Kenya’s Open Data Portal was launched on the 15th of July 2011 by President Mwai Kibaki and according to Ministry of Information Permanent Secretary Dr. Bitange Ndemo, this will allow more Kenyans to have access to public data, ensure transparency and accountability.
“Our role as a ministry is to take data and convert it into information so that it can be used for economic development. We have more than one hundred applications from our young people. They are going to be replicated in many countries,” says Ndemo.
The portal will allow free access by the public to data such as the national census, geospatial information, statistical data on health, education etc.
The project has earned the praise of international institutions, among them the World Bank.
Aleem Walji, Practice Manager at the World Bank Institute for Innovation says the bank has urged the government to take the next step and establish partnerships with Kenyans so as to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy.
“Almost overnight, you have taken a step that has not only catapulted Kenya but Africa to the global stage and created the opportunity to move from what I’d like to call e-government to we-government,” says Walji.
Brian Adero
