The Parliament of Kenya has announced it is set to spend nearly $350,000 on the purchase of approximately 450 iPads, which will be used by representatives and staff in the East African nation’s National Assembly and Senate.
Buying the tablets will help Kenya’s national legislative body cut back on the more than half a million sheets of paper it uses every week that parliament is in session, according to a report from Kenya’s Standard Digital News. Rather than printing volumes of schedules, notices, bills, and the like, Members of Parliament and Senators will be able to access the documents digitally.
Prices for Apple’s slate range from Sh55,000 ($640) to Sh70,000 ($815) in the former British colony. While the $350,000 outlay is considered a princely sum for a country with a per-capita GDP of less than $1,000, Kenyan lawmakers see the cost as justified by an expected decrease in paper use, and an accompanying increase in productivity.
“This will make life easy for honorable members because even in terms of getting the correct Standing Order that you may want to refer to, you only need to do a search on the Standing Orders on the relevant point,” MP Gladys Wanga is quoted as saying at a December hearing authorizing the acquisition.
