The government’s grand vision of a "Silicon Savannah" in every village has hit a harsh reality check, with ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo admitting that out of the promised 1,450 ward-based digital hubs, only a paltry 37 are currently operational.

This stunning admission, made under oath before the Senate ICT Committee, exposes a massive gap between the administration's glossy digital masterplan and the ground reality. The "Jitume" labs were touted as the flagship vehicle to deliver digital jobs to millions of youth, a cornerstone of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). However, the revelation that less than 3% of the target has been achieved more than two years into the term has raised serious questions about competence, funding, and the viability of the project.

The Senate Inquisition

Senators, led by the committee, grilled the CS and his Principal Secretary John Tanui on the slow pace. The disconnect is glaring: President Ruto publicly promised 1,450 hubs, MPs passed the CDF laws to fund them, yet the equipment is missing. Kabogo blamed "logistical challenges" and budget cuts, a defense that did little to assuage the anger of legislators whose constituents are waiting for the promised internet revolution.

• The Blame Game: The Ministry argues that MPs are supposed to build the physical structures using CDF, while the Ministry provides the devices and connectivity. This split responsibility has created a bureaucratic no-man's-land where neither side takes full ownership of the delays.
• The Connectivity Gap: While the fiber optic backbone is being laid (100,000km promised), the "last mile" to the wards is lagging. A digital hub without reliable high-speed internet is just a room with computers. The slow rollout of the fiber network is directly strangling the hub project.
• Youth Opportunities Lost: Every day of delay is a lost opportunity for a young Kenyan to earn online. The success stories from the few operational hubs, like the one in Ndumberi, show the potential is real. The tragedy is that for 97% of the wards, it remains a pipe dream.

A Digital Reality Check

CS Kabogo reiterated his commitment to the target, but the timeline is slipping away. The "Digital Superhighway" is currently a dirt road for most of rural Kenya. The Senate’s scrutiny has peeled back the PR layer, revealing a project in distress.

If the government is to salvage this flagship promise, it must move beyond launching ceremonies and start delivering functional, connected hubs at scale. For the millions of jobless youth banking on digital work, the statistic of "37 out of 1,450" is not just a number; it is a broken promise.