President Ruto Chairs First Paperless Cabinet Meeting (Photos)

President William Ruto on Tuesday, January 31 chaired the first paperless Cabinet meeting at State House Nairobi.

This is in line with the Kenya Kwanza government’s push for the digitization agenda to create efficiency in service delivery.

The Cabinet Secretaries arrived at the State House without their usual briefcases bulky folders and huge files. 

They found secured portable digital devices interconnected in the Cabinet room which are attached to their files, memos, and a secure notebook to assist them to take notes in the meeting.

The move is expected to significantly reduce the cost of printing and enhance the security of Cabinet records. 

President Ruto had announced early this year that Cabinet meetings would henceforth be transacted digitally.

"From the next Cabinet meeting our Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau has assured us our meetings are going to be paperless. We are going to run cabinet based on the digital space," Ruto said during a cabinet retreat at the Fairmount Mount Kenya Safari.

The Head of State also noted that the paperless system would be replicated in all government departments.

“It will be expected of them to leverage on technology to make government more efficient,” Ruto said.

He added, “I think it is time Kenyans got value for the resources they put at our disposal to run their affairs.”

The Ruto government is also expected to revive the Huduma Namba digital identity cards by the end of the year.

President Ruto on Friday, January 27 directed ICT CS Eliud Owalo to on creating digital identity cards for Kenyans within the next 11 months.

“I have asked the Ministry of ICT to work on a digital identity so that the big Huduma thing that never was can finally be completed and Kenyans to have a digital identity. I have ICT CS Eliud Owalo that by the end of this year, Kenyans must be able to identify themselves digitally,” President Ruto stated.