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ICT

Makueni launches Ajiry centre; to help youth find well-paying jobs

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Tuesday officially launched the Ajiry programme and Ajiry center at the Wote Green Park.
The Makueni Ajiry center will offer a wide range of services to the youth including; Digital skills training, mentorship, free access to music and podcast recording studios, and cyber security training and certification.
According to the ICT, Education, and Internship ECM, Elizabeth Muli, this initiative will enable the youth to participate fully in the digital economy and expose them to job opportunities and online markets.
She noted that the digital space will also offer the youth a music studio where they could participate in recording their talents in music, podcasts, and deejaying.
Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr said that the impact of the center will not only be felt in the community but also beyond, adding that his administration has created a model that can be replicated in other parts of the country in empowering the youth to become change-makers in their own right.
He further said that the institution was a game changer in the quest for youth and women empowerment, digital skills, and the digital economy.
The programme is delivered in partnership with the Makueni county government, Tribus-TSG, a subsidiary of Centum Investment Company, and the Mastercard foundation.
 
 
 
 

Nairobi seeks to adopt the Maisha Med Technology system, learns from Makueni.

Makueni county delegation led by CECMs Elizabeth Muli (ICT, Education and Internship) and Dr. Paul Musila(Health Services) met with Nairobi county Health, Wellness and Nutrition Sector team led by the CECM, Dr Anastasia Nyalita to showcase the experience Makueni county has had with Maisha Med Technology in management of health commodities supplied by KEMSA.
The system used in Makueni facilitates better transparency and accountability across the supply chain system and contribute to inventory accuracy up to the health facilities.
ECM Ms.Elizabeth Muli

Governor Mutula Meets ICT PS, roots for ease network connectivity

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior on Monday met ICT and Digital Economy PS Eng. John Tanui for a discussion on possible areas of collaboration to enhance connectivity and innovation in Makueni.
Key highlights of the meeting include
• Konza Technopolis Data Centre to host the county data to ensure security
• Establishment of a number of village digital hubs by June
• Upgrading of the current 14 Community ICT centres
• Support in automation of key government services
• Implementation of Kibwezi,Kathonzweni and Mbooni County Connectivity Projects
• Wote Technical Training institute to receive a donation of at least 100 computers
The department of ICT was tasked with identifying and mapping of two hotspot centers, to be operationalized by June this year.

Makueni County Marks Safer Internet Day

On the 7th February 2023, the county government through the Department of ICT, Education and Internship hosted this years’ Safer Internet day in Makueni. The two day celebration was held in collaboration with Eveminet Communication Solutions Limited, an organization that is a Safer partner with Meta, TikTok and Google in Sub Saharan Africa and operating in the Education and Technology (Ed-Tech) Industry. The theme for this year was ‘Together For a Better Internet’.
The celebrations looked at a series of Online Safety roundtable engagements aimed at showcasing Innovative and Strategic advancements towards protecting children on the online space together with creating awareness and building capacities to all the players within the ecosystem of the child.
Stakeholders from key sectors around the children ecosystem were present with representation from KESSHA, Makueni Students Association, CIC and CTTI officers, students from Wote PWD centre, Ukia,Wote, Kathonzweni CICs and participation of Makueni boys and Ukia girls high schools.

Makueni Tech and Innovation hub wins the innovation hub of the year award

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On the 8th December 2022 Makueni Tech and Innovation hub a project by the County Government, was awarded the National Innovation Award in the category county government innovation hub of the year for the initiative to directly support innovators.

Makueni Tech and Innovation Hub aims to provide an open space for entrepreneurs and programmers to access. It also runs periodical innovation challenges tied closely with addressing local and global challenges. The hub has reached over 1000 through its initiatives geared toward building skills through and not limited to small scale manufacturing.

Some of the initiatives the hub has run in collaboration with its partners include:

  • Running of two Innovation challenges that have allowed cross learning with the innovation hubs beyond the county thus serving as a platform for county youth to think solutions for local problems and promotion of technology based ideas
  • Providing mentorship and training by reaching the unreached through two editions of the Kids tech bootcamps and Developers bootcamp with focus on encouraging women and young girls from highschools
  • Hosted the health innovation fair that would support the department of health realize solutions geared to prioritise and address its needs
  • Ran and hosted the regional innovation week a first for the region
  • Upskilling in small scale manufacturing through Emerging tech-3D printing, NoCode
  • Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit amongst youth in areas of business through Peperusha Maisha and in collaboration with local member hub for supporting women and enabling them digitally.
  • Support with funding to the top 10 awardees from the two innovation challenges
  • Sensitized the community on the start up bill
  • Working with Eco-system stakeholders to support the community such us Konza Technopolis, Communications Authority, University of Central Missouri, Association of Countrywide Innovation Hubs, IBM, Cisco, Google, Insight Health Advisors, KIPI and YASA

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Makueni County links tech systems with KEMSA to ensure health supplies efficiency.

Makueni County Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr has kicked off efforts to streamline the procurement of health commodities to boost healthcare delivery in the county.
 
The streamlining efforts will involve integrating and enhancing information technology (IT) based systems to power the procurement and distribution of health commodities. 
 
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call to Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) Chief Executive Officer Ms. Terry Ramadhani, Kilonzo Jnr said the county has undertaken to seal all loopholes facilitating loss of health commodities.
 
Based on an immediate needs assessment, the county, he said, has placed a Kshs 30 million order for essential medical supplies with KEMSA. The order comprises Oncology, Renal, surgical and related items, including Laboratory, Radiology, Dental and Linen items.
 
While imploring KEMSA leadership to provide the necessary support, the county, he added, will maintain a prudent just-in-time procurement plan for health supplies to avoid overstocking and stockout scenarios.
 
“In Makueni County, we have committed to providing the best healthcare possible. This cannot be possible if we continue to lose medicines ordered from KEMSA or cannot account for the supplies delivered,” he said. He added, “We have immediate plans to fully integrate our technology systems to provide end-to-end visibility and enhance our procurement planning and budget cycles.”
 
On her part, KEMSA CEO Ms Ramadhani welcomed Makueni County’s commitment to adopt technology systems and confirmed that the Authority is now banking on IT systems in its operations. The county, she said, will be seamlessly linked to the KEMSA Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) and the KEMSA Electronic Proof of Deliveries (e-POD App).
 
She said that by integrating systems, KEMSA and Makueni County would enjoy end-to-end visibility of the pharmaceutical inventories across the health commodities value chain.
 
“The focus by Makueni County to ensure a system-wide assurance of all deliveries from KEMSA is a welcome development. Such systems alignments will allow KEMSA and Makueni county to enjoy mutual integrity assurances and curb losses or financial inefficiencies including overstocking or delayed procurement,” she said. Adding that, “These systems will facilitate better operating information visibility across the supply chain system and contribute to inventory accuracy at the operating levels.” 
 
In the current order placed by Makueni, 240 rural health facilities, and 13 hospitals spread across the county’s six sub-Counties, will receive their supplies next week to boost primary and secondary healthcare goals.

ICT and Development

10,000 Makueni County residents are set to be empowered with ICT skills by global technology giant, Google.

The Makueni beneficiaries are part of 10 million people Google is equipping with relevant ICT skills in Africa in the next three years.

This plan was revealed on Friday by the country director of Google during a ceremony to commission the training which Google will undertake in collaboration with Makueni County government.

“The 10, 000 people set to be equipped with various ICT skills include the 1,500 people who have already studied basic computer skills under the county government’s Tusomeei Computer Nduani programme,” deputy Govenor Adelina Mwau said while welcoming Google.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana thanked Google for choosing Makueni as the first county where the program will start.

“The online space creates tremendous job opportunities which can be tapped to address youth unemployment. We shall work with Google to make Makueni a model county on ICT enabled job opportunities”, Kibwana said.

Makueni to pilot Telemedicine health provision

By Onesmus Nzioka

Makueni has yet again made enviable strides in its healthcare provision by venturing into Telemedicine.

Telemedicine is the remote delivery of healthcare services, such as health assessments or consultations over the telecommunications infrastructure.

The program, launched at Thange Africa Brotherhood Church, Thange ward, is a brainchild of the ABC church through the National Council of Churches of Kenya in partnership with the government of Makueni County.

The program, dubbed Comprehensive Community Healthcare Initiative (CCHI), was unveiled by ABC Archbishop in charge of East Africa Timothy Ndambuki and governor Kivutha Kibwana on Wednesday.

The program entails a mobile internet linked multi diagnosis kit based at Thange and doctors based at the Makueni County Referral Hospital, who are linked into the system through installed software on their side.

The system is both web and android based such that enlisted doctors will get alerts of booked cases from the remote health centre on their mobile phones as per their schedules of assigned duties.

Patients will walk into the Thange health facility, their diagnosis carried out by a resident nurse and the results relayed in real time to the doctors who will then analyze and prescribe the proper medication to be administered by the nurse at Thange.

For complicated cases, the system enlisted doctors will be able to seek further consultations from more qualified doctors across the globe on behalf of their patients.

Patients will also have a face-to-face consultation with the doctors, through teleconferencing, who will then direct the resident nurse(s) on what tests to carry out.

Governor Kibwana has directed the county health department to dedicate a unit for the telemedicine program on a 24-hour basis to make it work.

County Health Executive Andrew Mulwa has announced that all the county level 4 hospitals will be linked into the program so as to address a broad range of health services.

Makueni Launches Telemedicine

According to Archbishop Ndambuki, the program will be rolled out in the whole of Ukambani under the South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc (SEKEB) if it succeeds in Makueni.

The program is enabled by a digital communication network and applications provider registered in Kenya under the name DIGLOSO run by a US based Kenyan named John Musau.

Makueni has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the company for extensive roll out of the program.

Over 120 young people graduate from free advanced ICT training initiative

At least 120 youth from across the county have graduated from a 3-week free advanced ICT training program under “Tusomeei Computer Nduani” initiative fully funded by the County Government of Makueni.

The training was geared at equipping the young people with computational thinking and problem solving skills in order for them to succeed in the ever changing digital world.

They were competitively selected, 4 from each of the 30 wards and intensively trained on Web Design, Computer Hardware and Software, Graphics Design and computer Networks, with each trainee choosing an area of interest.

Konza Technopolis Development Authority CEO Eng John Tanui who addressed the graduands at Wote Technical Training Institute grounds on Friday said that the training was so timely with the Konza city taking shaping that it will provide a myriad of opportunities for the skilled young people.

“Konza Technopolis will be a sustainable, world-class technology hub and a major economic driver for Kenya, with a vibrant mix of businesses, workers, residents, and urban amenities. The skills you have acquired through this program are tools that prepare you to be among the key experts working at Konza as part of the journey to transform Kenya and Africa using ICT,” Tanui said.

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau who presided over the ceremony urged the graduands to take advantage of the skills they had acquired and exploit them to become resourceful and create job opportunities for other people in the society.

“What we require from you our graduands is focus and exploitation of the opportunities in ICT that will enable you earn income and create jobs. Not just using it in social media-WhatsApp, twitter and Facebook,” stated Mwau.

The over 120 youth who graduated from free advanced ICT training initiative.

Testimonies by some of the graduands tell of a people who have been empowered with technical skills and ready to face the world despite the increasing cases of unemployment among the young people.

Through the department of Education, Youth, Sports and ICT, the county government has trained other 4000 young people on basic ICT knowledge and has also established 15 Community Information Centres across the county where the citizenry are trained on basic ICT programs as well as access government services online.