Government steps up efforts to use power lines to distribute internet

Internet Connectivity

Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo has reiterated the government’s resolve to use power transmission lines to distribute high speed internet in the country.

Owalo said the government had already contracted the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) to start laying fibre optic cables alongside power transmission lines up to every transformer and ultimately to every meter in the country.

The CS spoke at the Weru Technical and Vocational College (TVC) in Malindi Constituency, Kilifi County, where he launched a Jitume Digital Hub. The hub, which is the 205^th to be launched in the country, is equipped with 50 computers donated by the Konza Metropolis Development Authority and is connected with high-speed internet.

“We have been digging trenches to lay fibre optic cables, but we have now changed the strategy. We shall be using power transmission lines to ensure that fibre optic cables reach every electricity transformer in the country and eventually to every house that has a meter,” he said.

“We have given the contract to Kenya Power Company, which has already started the work, and very soon the problems we have been having concerning internet will be solved.” The CS also said the government would connect all wholesale and retail markets across the country with internet to enable traders to do their businesses online.

“We also have a plan to connect all markets in the country to internet so that our women can do their businesses online,” he said. On the digital laboratories, the CS said his ministry would work with Members of the National Assembly to build digital laboratories in all the 1450 wards in the country.

The MPs will use their NG-CDF kitties to construct the labs while the ministry, through its relevant organs will equip them, he said. “We started this programme in technical and vocational education training centres (TVTEs) and since we are through with the TVETs, we want to go to the grassroots, where we intend to have digital hubs in every ward so that our youths can get online jobs,” he said.

Owalo said since the programme started, 460,000 youths had been trained on internet use with 189,000 linked to jobs. Jitume is an initiative aimed at providing the youth with access to digital services, digital skills, and opportunities to enable them take advantage of technology for job creation, with a view to reducing the rate of unemployment in Kenya.

At the same time, Owalo said the government was committed to ensuring that all government services are offered though the e-citizen platform in order to minimize corruption and the cost travelling to seek such services.

“When the Kenya Kwanza government took over about one and a half years ago, there were only 350 government services on the e-citizen platform. Now, we have put 17,020 services to the platform,” he said. He said it would no longer be necessary for government to force wananchi to seek its services in offices, which encouraged corruption as some officers put a lot of roadblocks in order to get bribes.

“Under the e-citizen portal, we shall eliminate corruption and brokerage and ensure that Kenyans get services without having to give bribes,” he said. Malindi Member of Parliament Amina Mnyazi welcomed the opening of the digital laboratory at the Weru TVET College and urged the youth to make use of the facility to empower themselves intellectually and economically.