Why the Govt is extending fiber internet connectivity to six bandit hit counties

The national government through the Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy will team up with the private sector  and its development partners  to connect bandit hit counties of  Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana, West Pokot, Samburu and Laikipia with fiber internet.

This, the Principal Secretary  of ICT  John Tonoi says, will not only  help convey timely security information from the six counties facing perennial cattle rustling problems, but also  expand their digital economies.

Speaking  on Friday in Baringo North sub- county when launching Jitume Digital laboratory at the Kapchepkor Technical Institute, PS Tonoi noted  that in collaboration with the Interior Ministry, they will extend fiber internet connectivity to reach all insecurity prone areas in the North Rift region.

“We have planned and sent a team of experts and they have surveyed and identified the exact spots where the internet connectivity as well as mobile phone masts will be set,” he  said.

PS Tonoi  further revealed that the government also working on modalities to extend broadband connectivity by road which is currently at Emining in Mogotio Sub County and it will extend to Marigat, Mukutani and link up with neighbouring counties of Laikipia, Samburu, Turkana and West Pokot.

He  encouraged the youth to embrace the Jitume Programe,  insisting it will help them tap opportunities beyond the country, now that white collar jobs are not so easy to come by.

Last year in December, President William Ruto launched the Jitume  to provide  the youth with access to digital skills, e-services, and online opportunities to youth across the country.

The program is currently being implemented by the Ministry f ICT and the Digital Economy, Ministry Education, Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and Ministry of Labour led by  Konza Technopolis, ICT Authority, and TVET Authorities.

On its Digital Superhighway and the Creative Economy pillar in the Bottom Up Economic Agenda (BETA),  the government has allocated  Ksh 15.1 billion for funding  various initiatives in the Information, Communication, and Technology sectors, out of which , Ksh 1.2 billion will be used to build data centers  (including Jitume laboratories) and smart city facilities across the country.