The Ministry of ICT will work closely with the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National government to facilitate quick issuance of work permits for foreign ICT experts.

This was said by the ICT Cabinet Secretary, Dr Fred Matiang'i during the sixth Connected Kenya Summit held at Diani, Mombasa County.

Dr Matiang'i said his ministry will focus on helping the foreign experts follow the right processes while applying for the permits to avoid delays and will ensure that the country only gets the right experts needed in the ICT sector.

"We have had conversations with our colleagues in the Ministry of Interior and agreed that we will work with them to facilitate issuance of permits where necessary," said Matiangi. "Several ICT companies have come to us either frustrated a bit or anxious that the process of applying for their experts has taken longer."

The most affected companies are those relocating to Kenya or want to open subsidiaries in the country.

The biggest challenge he said is that most of the foreign professionals do not properly understand the process of applying for the permits by ensuring they give all the documents required by the Interior Ministry hence causing delays.

The ministry has now equipped some members of staff at the ICT Authority who will act as a guidance to the applicants of the work permits.

Matiang'i however maintains that it will only be a facilitator without interfering with the operations at the Interior Ministry as far as work permits are concerned.

Moreover, the cabinet secretary also touched on working hand in hand with the East African countries to help lower the roaming charges. However, a detailed information on roaming charges will be presented on May 2 during the next Smart Africa summt.

He also pointed out that the next summit will be called "Connected East Africa Summit" as this will see East African Countries come together to find a way forward in driving ICT across East Africa.