June 12 2018                By Cheruiyot Korir

Cabinet Secretary for ICT Joe Mucheru has said there is need to intensify application of technology to create employment opportunities and secure financial transactions.

Mr Mucheru said the government has already set up a taskforce of Distributed Ledger and Artificial Intelligence that will help the adoption of block chain technology and artificial intelligence and machine learning to resolve some of the challenges in the human society.

Mr Mucheru said technology provide security measures against risks of financial transactions and has potential to create employment for the youth and catalyse the country’s economic growth.

Speaking at a Nairobi Hotel during a workshop to mark the International Social Media Week, Mr Mucheru said the country needs to position itself as a manufacturer of digital devices.

The Principal Secretary noted that in the next two years, the country is projected to import over 40 million devices, a situation he noted demonstrated the existing market for the devices.

He said Kenya should take up the challenge to start device manufacturing to service the needs of millions of mobile phone uses and other digital gadgets.

He said the first draft report of the Taskforce on Distributed Ledger and Artificial Intelligence will be released in the next two weeks and will provide the road map for the development and integration digital platforms across the economy.

He assured investors in the technology that the government would create enabling laws and regulations to guide the sector. He cited the Computer and Cybercrime law that was recently enacted which he observed will protect social media users against vulnerability.