Economy

Sh1.3 billion City Hall data centre yet to start working

city hall

City Hall in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The Sh1.3 billion City Hall data centre launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta last December is yet to start working and requires another Sh1.53 billion to be operationalised.

The money is needed to buy system software to fully integrate City Hall departments to allow for automation including revenue collection.

The World Bank funded data centre was launched as a digital platform to help the county government enhance its revenue collection.

Facts on the stalled project are contained in a report tabled by the County Assembly ICT Committee, chaired by Osman Adow, before the House earlier this month.

According to the report, the centre lacks two critical system applications — Virtual Machine Ware (VMware) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) — which are key components for its operation.

The systems cost Sh1.5 billion and Sh30 million respectively.

The VMware software will enable the data centre to simultaneously run multiple virtual machines, while the ERP will allow for the integration and automation of back office functions of technology and human resource services.

A request for the procurement of the systems is yet to be approved by the Office of the County Secretary, the report says.