Nairobi, Friday September 25th, 2020: Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb Raychelle Omamo has said her ministry will work closely with the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) to attract investors and investment into the project.
The CS said this during a tour of the Technopolis while accompanied by her Information Communication and Technology, Innovation and Youth Affairs counterpart, Mr. Joe Mucheru.
“We are here to project the innovative potential of our country to let the world know and ensure those who come, come with believable, bankable projects early; Our hope is that Kenya will continue to grow as a digital destination. Our key role is to showcase the competitiveness of our country and ICT is our competitive edge, ”she said.
Amb. Omamo added that visiting the Technopolis and “experiencing the strength of the vision within its complex is powerful.”
“As Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we tell the Kenyan story, and the story is a multifaceted one that brings together the dynamic nature of our country, its transformative vision and innovative nature of our people. When we tell the story, we tell it from the heart,” she added.
On his part, Mr. Mucheru said partners and organizations are gearing to set up at the Technopolis: “We have different partners and organizations which are coming to put up their facilities. They include universities, hospitals and organizations providing accommodation. They are progressing although there have been delays owing to the COVID-19.”
Mr. Mucheru further said horizontal infrastructure development was currently on-going at the Technopolis, adding that as a Vision 2030 Project, it was on target. Konza Technopolis, he added, presents numerous opportunities for the youth in the country who constitute 75 % of the population.
The CS pointed out that the on-going progress on the project was as a result of great partnerships with political leaders, communities and Government ministries. Also of importance, the CS added, is the smooth and seamless integration of teams working on the project. He was also quick to add that Konza is a Government project requiring support of every Government ministry in order for it to succeed.
Also present during the visit were Oracle Kenya Managing Director, Mr. David Bunei, Microsoft Kenya CEO, Ms Kendi Ntwiga-Nderitu and Huawei Kenya CEO, Mr. Will Meng.
The CS encouraged the technology partners to discuss how Konza can work with global leading tech firms as partners to serve Konza Technopolis enterprises, residences and users of the Konza National Data Center with services required as a package.
The CSs and the other guests planted trees at Konza to mark the World Green Building Week which kicked off on Monday, September 21st, 2020 and ends on Friday, September 25th, 2020. CS Mucheru reiterated that tree planting was in line with the government’s greening agenda.
The Constitution of Kenya under Article 69, section 1(b)) indicates that, the State shall work to achieve and maintain a tree cover of at least 10% of the land area of Kenya. Currently, the country is at 7.6% forest cover, making it one of the least forested countries on the continent.
To bridge this gap, the government launched a tree growing programme titled the ‘Greening Kenya campaign’, by the Ministries of Interior & Co-ordination of National Government, Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
As one of the activities to commemorate the week, KoTDA held a Webinar themed Green Infrastructure and Urban Greening for Sustainable Cities in conjunction with Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS).
Principal Secretary Ministry of Information Communication and Technology, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Mr. Jerome Ochieng who was the key speaker challenged the participants to replace candle blowing tradition during birthdays with planting trees “the same number as our new age.”
Panelists in the discussion who were Dr. Vitsal Bhatt, Director Cities and Communities, US Green Building Council, Mrs. Caroline Kariuki, Co-Founder GreenPot Enterprises and Safiatu Diallo, Special Projects Lead, BuildX were unanimous that time was ripe to embrace tree planting and sustainability in order to improve on the quality of life. The Webinar was moderated by KGBS, CEO, Mr. John Kabuye.
This year’s theme of the World Green Building Week is ‘Act on Climate,’ which is calling on the building sector, policymakers and governments to take urgent action to deliver net zero buildings.