THE ICT LANDSCAPE IN KENYA

KENYA : ICT WEAKNESSES

If followed to the letter, Kenya's national ICT policy (create a link to the paper!) paper provides a recipe for the realization of the full benefits of using ICT in all sectors of the economy. Among other things, it recognizes the use of ICT as an empowerment tool, its role in social, cultural, and environmental issues, poverty eradication, government, and the general welfare of the population.

As we will later see, despite a huge market, there is minimal production of ICT in Kenya. . Some of the factors that have led to this situation include:

Lack of awareness of the applications and benefits of ICT: With an adult illiteracy rate of about 16%, it is not surprising that many people have never seen a computer. This is especially so among the rural people in general and women in particular. To be able appreciate and use ICT, someone has to be able to read and/write, hence the need to allocate resources to address illiteracy.

?Poor infrastructure: Fixed-line infrastructure is relatively poor, with quite a number of lines being non operational. The lack of electricity in the rural areas also hinders a lot of people from using computers. If this is going to be realized, there is need to invest in other sources of power such as generators, or solar power.

Lack of protection/enforcement of intellectual property rights : Though Kenya recognizes intellectual property rights, enforcement is weak. Sometimes the police officers involved in piracy raids are not trained on intellectual property law. It has also been reported that some customs officials have no way of determining the genuineness of ICT hardware and software, even after being sufficiently tipped off.

Poor economic climate (bread or broadband?): Kenya is a developing country with a low GDP. With the youth comprising about 40% of the population, there is simply very little money from the national budget that can go into ICT. Most of the money goes into provision of free primary education and education in general, and health. This is compounded by the effects of HIV/AIDS which affects the most productive section of society, and puts a strain on the economy.