MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INDUSTIRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT
SUBMITTED BY:

DANIEL GATERE
SIT/B/01-01618/2018

DURATION:
FROM : 2nd /June/2021
TO : 24th/September/2021

HOST INSTITUTION :
NYERI COUNTY GOVERNMENT
DEPARTMENT OF ICT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

DATE:27TH August 2021

In partial fulfillment for the award of degree in bachelor of science in information technology.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My gratitude goes to the Mainde Muliro University of Technology academic staff that has
imparted their vast knowledge and has so much assisted me during my industrial
attachment. It is through their valued support that I would be able to enjoy and successfully
complete my attachment. Many heartfelt thanks for their support. Many thanks go to the
management and the rest of the staff at County Government of Nyeri for their unwavering
support and for giving me a chance to be part of the Nyeri County Family.
I would also want to pass my gratitude to Nyeri County director Mr. Ngatia the hardware and
networking manager Mr. Charles Mugambi, the system manager Nyeri county for the support,
guidance and teaching during the entire attachment period.
I would also like to extent my heartfelt gratitude to my family members for their invaluable
support (moral and otherwise) throughout my attachment. I truly thank the Lord Almighty for the
opportunity of a memorable fruitful year at County Government of Nyeri. God bless you all.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The ICT department in the Nyeri County is centralized such that all the sections of ICT to all
departments of the county are offered by solely the IT department i.e. all matters concerning
Networking, Hardware and software services and data editing content.
The report covers the activities that I was able to engage in throughout the attachment period of
two months in the ICT department. These comprises the following sections i.e. Hardware
section-this part encompasses activities such as installation, troubleshooting, maintenance repair
and administration activities e.g. data editing.
The software section includes all operations on the software applications this Includes;
installation, software configuration, software customization, performing backups, upgrading of
software, troubleshooting.
The networking part brings out the layout of the domain structure of the County, email
configurations, internet configuration and settings, client server platforms. The report also entails
other services provided by the ICT section such us keeping record of all ICT gadgets in the
county i.e. computers, printers, IP phones, Networking Cables etc. Furthermore, it is going to
highlight my experience during the work-related learning. Highlighted also are my objectives
before entering the industry and what I actually encountered.

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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................ 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION 1.1 History of Nyeri County ............................................................ 5
1.1 Constituencies in Nyeri County ...................................................................................................... 6
1.2 Main functions of Nyeri County ..................................................................................................... 6
1.3 Vision, Mission statement and Core Values of Nyeri County ........................................................ 9
1.4 Organizational Structure of Nyeri County .................................................................................... 10
1.5 Duties and Responsibility of the Key Personnel in Nyeri County ................................................ 12
CHAPTER TWO: HOST ATTACHMENT DEPARTMENT ................................................................... 16
2.1 Ict Department Mandate ................................................................................................................... 16
2.2 Staff in the Department .................................................................................................................... 16
2.3 Main Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 17
2.4. My Assigned Routine Duties and Department Participation Forums .............................................. 18
CHAPTER THREE: EVALUATION OF ATTACHMENT PERIOD ...................................................... 19
3.1: Successes ........................................................................................................................................ 19
Hardware section. ............................................................................................................................... 19
Software .............................................................................................................................................. 20
Networking section. ............................................................................................................................ 21
Internet configuration.......................................................................................................................... 21
Web maintenance ................................................................................................................................ 21
3.2 Challenges Encountered During Attachment Period ........................................................................ 22
RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 23
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 24

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CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION
1.1 History of Nyeri County
Nyeri County is located in the central region of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Nyeri. It
has a population of 661,156 and an area of 3,356 km². The county is located on the southwest
flank of Mount Kenya. Local people are predominantly of the kikuyu ethnicity. Nyeri is a county
situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya. The county hosts the Nyeri town which was initially
the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province. Following the
dissolution of the former provinces by Kenya's new constitution on 26 August 2010, Nyeri is
now the largest city in the newly created Nyeri County. It is run by Governor Mutahi Kahiga.
The county code is 019.

The county has ten departments namely:

Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Development
Education, Ict ,Trade and Industrialization
Finance and Economic Planning
Health Services
Physical planning , lands and Housing
Public Administration , Information and Communication
Special programs
Tourism and Culture
Transport, Roads ,Public works and Energy
Water, Sanitation , Environment and Natural Resources
The current governor of Nyeri County is Hon. Mutahi kahiga and the deputy governor is Hon.
Caroline Wanjiru karugu.

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1.1 Constituencies in Nyeri County

1. Tetu Constituency
2. Kieni Constituency
3. Mathira Constituency
4. Othaya Constituency
5. Mukurwe-ini Constituency
6. Nyeri Town Constituency

1.2 Main functions of Nyeri County

The functions of Nyeri County are clearly outlined in Kenyan Constitution Article 5 of the
County Governments Act (2012) classifies the functions of the County Governments in Kenya as
follows:

1. County legislation in accordance with Article 185 of the Constitution

The constitution confers the legislative authority of a county to the County Assembly, which also
exercises this authority. County Assemblies make laws that are necessary to ensure county
governments perform their functions or exercise their power under the Fourth Schedule. A
County Assembly, while respecting separation of powers, also exercises oversight on the county
executive committee or other county executive organs.

The Constitution also confers powers on the County Assemblies to receive and approve plans
and policies. These plans and policies affect the management and exploitation of the county’s
resources, and development and management of its infrastructure and institutions.

2. Exercising executive functions in accordance with Article 183 of the Constitution

Article 183 provides for the functions of the county executive committee. These functions are –
implementation of county legislation, implementation of national legislation within the county if
the legislation so requires, management, and coordination of the functions of the county
administration and its departments, and performance of any other functions conferred on it by the
Constitution or national legislation.

A county executive committee can also prepare proposed legislation for consideration by the
county assembly. However, it should provide the county assembly with full and regular reports
on matters relating to the county.

3. Functions provided for in Article 186 and assigned in the Fourth Schedule of the
Constitution

Article 186 makes clarifications on functions and powers of county governments. It shows where
county functions are situated (Fourth Schedule) and explains about concurrent functions. It also
designates any other function not assigned to the counties by the Constitution, or any other
written law, as a national government function.

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A concurrent function here means a function or power that the Constitution, or any other national
legislation, confers on more than one level of government. It becomes a function or power within
the concurrent jurisdiction of each of those levels of government. However, such functions are
not properly defined, e.g. housing, planning, transport and disaster management.

The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution contains the division of functions between the national
and the county governments in Kenya. These functions are as follows.

• Agriculture, including crop and animal husbandry, livestock sale yards, county abattoirs
(slaughterhouses), plant and animal disease control, and fisheries.
• County health services, including, in particular – county health facilities and pharmacies,
ambulance services, promotion of primary health care, licensing and control of
undertakings that sell food to the public, veterinary services (excluding regulation of the
profession which is a national government function), cemeteries, funeral parlors and
crematoria, and refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal.
• Control of air pollution, noise pollution, other public nuisances, and outdoor advertising.
• Cultural activities, public entertainment and public amenities, including – betting, casinos
and other forms of gambling, racing, liquor licensing, cinemas, video shows and hiring,
libraries, museums, sports and cultural activities and facilities, and county parks, beaches
and recreation facilities.
• County transport, including – County roads (Class D, E and Unclassified Roads), street
lighting, traffic and parking, public road transport, and ferries and harbors (excluding the
regulation of international and national shipping and matters related thereto).
• Animal control and welfare, including – licensing of dogs, and facilities for the
accommodation, care, and burial of animals.
• Trade development and regulation, including – markets, trade licenses (excluding
regulation of professions), fair trading practices, local tourism, and cooperative societies.
• County planning and development, including – statistics, land survey and mapping,
boundaries and fencing, housing, and electricity and gas reticulation and energy
regulation.
• Education – only pre-primary education (ECD), village polytechnics, home craft centers
and childcare facilities.
• Implementation of specific national government policies on natural resources and
environmental conservation, including soil and water conservation, and forestry.
• County public works and services, including – storm water management systems in built-
up areas, and water and sanitation services.
• Firefighting services and disaster management.
• Control of drugs and pornography.
• Ensuring and coordinating the participation of communities and locations in governance
at the local level and assisting communities and locations to develop the administrative
capacity for the effective exercise of the functions and powers and participation in
governance at the local level.

Thus, the Fourth Schedule assigns fourteen functions to the county governments in Kenya to
perform.

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 4. Any other function that may be transferred to county governments from the
national government under Article 187 of the Constitution

Article 187 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of a function or power between both
levels of government by agreement. However, this happens under two conditions. One, if the
receiving government would effectively perform or exercise the function or power. Second, if
the legislation, under which it will perform or exercise, does not prohibit the transfer of the
function or power.

If one level of government transfers a function or power to a government at the other level, that
level shall arrange to ensure the transfer of the resources necessary for the performance of the
function or exercise of the power. However, the constitutional responsibility for the performance
of the function or exercise of the power shall remain with the government to which the Fourth
Schedule assigns it.

Some of the functions that county officials want transferred to the counties in accordance with
this law include security and education.

5. Any functions agreed upon with other county governments under Article 189(2) of
the Constitution

Government at each level, and different governments at the county level, should co-operate in
the performance of functions and exercise of powers. For that purpose, may set up joint
committees and joint authorities. (Article 189:2).

Instances where counties may cooperate in the performance of functions and exercise of powers
include the management and funding of joint or regional resources, such as Level 5 hospitals and
game reserves.

6. Establishment and staffing of its public service as contemplated under Article 235 of
the Constitution

A county government is responsible, within a framework of uniform norms and standards

prescribed by the County Governments Act, for – establishing and abolishing offices in its public
service, appointing persons to hold or act in those offices, confirming appointments, and
exercising disciplinary control over and removing persons holding or acting in those offices.

However, the above functions do not apply to any office or position subject to the Teachers
Service Commission (TSC). This includes the hiring and firing of teachers concerned with Early
Childhood Development (ECD) like some counties have been doing. In fact, TSC lodged a
petition in Court and the matter is still pending. As such, TSC considers any counties hiring ECD
(or nursery) schoolteachers to be doing so illegally.

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Powers of the County Governments (Section 6 of County Governments Act)

As an entity exercising constitutional authority, a county government is a body corporate with

perpetual succession. It should have all the powers necessary for the discharge of its functions.

A county government may enter into a contract, acquire, purchase or lease any land, and delegate
any of its functions to its officers, decentralized units or other entities within the county. A
county government may also enter into partnerships with any public or private organization in
accordance with the Public Private Partnerships Act (2005). These partnerships apply for any
work, service, or function for which the county government is responsible within its area of
jurisdiction.

All contracts lawfully entered into by county governments in Kenya under this section become
valid and binding on the county government, its successors, and delegates.

To ensure efficiency in the delivery of service or carrying out of a function for which the county
government is responsible, the county government may establish a company, firm or other body
for the delivery of particular service or carrying on of a particular function. It may also contract
any person, company, firm, or other body for the delivery of a particular service or carrying on a
particular function.

Lastly, an important point to note is that, in exercising its powers or performing any of its
functions, a county government shall ensure efficiency, effectiveness, inclusivity, and
participation of the people.

1.3 Vision, Mission statement and Core Values of Nyeri County

Vision
A prosperous people in a secure, healthy environment, with a high-quality life.
Mission
To harness the hardworking culture of the people of Nyeri and unlock their potential to achieve
the highest standard of political, social and economic life by creating an enabling environment
that promotes sustainable development.
Core Values

1. Patriotism
2. Professionalism
3. Inclusivity
4. Team Work
5. Integrity
6. Accountability

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1.4 Organizational Structure of Nyeri County

The organization Structure of Nyeri County is almost too all counties in the country as it is well
elaborated in the Constitution of Kenya. Having fulfilled our mandate to elect the governor,
deputy governor and Senator, it is now upon the two county leaders once sworn in to fulfill their
mandate as assigned by law.

According to the constitution of Kenya, 2010, article 176 (article 1), the County government will
comprise of the County Assembly and the County executive.

The County government is expected to decentralize the services of the national government and
allow better supervision and implementation of policies at the grass root level.

Government Structure

To start with, the County Assembly will comprise of the elected County Assembly Ward
Representatives, six nominated members (the youth and persons with disabilities) and the
Speaker who is an ex-officio member.

The County Assembly according to article 185 of the constitution will be the legislative body of
the County.

Its tasks among others will be approving budgets and expenditure as well as approving
borrowing and county development planning.

In the county Assembly, there shall be County Assembly Clerk, a leader of the Majority party or
coalition as well as leader of the minority party.

Also, there shall be a county executive committee which will comprise of the governor, the
deputy governor and members appointed by the governor with the approval of the county
assembly and County Secretary appointed by governor.

The County Secretary shall be the head of County public service as well as the secretary to the
county executive committee.

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Offices in the County Government

According to the County Governments Bill 2012, other officers to be nominated will be County
Chief officers with the recommendation from the county Public Service board.

Like permanent Secretaries, County Chief Officers will handle the administrative role in the
County departments (equivalent of ministries) while County Executive Committee Members will
be heads of departments.

The County will be divided into Sub-Counties equivalent to constituencies, urban areas and
Cities, Wards and any other unit determined by the County government.

Each Sub County will be headed by the Sub-County Administrator while the Ward will be
headed by the Ward Administrator both appointed by the County Public Service Board.

He or she will be responsible for coordination, management and supervision of general

administrative functions in the Sub-County or Ward.

Urban areas and Cities will be headed by Boards of Municipalities or Boards of Cities appointed
by the County Executive committee with approval from the County Assembly.

The Urban areas and Cities Boards will be headed by chairpersons and Vice chairpersons elected
by board members.

Every County will also have a County Public Service Board comprising of a Chairperson and
Vice chairperson a certified public secretary, and three to five members appointed by the
governor with approval from County Assembly.

A county government may conduct a referendum on laws and petitions, planning and investment
decisions among others.

Ultimately, the first county government under the leadership of the governor is expected to cast a
vision and lay a foundation for long-term, steady growth of the county. The Governor guides the
management team through setting of and overseeing, the strategic direction of the organization

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1.5 Duties and Responsibility of the Key Personnel in Nyeri County

The County has five main key personnel:

1. Governor
2. Deputy governor
3. County Executive Secretary
4. Chief officers
5. Directors
6. County Secretary

Each of the above has some specific roles. We shall look each role of each one of them.

GOVERNOR

The county governor and the deputy county governor are the chief executive and deputy chief
executive of the county respectively. In performing the functions, the governor shall: i). provide
leadership in the county’s governance and development. ii). provide leadership to the county
executive committee and administration based on the county policies and plans. iii). Promote
democracy, good governance, unity and cohesion within the county. iv). promote peace and order
within the county. v). promote the competitiveness of the county. vi). be accountable for the
management and use of the county resources. Vii). promote and facilitate citizen participation in
the development of policies and plans, and delivery of services in the county.

(a) Diligently execute the functions and exercise the authority provided for in the Constitution and
legislation.

(b) Perform such State functions within the county as the President may from time to time assign
on the basis of mutual consultations.

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(c) Represent the county in national and international fora and events.

(d) Appoint, with the approval of the county assembly, the county executive committee.

(e) Constitute the county executive committee portfolio structure to respond to the functions and
competencies assigned to and transferred to each county.

(f) Submit the county plans and policies to the county assembly for approval.

(g) Consider, approve and assent to bills passed by the county assembly.

(h) Chair meetings of the county executive committee.

(i) By a decision notified in the county gazette, assign to every member of the county executive
committee, responsibility to ensure the discharge of any function within the county and the
provision of related services to the people.

(j) Submit to the county assembly an annual report on the implementation status of the county
policies and plans.

(k) Deliver annual state of the county address containing such matters as may be specified in
county legislation.

(l) Sign and cause to be published in the county gazette, notice of all important formal decisions
made by the governor or by the county executive committee.

The Governor has such powers as may be necessary for the execution of the duties of the office of
governor which includes:

Dismiss a member of county executive committee at any time, if the governor considers that it is
appropriate or necessary to do so. Or dismiss a member of county executive committee, if required
to do so by a resolution of the county assembly.

Appoint an accounting officer for each department, entity or decentralized unit of the county
government.

DEPUTY GOVERNOR

Deputize for the governor in the execution of the governor’s functions.

Be assigned any other responsibility or portfolio as a member of the county executive committee.

In an acting Capacity as Governor or delegated authority by the Governor. The Deputy Governor
shall not exercise these powers vested in the Governor’s office of nominating, appointing and
dismissing.

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COUNTY EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES (County Executive Members)
There are ten departments which are headed by the County Executive Secretary. The
departments are:
Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Development
Education, Ict, Trade and Industrialization
Finance and Economic Planning
Health Services
Physical planning, lands and Housing
Public Administration, Information and Communication
Special programs
Tourism and Culture
Transport, Roads, Public works and Energy
Water, Sanitation, Environment and Natural Resources

The county executive secretary is appointed by the Governor. The mandates of them include
I. implementing county legislation
ii. Implement, within the county, national legislation to the extent that the legislation so requires;
iii. Manage and coordinate the functions of the county administration and its departments;
IV. supervise the administration and delivery of services in the county and all decentralized units
and agencies in the county;
v. the county executive committee may prepare proposed legislation for consideration by the
county assembly; and they shall also provide the county assembly with full and regular reports
on matters relating to the county.

County Executive Committee In the performance of its function shall have power to determine its
own programme of activities and every member of the committee shall observe integrity and
disclosure of interest in any matter before the committee.

CHIEF OFFICERS

They are like permanent secretaries of the ten departments in the county. Their functions include:

The office of a county chief officer shall be an office in the county public service. A county chief
officer shall be responsible to the respective county executive committee member for the
administration of a county department. The county chief officer shall be the authorized officer in
respect of exercise of delegated power. The governor may re-assign a county chief officer.

COUNTY DIRECTORS

In the county departments, there are directorate which are headed by the county directors. This is
to make easy to run the departments. They run all affairs involving their directorates.

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COUNTY SECRETARY

There is established for each county the office of the county secretary who shall be secretary to
the county executive committee. Some of the functions include:

(a) Be the head of the County Public Service.

(b) be responsible for arranging the business, keeping the minutes of the county executive
committee subject to the directions of the County Executive Committee.

(c) Convey the decisions of the county executive committee to the appropriate persons or
authorities.

(d) Perform any other functions as directed by the county executive committee.

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CHAPTER TWO: HOST ATTACHMENT DEPARTMENT
2.1 Ict Department Mandate

The ICT department is mandated by the County government to:

1. Developing, implementing and maintaining ICT systems and associated links

which enable consistency and efficiency in service provision.
2. Ensuring an efficient and effective ICT system for the county citizens.
3. Supervising and programming overall IT systems.
4. Ensuring adherence to established ICT standards by developing an ICT technical
team.
5. Carrying out capacity building/imparting ICT skills.
6. Participate in the development, analysis and evaluation of the county wide
technology issues, policies and legislation.
7. Establish a cluster of technology firms developing public service solutions based in
and connected to the county.
8. Carrying out IT and ICT equipment and network analysis, design and programme
specification in liaison with users.
9. Develop ICT strategic work and plans for the county.
10. Ensuring adherence to establishment of ICT standards

2.2 Staff in the Department

ICT department has four employees. There is the Director, and three ICT officers. Each of the ICT
officers are in charge of different areas namely:

Network and Hardware maintenance

Software maintenance

Web design and maintenance

The director:

Set and enforce ICT standards & guidelines for the human resource, infrastructure, processes and
system and technology for the public office and public service

Facilitate and regulate the design, implementation and use of ICTs in the County.

Promote ICT literacy and capacity

Help in the Establish, develop & Maintain secure ICT Infrastructure & Systems in the County.

The ICT officer in charge of network and hardware maintenance does the following:

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 ✓ Managing and maintaining the network, as well as network performance monitoring
✓ Identifying, installing and maintaining upgrades to the network
✓ Troubleshooting and repair
✓ Overseeing user access to the network
✓ developing a backup/disaster recovery plan for a network emergency
✓ Planning network infrastructure for new applications and services
✓ Training interns to provide support to end users
✓ Purchasing and maintaining networking equipment and infrastructure
✓ Maintains all the computer hardware and repairs all in case of a breakdown
✓ Give advice on the purchase of computer hardware

The ICT officer in charge of Softwares does the following:

✓ Prepares and installs solutions by determining and designing system specifications

✓ Updates all the softwares and subsequently trains all the interns on the usage of all the
softwares that are used by county
✓ In case of Outsourcing Softwares, he/she helps to give the specific specifications to be
contained by the software.
✓ Testing new product to ensure that it operates satisfactorily before being deployed in its
usage.
✓ Maintains all the softwares of the county

The ICT officer in charge of web design and web maintenance does:

• Writing and editing content

• Designing webpage layout
• Determining technical requirements
• Updating websites
• Creating back up files
• Solving code problems

2.3 Main Objectives

I had the following main objectives when coming for my attachment:

I wanted to gain practical experience which would offer them a level of preparedness for future
endeavors and a level of confidence, which my other peers who have not interned, may not
possess.

Student Industrial Attachment can allow me to rise above the competition when it is time to
pursue employment in their field of IT.

Apply knowledge gained in class to a field setting.

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Promote a greater understanding of and interest in the ICT sector

Develop professional contacts and industry networks.

Further develop my professional and personal skills

Improve my awareness of a range of issues associated with professional practice.

Further develop my communication skills

2.4. My Assigned Routine Duties and Department Participation Forums

Troubleshooting hardware and software

Providing user support on network and connectivity issues

Maintain Hardware

Maintaining and updating software

Carrying out any help desk activity that may be assigned to me.

Writing and editing content to be uploaded to the website

Uploading contents on the websites

Responds to queries from website users

Maintaining Domain server of County official emails

Train suppliers to use procurement portal

Any other duty allocated to me by the supervisor in line with ICT directorates mandates.

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CHAPTER THREE: EVALUATION OF ATTACHMENT PERIOD
3.1: Successes
The following were some of my success and also an outline of my work at the county
government:
Hardware section.
This part involved dealing with the computer and its peripherals. The activities are; Installation
of computers and its peripherals:
Here we were able to install the newly acquired machines to different departments in the county.

Maintenance
This includes:

Dust blowing:
Due to the windy period, Dust tends to settle on this equipment requiring that they be blown after
a short period of time hence the need for regular blowing of the dust.

Troubleshooting
Most computers tend to malfunction after sometime due to some factors. Some of the computer
problems I were able to deal with are:

Booting problems
-some computers were unable to boot. First, we check the error message to determine what
the problem is. For instance, boot manager is missing. This means that the operating
system is corrupt since the boot manager is not being detected; in this case, we perform the
operating system repair.

Other peripherals not being detected:

Check whether the devices themselves are functioning, if not, replacement is

done/troubleshooting.

First check the port whether it’s working by interchanging the ports.

Go to the device manager to check whether the drivers have been installed, if not, we installed
necessary drivers. Most of the problems had to do with either of the above issues.
·
Printer problems
The company uses advanced and more sophisticated Hewlett Packard (HP) printers that require
technical monitoring and maintenance. The problems we encountered include:

Paper jam
-this is caused by a malfunctioned toner, gears or papers manually pulled from the printer while
printing thus leaving some pieces inside. This was solved by checking any of the above and
relevant remedies conducted i.e. Installation of the whole maintenance kit (gears, toner etc.),
opening and removal of any traces of papers.

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Worn out cartridges
-this resulted into faint pages being printed thus requiring faster replacement since the company
relies heavily on printing services. Replacement was done with immediate speed.
Printer- Network problems

Replacing malfunctioned components of the computers

E.g. mouse, RAM, DVD drives, keyboard, printers, and hardisks.

Software
Installation

Installation is done depending on the type of softwares that are run on that computer. The
following are some of the installation:
Operating systems-
The company machines run on Microsoft operating systems. They include; Windows XP,
Windows 7, and Windows 8 and windows 10. Some machines we upgraded to run on the latest
versions of Windows.

Antivirus software-
The company is licensed by the Kaspersky Antivirus. This involved installing on the new
machines and subsequent run of the updates.

SAP-
This is ERP software that enables the company wide range of activities to be
coordinated. The introduced system ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning is a system that
integrates or at least attempts to integrate all data and processes of county into a unified system.
This means that all the departments in the company were to be swallowed up in one system
called ERP.

Common end user software-

These includes software such as Adobe Reader Adobe flash player, WinZip, Microsoft office
package.

Troubleshooting:
This involves analyzing the software that has a problem and coming up with various solutions to
the same depending on the type of the software. For instance, in Microsoft office applications,
which are mostly used, there may be a problem in its files after some, thus performing repairs to
the software is necessary.
User help solutions
Enabling the user in the efficient use of the installed software and implementation of advanced
features in software usage by the users.
Software configuration

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This involved configuring of the software for first use. For instance, the SAP software the
production section, it requires entering of server address that is usually known only by the ICT
staff.

Software customization
This is done to suite various end users’ needs e.g. creating shortcuts, style
of viewing mails in outlook, preferred themes on the desktop, time taken for the computer to be
on standby mode for windows vista and windows 7 versions for specific users.

Partitioning and Formatting of storage volumes

This involved formatting of corrupted hard drives /partitions. usually done during operating
system installation.

Upgrading the existing software

This involved upgrade of all categories of software to the latest versions. i.e. Windows XP to
windows 7, Adobe Reader, Opera browser and so on.

Performing backup services

Backups of important documents is done by performing a backup on the server on the server and
other removable media such as flash disks, external hard drives. The backup on the server
remains the best option since the user can easily access them anywhere within the county
domain structure in all sub counties.
Providing support services for the users

Networking section.
Nyeri County primarily depends on the network infrastructure for almost all of its activities. All
computers in the county have been networked to ease communication within the organization.
Most of the departments rely on the network to process documents and forward them to relevant
staff. This is normally facilitated by the SAP software and email programs. The main internet
provider is orange.
Internet configuration
The main Internet service provider is Orange Kenya while the backup service provider is Kenya
Data Networks. I was familiarized to the remote Internet configurations to enable users to access
the internet. With the help of my supervisor, I was able to be well versed with all internet
configurations.
Web maintenance

I was able to design templates using my web design skills and upload them to the county website.
I occasionally updated the county websites by posting any new information in the website. I
maintained county email domain which serves all the official county emails. I gained a lot of
practical skills on areas of hardware, software, web design and maintenance and also, in areas of
networking which raised my confidence as an ICT person. I also used some of my skills learnt in
school in networking which proved very crucial. Also, my CISCO CCNA skills proved vital during
my internship. I also learnt to work in a team which was fun. I met some very important person. I
also developed professional contacts and industry networks

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3.2 Challenges Encountered During Attachment Period

Applying theory to Practice

At College, theory was learnt staff was learnt. It proved to be difficult to put theory into practice
since very few things learnt in college applied to the practical part. Theory is skeletal without
any experience from the working environment. I had to use that to tackle all situations.

Dealing with other workers

Some of the workmates were difficult to work with. Some were difficult when being assisted or
even rude. Difficulties were experienced in performing some jobs up to perfection at first. It
required some humbleness and respect to eventually get along with them.

Changing of duties
Some new things were introduced very often. It took time to adapt to this rotation system. New
people were met to every department went to assist in. It took time to get used to people and
duties to be performed at various departments. I had to grasp the concepts quickly and
familiarize myself with the county matters.
Team work problem
Teamwork was difficult to cope with at first. Working with many people with different
characters, attitudes, backgrounds and cultures was not an easy task to do. Some people were
rude and difficult to with. Sometimes we had to work for long hours so as to beat deadlines. I
had to be flexible and easily adapt to team works.

Little work at the beginning

During the beginning of my internship, I was not allocated much work. This period was a bit
boring but as time went by I was given much more task which meant I had to work overtime
sometimes. The more task I had to plan myself better as I had to accomplish them on time
without delay.

Slow adaptation to working environment of the county

I really took time to adapt to how the system IT department operates. Waking up early and
ensuring I report to the county at exactly eight to ensure all the county system work as they are
required was a bit of challenge at the beginning of the attachment period.

Lack of monetary motivation

Sometimes we would go on an outside work far away from the county, the other volunteers had
lunch allowance and transport allowance while interns didn’t. Sometimes this would kill the
motivation in us as the interns.

Changing of duties
I had to adapt very fast to my current environment. It was easy to overcome most of challenges
such as;
Applying theory to Practice

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This was mainly through the help of supervisors. I want to thank Mr. Dadson Ngatia and Mr.
Mugambi for their assistance. These two guys were very crucial as they did sharpen my practical
skills during my working time in the county.

Dealing with other workers

I had to exercise tolerance and understanding with the people around me. I had also to make
them understand of how they were treating me. Eventually we all worked well and I had one of
the best experience during my working time.

Changing of duties
I had to adapt very fast to the working of the county environment. I took this as a motivation of
future challenge which had to be solved now. Eventually things worked better.

Team work problem

People have different viewpoints and, under the right set of circumstances, those differences
escalate to conflict. How you handle that conflict determines whether it works to the team's
advantage or contributes to its demise. Understanding and appreciating other people point of
view helped to resolve the problems and forge a way forward together.

Generally, one goal kept me going, the hunger for practical skills. I knew there was only
choice to learn more and more. I am happy now am better and more experienced computer
Scientist.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Expose students to practice
Availability of resources and lack of exposure at the institution made it very difficult for me to
acquire some practical at school. The computer equipment is too few when it comes to catering
for the number of students there is. The supervisors expected some areas to have been covered
before the students joined the county. For instance, networking which is only done in theory.
This made the learning process slower than intended by the supervisors. The University should
reevaluate the curriculum to ensure more skills coverage stuff.

Regular visits to companies

I propose that students must visit companies after a certain chapter that has something to do with
what takes in companies. This will make them understand better how it is done in real life that is
putting theory into practice. Students must visit companies that they will work for during
attachment period to make it easier for them to adapt at least a week.

I also propose that the student university supervisor ratio be increased to ensure students are
assessed several times. This will be crucial to enhancing quality of attachment period as opposed
to the onetime assessment.

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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I have to attest my supervisor Mr. Mugambi and the director Mr. Ngatia for the
good job. I really appreciate the way I have been guided through this attachment programme
with County Government of Nyeri, beginning from the opportunity to take the time I needed to
refresh and expand my knowledge in several issues concerning email server and its maintenance,
software installation and implementation and hardware maintenance and repair, and finally
earned the confidence to deal with assignments myself. It is through them that I did enjoy my
work every day.

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REFERENCES
1. Masinde Muliro University(2021) student attachment logbook guide in writing report
2. Nyeri county government website www.nyericounty.go.ke/

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