Kwale County will this month launch free street Wi-Fi in Baraza Park and Ukunda, and an online services portal, KwalePay, using high-speed Internet from Liquid Telecom Kenya.
KwalePay will be a one-stop online gateway to all the county government’s services, meaning residents can get business licences, pay land rent and access council services from their mobile phones, home computers and cybercafés.
The installations will not only see Kwale join 39 counties across Kenya that have rolled out digitalised systems offering their services online, but also being among the first few – notably including Nakuru and Kiambu – to develop free street Wi-Fi.
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The new Internet services from Kwale County Government follow Liquid Telecom Kenya’s delivery of a 25Mbps fibre network connecting the county government headquarters and regional offices, and servicing Kwale’s new street Wi-Fi and digitalised services.
“We genuinely believe in the role that Internet connectivity plays in developing the economic prospects of a region through job creation and greater ease of doing business. Taking these services into some of Kenya’s counties is a mission of which we are very proud, and one that we shall continue to pursue with vigour,” said Adil Youssefi, CEO of Liquid Telecom Kenya.
According to the County ICT Director Mr Juma Kingi, the county’s Revenue Management System (RMS) will enable residents do all payments online, cutting long queues at the headquarters, and enhancing revenue collection and transparency.
“In this, ICT is removing the human interface from revenue collection. We have developed a payment solution and integrated an SMS platform that will send reminders to residents to pay their renewals fees before their due dates, in a system we believe will now double our revenue collection,” said Mr Kingi.
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Liquid Telecom has also installed a Wide Area Network (WAN) for the county government, connecting its headquarters with its regional offices in Msambweni, Matuga, Lunga Lunga and Kinango via a 36km-radius network.
“Our aim is to make county services accessible on mobile phones and in grassroot cybercafés, saving the residents time and money spent travelling to our headquarters. This will cut out long journeys, for instance, from Lunga Lunga to headquarters saving residents about Sh440 on transport alone,” said Anthony Mwamunga the Kwale County Government Chief of Staff.
The new network has also meant county staff are now able to use staff emails, where previously they had only personal Gmail or Yahoo accounts. “The county is also working on installing a call extension service across its offices to cut down its mobile phone calls costs,” said Kingi.
The development of high-speed Internet in Kwale has additionally opened up the county to new business opportunities and enabled residents to access services previously only available in Kenya’s major cities and towns.
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