Kenya, May 21 -- William Kabogo, the Cabinet Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy, has said that he does not need to be a technology expert to do his job well.
He believes that the ministry needs a strong leader rather than just someone who is very knowledgeable in information technology.
Kabogo, who used to be the Governor of Kiambu and has served as the Member of Parliament for Juja, feels that his experience in leadership helped him gain the trust of President William Ruto to join the Cabinet.
He explained, "To run a hospital, you don't have to be a surgeon. There isn't just one expert in this field. If you stay updated with the latest trends, you can manage ICT well."
He mentioned that when he joined the Ministry, he noticed some serious problems.
Many employees seemed unmotivated, and there were issues with maintaining proper employee records. For instance, he found that one agency couldn't tell him how many workers they had, which he felt was unacceptable.
He quickly instructed them to implement a biometric system for better management.
Kabogo is determined to bring change and improve the Ministry's operations. He often visits different offices to see how things are working and to push for necessary actions.
He aims to be the first Cabinet Secretary to create a fully digital government and mentioned that his Ministry went paperless starting April 7, 2025.
"It's important to me to make the government digital. This is not easy because there has been a lot of resistance to changing how things are done in government," he explained.
As part of his plans, he wants to set up a public online platform that allows Kenyans to talk directly with their leaders. "We want ministers to spend two hours talking to the people of Kenya," Kabogo noted.
He believes that giving Kenyans a chance to share their opinions and frustrations will help the government serve them better.
Reflecting on some recent online criticism he faced, he said, "We should let Kenyans express themselves. There were many jokes about me online, and that's what we expect in this country."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.