ICT policy and strategies: towards e-governance and sustainable development-the case of East African Community and Kenya

Abstract

The answers to the research question as to how ICT policy and e-strategy can spur good governance and sustainable development in Kenya and the EAC Sub-region have been articulated in this thesis by presenting both developed generic ICT policy statements and specific ones matching Kenya and EAC. This thesis strongly argues that ICT policy and e-strategy not charity, shall determine whether new technologies become tools for good governance and sustainable development. It challenges governments to take lead in incubating new ICT applications if faster and sustainable adoption of the technology is expected. The surveys conducted at ALGAK and in Bungoma district in Kenya revealed that local authorities were neither informed nor involved in the ongoing national e-government implementation. Also exposed by research is the anecdotal evidence that the egovernment rollout was being implemented using a top-down approach. This thesis argues the pros and cons of such action and proposes a suitable model based on research. This thesis presents the observation that the Kenyan laws and regulations relating to ICT had five key characteristics that made them inadequate. The probable basis for the identified characteristics is cited, followed by the accompanying recommendations of the appropriate legal and regulatory reforms needed in order to create an enabling environment in Kenya. 2 Trends in ICT indicators such as mobile phone subscribers, mobile communications revenue, annual telecommunication investment and International bandwidth of OECD, COMESA and EAC countries have been studied and discussed. A generic and holistic e-strategy conceptual framework named Multi-Layered and Networked MuL_Net is described. The MuL_Net model has been partially tested and the results are presented. The thesis also discusses the findings to the question as to whether the Kenya ICT policy formulation process was informed by the existing local ICT initiatives and if any linkages existed between them.