[kictanet] ICT law or none???

[Rebecca Wanjiku]

STILL WAITING FOR ICT LAW


 


It has been a long wait for an
ICT Act, and there is no immediate sign that the wait is over. Though the draft
policy was presented to the cabinet by Attorney General Amos Wako, it is yet to
be published in the Kenya
gazette.


 


If the draft is published in the
gazette, then there can be a chance it will be presented to parliament for
debate before end of this year.


 


Though the AG’s office claims to
be attending to the bill together with others pending, the challenge is how to harmonize
the draft bill to be in tandem with the Communications Act (1998).


 


Wako’s office is debating whether
to come up with a separate ICT Act or to repeal the communications Act to
incorporate the draft bill.


 


Lawyer Paul Mwangi, who has been
following developments of the draft policy, says that the AG can come up with a
new Act so long as it does not contradict the Communications Act.


 


“The draft bill can be published
and presented to parliament then they can decide whether to enact an ICT Act or
to come up with a more comprehensive Act by repealing the Communications Act
and,” says Mwangi.


 


Mwangi argues that the excuses by
the AG are about convenience, and nothing substantial. He adds that it is just
a matter of codifying the law, and that can come up with another Act and they
will still be applicable.


 


Lawyer Joseph Kihanya agrees that
Bills can be debated and passed to repeal Acts in force.


 


“Why this cannot be done with the
Communications Act (1998) I can not tell,” says Kihanya.


 


Kihanya adds that Telecommunications
law demands that the laws be consolidated into one statute. He illustrates this
by quoting the UK Communications Act 2003 which was consolidated into one
statute that deals with every aspect of ICTs.


 


The UK Communications Act (2003)
deals with issues ranging from regulations, media ownership and control,
internet, ecommerce to the relationship between the ministry and the British
Broadcasting Corporation.


 


The UK CA (2003) is divided into
parts that exhaust legislation relation to the field for instance, part 5 deals
with competition in communications market. Under this part, there are chapters
guiding on functions of the ministry according to the law, and media mergers,
detailing how they should be carried out.


 


The Kenya ICT draft bill is a
product of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation
(2003-2007) and was developed by the Ministry of Information &
Communications in January 2006. 



According to the ministry of Information and Communication website, the ICT draft
bill is seeking to encourage sustained economic growth and poverty reduction,
promote social justice and equity, mainstream gender in national development,
empower youth and disadvantaged groups, stimulate investment and innovation in
ICT, and achieve universal access. 



The draft bill addresses market structure, policy objectives and targets,
implementation strategies, universal access, and the institutional framework of
information technology (IT), broadcasting, telecommunications, radio frequency
spectrum, and postal services. 






But some stakeholders in the ICT
industry feel that some amendments should be made to the draft before it is
presented for debate. Media owners feel that the draft has not adequately
addressed their concerns and instead has come up with draconian measures
regarding media ownership.


Ends 




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