[kictanet] Kenya yet to fully address Internet governance issues By Rebecca Wanjiku,

[alice at apc.org]

http://computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/10/16/kenya-yet-fully-address-internet-governance-issues

Kenya yet to fully address Internet governance issues
By Rebecca Wanjiku, IDG News Service\Nairobi Bureau
16 Oct, 2008

Kenya has yet to fully address its legal, infrastructure, access, content
and security issues, according to a report released Tuesday at the Kenya
Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

There are gaps in policy and legislative drafting and the general
development of regulatory framework as it relates to e-commerce, said
Mwende Njiraini, a telecommunications engineer who co-authored the report
with John Walubengo, a security expert.

Njiraini and Walubengo presented their report, "Online Deliberations on
Internet Governance," at the meeting in Nairobi after two weeks of online
discussions with ICT sector representatives.

The report identifies Kenya's position in relation to issues addressed by
the KICTANet mailing list discussions, which took place online in August
as a precursor to the IGF. These issues will be raised again at the East
Africa IGF meeting in November and the international IGF meeting in India
in December.

On security, the report recommends national or regional certification for
Internet security experts who handle corporate security issues. Currently,
certification is handled by international bodies.

It also suggests that ISPs (Internet service providers) be generous in
allocating IP (Internet Protocol) space. Organizations like Google monitor
Internet points, and the IPs determine the level of reported Internet
penetration, the report noted.

Njiraini added that there is a need to address multilingualism and the use
of local languages on the Internet, as well as rural access to wireless
technologies.

"Kenya has 2.5 million Internet users, and we would like to see
constructive use of the Internet and engagement of stakeholders to better
address the industry," said Charles Njoroge, director general of the
Communications Commission of Kenya.