• Kenya plans to establish a Regional Center of Competence focused on digital skills and AI.
• The center will back the Kenya Digital Master Plan 2022-2032, which aims to train 300,000 civil servants by 2030.

The Kenyan government is set to establish a Regional Center of Competence focused on advancing digital skills and artificial intelligence (AI), a move aimed at bolstering the capabilities of civil servants to enhance the quality of public services for the populace.

The initiative is backed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and will be affiliated with the Kenya School of Government, an institution dedicated to the ongoing professional development of public administration executives and civil servants. The center's launch was discussed last week during a meeting between John Tanui (photo, right), Principal Secretary for Digital Economy and ICT, and his counterpart responsible for Public Service and Human Capital Development, Jane Kere Imbunya (photo, left).

This undertaking aligns with the Kenyan government's broader digital transformation agenda, which seeks to harness digital technology for socio-economic progress. Cultivating the digital proficiency of civil servants stands as a key pillar of the "Kenya Digital Master Plan 2022-2032." The government has set an ambitious target to train 300,000 civil servants in digital services by 2030, representing 85% of public employees.

This approach finds support from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In its report, "Developing skills for digital government: A review of good practices across OECD governments," the OECD emphasizes that to facilitate the transition to digital administration, nations must invest in developing the skills of their civil servants. This comes against the backdrop of a World Bank estimation that nearly 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will demand digital skills by the year 2030.

However, the specific timeline for the center's operationalization remains undetermined. Furthermore, the OECD cautions that the effectiveness of civil servant training will hinge on its design and implementation. The organization recommends that governments identify crucial digital skills, assess the existing competencies of public employees, address any gaps with customized training programs, and subsequently evaluate the impact to refine future initiatives.

By Isaac K. Kassouwi,

Editing by Sèna D. B. de Sodji