Slow internet connectivity hampering economic growth

By Collins Shahonya

With the digitization of every sector and with the self proclaimed digital government in power, everyone needs to understand the basics of computer operation and more so internet use.

A constituency with more than 100,000 people, Kajiado East, specifically Isinya town is lugging behind in the wake of the digital era.

And one wonders what our mobile service providers are doing to bring things to normalcy. Safaricom and Orange users and those who own cyber café providing internet connectivity with routers and modems from these service providers are the most disadvantaged lot.

a safaricom antenna at the MRTC,Isinya

A day to a cyber café leaves everyone disappointed and regretting, ending their day with unaccomplished tasks and failing to meet prospective companies and employer set deadlines.

Isinya town has three cyber cafés operating on rat race internet connectivity and a free centre- Isinya Maarifa, an initiative by ALIN which serves well compared to the three sighted cyber cafés.

 

Isinya Maarifa centre

Most of the previous cyber cafés had to be closed down due to poor internet connectivity which has an adverse effect to the chain of interdependence. With one closing his business initiative, the number of those self employed reduces drastically. This brings on board the unemployment ghost that never reduces in our country.

Government services can not be accessed in real time too, and with the said government abolishing newspaper advertisements from it, I fear that Isinya residents will be left in the dark.

Though one can argue that smart phones are adequately available, not all of them which are affordable to the common mwananchi can perform huge tasks like downloading heavy files, opening more than one window, researching and alternating between the opened windows. The phones will be crushing the same day they were purchased.

So the 21^st century is here and everything is super! E-learning, e-driving, e-cooking, e-eating, e-commerce, e-farming, name them! Everything is tilting in the e-direction. A stable and first internet will save everyone from retrenchments due to unmet set targets and accomplishing tasks within a specified time frame.

Our children and grannies will then understand the importance of technology in fostering economic growth. But with our network providers sleeping on their job, then the analogue style of doing things is still here to stay.