Business Daily (Nairobi)
Kui Kinyanjui
2 January 2008
Even as the nation's attention remains fixed on resolving the political impasse that has become of last week's general election, the outcome of the parliamentary contest has produced some upsets with implications on government operations.
As in every election, every five years, new faces would be expected in the House while some familiar ones would be sent packing.
With 20 ministers having lost their parliamentary seats, President Kibaki will miss the services of key drivers of his government when he forms the new Cabinet in the next few days.
Among the top casualties of the December 27 vote is Information and Communication minister Mutahi Kagwe who had cut himself out as a reformist on a mission of making Kenya a technology hub.
He was hounded out of office by the former chairman of the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, Mr Kabando wa Kabando, who wrested the Mukurweini seat away from him by garnering 23,865 votes against Mr Kagwe's 22,062.
The man, who once forced a World Bank official to admit to having to work extra hard to keep pace with him, will be remembered for his attempts to create a more technology friendly government.
Under his stewardship, the Ministry of Information and Communications took up the mantle of directing policy on the emerging Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector, which was becoming recognised as a key pillar of the country's economic growth.
Mr Kagwe, 49, took over the merged Information and Communications docket following a Cabinet reshuffle in 2005, after the Constitution referendum that the Government lost.
In the two years of its existence, the ministry has become associated with the quick implementation of key initiatives expected to drive the economy in coming years.
"Soon after we settled at the ministry, the Minister asked us to come up with an overall plan to guide the sector through the next few years. The fruits of that policy have come to bear in a very short time," said Information Permanent Secretary, Dr Bitange Ndemo.
Together, the dynamic duo of Mr Kagwe and Dr Ndemo crafted a new strategy that sought to capture the potential of the communications industry - already evidenced in the booming mobile sector -hoping to include it in the wider economic arena.
The country's endeavour to lower the costs of telecommunications - call rates were then among the region's highest - resulted in the first government-led push to connect the country to the rest of the world via an international fibre optic cable link.
The arrival of the cable and the growth of a more technology dependant society led to the development of a Business Process Outsourcing industry, which Mr Kagwe's ministry attempted to streamline and market in order to make the sector a significant revenue earner.
Also, the creation of increased rural access to connectivity led to the Ministry's creation of the digital village, which hoped to draw more grass roots use of technology in remote areas.
Mr Kagwe plunged into politics in 2002, following a long career in the media. He started his career as a marketing manager for Mashambani Magazine, before moving on to become the group advertising manager, commercial manager and commercial operations director at the Standard Group Limited between 1987 and 1994.
He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Nairobi, and an MBA from the United States International University (USIU).
Mr Kagwe currently holds the chairmanship of Research International, East Africa and is a director of Tell-em Public Relations.
The minister faced his most severe test when certain sections of the Media Bill were debated last year, enduring a mass protest by the very industry he had served against a proposed policy that was widely believed would muzzle the local Press.
The Bill was later passed with several amendments brought about by intense lobbying and debate within the media industry.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Daily. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
