Each Kenyan government ministry will have a chief information officer (CIO) before the end of this financial year, according to Ministry of ICT cabinet secretary Dr Fred Matiangi.
Speaking at today’s International Data Corporation (IDC) inaugural East Africa CIO Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, Matiangi said times had changed and citizens needed to get services delivered to them in real-time.
“As the ministry working with the ICT Authority we are reorganising service delivery and this financial year we are going to try and ensure every ministry is accorded the services of a CIO,” said Matiangi.
He said the CIOs will be tasked with providing linkages with the ICT Authority and with critical service providers in various ministries.
Unlike in the past, when CIOs only focused on mundane activities such as procurement and vendor activities, Matiangi said, this time they will engage in the adoption of technologies to provide solutions for the needs of the people.
“The public sector is too vendor-driven, we spend too much time on operational issues and procurement areas, we procure solutions left, right and centre and don’t have time for organic management of solutions for the people of Kenya,” he said.
Matiangi said with the increased use of the internet and mobile phones there was a need for the government to catch up and change the way it operates, revealing government services will soon be launched on mobile.
“I am having discussions with my colleagues in the Ministry of Industrialisation and Enterprise about the change and transferring the process of licensing in Kenya, for people to apply for permits and various licences from the mobile platform,” said Matiangi.
