This archive report was first published on 23 December 2019.
On Friday, 20th December, the Chinese Government handed over an 800-village digital television project to Kenya as part of the 10,000 Villages Digital Television Project in Africa.
Launched in June 2018, the project has successfully implemented satellite television services across 47 counties, installing services in public institutions and select individual households.
Twenty households in each of the 800 villages were equipped with satellite television services, including a satellite dish, a high definition set-top box, and accessories. Three public institutions in each village received two solar-powered satellite projector TV systems and one 32-inch television set.
As a result, 16,000 individual households and 2,400 public institutions have benefited from the project.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru highlighted the project's impact, stating that it has not only created jobs for 1,600 Kenyan youth but has also implemented satellite television technology to reach every corner of the country with a balanced mix of local and international channels.
The project cost Ksh842,708,300, with Ksh428,215,900 allocated for equipment and Ksh414,492,400 for implementation costs. The Ministry of ICT, in collaboration with digital television company StarTimes, rolled out the project.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya H.E Wu Peng praised the project, saying, 'The 10,000 digital television project has gone a long way towards driving access to information and especially in the rural areas, which has played a significant role in China-Africa people-to-people exchange, thereby enhancing the level of China-Africa cooperation.'
StarTimes Kenya Chief Executive Officer Andy Wang commended the Government of China for conceptualizing the initiative and the Kenyan Government for welcoming the investment.
The 10,000 village project is part of the 10 cooperation plans announced during the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
