[kictanet] Kai vs Dr. Ndemo

[Rebecca Wanjiku]

SPICING UP THE DEBATE
 

When Kai Wulff, CEO , KDN and PS
Ndemo are in one room discussing issues of internet connectivity, you can be
assured of fireworks, but the common denominator is that they are concerned
about reducing internet connectivity charges.


 


They hold varied opinions on
ownership and financing, and discussions are frank and honest, no holding back.
It is hard to get bored when discussions start, it can only leave participant more informed of the varied opinions.





For instance at the OFC workshop,
PS Ndemo says that anybody can lay the cable so long as they are not a
monopoly, that is, they must talk to other players in the sector. The PS notes
“if Kai wants to do it alone, then that’s selfish.”


 


And Kai answers, “I have talked
to all of you but for two years no one wants to listen!”


 


So one may wonder, what is this
heated debate all about? Its about OFC financing, ownership and operations, who
allowed and who is not.


 


For Kai, it’s about the service,
let the guys laying the cable do their work, and all we do is promise them
capacity that when the service is in Mombasa,
they will get the business. In this model, one buys the services at competitive
prices just like anywhere else in the world. It is a question of who offers the
cheapest reliable service.


 


Kai draws an analogy from supermarket
business. If we can have OFC supermarkets in Mombasa, they can advertise their prices and
services and if another one opens shop and has a better deal, then we can move
there.


 


Kai is simply opposed to Kenya laying
the infrastructure, he wants others to come looking for business here. They lay
the cable at their own cost, ours is just to give them the capacity.


 


“Loyalty is a good party if it
serves both parties and will be bad if one is locked in a marriage one can’t
get out of,” Kai said.


 


His contention is that
governments should be consumers not competitors to private sector in this
field.


 


But  the PS has an alternative view, he argues that
the government has taken the lead because the private sector is taking long. He
told the meeting that one company had promised to lay the cable by 2009 and the
government insisted that that would be too long, it should be done in a year.


 


Out of 20 companies, the PS said,
only Kai was complaining about the government. Thought the companies were not
divulged, Kai just shook his head when the comment was made.


 


The PS agreed that the government
should be a consumer mainly but added that there is need for rural
connectivity. He said that in many cases, private sector would be driven by
profits and most of these rural areas do not have the profits.


 


On the question of Telkom
representing the government in TEAMS, Dr. Ndemo said that only happened because
proper mechanisms had not been put in place.


 


At the end of it, the PS invited
Kai to his office so that they can discuss more issues affecting the sector. 


 


Dr. Ndemo argues that Kenya
is willing to turn down international banks willing to invest in TEAMS because
it is convinced that the Kenyan private sector has the financial might to back
the cable investment.


 


“Don’t let us down!” the PS
concluded.






 
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