Kenya Begins Digital Skills Training for the Public Sector; Cybersecurity Is Not Mentioned

While the education of public sector personnel in digital skills is planned to be taught at a center of excellence that Kenya plans to construct, the education of public sector employees in cybersecurity does not appear to be a priority at this time.

We Are Tech Africa reports that Microsoft and the United Nations Development Programme are providing financial support for the establishment of a new facility in the country that will offer digital training to employees of the government. This includes the implementation of projects such as increasing access to high-speed Internet, storing data in the cloud, making use of advanced technology, doing away with paper in government offices, and delivering universal services over the internet.

One of the objectives of the center is to “use ICT [information and communications technology] to enhance government service delivery to the citizen,” which is in accordance with Kenya’s Digital Master Plan 2022-2032.

In Regards to Online Safety, What Obligations Do We Have?
The training that is being delivered does not mention cybersecurity or data protection in any way. Researchers argue that enhancing cybersecurity is crucial to the region’s digital success; yet, the Kenyan Ministry of ICT did not answer to Dark Reading’s request for comment on the topic when asked for their thoughts on the matter.

Confidence Staveley, founder of the Cybersafe Foundation and an activist, feels that this kind of digital training could lay the foundation for a future influx of trained cybersecurity workers in Africa.

Regarding the significance of including cybersecurity into the partnership, she continues, “I think this particular partnership will most likely have a fundamental element of cybersecurity, which will come in the form of safe and responsible use of digital,” “There is a very low digital literacy rate in parts of Africa, particularly among public workers because they have been used to doing their work without computing systems or were not digital; many governments are still clinging to the analogue ways of doing things,” said one researcher. “The reason for this is that they have been accustomed to doing their work without computing systems or were not digital.”

She goes on to say, “Therefore, at the same time that there is a move to digitize government systems, there should also be a common move to upskill public workers. I think this initiative is doing that, and it is very commendable.”

As a follow-up to the announcement made in February regarding a new center of excellence in information and communication technology at the United States International University in Kenya, this piece of news is an integral component of a broader movement. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Microsoft and the United Nations Development Programme in October 2022. The purpose of this document was to discuss the possibility of future cooperation and map out next steps in Nigeria.