[kictanet] Consumer protection a means of cutting Safaricom’s dominance

Wed Feb 22 06:24:32 EAT 2017

Hi Ali,

Kindly define nurture as you would to a District Commissioner in Mogotio.

Regards

On 2/22/17, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
> Barrack
>
> Im one of those old enough to remember. :-)
>
> However my take is this:-
>
> The markets have evolved so much and the dynamics of innovation, the market
> place and the consumer changed so much that the the Heavy Hand of Regulation
> must now be tampered by the light touch of nurturing and encouraging
> innovation and the market players to act and behave in a responsible manner.
> Failure to which the Market will deal with them in a most ruthless manner.
> The market won't break you up. It will decimate you and leave you for the
> dead. Just ask Telkom Kenya, Posta, Nokia and other once 'Dominant' global
> players.
>
> I think we are focusing on the wrong things. By all means, keep a leash on
> the lean, mean fighting machine that is Safaricom. But also nurture home
> grown players -The PesaPals, the Cellulant, the WayaWayas, the Anganis, the
> Zuku's and Jamiis to ensure that we build such a deep bench of players that
> this Dominance conversation will be placed where it belongs - in the
> dustbins of history.
>
> Ali Hussein
> Principal
> Hussein & Associates
> +254 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
> Skype: abu-jomo
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>
> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a
> habit."  ~ Aristotle
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On 22 Feb 2017, at 5:27 AM, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi colleagues,
>>
>> I need an explanation like a two year old on this whole dominance
>> debate. Maybe Walu can help me here. Safaricom was a subsidiary of
>> Telkom Kenya focused on the mobile phone (GSM) Segment. Looking back
>> into the past and as a result of Liberization, the then giant Kenya
>> Posts and Telecommunications Corporation was split into , Telkom
>> Kenya, Communications Authority of Kenya (CCK then as the regulator
>> and Posta to handle the post office. We need to step back and
>> interrogate the real reasons as to why Progress of Telkom Kenya and
>> Posta has backfired in a maximum of ten bullet points. On the other
>> hand, we also need to figure out how Safaricom (a subsidiary of Telkom
>> Kenya which is now a public company bolted out of the stable and
>> became a success). My simple questions:
>>
>> 1. Will a split of Safaricom yield the desired effect?
>> 2. Is it in the interest of Safaricom (the company or organization
>> that is a legally recognized person by the laws of the land to split
>> so as to suit the competition.
>> 3. Can someone share case  studies of where this has worked before?
>>
>> Walu or anyone as old as Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corporation
>> please help.
>>
>> Following...
>>
>>> On 2/22/17, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>> wrote:
>>> @Mwendwa and all
>>>
>>> it looks like that's what the consultant is suggesting.
>>>
>>> Here are two other excerpts from the report that I find interesting:-
>>>
>>> The most draconian of the prescriptions is the proposal to functionally
>>> separate M-Pesa from Safaricom. This is tantamount to proposing a
>>> break-up
>>> of Safaricom because in terms of growth revenues, M-Pesa is on track to
>>> reach 50 per cent of the company’s net revenues. The consultants have
>>> also
>>> proposed what they call “mandatory wallet-to wallet interoperability”, a
>>> system where a consumer can keep cloud accounts across the platforms of
>>> different mobile companies, making it possible to move and shift money
>>> between accounts as one chooses.
>>>
>>> I have said before and I'm happy to repeat this again. Separating M-Pesa
>>> from Safaricom should not be forced on Safaricom. In my humble opinion
>>> Safaricom should by now have done this voluntarily as a strategic
>>> imperative
>>> to transform itself into the De-Facto National (Regional) Mobile Payment
>>> System. I think the lost opportunity here can be seen by the KBA
>>> launching a
>>> rival Mobile Platform called PesaLink.
>>>
>>> The mandatory 'Wallet to Wallet' interoperability is an interesting
>>> angle
>>> and needs to seriously be considered. This sort of compliments my point
>>> above.
>>>
>>> They have also recommended a system that they call “agent to agent
>>> interoperability”, where agents will be able to support multiple mobile
>>> money platforms using what is described in technical language as “a
>>> single
>>> float”.
>>>
>>> This is certainly interesting. In as much as this supports the notion of
>>> 'User or Customer Experience'  I think the Regulator and the Telcos
>>> should
>>> work towards ensuring this becomes a reality. In essence this could be a
>>> solution to the allegations that Safaricom discourages its agent network
>>> from dealing with rival Telcos.
>>>
>>> Lastly, I would largely concur with Jaindi Ksero's conclusion (sort of)
>>> that
>>> the Consultant has displayed a lack of knowledge in the functioning of
>>> our
>>> national payments system. I would however like to add one for the road:-
>>>
>>> Are our Regulators (CA, CAK and CBK)  prepared to empower, grow and
>>> regulate
>>> with a light touch the seemingly fluid Telco, Banking, Payments and
>>> Fintech
>>> Spaces while ensuring that:-
>>>
>>> a) They embrace innovation and new thinking while protecting National
>>> Interests and consumers at the same time?
>>>
>>> b) They work together without resorting to Turf Wars as evidenced in the
>>> tiff between the CA and the CAK in 2015.
>>> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Competition--telecoms-watchdogs-to-seek-truce-over-Safaricom-/539550-2707286-lqu5sez/index.html
>>>
>>> c) They consider creating a Joint Task Force to monitor, encourage and
>>> empower players in the spaces mentioned to become Regional and Global
>>> Players? I have often wondered aloud about the CBK's core mandate of
>>> protecting Depositors' funds and wondered (again aloud) whether this
>>> mandate
>>> is outdated and that it should be expanded to that of becoming an
>>> empowering
>>> public entity that encourages research, innovation and entrepreneurship
>>> in
>>> the burgeoning convergence of Banking, Telcos, Payments and Fintech
>>> Spaces.
>>> d) Regulatory tools need to be rebooted and upgraded to reflect the
>>> times.
>>> The current scenarios are such that one doesn't even know anymore which
>>> industry one operates in.
>>>
>>> This is a plea for the Regulation Mandates to drastically change and
>>> embrace
>>> the now and the future.
>>>
>>> Can the Future Czars step up?
>>>
>>>
>>> Ali Hussein
>>> Principal
>>> Hussein & Associates
>>> +254 0713 601113
>>>
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>>
>>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but
>>> a
>>> habit."  ~ Aristotle
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>>> On 21 Feb 2017, at 11:12 PM, Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet
>>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> So technically, we want to break up Safaricom so that these companies
>>>> can gain some traction  "Airtel, has made cumulative debt to date of
>>>> Sh51 billion, according to latest audited accounts for the financial
>>>> year 2015. Indeed, in the league of loss makers, only Kenya Airways,
>>>> with their Sh54 billion lost in the most recent years, compares to
>>>> Airtel. As a matter of fact, the numbers in the company’s annual
>>>> accounts show that Airtel is insolvent and only surviving on life
>>>> support from the parent company in India. Safaricom’s only other
>>>> rival, Orange Telkom, has gone through exceedingly difficult trading
>>>> and financial conditions over the past decade. This a firm that is
>>>> technically insolvent. It has gone through several episodes of
>>>> restructuring that have not materially changed its circumstances."
>>>> ______________________
>>>> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
>>>> twitter.com/lordmwesh
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 21 February 2017 at 23:48, Grace Githaiga via kictanet
>>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Jaindi Kisero gives us a glimpse of the competition study in the
>>>>> telecommunication sub-sector undertaken by Ms Analysys Mason on behalf
>>>>> of
>>>>> CA. See full article:
>>>>>
>>>>> "I recently came across a report by the consulting group Analysys
>>>>> Mason
>>>>> entitled "A telecommunication competition market study in Kenya".
>>>>> Readers
>>>>> will recall that these consultants were retained by the market
>>>>> regulator
>>>>> –
>>>>> the Communications Authority of Kenya – to conduct a study whose
>>>>> results
>>>>> were to inform the crafting of a new framework for regulating abuse of
>>>>> market dominance by the big players.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> As expected, one of the key findings of this study is that Safaricom’s
>>>>> market share in both the mobile communications and mobile money
>>>>> segments
>>>>> far
>>>>> exceed the thresholds where firms are typically presumed to be
>>>>> dominant."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/consumer-protection-a-means-of-cutting-safaricom-dominance/440808-3822560-jsmlpbz/index.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Githaiga, Grace
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Co-Convenor
>>>>> Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet)
>>>>> Twitter:@ggithaiga
>>>>> Tel: 254722701495
>>>>> Skype: gracegithaiga
>>>>> Alternate email: ggithaiga at hotmail.com
>>>>> Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga
>>>>> www.kictanet.or.ke
>>>>>
>>>>> "Change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged
>>>>> and
>>>>> come
>>>>> together to demand it. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability
>>>>> to
>>>>> bring about change – but in yours"---Barrack Obama.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Barrack O. Otieno
>> +254721325277
>> +254733206359
>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
>

-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254733206359
Skype: barrack.otieno
PGP ID: 0x2611D86A