[kictanet] UPDATE ON KICTANET ENGAGEMENT WITH VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS ON THE ICT PRACTITIONERS BILL

[Collins Areba]

I think this bill will pass, regardless.

On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 4:03 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Dear all
>
> ​Further to our formal update  <https://www.kictanet.or.ke/?p=25629>on
> this matter on 17th August 2016.
>
> As we had earlier informed you, KICTANet is working in a consortium
> comprising of ourselves, the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), the
> Technology Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK),  Kenya Information
> Technology and Outsourcing Services (KITOS), Bloggers Association of Kenya
> (BAKE) and the iHub.  ​
>
> The consortium after presenting a memorandum opposing the Bill was told
> that this was not among the options available to the National Assembly
> Energy and ICT Committee as the role of the committee was to consider the
> Bill and report back to the House. The Committee advised that we single out
> clauses that we would like amended and propose amendments.
>
> In considering amendments, the consortium was guided by the following:
>
> a) ICTs are novel and cross-cutting and therefore, many people in various
> professions may be defined as ICT practitioners if the term was to be
> broadly interpreted. The law should not target people whose primary
> occupation is not ICT or people who use ICT as an enabler to their primary
> occupation.
> b) There are many especially young people using ICTs to develop solutions
> to everyday challenges through experimental approaches. The law should not
> be crafted as a hindrance to innovation.
> c) After listening to the concerns of the sponsor of the Bill, where he
> cited quacks as a problem in the ICT sector, the consortium proposed that
> there could be a database of ICT practitioners but without accompanying
> encumbrances such as annual licensing, tests and mandatory training.
> d) Other issues were the need for a governing organ that was
> representative of the sector and the overarching principle that
> government/governance should be more of facilitative than a hindrance to
> people's freedom to achieve their destiny.
>
> We would just like to assure the network that we participated in proposing
> amendments as this was the only avenue provided by the Committee to receive
> our memorandum. We have always reiterated our position that we are opposed
> to this Bill in toto.
>
> We are awaiting the report of the Committee which will then be tabled in
> Parliament for subsequent parliamentary procedures. We are cognisant of the
> fact that the Bill is sponsored by the Member for Garissa Town who is also
> the Leader of Majority in the National Assembly. We had written to him
> expressing our opposition to the Bill and praying that Parliament help this
> sector by prioritising other crucial Bills such as the Data Protection Act.
>
> We call upon members of this network to join us in sensitizing Members of
> Parliament on our rationale for opposing this law. It is only through
> concerted efforts that we can kill this Bill.
>
> #KillTheICTBill
>
> *Ali Hussein*
> *Principal*
> *Hussein & Associates*
> +254 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>
>
> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking
> what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
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> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
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>



-- 
Regards,

Collins Areba,
Kilifi, Kenya.
Tel: +*254 707 750 788 */ *0731534124*
Twitter: @arebacollins.
Skype: arebacollins
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