[kictanet] Legislation and Regulation for e-Commerce in Kenya

[Brian Longwe]

Hi Walu,

I beg to differ. ICT is too large, too deep and too wide to have a
single, authoritative, representative body. What you refer to would
probably be more appropriate to some of the professional disciplines
within the ICT sector e.g. Software Developers Guild, System
Administrators Association, CIO/CTO Society - within which there can
be certain codes of behavior, ethics, values, best practices etc...

I would venture to suggest that ICT is very similar to the auto
industry - which is made up of so many different types of stakeholders
(from multi-national vendors like GM to Owino my jua-kali fundi and a
plethora of linkages across insurance, finance, property, transport
etc...)

Not that I intend to put your suggestions down - but to request a
slightly broader view of the animal called ICT.

To illustrate this point I will wax poetic and share with you the
following poem by John Godfrey Saxe ( 1816-1887)

The Blind men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

Sent from my iPhone

On 07 Jul 2008, at 12:45 PM, John Walubengo <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Marcel,
>
> It looks like quite some work has been ongoing in this
> area...unfortunately it seems as if it was restricted within KIF
> only?  I wonder if Computer Society of Kenya (CSK, Waudo r u there?)
> or Information Security Audit & Control (ISACA-Kenya Chapter) just
> to mention some of the big IT Associations in Kenya were involved. I
> beg to be enlightened.
>
> This brings in an old question - who really represents the IT
> Profession in Kenya?  Shem has been on record as saying that IT is
> the only discipline where we seem to lack bodies with the same
> authority as LSK (Law Society of Kenya), IEK (Institute of Engineers
> of Kenya), Medical Practictioners Board amongst others to regulate
> the IT Profession.
>
> And by the way, KICTAnet does not fit the bill either  (and has a
> different objective anyway).  But time has come to really start
> thinking of regulating the IT profession, even as we struggle to
> regulate the industry...Ideally, CSK should take the lead on this,
> but they have been awfully quite except when they award prizes at
> the end of the year (Waudo I know u will kill me offline but I just
> had to say it!).
>
> KEPSA? very reputable and effective particularly in the
> Manufacturing sector but on IT? am not sure they have been as
> effective - particularly because the link between KEPSA/KIF and the
> IT industry has been 'cloudy' for lack of a better word...Can for
> example CSK or ISACA  be part of KEPSA without being part of KIF? I
> again need to be enlightened.
>
> O.K. I agree I did digress, but just thinking loudly and saying that
> as we think of regulating electronic transactions, we also need to
> simultaneously start regulating the IT profession..but maybe I am
> wrong. Particularly because regulation can and often leads to
> suppression...
>
> walu.
> --- On Sun, 7/6/08, Marcel Werner <marcelcwerner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Marcel Werner <marcelcwerner at gmail.com>
>> Subject: [kictanet] Legislation and Regulation for e-Commerce in
>> Kenya
>> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
>> Cc: secretariat at kif.or.ke, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> >
>> Date: Sunday, July 6, 2008, 6:43 PM
>> Legislation and Regulation for e-Commerce in Kenya
>>
>> Kenya ICT Federation (KIF) - Briefing Note # 3  - Report -
>> Public Panel 19
>> June 2008
>>
>> *Electronic commerce (e-commerce) will add at least one
>> percent point growth
>> to Kenya's overall economic growth within five years.
>> This is contingent
>> upon the adoption of legislation that supports electronic
>> transactions. *Kenya,
>> as an emerging economy and regional leader, lags behind in
>> having a legal
>> framework for e-commerce in place. The current situation is
>> an anachronism
>> hampering national development, placing provincial centres
>> at a
>> disadvantage, and harming global competitiveness. Both
>> external and internal
>> trade require the new framework.The Kenyan private sector
>> strongly supports
>> e-commerce legislation, as well as legislation of the
>> Information and
>> Communication Technology sector that guarantees an open
>> market and promotes
>> innovation.
>>
>> Why e-commerce law? Today, legislation supporting
>> electronic transactions
>> represents the single most powerful innovation opportunity
>> in the legal
>> framework of the ICT sector. Legislation is needed to:
>> -Legalize e-commerce transactions by recognizing an
>> electronic signature
>> -Manage and control e-commerce risks
>> -Remove e-commerce barriers
>> KIF has studied drafts currently circulating in the public
>> domain, the
>> Information and Communications Bill, 2008, and the
>> Electronic Transactions
>> Bill, 2007, respectively, both of which are of the highest
>> technical
>> standards. Public panels and hearings with sectors of the
>> economy (including
>> tourism, agriculture, ICT) have been held on 6th and 27th
>> May, 4th June and
>> 19th June. The Kenyan private sector has expressed
>> overwhelming support for
>> urgent legislation of e-commerce.
>>
>> Suggested improvements in Bills - The public panels and
>> hearings to date
>> have yielded the following important issues for improvement
>> in the current
>> Bills:
>>
>> -          Provisions on who can prosecute are missing
>>
>> -          Liability of Internet Service Providers must be
>> demarcated
>>
>> -          Clarification on which commercial documents are
>> excluded from
>> proposed legislation
>>
>> -          Eliminate any ambiguity on admissibility of
>> electronic evidence
>>
>> -          Need for data protection and privacy provisions
>>
>> -          The Bills are more lenient on e-commerce fraud
>> than on
>> traditional fraud
>>
>> -          Remove inconsistencies in determining crimes and
>> punishments
>>
>> -          Provisions for the inclusion of cyber-crime
>> within the scope of
>> the Extradition Act
>>
>> -          Creation of an Administrator for e-commerce laws
>> whose functions
>> will be policy implementation and advisory, as a
>> multi-sectoral body with
>> industry associations including KIF, lead regulator
>> Communications
>> Commission of Kenya and co-regulator Central Bank of Kenya
>>
>> Gains in tourism, agriculture, healthcare
>>
>> Industry sectors, notably the tourism industry, are
>> expressing their desire
>> to see e-commerce covered by law. In tourism, on-line
>> travel bookings have
>> exceeded 80% in the USA and 50% in Europe. Decline in
>> off-line bookings is
>> in ample evidence. Those destinations that cannot legally
>> support abundant
>> on-line booking, such as Kenya, will loose market share.
>> E-commerce in
>> agriculture will improve small-holder's living
>> standards. Great impact is
>> expected notably in the coffee sector that provides
>> livelihood to at least 5
>> million Kenyans, as well as in the dairy industry.
>> Healthcare efficiency and
>> affordability will improve by on-line health data
>> management systems.
>> Business operators in rural towns and rural centres have
>> also expressed keen
>> interest, as they see scope to address issues of trade
>> efficiency and
>> security in rural Kenya.
>>
>> What is e-commerce
>>
>> E-commerce is a method of trading that replaces paper-based
>> documentation by
>> a mutually binding electronic protocol between buyers and
>> sellers.
>> E-commerce is gaining ground globally and has become an
>> irreversible trend.
>> Many trading partners are already practicing e-commerce, by
>> mutual
>> agreement, also in Kenya. However, e-commerce will reach
>> its full potential
>> when parties that do not know each other are able to trade
>> with full mutual
>> protection under the law. This will benefit large numbers
>> of consumers and
>> businesses, including small-holder farmers, tourism
>> operators, small-scale
>> industry and services providers in almost any business
>> sector.
>>
>> About KIF
>>
>> The Kenya Information and Communication Technology
>> Federation (KIF)
>> represents the ICT industry with Government and with
>> private sector bodies
>> e.g. Kenya Association of Manufacturers and Kenya Private
>> Sector Alliance
>> KEPSA <http://www.kepsa.org/>. KIF is a legally
>> registered membership based
>> Association, made up of trade associations and professional
>> bodies within
>> the national ICT industry, as well as commercial
>> corporations. KIF has been
>> accepted as the private sector voice of ICT by Government.
>> KIF contributes
>> ideas to key sectors like healthcare, education,
>> agriculture, construction
>> industry, and last but not least supports e-government
>> development. KIF is a
>> membership-driven organisation. Members bring issues on
>> public policy and
>> industry development forward for KIF to take action. Issues
>> include:
>> innovation promotion, education improvement, duties, taxes
>> and levies, rural
>> ICT investment. KIF has a strong and active network, with
>> excellent
>> relationships with all government agencies. KIF membership
>> is open for
>> market segment associations and individual companies.
>> Membership charges are
>> annual and based on company size. Contact:
>> secretariat at kif.or.ke, 020
>> 4440102
>> MARCEL WERNER, Chairman, Kenya ICT Federation
>>
>> please send any business mail to:
>> Marcel.Werner at innovation-africa.or.ke_______________________________________________
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