Sh1 .5 billion ICT centres

By Joel Okwayo

Information and Communication Centres in rural villages are at the core of government efforts to increase access to the Internet across the country.

Up to Sh1.5 billion will be spent on establishing these centres, which will allow users to get much needed information and also make business transactions easier and cheaper. Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya said the funds would be disbursed to 80 districts during the roll-out of the programme in the current financial year.

"Each constituency should have an ICT centre, where youth and women can access information from various sectors in order to improve on their literacy levels and improve their living standards," said Oparanya. The minister said the ICT centres are in line with the Government’s objective of achieving the goals out lined in Vision 2030, its development blueprint.

"Each constituency was allocated Sh1 million from Treasury, and MPs must install the facilities without delay," said Oparanya.

He said the electorate must be ready to put their MPs to task to ensure that funds being released to the constituencies are utilised well.

Oparanya said the Government was embracing ICT to ensure better management of resources in both the public and private sectors.

Last week, the World Bank released Sh8 billion to support the various aspect of ICT development in the country.

Part of the money will go to the Kenya ICT board to be used to help entrepreneurs doing internationally sourced internet-related work get cheaper Internet connection.