The Council of Governors organised a consultative meeting for County Executive Committee Members (CECs) in charge of Information and Communication Technology at Azure Hotel, Nairobi on 21st March, 2018. This was the initial meeting held between the ICT Caucus members since the new County Cabinets were formed.
The committee, whose mandate includes matters relating to ICT development in the County, met to review the progress that the counties have made in the last five years of Devolution and to plan for the next five years.Speaking to the County Executive Members in charge of ICT on behalf of the chairman of the Committee – H E Alex Tolgos, Mr Raymond Komen, CEC in charge of ICT Nakuru County and the Chairman of the ICT CECs caucus said that ICT has for long been neglected yet it is the middle enabler of all development in this era.  “ICT in many cases is disregarded. For the past five years, most County Governments took a back seat on ICT. Over the next five years, it is our duty to bring the ICT sector to play a major role in development,” he said.
The role of ICT in social and economic development cannot be undermined. With this in mind it is imperative that the CEC’s adequately plan inclusion of ICT to improve service delivery to the citizens. The CECs conjointly agreed with the Council of Governors to hasten the activities  of the committee hence improving the sector at the County level. In a very interactive session, the executive members shared their experiences on challengers and possible solutions to the challenges.
The ICT sector unanimously agreed to hold regular, structured meetings to share ideas and ways to implement them to suit individual county needs to generate revenue and ease the delivery of services whose impact is felt at the grass root level.
Counties have identified that there is a need for a policy on the disposal of ICT Assets especially upon staff exit to ensure that there’s continuity. Additionally there is need to develop an ICT strategic plan for ICT transformation agenda for all counties. As it stands, ICT is not a fully devolved function and County Governments are looking forward to work together with the Ministry of ICT to develop these and more ICT policies to be implemented at the County level.
In attendance were Jambo pay, Strathmore Business School and DellEMC who were invited to present opportunities for possible partnership. In this 2nd generation of County Governments, the CECs have identified the need to explore possible partnership opportunities between Counties and the private sector for development. The plans that leadership has in place assures Kenyans that the future for ICT at the County looks bright.