Nairobi: The Principal Secretary for ICT, Eng John Tanui, has reiterated the Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy's dedication to advancing the Bottom-up Transformation Agenda, Vision 2030, and other objectives outlined in its Digital Master Plan. Eng Tanui emphasized the ministry's achievements and ongoing efforts during a session with evaluators from the Public Service Performance Management Unit (PSPMU) at the ministry's headquarters in Nairobi. The evaluation focused on the Performance Contracts for the 2025/2026 period.
According to Kenya News Agency, Eng Tanui expressed confidence in the efforts made by the teams from the Ministry's State Departments of ICT and the Digital Economy and Broadcasting and Telecommunication over the past year. These efforts aim to enhance public communication, connectivity, and digitization, aligning with the commitments set out in the performance contracts from the previous financial year. Eng Tanui assured the evaluators of the ministry's full cooperation in providing evidence of their achievements, underscoring the importance of data-driven decisions in improving public service delivery.
He urged the ministry's teams to present all evidence of their commitments to justify every statement and performance indicator. Eng Tanui expressed gratitude to the various agencies involved in ensuring the ministry's performance is evidence-based. He highlighted Kenya's global recognition in financial indicators, the growth of the digital economy and services, and the expansion of connectivity and digital platform usage in the country.
Eng Tanui also noted the increasing investment from technology stakeholders and businesses, mentioning the establishment of an Apple Training Centre at Strathmore and the growth of the Microsoft Africa Development Centre. He acknowledged the presence of private sector Business Processing Outsourcing (BPOs) in Kenya, including Teleperformance, which has significantly expanded its workforce in the country over the past year.
The Principal Secretary emphasized the critical nature of achieving set business targets for the ministry's future work, aiming to ensure the thriving digital economy and unlocking opportunities in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, software development, and manufacturing. He mentioned the production of over 4 million locally produced devices by the private sector and expressed pride in the rise of the electronics industry in Kenya.
Eng Tanui invited the PSPMU to identify areas for further improvement to maximize the digital sector's contribution to the economy. He highlighted the potential for the digital economy to significantly contribute to GDP, with expectations for more exports as Kenya prepares to host a software and AI summit.
Vincent Sutei, the evaluation team leader from PSPMU, emphasized key requirements for the evaluation process, including the use of the Government Performance Conducting Information System. He stressed the importance of the Ministry undergoing self-evaluation to establish a composite score, which was 3.2396 for the Ministry. Sutei highlighted guidelines for interpreting indicators and emphasized the need for authentic evidence from audited accounts.
He revealed that the evaluation team would rely on annual reports and financial statements submitted to the Office of the Auditor General, signed by the Principal Secretaries heading the state departments of ICT and the Digital Economy and Broadcasting and Telecommunications.