[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
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>> 
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>>> 
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
>>> development.
>>> 
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Tony White
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20160622/02935727/attachment.htm>


More information about the KICTANet mailing list