More than 100 newly built digital hubs across Kenya are idle, depriving young people of promised access to technology and digital skills programs aimed at boosting employment opportunities.
- •The revelation emerged during a joint session of Parliament’s National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) Committee and the Communication, Information and Innovation Committee, which reviewed the status of the flagship initiative.
- •Out of 391 planned digital hubs, 271 are fully equipped and operational, while 120 remain incomplete or empty.
- •Among these, 99 NG-CDF-funded hubs plus two additional standard hubs in Bungoma and Nairobi, are fully constructed but lack computers, furniture, internet access, and staff.
Members of Parliament are concerned that the idle hubs could leave millions of young Kenyans without access to online job opportunities or digital skills training.
“We are now in the fourth year since the programme was launched, and we are approaching an election cycle. We had hoped that by now, young people would be accessing online jobs locally and abroad through these hubs,” Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie said.
Operational centers including those at Coast National Polytechnic and Kabete National Polytechnic, feature up to 100 devices each, yet other sites such as Githunguri Technical and Vocational College, Karuri Digital Hub, and Kinoo Youth Polytechnic remain unused.
According to the ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo, the delays in equipping the hubs can be attributed to the slow delivery of devices by contracted suppliers, the lack of furniture procurement by NG-CDF offices, delayed power and internet connections, bureaucratic procurement linked to World Bank-supported components, and land disputes in counties including Kwale, Lamu, and Isiolo. Other challenges stem from inherited delays in device assembly at institutions such as Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Moi University.
The Ministry noted that plans are underway to operationalize the idle hubs, with each hub scheduled to receive 25 devices by the end of April and an additional 25 by the end of May. Staff deployment is expected by the end of April, with Kenya Power completing connectivity by June.
However, MPs were skeptical about these plans noting prior missed deadlines and the unmet promise that all hubs would be operational by December last year.
The status report also highlighted funding imbalances, with 22 constituencies including Mandera West, Garissa Township, Thika Town, Embakasi West, Ruaraka, and Makadara, yet to allocate NG-CDF resources to digital hubs. Meanwhile, construction of larger standard hubs lags behind schedule: the Likoni hub (Sh164 million) is 31% complete, Kilifi (Sh36 million) stands at 35%, and projects in Kikuyu and Siaya are projected for completion in 2027.
Parliament has set a firm deadline of 30 June for the idle hubs to become operational, warning that no further funding will be released until the existing structures are functional.
