Government Unified Messaging System (GUMS)

GUMS project is a joint effort of the Kenya and Chinese governments. The project is funded through a concessional loan from the Chinese Government through China EXIM Bank. ZTE Corporation has been contracted to execute the project with Directorate of e-Government as the implementing agency. The overall aim of the project is to improve the speed and quality of decisions made by government officers in the course of their official engagements. In particular, the project is intended to:

• Improve efficiency in internal government communication and enhance collaboration among officers through implementation of an Electronic Messaging and Collaboration System and a Unified Communications System;
• Improve the management of human resources information by deploying a centralized and integrated Human Resources Management System; and
• Increase access to information technologies in both the Central and County offices by providing access devices including desktop computers, laptops and printers.

The purpose of the GUMS project is to provide a solution that improves the decision-making process through efficient communication.

The GUMS project is intended to address the current pressing need for an integrated and uniform messaging system for the government. Currently, individual ministries operate different email system from multiple service providers. This is not only costly to the government but cumbersome to manage the service contracts with the providers and does not ensure uniformity in services provided.Further, for key ministries officials, a lot of time is spent in travels to meeting venues especially where a ministry has offices across the city or in the counties. The Unified Communication system is intended to address the wastage in time and other resources occasioned by such meetings. By providing both voice and video conferencing services the project will increase efficiencies by allowing staff to hold such discussions from their offices or a room designated for such in a building.