President William Ruto has said the government is in the process of introducing a digital identifier to replace the failed Huduma Number.
Speaking during a Data Privacy Conference organized by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on Friday, January 27, the head of state said it is the responsibility of the government to identify Kenyans and that will happen before the end of 2023.
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“I have asked the ministry of ICT to work on a digital identity instead of the big Huduma thing that never was so that we can finally as Kenya have a digital identity and by the end of this year, Kenyans must be able to identify themselves digitally,” said Ruto.
The president added that the government was gearing up to increase the number of services available digitally to achieve a target of 5000 by the end of 2023.
“I am looking forward to our commitment that in the next six months, we will have 5000 government services available in the digital space. Already, we have 300 government services as of two weeks ago and have increased that to 600 in the last two weeks,” he said.
Ruto also spelt the commitment of his government to utilize the technological facilities available in the country, to ensure Kenyans enjoy the full potential from the vast investments that were made using public resources.
He added that the government will tap the efforts of all Kenyans trying to invent solutions through technology, promising that each will reap from their efforts.
It is our intention to ensure that Kenya finally reaps its overdue dividend from the heavy investment in ICT infrastructure made over the last two decades. With six submarine fibre optic cables offering broadband connectivity over 9000 km of terrestrial fibre optic connecting nearly all county headquarters,” said Ruto.
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“The government of Kenya is committed to working with all stakeholders to expand the space for creativity and innovation through the promotion of expression and also intellectual property rights.”
The Huduma Number, which was touted to be a game-changer in digital identification, failed to succeed in what the current ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo termed as an untimely launch.
“The pitfall that befell Huduma Namba is that there was no adequate sensitization at the beginning. And if you remember it was being launched at a time when there was also a crowded political atmosphere. So there were suspicions about it,” said Owalo.
The huduma number was also dealt a blow by the High Court, who termed the rollout as unconstitutional for its contravention of the data protection provisions.
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