ICT Authority to manage e-waste for gov’t agencies

The ICT Authority (ICTA) is set to start managing e-waste for government agencies in a bid to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of e-waste.

ICTA aims to collect 100,000 devices from 284 public organisations, which include state corporations, universities, and TVETs in this fiscal year.

Through a partnership with the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, (PPRA), ICTA has so far collected 11,103 devices from 42 public institutions and tested 2,696 devices.

Speaking during the E-Waste & Disposal Framework in the Public Sector Breakfast Meeting on Thursday, Stanley Kamanguya, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ICT Authority noted that they have registered key progress in the project so far and would like to engage more public institutions on the proper use of electronic devices from purchase, use and disposal.

“We have agreed in one voice that we need to give this issue of e-waste attention so that we can be able to take care of our environment. There is also a lot of value that we continue to lose by having so many devices lying around without use,” said Kamanguya.

“We have been conducting this program for few months and we have been surprised to see the numbers which we have. In the last 11 months, we have received over 11,000 devices and we are even thinking of creating an ICT devices museum based on the devices we are receiving.”

e-waste to create jobs

Zilpher Owiti, Director of Partnerships, Innovations and Capacity Development at the ICT Authority, said that apart from managing the waste, the initiative would create jobs for the youth.

“Even as we do this work with a focus on cleaning our environment, this is part of creating employment. The value chain of e-waste from collection to sorting to recycle also requires manpower. This is one of our objectives that we can repair, reuse and keep our youth are engaged,” she said.

“For this year, we intend to collect 100,000 devices from ministries, counties and state corporations as we scale to other private sectors and individuals.”

According to the government, the e-Waste and Refurbishment Project (e-Waste Kenya Project) aims to promote environmental protection, economic growth, and social well-being through the creation of a green economy.