The government is set to save Sh170 billion from the deal entered between the Kenya Power Company and the Ministry of Information, Communications, and The Digital Economy, where the Kenya power transmission lines are being used to roll out the 100,000 fibre optic cables throughout the country.

This was revealed by Information, Communications, and The Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo, who said the deal is not only cost-effective but also ensures efficiency in the delivery of the fibre optic cable by 2026 and not 2027 as was initially planned.

CS Owalo said that the initial plan of digging trenches to lay the cable cost tax payers Sh2.3 million per kilometer, which was deemed to be expensive compared to the current plan of using Kenya power transmission lines at a cost of Sh600 thousand per kilometer.

‘The use of Kenya power transmission lines to deliver the 100,000 kilometers of fibre optic cable is not only cheap but will also see us complete the job a year earlier than anticipated,’ Owalo sta
ted.

He observed that the arrangement with Kenya power will also enable the delivery of high speed internet connectivity to every household and business premises which have Kenya power meters once completed.

Owalo, who was speaking at Nyamira Girls High School in Siaya County during the school’s ICT day, said that the government is committed to ensuring that everyone in the country has access to high-speed internet connectivity because it’s a key enabler of economic growth.

‘The government has plans to revitalise and rejuvenate the performance of all sectors of the economy by leveraging on ICT, and that is why, we are committed to ensuring the delivery of 100 000 kilometers of fibre optic cable to avail high-speed internet to every part of the country by 2026,’ said Owalo.

The CS observed that the creation of 1450 digital hubs across the country will solve the problem of rural-urban migration among the youth who migrate to cities in search of jobs.

‘With digital hubs connected to high-speed internet esta
blished in all wards across the country, the youth will not have to migrate because of the existing opportunities on the digital platforms, which will enable them to work for companies from different parts of the world,’ he said.

Owalo observed that once the youth are trained through the public digital hubs, it is anticipated that they will establish their own private digital hubs where additional youths will benefit, even in the remote parts of the country.

‘Through the multiplier effect, we will have a critical mass of digital hubs in the villages, and we will not have idle youth because of lack of gainful activities,’ Owalo said.

He disclosed that currently there are over 2000 registered students undertaking high education on the e-learning platform domiciled at Konza.

‘In October last year, President William Ruto commissioned an open university where students can leverage the e-learning platform to access higher education, which was not only expensive but also characterised by exclusivity.’

The ICT a
nd Digital Economy boss said that the e-learning platform promoted by the Kenya Kwanza government is both cheap and promotes inclusivity in the education sector in a world where institutions no longer need to confine students to four-walled classrooms.

Source: Kenya News Agency