[kictanet] Day 1 Discussions: Digital Hailing Services Regulations

Mon Feb 10 21:51:31 EAT 2020

Thank you Liz for these discussions.

My views are

1. The original idea of digital hailing apps was not to add new licence
classes and regulations in our statutes but was to share free seats in
personal cars. When driving along the city, I carry with me 4 empty seats.
I take empty seats to Nairobi, and back. Next time while on the road, check
the number of cars passing by ferrying only the driver - translating to
more fuel used, more roads damaged, more traffic hours, more spare parts
used, etc. Sharing that empty utility can save the country some good money,
especially in foreign exchange (everything in cars is imported). The
process of private citizens carrying other road users going in the same
direction should be at the centre of digital hailing. It should be
encouraged and promoted, Onboarding should be seamless, and cost-free, and
private drivers SHOULD be allowed to participate. After all, we know our
public transport system is broken and not as reliable. Public transport
should be one area that the government gets correctly. It is easy to
implement, and enforce. But we have refused. We want to thrive in chaos.

2. Foreign digital hailing apps should NOT be allowed to set-up shop in
Kenya. We should not open up industries to foreigners that can be done
perfectly by locals. You cannot have a digital hailing client, working
tirelessly 365 days a year, earning, paying for the hailing service, and
that capital goes to Dubai or California. You cannot have a digital hailing
service investor paying a percentage of his income for the capital to fly
abroad. Those are failed policies. Indeed, some  Prevent capital flight for
cottage industries. There is no value that foreign taxi-hailing apps bring
to this economy rather than harvesting human capital.
______________________
Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwendwa-kivuva

On Mon, 10 Feb 2020 at 12:08, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> The thing that these proposed Regulation is overlooking is the overarching
> need for a complete overhaul of our Public Transport System. Any mass
> transit system in the world cannot be left to the vagaries of the profit
> motive alone. This is where the rain started beating us down. When we
> killed Kenya Bus Services and allowed the matatu menace to run roughshod
> over us.
>
> These new proposed regulations continue to perpetuate silo thinking not
> just in govt but in the private sector too.
>
> Time ya kuamka. Masaa ina enda..
>
> *Ali Hussein*
> +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 10 Feb 2020, at 11:40 AM, Liz Orembo via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
> 
>   Thank you Ali, Kieti and Bill.
>
> @Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>  Indeed, we should regulate to grow the
> sector, not to kill it. From the public participation, it looks like vitu
> kwa ground is confusion/chaotic. The digital hailing service operators have
> not been engaging car owners and the government.
>
> These regulations have also capped commission. The operators are supposed
> to charge commission to a cap of 15%. to protect the drivers from the
> effects of competition between the companies. A question though; how did
> the NTSA arrive at this percentage? Is it fair to cap profits? What are the
> effects in the industry?
>
> @kieti you raise very valid points. Taxing the vehicle owners and drivers
> might not be timely. How about the multinationals? Because not imposing tax
> on them also exposes local companies which are already paying taxes to
> unfair competition.
>
> @Bill Dian <billdian732 at gmail.com>, ill through these questions to fellow
> listers.
>
> 1.What does the Kenyan law say on employees and independent
> contractors,with the disruption of traditional employment models?
>
> 2 The new regulations require digital service operators to operate under
> Kenya laws,does Labor Laws apply?drivers have in the past complained of
> lack of representation when deactivated,lack of consultations on price
> fixing e.t.c?
>
> 3.What effect does the regulations have on Data protection,specifically
> data retention .For instance,the regulations require operators to maintain
> personal data for period of 3 years,will the operators be required to
> obtain authorization from Data Commissioner,since they are Data controllers
> and data processors?
>
> 4.What effect does the new regulations have on the model of the gig
> economy?Does it rip off the independence and flexibility characterised by
> the gig economy?
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 10, 2020 at 11:26 AM John Kieti <jkieti at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> From the apparent justifications for the regulations, I think some issues
>> are being conflated, unfortunately. I am thinking at least 3 issues exist
>> and could be dealt with separately.
>>
>> 1. *Accidents and crime *- Might it help to broaden the regulations to
>> cover normal offline taxis. If anything digital taxi-hailing provides
>> increased possibility for passenger safety than normal taxis. It seems
>> pointless to provide a fix for what is not really broken.
>> 2.* Owners / Drivers / Operator feuding on commercials* -  These ideally
>> should be maintained as commercial leasing agreements (drivers with owners)
>> and marketing service agreements (Drivers with operators). The
>> employer-employee narrative misses the point on the platform economy where
>> actors should be considered autonomous and responsive to the market forces.
>> 3. *Tax evasion and revenue collection - *This seems to be the main
>> thrust of the regulations. To check on tax evasion by operators - Uber,
>> Bolt, etc is welcome and timely. Legal technicalities on tax avoidance will
>> remain. To squeeze out more taxes and fees from drivers and vehicle owners
>> is fair - not sure about timely - If it were me, I would let the gig
>> economy grow roots first, for a couple more years.
>>
>> Kind regards
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 10, 2020 at 9:10 AM Liz Orembo via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Good morning listers,
>>>
>>> Today we will talk about Digital Hailing Services Regulations and the
>>> licensing of the Service Operators under part 1 of the regulations.
>>>
>>> Looking at the document, it seems like the NTSA is trying to regulate
>>> the industry following the recent incidents that have come up: eg
>>> accidents, assisted crimes and digital taxi drivers woes. These regulations
>>> will require any digital hailing services; Uber, Bolt, and Swivl, to
>>> register in Kenya and operate under the Kenyan laws. They will also obtain
>>> operating licences from the NTSA.
>>>
>>> We would like to hear your views on this:
>>>
>>> a. Are the regulations necessary?
>>> b. Is NTSA the right/best body to regulate Digital Hailing Transport
>>> Services?
>>> c. What are the likely impacts in the transport industry, Information
>>> Society Sector and gig economy? etc
>>> d. Should multinationals be subjected to different licensing
>>> requirements?
>>>
>>> Here are some resources to guide our discussions.
>>> 1. Bolt, uber among taxi apps ordered to get licences or get off road.
>>> https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2020-02-04-uber-bolt-among-taxi-apps-ordered-to-get-licences-or-get-off-road/
>>> 2. Can California reign tech-gig platforms? A primer on the bold state
>>> law that will try.
>>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/14/can-california-reign-techs-gig-platforms-primer-bold-state-law-that-will-try/
>>>
>>> Over to you listers.
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Best regards.
>>> Liz.
>>>
>>> PGP ID: 0x1F3488BF
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>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> John Kieti
>> Phone: +254-735-764242 // +254-722-764242
>> Twitter: @johnKieti <https://twitter.com/johnkieti> // Skype:  jkieti
>> Blog: gmeltdown.com <http://www.gmeltdown.com> // LinkedIn:
>> https://ke.linkedin.com/in/*kieti* <https://ke.linkedin.com/in/kieti>
>>
>> The ordinary just won't do
>>
>
>
> --
>
> Best regards.
> Liz.
>
> PGP ID: 0x1F3488BF
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> 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.
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> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
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> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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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.
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