[kictanet] ICT law or none???

[Harry Hare]

"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."
 
The above could be some of the things holding the draft law. Different
stakeholders lobby for different positions to safeguard their interests! My
suspicion is that the AG's office could still be grappling with issues of
convergence (Broadcasting, IT and Telecoms all in one law) which the draft
bill is introducing. I remember this bill had done some rounds to various
stakeholders, was the AG office one of those offices that were consulted? 
 
Harry
 
  _____  

From: kictanet-bounces+harry=africanedevelopment.org at kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=africanedevelopment.org at kictanet.or.ke] On
Behalf Of Rebecca Wanjiku
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 9:19 AM
To: harry at africanedevelopment.org
Subject: [kictanet] ICT law or none???
 
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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