The government is making deliberate efforts to bridge the digital divide by developing and expanding ICT infrastructure across the country, Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Innovation, Sammy Itemere has said.

Mr. Itemere said, with well-developed digital infrastructure in the country, the public will be able to access scientific data and tools needed to achieve sustainable development and the Vision 2030 goals.

Speaking when he presided over the ICT week in Nairobi, Mr. Itemere said, since the government launched the Kenya Open data Portal Initiative, citizens now access  information of key government projects and expenditure for both national and County level through the portal.

The Principal Secretary observed that, the Open Data Initiative has attracted interest among the public seeking for information.  He said, the development has won accolades to the country because it has improved governance and implementation of the constitution.

He said the objective of the data portal is to avail critical information for researchers, policy makers, ICT innovators and the public for key decision-making.

The Principal Secretary, however, explained that some of the challenges in making data public are issues of privacy, confidentiality, and commercial advantage.

He said, while developing the IT infrastructure, experts should prioritize security to curb possibilities of theft and hacking of systems.

May 18, 2017        By Cheruiyot Korir