[kictanet] Of monkeys and loaded guns

[alice]

For more than I can remember "stakeholders" in the ICT sector have been 
urging, lobbying, at times threatening government to do its job re; 
ensure a conducive policy and regulatory environment within which the 
sector can thrive and contribute to development and poverty eradication.

The government has done just that, and more, the process of developing 
the ICT bill was and has been one of the most participatory policy 
making processes most of us had ever been involved in despite the 
initial set backs Re; secret ICT policy and bill.

We have lagged behind our neighbors, Uganda and Tanzania because of our 
out of date legislative and regulatory regime and a lack of focus and 
coordination in addressing ICT challenges and opportunities.

Now that the current government is clearly committed to removing 
barriers to ICT development there has been for the longest time the need 
to develop a comprehensive act and set of regulations driven by the 
input and commitment of all the groups and sectors who will be 
responsible for turning it into reality

We now have a bill, which was presented to parliament for the first 
reading. Instead of condemning the bill in its entirety, we must work 
together to ensure that we have one that supports the growth of the 
sector and clearly links to all the other development issues.

We have a one or two weeks to input into the process before it goes for 
second reading and the media sector needs to at least give the KCA 
amendment bill a chance.

best
alice

Note: My comments are entirely personal and do not reflect any position of the organizations I am affiliated with.






Rebecca Wanjiku wrote:
> The last one week has been preoccupied with talk of the media bill 
> (Media Council bill) and the implications it has on the media.
>
> i will therefore not dwell on the details about monkeys and loaded 
> guns because the slogan-loaded tirades were traded in public.
> Beyond the media bill, there is the KCA (98) amendment bill which went 
> through first reading last week.
> But what are we hearing? It’s all about the media and cross ownership. 
> The grievances the media has and how the government wants to regulate 
> or gag it.
> What about other aspects of ICT? Is the media council bill wholly 
> wrong? How comes the KCA is not receiving as much attention as it should?
> Is there anything good in KCA that can be preserved or worked on? What 
> about the voice of ICT stakeholders who may have a divergent opinion.
> The media prides itself as the agenda setter and gate keeper in the 
> society; they say that whatever is written or aired is the wish of the 
> people, that that’s all that you want to read. But is it the case?
> The next stop for the media is the high court, challenging the 
> government on the bill. They have consulted a law firm to file the suit.
> But is the KCA all about media?
> What is your take?
>
>
> Tel. 254 720 318 925
>
> blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/
>
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