[kictanet] Fw: DRAFT ICT POLICY 2016 LINK-KICTAnet Stakeholder Input
Ali Hussein
ali at hussein.me.ke
Wed Jun 22 11:37:05 EAT 2016
Tony
Thanks. Seems though I jumped the gun abit. Walu has a very structured discussion plan for the next two weeks. Mine I guess was a personal overview after reading the document and the fact that I'm too impatient to wait for two weeks? LOL
Ali Hussein
Principal
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113 / 0770906375
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
> On 22 Jun 2016, at 11:30 AM, Tony White <tony.mzungu at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Ali, +1, an excellent post, as usual :)
>
> An additional point to consider, in respect of both inter-ministry
> cooperation, and blockchain technology is a point I raised earlier on
> this list regarding elections - which should put an end, once and for
> all, to issues of 'rigging' - I refer to:
>
> https://followmyvote.com/blockchain-voting-the-end-to-end-process/
>
> which explains the open-source voting system which relies on
> blockchain to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
>
> Cheers,
> Tony
>
>
>
>
>
>> On 22/06/2016, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>> Walu and all
>>
>> My contribution:-
>>
>> 1. Bandwidth capacity increased from 847k Mbps to 1.5m Mbps yet the
>> utilization ratio decreased from 58.7% to 55.1%. It would have been
>> interesting to understand what occasioned the drop in utilization? Lessons
>> learnt? Pricing? Accessibility?
>>
>> 2. Broadband subscriptions increased from 4.2 million to 7.1m. This is
>> commendable. A more detailed penetration review by county would be very
>> helpful. It would help some of the counties understand why they are lagging
>> behind in the adoption of ICTs. Even if this is too detailed for the Policy
>> Document a link to a more detailed study would be very helpful. This could
>> then be presented to Governors in a sort of report probably named:-
>> 'The State of ICTs in the Counties'
>>
>> 3. The performance or utilization of the National Optic Fibre Backbone
>> (NOFBI) must be brought into review. According to the ICT Authority
>> website:-
>>
>> The ICT Authority is implementing Phase 11 of the National Fibre Optic
>> cable. The construction begun in September 2014 and is expected to be
>> complete by June 2016. The second phase will build 1,600KM of fiber linking
>> all the 47 county headquarters and an additional 500KM dedicated for
>> military use. This is in addition to the existing 4,300KM of NOFBI I
>> completed in 2009. NOFBI phase1passes 58 towns in 35 counties
>> To date:
>>
>> 1200Km out of the 1600KM civil works are completed.
>> 900Km of fibre has been laid in the backbone section.
>> The backbone section is now complete and fibre installed in all the 47
>> counties (Kajiado County fibre in NOFBI I was damaged by road construction)
>> and capacity to connect Kajiado County HQ will be sourced from other
>> operators whose fibre is along the power line to Namanga
>> Metropolitan fibre civil works has been completed in 35 of 47 counties.
>> NOFBI Phase 1 is already in use in the national government, Telkom,
>> Safaricom, Jamii Telecom and KENET utilizing more than 3,000KM of the cable.
>> The operations and maintenance of NOFBI Phase 1 is being handled by Telkom.
>>
>> Read more:-
>>
>> http://www.icta.go.ke/national-optic-fibre-backbone-nofbi/
>>
>> This is absolutely commendable. We must now move to the next stage of
>> critical evaluation of this Critical Infrastructure.
>>
>> a) What are the learnings?
>>
>> b) What could we have done better?
>>
>> c) What are the bottlenecks to last mile connectivity?
>>
>> d) Why haven't our connectivity costs reduced considering that most of the
>> telcos are using this backbone which is a national resource?
>>
>> We are stepping on the shoulders of giants who envisioned this resource for
>> the country. We must make absolutely sure that we squeeze every ounce of the
>> advantage it has given us.
>>
>> e) Why are we not in the top 50 global internet penetration rankings? Make
>> no mistake about it. Our competition is not Africa. It is global.
>>
>> http://www.internetworldstats.com/top25.htm
>>
>> 4. A review of the ICT Start-up ecosystem is totally lacking in this policy
>> document. It is imperative that we do a deep dive of this ecosystem and
>> ensure that private and public/government efforts are aligned. Totally. It
>> is nonsensical to think that this sector will become world class without
>> private, public and government working in tandem. Some of the areas to look
>> into:-
>> a) Capacity building for entrepreneurs
>> b) A regulatory environment that is super conducive to the ecosystem while
>> protecting the public good.
>> c) Access to markets outside the country
>> d) Access to cheap capital.
>>
>> 5. The Universal Service Access Fund is a commendable initiative but too
>> often there hasn't been much information on the impact the critical resource
>> is having. My suggestion would be to have an interactive real time map
>> showing its impact and why certain regions are chosen to receive its largess
>> and not others. This should be linked with Infrastructure sharing and last
>> mile strategies to provide connectivity from the NOFBI.
>>
>> 6. WayLeaves. There has to be robust engagement with counties to ensure that
>> ISPs and Telcos are not held to ransom by short term county revenue hunting
>> at the expense of spreading ubiquitous broadband connectivity. This is so
>> critical that a clear strategy paper needs to be put together by all
>> stakeholders to guarantee its implementation.
>>
>> 7. What are the roadblocks that hinder us from achieving universal broadband
>> connectivity?
>>
>> 8. Mobile Money and the new reality of Blockchain Technology. Let's not beat
>> about the bush here. The very leadership position that has been achieved by
>> our adaption of Mobile Money is at risk by burying our heads in the sand
>> when it comes to Blockchain Technology. Kenya, and Africa are again at risk
>> of being left behind. No other than the Governor of the Central Bank is on
>> record saying that we shall wait and see what the west does before jumping
>> in. I respect the man alot but I think engagement with the nascent Fintech
>> space in Nairobi together with the ICT Ministry is long overdue. We MUST
>> chart our own path - And it needs to be a pioneering path not a follower
>> path. We need a clear policy statement from the ICT Ministry on this.
>>
>> Time for pussyfooting around is over.
>>
>> 9. Science, Technology and Innovation. The importance of this cannot be
>> gainsaid. Beyond the policy statements the Ministry needs to articulate
>> achievements in this area over the last 10 years, lessons learnt and clear
>> way forward.
>>
>> The mash up (no pun intended) of higher learning institutions, hubs,
>> incubators, accelerators and businesses need to be prioritized to achieve
>> true breakthroughs.
>>
>> 10. Gaming and application development. How can we replicate the success of
>> such local content as Papa Shimanyula, Mother in Law etc online. What
>> happened to once popular Ma3Racer, which at its height was downloaded in 200
>> countries. What are the lessons learnt?
>>
>> 11. Postal and Courier Services. What needs to be done to enthuse a more
>> vibrant and profitable postal service? The CS has just appointed a new board
>> to this beleaguered giant. He needs all our support to ensure its success.
>> At the same time the government needs to be absolutely ruthless in its
>> mandate of ensuring management deliver on its promises.
>>
>> New comers in this space also require policy support as the postal service
>> cannot by itself achieve the requirements of an economy that is increasingly
>> digital.
>>
>> Great move on enumerating where we are on the establishment of a National
>> Addressing System and the recent launch of mPost. How can the government
>> collaborate with private sector initiatives like OkHi? How can we avoid
>> duplication?
>>
>> 12. Consumer Protection. The Consumer Protection Act of 2012 gives us a good
>> foundation. What can the ICT Ministry and stakeholders in the sector
>> contribute to enhance this act in this new digital dispensation?
>>
>> 13. Cyber Security. Too often governments the world over use this blanket
>> term to spy and infringe on the rights of citizens. This is a delicate
>> balancing act which requires all players to work with utmost good faith in
>> ensuring that our digital resources are safe from those who would want to
>> take them away from us.
>>
>> Did I miss the part on Privacy Protection in this policy document?
>>
>> 14. Human Resource Development and Training. The policy document mentions
>> the Establishment of ICT Centers of Excellence. I propose the government
>> goes one step further and Establish The Kenya Institutes of Technology
>> fashioned around the Indian Institutes of Technology.
>>
>> The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are autonomous public institutes
>> of higher education, located in India. They are governed by the Institutes
>> of Technology Act, 1961 which has declared them as institutions of national
>> importance and lays down their powers, duties, and framework for governance
>> etc.
>>
>> 15. Knowledge Economy. Great improvement to the policy document here.
>> Commendable to actually spell out the difference facets of this sector. My
>> only disappointment here is that the document mentions eServices like health
>> and agriculture but conspicuously misses out Finance? I'm curious why?
>> Seeing as this is the one sector that we actually stand to have the best
>> competitive advantage due to the uptake of mobile money in this country.
>> This is an obvious glaring oversight.
>>
>> 16. New Innovations and services in ICT. Great section. Very bold. Now to
>> its implementation.
>>
>> 17. eGoverment. It cannot be gainsaid the strides this country has made in
>> this area. Kudos to all who have played a role in it. We now must move to
>> the next level and beat Estonia, which is the leading digital government in
>> the world.
>>
>> 18. Policy, legal and regulatory framework. Here, a lot of work needs to be
>> done. Often times ministries and government departments work at
>> cross-purposes and seem at odds with each other. Can the ICT Ministry
>> champion a Common Purpose Task Force with the help of the AG's office to
>> smooth over diverse views and vested interests? ICT is the thread that molds
>> the nation and the Ministry MUST take its rightful place in the scheme of
>> things. For example:-
>>
>> Before the Film classification board makes comments on OTT they could
>> consult the ICT Ministry or the Central Bank makes comments on Blockchains
>> they could do the same?
>>
>> We appreciate the role regulators play in an economy. What we would like to
>> see is for them to be equipped for Regulation in the 22nd Century as opposed
>> to using regulation tools fit for the era of The Robber Barons (early 1900s)
>> or that of Alexander Graham Bell (mid 1800s).
>>
>> Bottom line? A well thought out Policy document that requires a few tweaks
>> and more importantly - EXECUTION.
>>
>> Ali Hussein
>> Principal
>> Hussein & Associates
>> +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375
>>
>> 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
>>
>>> On 20 Jun 2016, at 3:25 PM, Walubengo J via kictanet
>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Listers,
>>>
>>>
>>> The Ministry of ICT (PS V. Kyalo) has asked KICTAnet to ran a two week
>>> moderated discussion on the Draft ICT Policy 2016, that will replace the
>>> current 2006 ICT Policy.
>>>
>>>
>>> Please download and go through in preparation of the online discussions
>>> scheduled to kick-off this wednesday 22nd June 2016.
>>>
>>> You views will be consolidated and later on you will be invited to
>>> validated the same at a face-to-face session to be confirmed at a venue
>>> and date to be confirmed later.
>>>
>>> Kazi kwenyu. Do not say you were not consulted :-)
>>>
>>> Best rgds.
>>>
>>> walu.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----
>>> Dear All,
>>>
>>> The Draft ICT Policy 2016 has been posted in the MoICT website for
>>> stakeholders comments. Please use the link below to access the document.
>>>
>>> http://www.information.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Draft-National-ICT-Policy-20June2016.pdf
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>> Jane W. Migwi
>>> Administrative Secretary
>>> National Communications Secretariat
>>> P.O. Box 10756-00100, NBI
>>> Tel: +254-20-2719953 / +254-20-2713429
>>> Fax: +254-20-2716515
>>> Cell: 0721 850 561
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Tony White
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