Hon. Eliud Owalo, CS for the Ministry of ICT on Monday opened the second African Telecommunications Union (ATU) preparatory Workshop for the World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly (WTSA-2).
The event is being held in Nairobi.
Speaking at the Workshop jointly hosted by ATU and the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the CS lauded the efforts made towards convening the Workshop to ensure that Africa is prepared to effectively participate and speak in one voice in WTSA-24, scheduled for October this year in New Delhi, India.
“Our Region has, for far too long, lost many opportunities through the pursuit of narrow national interests instead of championing our common good as Africans. Regional preparatory meetings of this nature, therefore, need to become the norm rather than the exception,” the CS noted.
CS Owalo appreciated the ITU for allowing Regional co-ordination of common proposals in readiness for the standard-setting and treaty-making conference and for the transformative standardization work across many areas of ICT, including advanced wireless, broadband, and multimedia technologies.
He underscored the need for strong institutions such as the ITU to be nurtured and supported to continue redefining innovations in the rapidly evolving ICT sector.
President Ruto’s government recognizes ICTs as the driver of the digital transformation of the economy.
The Government is depending on ICT as a solution to challenges such as unemployment, poverty, and public delivery constraints.
“The Government is fostering an enabling environment to enhance the adoption and uptake of new and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data Analytics, and distributed ledgers in light of the promise of fundamental transformation for our citizens,” said the CS.
The CS challenged all the stakeholders present in the Workshop to find inspiration in the vision of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which states: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. Let us play our part to actualize this vision.”
