July 2007 - KICTANet

link to KC amendment bill
by Rebecca Wanjiku 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

here is the link to the documents and a critique follows below http://africa.rights.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=he_1&x=5077882 Communications ( Amendment ) Bill 2007 This section changes the name of the Act, introduces new definitions, ICT policy development and promulgation , governance of the sector and constitution of the regulator , fines for contravention of the act Some areas that warrant attention are - policy formulation in the ICT sector . ICT stakeholders participated in the ICT formulation process for the first time in 2006 and now have a sense of ownership to that policy. This is as should be because the government strategy is to use the private sector to drive growth . The proposed clause 5 fails to take into account the lessons learned from the policy formulation process and locks out all other stakeholders in policy formulation - governance - Minister can appoint unlimited number of the board members to the CCK board because the operative language for all appointments in clause 6 is .. at least one --- . No advantage can be demonstrated. All other regulators have an upper limit on the board members who range from 5 to 9 members. Secondly , almost all others have no government officers to avoid conflict of interest where government has shareholding in operators and in any case the regulator implements policy promulgated by the government thirdly all the board appointments are heavily tilted to the supply side and only one appointee will represent the consumer side These concerns were pointed out by KICTANET but have not taken on board Muriuki Mureithi Colleagues As you are aware the Kenya Government has at last published the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill 2007 . The purpose of the Bill published on May 17th , 2007 ( world telecommunications day) is to amend Kenya Communications Act 1998 . The structure of the bill as a follows; Clause 1 - 14 - change of name, new definitions, ICT policy development and promulgation , governance of the sector and constitution of the regulator , fines for contravention of the act Clause 15 - introduces part IVA on broadcasting services - regulation , licensing and revocation , and promotion of local content Clause 16 -29 - enhances penalties of the contravention of the Act, reduce the duration of notice of a grant of licence, refusal to grant or modification, exclude certain classes in the notice of grant of licence Clause 30 . introduces part VIA on information technology - legal recognition of electronic communications, electronic records and electronic transactions , offences . introduces part VIB universal service fund - establishment and operationalisation . introduces part VIC Fair competition and equal treatment - definition of dominant operator , investigation of unfair treatment clause 31 introduces miscellaneous provisions on National communications secretariat, establishment of the advisory councils ( content and universal service), action in the occurrence of an emergency, use of information by an operator, service to CCK etc clause 33 introduces two schedules . fourth schedule - operation of advisory councils - content and advisory . fifth schedule - transitional provisions and proposes to repeal other acts - Kenya broadcasting act, penal code, evidence act , part VII electronic records To understand the implication of the Bill , you need to study the Kenya Communications Act 1998 which is being repealed and the Bill itself . Once enacted the governing law will be information and Communications Act and will have far reaching implications in the sector for the next decade or so. it is therefore important for stakeholders to study the document. KICTAnet facilitated a review of the Kenya Communications Act 1998 last year using the a draft bill prepared by the Ministry of Infocom and developed a report supported by the stakeholders. This document made a number of proposals which were presented to the Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo. Some of the proposals have been included in the Bill As this Bill awaits discussion in parliament , KICTANet wants to facilitate an informed debate on the Bill , these comments are intended to support the evolution of a law to make Kenya effective user of ICT for development .I invite you to read the Kenya Communications Act 1998, the Kenya Communications ( Amendment) Bill 2007 and the proposals by KICTANET as a resource for your comments . The Act and the Bill are available at the government printer and meanwhile we are making arrangements to scan have all documents hosted in a website for ease of access by end of Wednesday . We start the online discussion on Thursday 7th and will start with Clause 1-14 and follow the sequence . In the meantime , we welcome any comments on the structure and the process of online discussion between today and Wednesday 6th Regards Muriuki Mureithi From: Harry Hare [mailto:harry@africanedevelopment.org] Sent: 12 June 2007 12:09 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: 'KICTanet Committee' Subject: RE: [committee] KC amendment bill Dear MM, You know how we operate in terms of reading documents! I would propose that you pick out the contentious clauses and sections of the bill and invite debate on the same. This way you would probably generate interest. Some of these clauses were outlined in Mucherus email of last weekdefinition of broadcasting, licensing of domain names etc. My interest however is in section 89-98 of the bill is was partly *borrowed* from the UNCITRAL Model Law on eCommerce of 1998. There are significant changes in the text that the said law has undergone through the various UNCITRAL Conventions and the UNCITRAL Model Law on eSignatures of 2001. It would be interesting to benchmark that section with the available text. I notice that they have left out some sections of the 1998 model law and this could pose danger in terms of interpretation of the law if it was a quick cut and paste job. One of the notable omissions (as far im concerned) for instance is the definition of electronic signatures which is found in the model law. The draft bill does recognize electronic signatures but is silent on what they are, this could cause serious interpretation problems. In the model law, the electronic signatures are defines and goes ahead to specify the validity of electronic signatureswhat I dont understand is why the drafters left out this crucial section of the law. Kindest regards Harry Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more. _______________________________________________ committee mailing list committee(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/committee Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. _______________________________________________ committee mailing list committee(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/committee

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monthly forum on july 19th, Jacaranda
by Rebecca Wanjiku 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

the monthly forum will take place next week on thursday at jacaranda, 3pm please plan to attend and add your voice, regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.

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[Fwd: [governance] the Apple iPhone rort]
by alice 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

Not sure how many of you have been following the Apple iPhone hype. This message is from the global civil society Internet governance list that is discussing the same issue re; mobile phone companies and locking consumers. Note the iPhone is only available through AT&T best alice -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [governance] the Apple iPhone rort Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:56:42 -0700 (PDT) From: David Goldstein <goldstein_david(a)yahoo.com.au> Reply-To: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org,David Goldstein <goldstein_david(a)yahoo.com.au> To: Governance Mailing List <governance(a)lists.cpsr.org> Hi all, I'd put this posting below on my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - and thought I'd post it here and see what the response was. It's based on an article in The Guardian today that makes a few more points on the new must-have iPhone. Well, must have only for those who are slaves to marketing hype. It makes points that have been made before. To have an iPhone one must agree to a contract with AT&T, previously described as one of the worst mobile phone service providers in the US. So if you want an iPhone, and you are already contracted to another company, you have to terminate that contract with the related fees that involves. Ben Scott’s article also notes “if you are on a family plan, you may have to pay a separate fee to terminate all of your family's phones.” And there’s the point that that AT&T doesn’t offer full coverage in more than a dozen states. Now, the real point the article makes I’d not thought of, and relevant to this list, is that the “practice of tying users to one provider is unique to the wireless world. Cable TV providers can't tell you what kind of TV to buy. And regular phone service will work on any phone you can find at your favorite electronics store. In the latter case, that's because there is a longstanding set of laws that guarantee consumer choice.” In the USA, at least, this is “called the ‘Carterfone’ rules, these laws make it so you can use any device you want - phone, headset, fax machine or dial-up modem - on your telephone network, so long as it doesn't harm the network.” The article then says, “But it gets worse: phone companies don't just hold the iPhone captive; they also routinely cripple features on handsets (like Wi-Fi, games, audio and video) so that you can only access their ‘preferred’ content. They also limit access to the network, despite marketing ‘unlimited access’. And they reserve the right to boot you off the network if you do almost anything they don't like.” “This kind of ‘blocking and locking’ behavior doesn't stop you from accessing the internet, but it does shape your experience and undermine the open, level playing field that consumers have come to expect online. The iPhone is simply the highest-profile example of a wireless internet market that is drifting further and further away from the free and open internet we've all come to expect. “The only solution to this problem is a political one. Decisions that legislators and regulators in Washington make now will determine what the internet looks like in the future. The US Congress is holding a hearing this week - call it the iPhone hearing - to discuss the new technology and its impact on consumer choice.” So all this, and combined with the rort of having to send your phone to Apple just so you can exchange the battery, and other lock-ins, I’d hope smart people would boycott the iPhone. Even if it’s just to somehow enable consumer choice and stop the drift away from a “free and open internet”. For the article that got me thinking about this post, see http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ben_scott/2007/07/free_the_iphone.html Cheers David --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo!7 Mail has just got even bigger and better with unlimited storage on all webmail accounts. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html ____________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: governance-unsubscribe(a)lists.cpsr.org For all list information and functions, see: http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance

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Telkom’s growth is stifled by fraudsters colluding with staff
by Mike Theuri 12 Jul '07

12 Jul '07

This article appeared in 2005, but it becomes very relevant when it appears that there is a sudden and urgent rush to quietly privatize TKL by selling it to foreigners, while "restructuring and preparing" TKL for that process at taxpayers expense, a tax burden that future generations of Kenyans will still be paying with nothing to show for. The problems that TKL has are self created, they can be fixed and TKL should not be sold at such a throw away price that is hardly sufficient to cover the debt that has been and which additionally is likely to be transferred to the taxpayer. For those reading it is now 4 years to date since the secret dossiers mentioned in the article were written and no prosecution or conviction has taken place: http://www.eastandard.net/archives/sunday/hm_news/news.php?articleid=14743 Self-inflicted woes Telkom's growth is stifled by fraudsters colluding with staff as competition bites, writes Gordon Opiyo. Top officials of Telkom Kenya are involved in fleecing the cash-strapped company of billions of shillings, according to independent investigations by the Communications Commission of Kenya. According to confidential reports prepared by the regulator, Telkom Kenya failed to take advantage of the five-year local and international fixed line calls monopoly due to collusion between the employees and an international syndicate of phone companies. In the estimation of then Transport and Communications minister John Michuki, Telkom had lost over Sh120 billion in the previous seven years due to these leakages. Yet the minister failed to stop the syndicates, and appeared to have acquiesced to them or become hostage. The company now has to grapple with tough competition after the end of the exclusivity status in June, last year, with about 10,000 employees set to lose their jobs through an impending retrenchment exercise. While Telkom Managing Director John Waweru says the company has nothing to hide and is willing to co-operate with any investigators, indications are that there are still too many untouchables fleecing the parastatal. Information and Communications Permanent Secretary, Mr James Rege, plays the same refrain: "We have an open-door policy and will ensure that any official found to be involved in any improper deal takes responsibility for his or her action." Yet both officials have before them detailed reports of how the company lost the opportunity to take full control of the local and international calls market, despite having the advantage of being a monopoly. The decline was rapid, with countrywide subscriptions to Telkom Kenya's switchboard falling by 14.7 per cent to 280,000 lines in June 2004 from 328,358 the year before. And whereas international calls used to generate 80 per cent of the total revenue a decade ago, the figure has dropped to about 30 per cent. Investigation After the raid on Data Global Limited Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Kiraitu Murungi ordered the CCK to investigate the magnitude of the fraud and how it was perpetrated. The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission also requested a similar brief. According to the reports, Telkom Kenya's revenue declined because of fraudsters adopting new technologies for transmitting international calls, and its failure to change fast enough. Fraudsters, with the help of Telkom Kenya employees, managed to get into the lucrative international call market by offering cheaper calls. Among the methods identified by the regulator's investigators were Voice Over Internet Protocol and the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT). These technologies make it possible to make calls at a fraction of the cost of the traditional methods that Telkom Kenya used. Apart from the technology, Telkom entered into suspicious contracts with three companies – CDR, N-Tel and Zantel – which, according to the CCK, have the equipment to compress call traffic so that a small transmission capacity can handle more telephone lines than a normal Telkom system. The companies entered into agreements with the parastatal to terminate international calls from other countries at a much lower cost — obviously to the detriment of Telkom. For instance, a call that comes to the Telkom network from abroad is terminated at $0.2 per minute, but those that come through the other companies are terminated at $0.06 cents per minute. Worse for Telkom when the calls come to mobile phones because it loses Sh14.50 per minute. "Going by the statistics of the previous financial year (2002), where Telkom Kenya terminated over 17 million international call minutes, this amounts to a loss of over Sh178 million," says the CCK report to the Kenya Anti Corruption Authority. The CCK questions the manner in which Telkom awarded the contracts to the three companies, contravening three conditions laid down in its licence – condition 18 on fair trading, condition 25 of informing the regulator of joint ventures and condition 26 that gave it exclusivity in the provision of international calls. In other words, Telkom gave up its exclusive rights to operate international calls to the three companies through the backdoor. Although the regulator says that they have not been able to get the real owners of the companies, investigations by The Sunday Standard have established that the firms were all owned by influential members of the previous administration and a former director of Telkom. What is interesting is that although the file on the fraud investigation in Telkom has been open at the Kenya Anti Corruption Authority since 2003, no action has been taken to stop the illegal operations. Instead, most of the officers investigating the have either been transferred or recalled to the Criminal Investigation Department. In December, last year, Dr John Mutonyi, assistant director in charge of investigations told The Sunday Standard that that his men were still investigating the matter. However, when contacted for the past two weeks, Dr Mutonyi failed to respond to our calls. The CCK report to Kiraitu says: "The kind of defense Telkom Kenya is giving to agreements, which are one of the biggest contributors towards the decline in its international revenue shows that individuals from Telkom Kenya are gaining from it." In an earlier interview with The Sunday Standard, Waweru had said that the contracts were signed before his management came into office and that the new team was reviewing them. The investigations also revealed that billions of shillings were lost through illegal satellite dish operators who, according to the briefs, were supported by Telkom Kenya staff to get telephone lines fixed to the local exchanges. "We suggest that an independent investigator be sought to address the problem of decline in Telkom Kenya's revenue including the illegal international traffic termination by Data Global at Lonrho House. Telkom Kenya cannot investigate itself on this matter because they appear to be abetting culprits," concludes the report. However, two years after the secret dossiers were written, no major change action has been seen.

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Morality Policing>>Censorhip Precursor
by Alex Gakuru 12 Jul '07

12 Jul '07

"Govt plans countrywide ban on smoking in public_" says http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp. Following "trial" Urban Councils implementation success. Do such actions require City councils to give public Notice because EasyFM spoke of several arrested yesterday at Landhies Road. These guys probably do not have the luxury of radio or TV to know of snap bylaws. What will be next? Filtering your internet to "protect" you from pornography or illegalise carrying more than 1,000/= because thugs my rob you? Fishy.... ____________________________________________________________________________________ Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&…

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is IGF a castrated version of ICANN???
by Rebecca Wanjiku 12 Jul '07

12 Jul '07

makes good reading??? ICANN San Juan 2007 After a crazed American federal prosecutor wreaked havoc on the Puerto Rican roads by wiping out on his motorcycle at 3am doing 105 mph, immobilizing traffic for ten hours on a major highway, I walked four miles on Thursday morning along the beach to the site of the ICANN meeting. I made it just in time to the Caribe Hilton for the internet governance workshop. Sure glad I caught this one. if (document.getElementById('MidArticleSlot')) document.write('\x3Cscript src="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/adj/reg.management.4159/itdirector;'+RegExCats+GetVCs()+'pid='+RegId+';'+RegKW+'maid='+maid+';test='+test+';pf='+RegPF+';dcove=d;sz=336x280;tile=3;ord=' + rand + '?" type="text/javascript">\x3C\/script>'); In the beginning ... uh, were the critical...uh... internet resources... ahm well... we'll get back to that at the Rio conference in November. Sort of like Adam wandering around the garden labeling things, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is still working on its reason for being here. The IGF was created out of whole cloth by the UN as a kind of internationalized counterweight to perceived excessive American influence at ICANN, and yet no one in attendance, even those who participate in the IGF, are quite sure what the IGF even does - apparently it's still defining its fundamentals. A good chunk of this mercifully short session consisted of participants half-heartedly trying to define what constitute "critical internet resources" - the protection of which they've decided is essential to their core mission, and which is topic numero uno at the upcoming Rio event. The truth is really out there, right? This session in theory was about more than the IGF, but in practice it consisted mostly of a discussion about the extent to which the IGF and ICANN serve overlapping or even contradictory purposes. There seemed to be a rather diplomatic consensus that the two institutions complement each other, but after sitting through an hour of discussion on the subject, this correspondent still has absolutely no idea what the IGF actually does - or if it even has the power to do anything at all. Is it a gripe forum, kind of like those bitter websites American trademark attorneys are always trying to shut down? Is it just a glorified networking event? Who knows? If I make it to the Rio forum, I'll be sure to let everyone know. Although this topic looked appetizing on the schedule, it's clear that the IGF has a lot of work to do if it is to be considered anything more than a highly vocal yet castrated version of ICANN. Indeed, the IGF bares an uncanny resemblance to that other impotent, internationalized and highly vocal institution, the UN General Assembly. That's not to say that it does not have value - it's just the political equivalent to a visit to the therapist's office. We all need to get stuff off our chest from time to time. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids.

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monthly forum on july 19th
by Rebecca Wanjiku 12 Jul '07

12 Jul '07

KICTANet will be holding the monthly forum next thursday july 19th the theme will be the contribution to KCA bill, the contributions will be expected to be presented to the PS before the second reading which is expected to be between 23 and 27th july, please plan to attend and fwd your contributions, which will constitute "KICTANet version" see you then... regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool.

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Fw: Re: [kictanet] KENYA �S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISA TION SYSTEMS
by Wainaina Mungai 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

--- Wainaina Mungai Made in Kenya Network P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 Nairobi. Kenya. Tel: +254-20-780669 Cell: + 254-722-811171 http://www.madeinkenya.org/ > -------Original Message------- > From: Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] KENYA S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISA TION SYSTEMS > Sent: 11 Jul '07 08:48 > > Dear Dr. Ndemo > > Thanks for the optimistic view and kudos to Treasury for the pilot project. The industry however still believe your Ministry has not done enough to develop a clear framework on e-money and e-commerce. For instance, the government has significant influence in several banks in which Treasury and InfoComm may drive the case for government motivated change. Preferential support for such banks that will be first-movers in setting-up the necessary systems would be justified by the benefits to Kenyans. > > So far, the banks use their fear of fraud to explain lack of action. The market for such services has grown enough to justify investment in related security solutions. Apart from security and privacy concerns, the lack of clear guidelines on e-commerce in Kenya seems to trigger cost concerns that a revamped law can address. The cheaper it is for the providers to set-up, the better it may be for the consumers in say, Mandera, to transact. As Vodafone stated, there is need to optimise the M-transactions through better policy & regulation. > > Below are some of the points that Vodafone made in their report: > > - the amount allowed to be transferred on phones is usually too small to make economic sense > - money laundering rules need to be adapted to local conditions > - providers of mobile phone financial services need to have some level of access to clearing systems > - the customer data held by mobile operators could, for example, offer an alternative to existing forms of regulation to counter money laundering > - guarantee the inter-operability of M-transactions to ensure that both providers and clients reap the benefits of synergy > - existing structure of retail banking regulation and financial supervision could impose high fixed costs and significant compliance problems > > We believe your Ministry can make it much easier for the private sector to innovate. > > --- > Wainaina Mungai > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] KENYA S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISA TION SYSTEMS > > Sent: 11 Jul '07 06:47 > > > > Dear Lucy/Alice, > > Treasury is piloting electronic payment system in three Ministries. It is > > not the Government that should tell Banks and other investors to develop a > > payment gateway. The Government is fulfilling its role by by providing > > the policy and regulatory environment. This is the very reason why you > > should paticipate in Monday's meeting at Safari Park. > > > > Safaricom is doing a great job trail blazing in e-momey. In one of the > > conferences this year I asked Bankers to embrace technology before it is > > too late for them. Perharps when they wake up they will all be > > Mpesharing. > > > > Regards > > > > > > Bitange Ndemo. > > > > > > > > > > > Alice, > > > > > > The ICT community is ready with the technology for payment gateways, but I > > > dont see any movement on the Kenya Banking Law that needs to be revised to > > > enable this to become a reality. > > > > > > Perhaps Bw. Ndemo can have a word with his counter-part in finace so they > > > get ontop of this issue. I would hate for TEAMS/eSSAY/Flag etc to become > > > realities and find us as a country not ready to take full advantage, who > > > knows perhaps the East African Integration will happen at about the same > > > time, and we need to be ready to take advantage of a new 120+ million > > > customers(and a whole lot more if Rwanda joins). > > > > > > So its just not the tourism industry that has a stake in this, we do too, > > > question is how to get organized into a lobby group to make this a > > > reality. > > > > > > LK > > > > > > > > > > > >> KENYAS ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISATION > > >> SYSTEMS > > >> _____________________________________________________________________ > > >> > > >> The Kenyan Government is putting its country forward as a place that is > > >> open for business. It is moving to privatise both Telkom Kenya and > > >> divest itself of Safaricom. It has moved with considerable speed to put > > >> in place its own fibre project TEAMS. But parts of the private sector > > >> are having difficulty keeping up with the idea of Kenya having an open, > > >> modern economy. > > >> > > >> Although there are a couple of new entrants in the countrys banking > > >> sector, it is largely dominated by international banks whose managements > > >> defer to head office on innovation. This is going to cause the country a > > >> problem if it wants to continue to remain competitive. It needs to be > > >> able to offer its visitors the ability to pay for flights, hotels and > > >> safaris online. If you book a Kenyan hotel, you still cannot pay online > > >> for the booking. > > >> > > >> Sadly things have only moved on a little since Kenya Airways launched > > >> its very successful online payment system using a South African bank. > > >> Although many banks can issue credit cards, only a limited number can > > >> authorise transactions and they have not shown any interest in setting > > >> up the back-end payment authorisation systems required for onl > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > > believed to be clean. > > --------------------------------------------- > > "easy access to the world" > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org > > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wainaina%40madeinkenya… > > >

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Of monkeys and loaded guns
by Rebecca Wanjiku 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

The last one week has been preoccupied with talk of the media bill (Media Council bill) and the implications it has on the media. i will therefore not dwell on the details about monkeys and loaded guns because the slogan-loaded tirades were traded in public. Beyond the media bill, there is the KCA (98) amendment bill which went through first reading last week. But what are we hearing? Its all about the media and cross ownership. The grievances the media has and how the government wants to regulate or gag it. What about other aspects of ICT? Is the media council bill wholly wrong? How comes the KCA is not receiving as much attention as it should? Is there anything good in KCA that can be preserved or worked on? What about the voice of ICT stakeholders who may have a divergent opinion. The media prides itself as the agenda setter and gate keeper in the society; they say that whatever is written or aired is the wish of the people, that thats all that you want to read. But is it the case? The next stop for the media is the high court, challenging the government on the bill. They have consulted a law firm to file the suit. But is the KCA all about media? What is your take? Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.

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KENYA’S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISATION SYSTEMS
by alice 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

KENYA’S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISATION SYSTEMS _____________________________________________________________________ The Kenyan Government is putting its country forward as a place that is open for business. It is moving to privatise both Telkom Kenya and divest itself of Safaricom. It has moved with considerable speed to put in place its own fibre project TEAMS. But parts of the private sector are having difficulty keeping up with the idea of Kenya having an open, modern economy. Although there are a couple of new entrants in the country’s banking sector, it is largely dominated by international banks whose managements defer to head office on innovation. This is going to cause the country a problem if it wants to continue to remain competitive. It needs to be able to offer its visitors the ability to pay for flights, hotels and safaris online. If you book a Kenyan hotel, you still cannot pay online for the booking. Sadly things have only moved on a little since Kenya Airways launched its very successful online payment system using a South African bank. Although many banks can issue credit cards, only a limited number can authorise transactions and they have not shown any interest in setting up the “back-end” payment authorisation systems required for online transactions. Speaking at last week’s e-tourism conference in Mombasa, Kenya’s Tourist Trust Fund CEO Dr Dan Kagagi said that the industry and Government were lobbying the banking sector to allow online payments. Whereas once the credit card companies were the obstacle, the point of “no change” has moved to being the banks. According to Kagagi: "Already a number of credit card companies are willing to work with us to ensure that online payments become a reality." Tourism and Wildlife Assistant minister, Raphael Muriungi, speaking at the same conference urged the industry to utilise online technologies:"We are all learning of the rapid and unprecedented changes that ICT is creating in global tourism and have realised if all players fail to embrace the web and new technologies then we stand to lose our ability to communicate and do business in a changing market," he said. Perhaps his comments should have been directed at the banking sector that are now proving to be the obstacle to change. The banks fear fraud but this seems a rather lame excuse as in the first instance most of the potential buyers will be tourists coming from developed countries where fraud rates are considerably lower. Close to 70 per cent of travellers regard the Internet as their primary and in many cases only source of information on tourism. About 100 million travellers now use the web to book holidays and travel thus making it vital for Kenyan tourism to be visible on the Internet. Kenya undoubtedly competes with South Africa for visitors, particularly in the wildlife safari sector, and there is no difficulty booking and paying online for a wide range of products in South Africa. Despite being repositories of citizens’ money, the banks have been remarkably slow to react to the signs that there is an emergent middle class. It is projected that by June 2007 there will be around 100,000 credit card users. It sounds small but it is considerably more than in many other African countries. In addition, there are more than 1 million debit cards that can only be used if the card holder has cash in his or her own account. Surely the latter can provide a fairly low-risk way of introducing online payment for Kenyan citizens. When TEAMS and the other international fibre connections arrive at Mombasa, the price of international bandwidth will go down. This should be one of the building blocks for creating new services and applications that users can begin to start to use. Another building block must surely be the ability to authorise online transactions and Kenya’s banking sector needs to wake up to the changes that are happening in the country. However, this is not purely a Kenyan problem as there are other countries on the continent like Ghana where a similar lack of online payment authorisation is holding back the development of local global businesses. ____________________________________________________________________ From Balancing Act

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