West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin has welcomed the establishment of a modern digital Centre of Excellence, saying it is long overdue as it shall help address the surging numbers of unemployed youth in society.
Speaking while hosting a team led by the Konza Technopolis Chief Manager Construction, Operations Management Engineer Antony Sang on a site tour for the establishment of a modern digital Centre of Excellence within the county.
The Governor noted that despite the earlier visit and the identification of a site at Bendera in the Siyoi ward, so much has happened and the 1.4 acres needed for the project could not be reached owing to some logistical challenges.
“So much has happened and the Bendera site, which was the most appropriate, now lacks the recommended land size for the grand project.
However, as a county we are not short of government land resources and we do not want to delay the project,” reiterated Kachapin.
The team was taken around and an alternative site was settled on at the Tartar area within the same subcounty, where the contractor was shown the new site and initial construction procedures were undertaken.
The Governor added that his administration was keen on supporting any government initiative aimed at helping residents realise economic empowerment through the digital economy.
Kachapin noted that the benefits of open Wi-Fi hotspots were already being realised as members of the public were seen accessing internet services at various points.
On his part, Eng. Sang maintained that since the multimillion project had been approved and tenders issued to contractors, it was prudent to have a site identified so that the contractor could start work immediately.
“The government, under the digital economic blueprint, wishes to establish 1450 digital units across the country. The first phase starts with 50 centres, which have to be done by the end of this Financial Year. In West Pokot we have one such to be done in one ward,” stated the Engineer.
He noted that there were several steps the government was undertaking to create a Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy as envisaged in the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Eng. Sang argued that the project will see the youth agenda addressed among other sectors such as education, healthcare and agriculture through digital connectivity.
The contractor, led by Timothy Makumi, noted that they had been given the pilot project to do the first 50 centres across wards and their work will determine the other centres being undertaken by other stakeholders.
“What we are appealing for from the local communities is to have maximum cooperation and we promise to use the local manpower and locally available materials during our construction works. We are delighted that out of the various counties visited, West Pokot is unique because it is the only one we have been received by the Governor,” he noted.
By Richard Muhambe