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forum today
by Rebecca Wanjiku 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

KICTANet monthly forum takes place today at the Jacaranda at 3pm please plan to attend, see you then, regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search.

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prog.
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

just to remind you of the meeting this thursday at 3pm, jacaranda will be discussing and collecting views on the KCA bill, to fwd just before the second reading, please plan to attend, here is the program on the issues to be discussed, KICTANet MONTHLY FORUM THURSDAY July 19th , 2007 PROGRAMME TIME ACTIVITY 3.00- 3.15pm introduction 3.15-3.45pm consumer issues- Alex Gakuru 3:45-3.50pm Q&A 3.50-4.20pm technical aspects- Michuki Mwangi 4.20-4.25pm Q&A 4.25- 4.50pm legal aspects- Nyokabi Kanyua 4.50- 5:15pm Q&A 5.15 pm Tea GUESTS LEAVE AT THEIR PLEASURE 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.

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Fwd: [isoc-ny] NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND
by Alex Gakuru 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

My motivation/FYI --- Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:22:02 +0300 > From: "Alex Gakuru" <gakuru(a)gmail.com> > To: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > Subject: Fwd: [isoc-ny] NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE > INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: WWWhatsup <joly(a)punkcast.com> > Date: Jul 17, 2007 10:57 PM > Subject: [isoc-ny] NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE > INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND > To: isoc-ny(a)yahoogroups.com, discuss(a)isoc-ny.org > > > > NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND > [SOURCE: The Buffalo News, AUTHOR: Mitchell L. Moss, > New York University] > [Commentary] The Internet has emerged into an > essential and ubiquitous > part of life. Yet, in New York, communications > companies are still > being regulated by laws written in another era. > While other states > have adopted policies that spur investment and > expansion of their > broadband infrastructure, New York has yet to face > the future. It's > time for New York to move ahead or its economy will > lag. Albany can > help by fostering private investment in a > next-generation broadband. A > fully operational broadband network is worth > hundreds of millions of > dollars a year to the state's economy. That > translates into more jobs, > better schools, a cleaner environment through > telecommuting and > improved communications for law enforcement and > first responders. It's > time that legislators and policymakers act in > concert with > communications companies to accelerate deployment of > high-speed > broadband technology. Anything less will drive New > Yorkers from the > information highway to the service road. > http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/118524.html > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > WWWhatsup NYC > http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > http://isoc-ny.org > "The Internet is for Everyone!" -- Vint Cerf > ---------------------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/isoc-ny/ > > <*> Your email settings: > Individual Email | Traditional > > <*> To change settings online go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/isoc-ny/join > (Yahoo! ID required) > > <*> To change settings via email: > mailto:[email protected] > mailto:[email protected] > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email > to: > isoc-ny-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > -- > website: http://www.billowsbpo.co.ke/ > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC

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is stakeholder forum necessary?
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

Stakeholder forum is ok, but does it work? At Safari park hotel, many stakeholders gathered to give their views. From Safaricom, Celtel to the consumer association, they all had something to say about the KCA bill. ICJ described the bill as unprecedented and the PS Bitange Ndemo assured participants that their views would be incorporated. But if the past process is anything to go by, is there any assurance that the views will be taken on board. Stakeholders wanted an expansion of the constituencies expected to be consulted, and an assurance that the views would be considered no one seemed to answer the question categorically, it was only said that the views would be compiled and forwarded. Others wanted the bill to protect them from any perceived crime because they are carriers while others wanted the bill to conform to other established principles in the commonwealth. It was a productive forum. Those with contentions about the wording of the clauses were also encouraged to help by bringing in the clauses worded in their favourable way. But is this a chance for people to meet, take the tea and lunch or is it going to bear any fruits. I guess the fruits will be manifested by the inclusion of substantial contributions from the cross section of constituencies. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection.

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Re: [kictanet] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petition.........
by Mike Theuri 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

Kyai, If Telkom Kenya is a 'junk corporation', why is there an uproar over its new services by its competitors? What do they have to fear? How has Telkom Kenya managed to sign over 70,000 subscribers for its new fixed wireless service if it has indeed gone to the dogs ? Shouldn't sleeping dogs be left where they lie? Why wake a sleeping dog if TKL couldn't hope to compete against these titans that mint millions of dollars from Kenyans? Surely we didn't expend billions of taxpayer funds so that we could hand taxpayer owned corporations to foreign entities on silver platters, or did we? TKL did not make profits for reasons attributed to fraud, pilferage of funds, gross mismanagement and the list that could go on and on. Do you have an argument supporting or endorsing the non prosecution of these actions as well as the negation of the need to attempt to recover and return these funds to where they rightfully belong? Can we at least locate where the missing Ksh 7bn is before we rush to sell this corporation? An extra 7bn or more in TKL's balance sheet would certainly up the price that ought to be offered. ----- *Daily Nation * *Friday, March 30, 2007 * *Page 38 * *Business * Financial figures for Telkom Kenya do not add up for the year ending June 30, 2005, the Controller and Auditor General has said. More than Sh7 billion has not be accounted for, said Ms P.N. Komora in a report tabled in Parliament yesterday. According to her, the accuracy of bank balances amounting to Sh58 million could not be verified. It was also not possible to verify how overdraft balances of Sh73 million, letters of credit and bills of acceptances amounting to Sh432 million have been accounted for in the absence of adequate records and documentation.[...] -------- We know why there is no infrastructure on the ground, but could we focus on what TKL is doing currently in determining TKL's potential ? The reason there is no infrastructure on the ground is the aforementioned reasons in addition to a bloated workforce. That workforce has recently been trimmed down at considerable tax payer expense, TKL is making strides in turning around and additional tax payer funds have been provided for in the budget for this purpose. Is it too much to ask that TKL be given an opportunity given the recent progressive strides? Wouldn't TKL be more valuable if it were allowed to accumulate the gains of its new strategies and technologies? " In short, the private sector's sweat, speed and effort (and the tax payer) are required to keep the institution alive " Well said and rather accurate, indeed if these are the parties responsible for keeping TKL alive, shouldn't they have the preferential shot at gaining ownership of TKL ? Jaindi Kisero recently wrote in an editorial: -- "As it prepares for privatisation, Telkom Kenya will gobble billions of the tax payers money. Under the budget of the ministry of finance is an allocation of massive Sh 15 billion for Telkoms' tax arrears and Sh 2 billion for preparing the parastatal for privatisation." -- It is ridiculous that Ksh 17bn or US$ 255m will be pumped into TKL at tax payer expense only for foreigners (including a pariah foreign government) to walk in and buy the corporation for a song with taxpayers getting minimal shareholding in the corporation while bearing the burden of debt offloaded on them for generations to come. The belief that taxpayers will be alleviated of the misery of dragging an iron ball is a fallacy. Instead of the new foreign investors dragging the iron ball, the average Kenyan will be paying for generations to come to ensure that a foreign entity reaps a quick profit in the shortest amount of time possible at tax payer expense. It is only equitable that those condemned to dragging the iron ball have the opportunity to have something to show for their tax burden. You cited results of the past 30 years, but didn't in fairness mention what TKL is doing today. --- The national operators' new service, known as Telkom Wireless, will be launched using a CDMA 2000 platform purchased from Chinese company Huawei at a cost of US$22.6 million. The new investment is in a fibre and microwave backbone and has been rolled out across the country. --- How could a brand new national fibre and microwave backbone be worthless or junk? This is in addition to several other infrastructure investments including a $50m fiber optic cable between Nairobi and Mombasa. You may have misunderstood the point on national security. For illustrative purposes, the next time Kenya has a serious diplomatic dispute with Libya (and it has in the past), Libya, if handed TKL on a silver platter, could potentially add pressure to the situation by disabling key telecommunication services which would have an adverse impact on the nation's national security. There are several issues of national security, that cannot be simply expounded on in a concise message but which are the basis world wide for limiting foreign ownership of national telephony entities. There are many types of investors, there are long term investors who are in for the long haul. A short term investor for instance in Kenya Airways would have been very disappointed if they were looking for a quick gain at the time. TKL needs long term investors. Naturally such investors would be informed through a prospectus prior to an IPO. Anyone who jumps into an IPO without reading a prospectus is basically leaving all to chance and market hype. Nobody disputes the fact that TKL's services are far from excellent let alone satisfactory. At least that is something all can agree on. Neither is anyone against the fact that TKL needs to be privatised or turned around, we just want it done correctly, equitably and transparently, the issues at hand just to reiterate are: - TKL should be privatised using a model that allows maximum equity participation by the average Kenyan. The KQ model was cited purely to illustrate possible percentages that are equitable to all parties with a stake in the process. - TKL should be sold at price that reflects an accurate and up to date independent valuation. The government should disclose without further delay the valuation it has arrived at of TKL and how it was arrived at. This is not a private asset for sale but rather a public asset so there is no need to have this shrouded in secrecy. - Judicial action to rectify the pilferage of TKL's coffers needs to be undertaken. This might be wishful thinking considering no major prosecution of corruption cases in the country has taken place to date. - Which independent parties with the requisite expertise and experience are advising the government on this transaction? - Has the government considered a BOT arrangement ie Build - Operate - Transfer ? This would ensure that the investor gets a return on investment but ultimately TKL remains Kenyan owned in the long run ? These processes including the Safaricom IPO should not be rushed purely on the sole basis that an election is looming in the coming months. Mike PS You cited the following examples to name a few which on checking the facts turned out to mismatch the situation they were cited for : ===== Alitalia - A public notification was announced on January 2007. The buyer must acquire at least 30.1% of Alitalia, must guarantee the airline's 18,000 jobs, domestic routes, and the Italian identity of the Alitalia brand, according to the tender document published on the Treasury Web site. Italy has invited bids for at least 30.1% of Alitalia's shares, to be submitted by Jan. 29, 2007. [It is not evident that Alitalia is being sold for a song, neither is a controlling percentage being sold either, it is premature to make a comparison where a process has not concluded ] Telkom SA - Telkom is a semi-privatised, 39% state-owned company. Government sold 30 per cent of Telkom to a US-Malaysian consortium. As part of the service agreement, government required Telkom to roll out 1,9 million new phones to disadvantaged areas. In the three years since then, the price of local calls, which the poor use, has risen by 35 per cent in real terms, while international calls (used by businesses and the rich) have fallen by 40 per cent in real terms. The local call increases have led to disconnections that have almost matched the roll out of new lines. After accounting for disconnections, the reality is that there was a bigger roll out of new lines before Telkom was privatised than after. South Africa privatized it's state utility Telkom by selling a 30% stake to a consortium from the United States and Malaysia for $1.261 billion. [It is not evident that Telekom SA was sold for a song, neither is a significant percentage being sold either to single investor, in addition it underwent a successful IPO that allowed the general public a stake in the company even then the average South African did not benefit in regards to better access to services] Kenya Railways - Kenya Railways was not sold, rather it was concessioned, why don't we concession TKL if service provision and development of the infrastructure is the main objective ? Eurotunnel - Privatisation did not save Eurotunnel from going virtually bankrupt. Amtrak - Has never been privatised. Amtrak is a quasi-governmental agency; all of its preferred stock is owned by the federal government. The members of its board of directors are appointed by the President of the United States, and are subject to confirmation by the United States Senate. Some common stock is held by the private railroads that transferred their passenger service to Amtrak in 1971. Though Amtrak stock does not pay dividends and is not routinely traded, a small number of private investors have purchased Amtrak stock from its original owners. The United States obviously recognizes the national interest in the ownership of this critical service. ==== On 7/17/07, Kyai Mullei <mullei(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Mike - some good points. > > I have a few comments on the issues of national security as a reason why > Telkom shouldn't be sold for pennies. Frankly, I find the argument slightly > myopic. As you reiterated, Telkom Kenya (like most parastatals including > national banks) are technically insolvent. These are dead corporations that > depend on sutained periodic government (tax payer) bailouts to continue > providing sub standard and expensive services. > > The current situation is that (thirty years on) there is no infrastructure > on the ground to speak of. 98% of the country is not covered by our > 'national' provider. A few digital exchanges in the Nairobi and Mombasa > environs just doesn't cut it. And we all know that the only reason Telkom > Kenya has any cash to roll out any of these new services is through bank > loans the collateral of which are govt. shares in Safaricom. In short, the > private sector's sweat, speed and effort (and the tax payer) are required to > keep the institution alive. > > In my view, the faster we sell these insutitutions off, the cheaper it > will be for us in the long run. I would hope that any Kenyan investor > willing to buy Telkom Kenya shares would be doing it purely on speculation > grounds - in the hope that the liscences etc. could be sold to a serious > provider for more money in the future (In fact, this is exactly what the > foreign investors are doing). The privatization of Telkom Kenya and Kenya > Airways cannot be compared. The latter had working planes and landing rights > that could be turned profit-making. For the average Kenyan investor, Telkom > Kenya has nothing worth buying. > > > The world over, the notion that national firms - telecommunications, > aviation, etc. (relics of the 70s when economists and national > planners wrongly thought centralized economies were key for development) - > are key to national security, and therefore should belong to the public, has > been turned on its head. Just look at Alitalia, Vargas, SA Telkom, Amtrack, > Kenya Railways, Eurotunnel. All considered critical to national > security, all of which are nothing more loss-making iron balls dragged along > by the exchequers (taxpayers) in their respective countries. > > I can't see how an institution that is a consistent drain on the exchequer > would be critical to national security. Lets admit it. If sound > communication provision is critical to national security, mobile providers > have given me that - more extensively (see safaricom/celtel network > coverage) and faster (in the last 6 years) and cheaper (the wireless rates i > pay while high do not come close to the price of repeated bailouts in my > name) than the Telkom Kenya has ever been able to. > > If someone else has the money and patience to by the piece of telephony > junk in my back yard and turn it into something, please do so fast, and i'll > sell it for exactly what its worth...pennies. The longer I wait, the less my > junk will be worth. In the meantime, i'll save my money to invest in more > sound privatizations the future - perhaps the Safaricom IPO. > > Regards > > Kyai > >

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forum reminder
by Rebecca Wanjiku 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

just to remind you of the monthly forum reminder.. this thursday at Jacaranda at 3pm topic will be contributions on the KCA bill, Alex Gakuru, Michuki Mwangi and Nyokabi Kanyua from ICJ will be there to share with up, please plan to attend, regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!

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Diasporan Investors Team Up to Buy Ghana Telecom
by Mike Theuri 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

It is noteworthy to see the GoK rush to sell a controlling stake in Telkom Kenya to foreigners while indigenous Ghanians battle to secure a stake in Ghana Telecom: http://allafrica.com/stories/200707161541.html Diasporan Investors Team Up to Buy GT Public Agenda (Accra) NEWS 16 July 2007 Posted to the web 16 July 2007 Accra A Ghanaian Diaspora professional group, called the Ghana Leadership Union (GLU) has announced plans to pool resources to buy a controlling stake in one of the country's biggest assets, Ghana Telecom. GLU, a non-partisan NGO with membership based in the U.S.A, U.K., the E.U., Australia and Asia, says Ghanaian professionals based aboard have been shut out of the process of participating in the investment and management of divested State Owned Enterprises for too long; hence the decision to join the race for GT. In furtherance of that, GLU has created a novel investment framework to attract financial and human capital to formally express interest in the acquisition of a controlling stake in Ghana Telecom Ltd. In a statement copied to Public Agenda, the President of GLU, Dr. Kwaku A. Danso, stated, "the founders of our nation Ghana did not use taxpayers' funds to set up State-owned enterprises (SOEs) only to be sold to foreigners, or to insiders of the government who use proxies to buy these SoE's and leave the real stakeholders with the debts. This practice must be stopped, by any means necessary". The statement said the GLU members are seasoned professionals with more than 20 years of telecommunications and information systems management and will bring investment capital in excess of US$500M to this venture. This unprecedented investment approach facilitated by the GLU will also enable the participation of accredited investors within Ghana and abroad with as little as $1,000 per unit. Asked about the investment strategy, the initiative's lead promoter in the UK, lawyer George Asomaning responded, "It is our intention to ensure that as much of the actual investment received gets channeled into the infrastructural development of Ghana Telecom, so as to position the company to deliver on its promise and to return a sizeable profit for the shareholders, the citizens of Ghana". Nifa Bankroh, the organizer of the "Lets buy Ghana Telecom" initiative stated, "If Ghanaians do not get involved in the acquisition, ownership and management of significant state owned enterprises that are being divested, the likelihood of Ghanaian nationals being able to control the factors that affect their economic future will be marginal at best, and probably negligible. Many Ghanaian businessmen and professional groups are of the opinion that conditions imposed by so-called development partners or financiers, opening Ghana's markets to so-called globalization, has not proven economically beneficial over the last three decades. Professor Mintzberg of Canada has described globalization with respect to development as "a sham". Whilst foreign investors and competition are necessary and welcome tools in Ghana, this global inequity, coupled with a comparative lack of openness and transparency has led to an unequal playing field in the world of business dealings and negotiations. The result is the massive brain drain, high accumulated debt burden, and high unemployment and underemployment in Ghana, which call for new development strategies. Commenting on the sale of state-owned enterprises and the ongoing telecoms divestiture process, Michel Bowman-Amuah, an ICT entrepreneur resident in the United States,Stated that; "there are certain strategic national assets that must be safeguarded and placed above the drive for investment capital and chief among those is our national information and communications infrastructure. There has to be more regulatory oversight into corporate takeovers, mergers or acquisitions of these strategic national assets, if we are to maintain our sovereignty and protect our security interests". Industry watchers say, Ghana's wireless phone networks are dominated by foreign- owned and controlled entities that were granted these franchises at a fraction of prevailing market rates, creating a very lopsided playing field which places the fixed network carriers at a significant competitive disadvantage. Recently, the largest operator (by subscriber base), Spacefon™ /Scancom™ was acquired in a multi-billion dollar transaction by Areeba™, another foreign concern without as much as public hearings into the process and we the general public are yet to be briefed about the details or benefits that the citizens of Ghana have realized in this sale. The above transaction has been clouded by a shareholder proxy battle between the Lebanese operators of Scancom™ and the Ghanaian founder of Spacefon™, who was allegedly forced out with political support of the previous administration. Though the matter is pending in the courts, the government administration and regulatory agency, the National Communication Agency (NCA), has been eerily silent on the matter which begs the question about what investment protections exist for indigenous investors within Ghana's corporate regulatory system. Also recently, the Government of Ghana settled a shareholder dispute with the former minority shareholder in Ghana Telecom, Telecom Malaysia, who had purchased the rights to increase their shareholding to a controlling stake, but were unceremoniously expelled when the current administration assumed power in 2001. This dispute has shaken foreign investor confidence in the long term viability of the divestiture process and its stability. Investors need to be certain that their multi million dollar investments are secure regardless of ruling regime. It must be noted that a Ghanaian-owned and controlled investor group is no different and would require that specific safeguards are in place to protect the interests of their shareholders. It is envisioned that this investment framework created by the GLU shall be reused by other industry sector professionals as other State owned enterprises are divested by the Government of Ghana in the near future. "It is our intent to safeguard the national interest by facilitating the participation of Ghanaians everywhere in the Nation-building process." Mama Brenya Twumasi, a legal scholar and interested investor with many years of stock ownership experience writing from San Antonio, Texas, warned that "our nation cannot continue to ignore the views of the people, and that in essence, governmental transparency and accountability is a must in all present and future dealings if we, as a Nation State, wish to beviewed as credible by our allies and other Sovereign States." It is the general agreement of most Ghanaians surveyed on the issue that Ghana has too many skilled, experienced and competent Ghanaian professionals, educated as part of the initial plan of Ghana's first President, who are willing and able to own and manage our strategic assets. It is therefore unconscionable to simply stand by while foreign corporate raiders are ushered in on the red carpet and given the keys to our National treasure troves.

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why amend instead of a new Act??
by Rebecca Wanjiku 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

Am sure people are expecting a convoluted reason as to why the AG decided amend KCA (98) instead of coming up with a brand new Act. Well, dont wait for a huge explanation, its simple- the AG just thought it was easier to amend instead of coming up with a new Act that may be changed or be altered by insertion of new issues including typing errors. At least that is what we were told at the stakeholders meeting. For George Kegoro, ICJ-K head, the present bill is terribly confusing for lawyers and parliamentarians. Kegoro felt that it would have been procedurally easier in terms of practice to bring a brand new statute (through an original Act). He added that the government can be accused of lack of good faith in this case because it could have been done better. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

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at the stakeholder workshop
by Rebecca Wanjiku 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

faced with growing criticism, the ministry of information and communication is meeting stakeholders at Safaripark hotel to get their views on the proposed bill. here are some highlights of the bill.... a general overview of what ICJ elaborated. One, as drafted the Bill seeks to converge all sectors of communication (broadcasting, telecommunications and information technologies/internet) under one regulatory body i.e. the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and thus, purportedly, streamline the licensing procedures and management of frequency spectrum, through numerous fundamental amendments to an existing principal Act and other incidental laws. At a glance, this style of law making is clumsy, without precedent in Kenya and indeed the whole Commonwealth. It is the form of law making process that will most likely convolute issues and end up with bad law. Would it not have been tidier to come up with a new law that retains all the required provisions and repeals the existing law? Since the principal Act, the Kenya Communications Act, 1998, is merely a skeletal legislation that only establishes the CCK, provides for licensing and regulation of telecommunications services, radio communications and postal Services, it is difficult to comprehend the wisdom of using it as the building block towards a law that will incorporate all aspects of broadcasting and information technology. Again whether having a converged regulatory regime is the most ideal situation or having separate regulatory frameworks for the various communication sectors is to be preferred is a big question and one not easy to resolve without elaborate and structured consultations with all stakeholders and consumers of information i.e. the general population. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase.

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Re: [kictanet] [SPAM] [Skunkworks] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petition.........
by Mike Theuri 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

Jean, I appreciate your response. I would hope that more Kenyans would participate in constructive debates over matters of national importance particularly those that affect them and future generations of Kenyans. It does not take rocket science to figuratively determine why TKL which in the past charged some of the highest tariffs in the world has not made a profit. To date no one has been prosecuted and ultimately convicted for pilfering public funds generated by this very viable corporation. TKL represents a classic example of gross mismanagement, attempts to turn around the corporation have encountered several avoidable obstacles and the status quo has remained. In contrast other publicly owned corporations such as KCB have been turned around and turned into very profitable entities without being sold to alien companies while transitioning to minimal governmental ownership and ensuring maximum equity participation by the Kenyan public. One must wonder if this cheap sale is intended to clean the slate of the years of pilferage and mismanagement while conducting a well though out public relations exercise to show that the current administration is engaged in doing something "good for the country" as opposed to doing something good for foreigners. TKL has turned around a corner and has revamped its infrastructure at great expense. Several exchanges have been upgraded and digitized and so has its domestic digital network. It has retrenched the unnecessary and redundant workers who were a drag on its ability to be profitable (again paid for by the Kenyan taxpayer). Just when TKL is on its home stretch to launching several new and revolutionary services, there is a sudden and urgent need to dispose of it to foreigners or combat it by companies that have been making millions of dollars from Kenyans (read foreign companies). Can these companies explain how they may have acquired 3G frequencies from the regulator without paying a cent when similar frequencies have been sold in other African countries for hundreds of millions of dollars? Can the Exchequer let the Kenyan public know the amount that it received from the companies that are now complaining about TKL's new services in return for this finite 3G public resource that should not be handed out for free ? When were licenses for 3G technology publicly tendered for in Kenya ? Is it a good thing for Kenya that the exchequer be deprived of much needed revenue? If TKL is not viable why are these competitors complaining? Indeed it was patriotism that was the foundation of my comments but not the single one driving factor. The government is by the people for the people. The people here happen to be Kenyan taxpayers and voters. What is unpatriotic or misguided about asking for accountability as to why a corporation that is publicly owned is being sold for pennies on the dollar ? or asking that prosecutions be undertaken for those guilty of the prior pilferage of public funds from the same corporation? There is nothing absolutely misguided about questioning why the government appears to have disregarded national security and the public's interest in attempting to sell TKL. I'm certain that if the decision to sell TKL under the current status quo to foreigners were put to a public referendum, that it would be soundly defeated. Below is an article that sums up the concerns of many Kenyans who have come to know about the illusionary effect of corporations that are Kenyan by name but foreign in all other aspects. Contrary to what many belief, Kenya's wealth is in the hands of foreigners and the attempt to sell TKL is another step in the same direction. The best that could happen would be to follow the KQ model of privitisation which some are advocating and which has ensured that the ordinary Kenyan has an opportunity to benefit, no matter how small from the millions of dollars in profits generated in profits and without forgetting to correct the harm cause by those guilty of the pilferage of public funds and revenue. The government's intentions may be noble but those in Government must not forget that they are in the government for and on behalf of Kenyans who have entrusted them with the public's wealth. Thus Kenyans must come first before foreigners, after all it is their country and their corporation that is at stake. Mike http://www.eastandard.net/archives/sunday/hm_news/news.php?articleid=18216 Kenya's wealth in foreign hands By Kamau Ngotho The bulk of Kenya's wealth is in foreign hands, according to statistics obtained exclusively by The Sunday Standard. If Kenya were a cake to be shared out, Kenyans would only lay claim to 31 per cent of the country's total wealth. The rest would go to foreigners. Agriculture, tourism and banking, which combined bring in the country's largest earnings, are in foreign hands. Last year, tea, tourism, flowers and coffee earned the country Sh140 billion, nearly half of the annual national budget. Of this money, only 31 per cent ended up in the country — as tax and real earnings to the nationals. And shareholding in the richest 20 companies that trade at the Nairobi Stock Exchange is foreign. The skewed distribution of wealth between foreigners and Kenyans puts paid to all efforts since independence to hand control of the country to its citizens. Tea growing, which earned the country Sh43.5 billion last year, is concentrated in the hands of six leading agricultural companies whose shareholding is largely foreign. Up to 78 per cent of earnings from tea went, therefore, to foreigners — leaving the balance for Kenyans. The Big Six in the tea sector are Unilever Tea Kenya, Kakuzi Ltd, Williamson Tea Company, Kapchorua Tea, Limuru Tea Company and Sasini Coffee and Tea. The British-owned Brooke Bond Group holds 43.1 million shares of the total 48.8 million shares issued in Univeler Tea Kenya. The same group owns 54 per cent of the total 3.9 million shares issued in Limuru Tea Company. In Kakuzi Ltd, foreigners have a total shareholding of 68.3 per cent of the total 19.6 million shares issued. They hold the shares through Bordure Ltd and Lintak Investment Ltd, with 35.1 and 33.2 per cent shareholding, respectively. Britain's Williamson family has a controlling majority shareholding in both Williamson Tea and Kapchorua Tea companies. In Williamson Tea, it holds 67.2per cent of the total 8.8 million shares issued through their company, Ngong Tea Holding PLC. In Kapchorua tea, they hold 40 per cent of the 3.9 million shares issued. Sasini Tea and Coffee Ltd is 87.3 per cent owned by business magnate Naushad Merali, a Kenyan. Merali's companies hold his shares in these businesses: Legend Investments Ltd (51.7 per cent), East African Batteries (18.7 per cent), Yana Towers (15.9 per cent) and Swan Estates (1.04 per cent). The reinvigorated tourism sector, which earned Sh42 billion last year, is also foreign-owned. And just as the Sh43.5 billion earnings from tea sector ended up in foreign pockets, so did the Sh42 billion that came from tourism. Tourism earnings went into three directions: Hotels, airlines, and travel/booking agents, in that order. Of Kenya's 290,000-plus tourist hotel bed spaces, foreign hoteliers own 74.3 per cent of it. Tour flights to Kenya are entirely in the hands of foreign airlines. It is all the more foreign-dominated in the traditional tourist peak periods of Easter and Christmas, when there are no scheduled flights to Kenya's tourist hub of Mombasa. During the two seasons, tourists arrive in Mombasa in chartered jets arranged by European tour operators. Foreign companies stationed in European and American capitals also entirely control hotel bookings and transfers. Where internal travel is concerned, foreigners too, dominate by owning 7 of the 11 leading local tour travel firms. At the end of the day, tourism in Kenya remains a foreigners' enclave with indigenous Kenyans left to scratch the surface on petty trades like selling curios and prostitution. After years of lobbying, last year the European Union set aside Sh250 million to economically empower indigenous Kenyans to get a fair share of the lucrative industry. Seven projects were targeted to tilt the balance in a programme called Tourism Diversification and Empowerment Project. But a spokesman at the Nairobi EU office said the money is yet to be released as project proposals submitted are still under evaluation. The only hotel chain listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange is the TPS Serena. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development holds the company's majority shareholding through its company, TPS Holdings Limited. Horticulture, which earned Kenya Sh28.2 billion last year, is the country's third largest foreign exchange earner. It, too, is a foreigners' affair. Indigenous Kenyans mainly come in as casual labourers on the flower farms. Of the 44 certified companies dealing with horticulture products, 26 are foreign-owned. But an even bigger irony is that the leading 10 players in the industry — all foreign-owned — bag 83 per cent of the total income from the sector. Flower farming (floriculture) is the key plank in Kenya's agriculture sector. Seventy six per cent of Kenya's total flower production is concentrated in foreign-owned flowers farms around the Naivasha area. The big three are Homegrown, Sulmac and Oserian. Late last year, Kenya overtook Israel and Columbia as leading exporters of cut flowers. But you would not know that from the world's leading flower auctions in Amsterdam and London. Why? Foreign flower exporters in Kenya have registered their companies abroad — mainly in Amsterdam — and sell flowers they have grown in Kenya under a foreign label. In that case, while flowers from a local company are sold in Amsterdam as flowers from Kenya, Dutch companies growing their flowers in Naivasha sell theirs as flowers from Holland. The consequence of it is that flowers owned by Dutch companies receive preferential treatment at the auction, including exemption from the strict EU- imposed export rules. Flower auctions in Amsterdam and London account for 65 and 25 per cent of Kenya flower sales respectively. Of the approximate 60,000 tonnes of flowers exported from Kenya last year, 37,000 tonnes were sold in Amsterdam and London auctions as flowers from Holland. The statistics can make it look like the entire flower industry in Kenya is one big conspiracy against indigenous people. Foreign air charters, the only ones used in flower transport, charge the highest rates in Nairobi. Freight charges on flowers from Kenya are twice those in the capitals of Kenya's nearest competitors Israel, Columbia and Costa Rica. There are also 40 to 45 per cent higher than in Egypt and South Africa, Kenya's two biggest competitors on the continent. At $400 a day, inspection and storage charges at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport are the highest in the world. So is the freight charge of $1.85-$2.2 per stem. Flowers sold in Kenya's name are inspected stem by stem at the JKIA at the cost of 12 Euro cents a stem. Those grown in Kenya but marketed by overseas- accredited companies are only inspected in bulk. On average, it costs upwards of $1 million to set up a typical flower farm on a half acre spread , which in turn brings in a $50,000 a year. Kenya's fourth leading export earner, coffee, is equally depressing on the ownership scale. The majority of small-scale coffee growers in Kenya sell coffee raw from the farm, earning less than 10 per cent of what the finished end product earns in foreign markets and in a foreign label. Though touted as an agricultural country, the other large-scale agricultural activities in Kenya are also foreign-owned. Rea-Vipingo Plantations, which deals mainly in sisal and dairy farming is 77 per cent owned by the Robinson family of England. They hold the shares through REA Holdings PLC, Unibuckle Holdings Ltd and REA Trading Ltd. Del Monte, world famous for pineapple products, is entirely a French affair and sells its products with the label "Made-in-France". The question of who owns Kenya's wealth sticks out like a sore thumb in the banking sector. The leading two banks with a combined market share of 71.4per cent are Barclays Bank of Kenya and the Standard Chartered. They are foreign-owned. Barclays Bank plc of London owns 68 per cent stake in Barclays Bank of Kenya. Standard Bank Africa, a London outfit, in turn owns 81 per cent shareholding in Standard Chartered Bank. To avoid domination by foreign banks, Nigeria and South Africa enacted laws on percentages of shareholding a foreign bank could own. Foreign ownership is also the same cord that runs through key blue chip companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. At the East African Breweries, British-owned Guinness plc holds 63.5 per cent of the total equity, leaving Kenyans to scramble for the rest. Guinness shares are held in the names of Diageo Kenya Ltd and Diageo Netherlands B.V. In the Nation Media Group, the Aga Khan holds 28.2 million shares of the 35.6 million shares issued. The Aga Khan's shares are held in the names of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and Amin Nanji Juma. In Kenya Airways, Dutch company, KLM, holds 40.6 per cent equity. In Total Kenya Ltd, French companies Total Outre-mer and Elf Oil Kenya Ltd, own 77 per cent of the total shareholding, while in BAT Kenya Ltd, Molensteegh Investment BV of London, holds 68 per cent of the total shareholding. The question of who owns Kenya's wealth generated a national debate in 1968 when the National Council of Churches of Kenya published a paper entitled: "Who Owns Kenya's Industry?" In the paper, the late Anglican Bishop, the Rev Henry Okullu, regretted that five years into independence, "the compass needle had not moved in the direction of indigenous ownership of Kenya's wealth." Thirty-seven years later, the Rev Okullu would turn in his grave to note that the needle has drifted even further away. On 7/11/07, Jean-Antoine BORD <ja_bord(a)yahoo.fr > wrote: > > Hi, > > > > With due respect, I am not convinced that you asked all the good > questions. > > > > To what I have heard so far, Telekom has succeeded neither commercially > nor technically in the few past years. A significant part of its > infrastructure is considered obsolete if not out of order. I heard many > times that the service was quite poor and that one should wait several years > to get a land line. Telkom seems to have given up long ago its leadership in > Kenya to cell phone operator and successful ISP like Access Kenya, KDN, etc. > So, in a certain way, because of possible debts or potential expenses which > do not appear in the asset sheet, the valuation of Telkom might be less than > its licences. > > > > When you consider the status of Telecom national historical operators in > other countries, you should first ask the government why Telekom Kenya has > so poorly achieved in the last 5 years. > > > > When a company decide to go for an IPO (particularly when this is a > government-owned company), the non-professional investors should have a > minimum insurance that the price is fair and the company is sustainable. > Here is a second question. > > > > Another issue is the transparency of the process. In many countries, > private companies backed by Venture Capital Funds ran in parallel an IPO and > a trade sale. For instance, Kelkoo, Skype, etc, have been acquired > respectively by Yahoo and eBay instead of going public, because it was more > interesting for the existing shareholders. So, an IPO is not always the best > way (many companies experienced a crash of their stock a short time after > their IPO; investors who could sell some stock where considered as thieves). > > > > > Last but not least, the service level in Kenya is still poor and to turn > Telkom Kenya into a company leading the progress of this industry (instead > of trying to slow down the competition) would probably have a better impact > on the economy (and what you call Telkom's shareholders) than the loss > inducted by the sale of 40% at a price you consider too low. > > > > Finally, Kenyan Government has demonstrated with the Safaricom deal (and > probably many others) that it is able to defend the best interest of all > Kenyans, so that one should not consider it is guilty without an equitable > judgement. > > > > I could have developed some more arguments, concerning the role paid by > Safaricom, Celtel (which are partially owned by foreigners) and many other > foreign owned companies which create wealth in Kenya, concerning > protectionism and its consequences, etc. > > > > In conclusion, the mail written by Mike seems biased by a misplaced > patriotism and many issues have not been considered. > > > > With Kind Regards, > > > > Jean > > > ------------------------------ > > *De :* skunkworks-bounces(a)my.co.ke [mailto: skunkworks-bounces(a)my.co.ke] *De > **la part de *Dorcas Muthoni > *Envoyé :* 10 July 2007 20:21 > *À : *skunkworks(a)my.co.ke > *Objet :* [SPAM] [Skunkworks] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign > petition......... > > > > http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >

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Updates on ICT Bill workshop?
by John Walubengo 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

anybody willing to blog about what transpired at the above workshop? or must we wait until tomorrow for probably some biased view of the events... walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/

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Memorandum of Views ::attached::
by Alex Gakuru 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

[Following our meetings with Human Rights groups find attached views on the ICT Bill. -- AlexG] <excerpts> I hereby circulate the memorandum of views and initial draft critique in as far as the Bill as drafted threatens free expression and introduces really novel legal issues that have the potential of taking away constitutional rights. We had an urgent media stakeholders meeting on 12th July in which we discussed the Bill and were shocked by its implications. The ICT Bill comes in as the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2007 - also a rather novel way of enacting a new law completely different from the original version. This particular amendment bill is very ambitious as it even amends other laws (including some constitutional issues!). This Bill has already been tabled in Parliament for 1st reading on 4th July and is speculated to go for second reading the week of 23rd - 27th July! Clearly there is need for more time for consultation on the Bill and the issues - kindly go through the Bills and raise more issues. Please read the critique and react ASAP - from the rooftops if possible! We need all pairs of eyes reading this Bill. (The Bill is also available on www.kenyalawreports.or.ke) There is a stakeholders forum to discuss the ICT Bill on Monday 16th July 2007 at the Safari Park Hotel convene by the PS and Ministry of Information. Kindly purpose to attend and raise issues of concern. Section 149 in the 2006 (repeated in Section 134 of published Bill 2007) is anti-FOI!!!! In relation to offences is there a jurisprudential reason to treat ICT offences differently and have them outside the penal code - forgery is forgery, fraud is fraud, theft is theft even with new technology. Are e-commerce offences different? The issues of recognition of electronic evidence are proposed to be addressed in the Evidence Act by the Bill - Offences should probably be addressed in the same way by amending the Penal code not writing ICT Offences part VIA. So far we have only been able to look at the provisions that relate to the regulator (CCK) media, broadcasting, free expression and free flow of information together with the legislative drafting issues. The Bill is largely concerned with licensing and regulations and it puts all issues of information and communication under one regulator. In our view this may not achieve the objectives of the Bill as far as enabling devt of ICT in Kenya and making as an ICT hub is concerned. One of the participants, Dr. Mary Muiruri also shared that the e-transactions law should be separate as is the case in countries that we need to compete with e.g. Singapore. The ICT Bill as is will not help us attract investors, BPOs - create jobs etc yet it seriously threatens broadcasters and freedom of media and expression for the people. (See FYI separate communications on this issue - so we don't appear to be fighting ICT devt in Kenya) Regulation of broadcasting media is allowed as the frequencies are a rare public good to be shared and broadcasting media is also more pervasive than print media - TVs and radios are in our sitting rooms but be that as it may and we support the regulation as should happen in a democratic society as per international standards the punishments and penalties for any breach must be proportional and not draconian - Loss of Broadcasting License and Seizure of equipment punishments and others in the Bill are far too much especially as the legal safeguards are weak and the independence of the all powerful CCK is questionable. A quasi judicial body like CCK cannot have as wide powers as the courts of law in meting out hefty punishments prescribed by the Bill. The Bill is really intent on creating crimes - is broadcasting uncomfortable content criminal? Putting together so many varied issues in one law not only makes the law hard to read but it mixes up principles and underpinning democratic ideals and international standards. In the case of the broadcasting there maybe need to have a separate broadcasting law and an amendment of the KBC Act to make it a proper public broadcaster with an independent board and editorial independence. We still need advise on other provisions of the Bill, so please help in this. Further if you are aware of any other critiques that have been done please share them. Something we also found interesting is the change of the Bill from the Original Version of the Communications Bill and The published Bill which has various far reaching provisions that are not found in the earlier Bill raising the question - why the draconian sections were introduced especially 129, 130 and 131. It is interesting and worrying that Minister in the Bill is very powerful and busy - as busy as the regulator. The Bill as we note in the memo threatens to bring back sedition law days. <ends> ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

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[Fwd: [DigAfrica] Telkom Kenya’s wireless service is really ‘mobile service’ for tax purposes]
by alice 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

Mobile companies complain that Telkom Kenya's wireless service is really `mobile service' for tax purposes The reverberations of Telkom's official launch of its wireless service last week has resurrected a growing dispute within the telecommunications industry. The war of words between telephone operators intensified this week as Celtel once again appealed for clarification on the role of the national operator, saying Telkom's recently launched wireless service is acting in direct competition with its own. "All we ask for is fair play," said David Murray, Celtel's CEO. "Telkom Wireless is a mobile service and should be treated as such." The launch of Telkom Wireless has brewed dissent amongst mobile telephone players who are protesting against what they term unfair business practice. Both Safaricom and Celtel have appealed to the industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), to clarify Telkom's status. The firms say the national fixed line operator is now acting like a mobile service provider and has not paid for a license to operate. "It is a clear contravention of the regulations. They have a competitive advantage over us," said Michael Joseph, Safaricom's CEO. Celtel has now asked that Telkom either pay for a license to offer wireless services or be charged taxes like other mobile operators. Currently, mobile operators are taxed 16 per cent VAT and 10 per cent excise while Telkom just pays VAT. Mobile companies say they would be able to pass on lower calling costs to consumers if the taxes were lowered. But a fierce lobbying campaign started late last year by both providers failed to induce the government to reduce or remove the excise tax in this year's budget. The mobile players hope to meet the Minister of Finance to revisit the tax issue and to ask for definitive action to be taken on Telkom's status. The industry regulator has said that Telkom is merely leveraging existing technology to launch its wireless service, which it maintains is still a `fixed' telephony product. CCK's Director-General has maintained Telkom Wireless is the natural evolution of the national operator's fixed line service and is the result of the operator upgrading its equipment. "CDMA will fuel the growth of this industry. Telkom is merely upgrading its Instafon service, which was fixed line service, to the CDMA platform, which is wireless product," said CCK's John Waweru. 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Top 10 mobile Markets in Mid-East and Africa: Kenya knocks out Tunisia
by alice 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

Top 10 mobile Markets in Mid-East and Africa: Kenya knocks out Tunisia Tunisia has been in and out of the ranking of the top 10 MEA markets by customer base over the past year. It was pushed out by Iraq in Q2 2006, only to be reinstated three months later as Kenya failed to register any growth as a result of mass disconnections by Celtel. Having held its tenth place in December, a resurgent Kenya has once again ousted Tunisia, which falls to 11th place in the ranking for March 2007. In so doing, Kenya also bumps Israel down to tenth, a place which we expect Tunisia to take once more in the near future - in fact it is possible that it has already has with the end of Q2 2007 just over a week ago. For Q1 2007, at least, Israel's 7.8m customers marked the barrier for entry into the top 10. Kenya was a little way ahead with 8.4m and Iraq the same distance in front of Kenya with 9.0m customers. From eighth placed Iraq up to first placed South Africa the ranking remains as it was three months ago in the review for the fourth quarter of 2006, although the relative positioning of the occupants of the places has changed. At the head of the table, Nigeria is catching South Africa, reducing a deficit of 5.4m at the end of 2006 to only 3.4m customers at the end of Q1 2007. We expect Nigeria to become the Middle East & Africa's largest market by connections before the third quarter is out, although this does not necessarily signify that the number of real mobile users is higher. In fourth place, Saudi Arabia got to within 350k customers of Algeria and may well already have taken its third place, whilst fifth placed Egypt closed the gap on both of them. Morocco's sixth place is also under threat from Iran, which cut the gap by 80% from 1.68m to just 0.33m during Q1 2007. Three months ago, Mobile World looked at the size of the mobile markets in the ten largest countries in the MEA region, since four of this list are not in the current top ten ranking by customers shown in the chart above. The most likely member of this group to claim its rightful place is Tanzania, which lay in 12th place with 6.2m customers at the end of Q1 2007 but is in fact the continent's eighth most populous country. The most likely casualty will once again be Tunisia, which is likely to have taken back tenth place from Israel in the meantime. Next to enter the top ten could be either Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the larger country, with a population of 64.1m to Sudan's 42m, but it was Sudan which stood further ahead in the ranking by customer numbers, with a base of 5.6m to Congo's 5.1m at the end of Q1 2007. The fourth rightful member of the top 10 is Ethiopia, MEA's third largest country by population, although it will most likely be several years before this market enters the top 10, finishing Q1 2007 as it did with a customer base of 1.4m. In the long run, by implication, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq should all lose their top 10 places (in addition to the aforementioned Israel) although if penetration rates follow the European model - and there is no reason to believe they won't - the situation is unlikely to prove to be this simple. (Source: Mobile World) Balancing Act

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Fwd: ICT Bill - wish list, Day 4 of 4.
by Alex Gakuru 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

[For some reason mail sent to <kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> now appears not to get through. Could others be having my problem?, change your kictanet list email address to <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>] --- Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2007 03:29:38 -0700 (PDT) > From: Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: ICT Bill - wish list, Day 4 of 4. > To: Kictanet <kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> > > [eICT Bill download pointer courtesy of the Freedom > of > Information Network run by International Commission > of > Jurists - Kenya Chapter -- AlexG] > > http://www.kenyalaw.org/Downloads/Bills/communications_bill_2007.PDF > > see other eBills: > http://www.kenyalaw.org/Bills/ > > eKenyaGazette: > http://www.kenyalaw.org/KenyaGazette/ > > Alex > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. > Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. > http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7 > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/

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ICT Bill - wish list, Day 4 of 4.
by Alex Gakuru 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

[eICT Bill download pointer courtesy of the Freedom of Information Network run by International Commission of Jurists - Kenya Chapter -- AlexG] http://www.kenyalaw.org/Downloads/Bills/communications_bill_2007.PDF see other eBills: http://www.kenyalaw.org/Bills/ eKenyaGazette: http://www.kenyalaw.org/KenyaGazette/ Alex ____________________________________________________________________________________ Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

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Draft recommendations of the national task force on transition to digital broadcasting call for comments/input
by alice 15 Jul '07

15 Jul '07

(Apologies for cross posting) Not sure how many of you have seen/saw the public notice call for comments on the draft recommendations of the national task force on transition to digital broadcasting? see: http://www.cck.go.ke/html/publicnotices.asp?newsid=222&area=&type= the notice is calling for comments/input on the draft report on or before the 24th of July 2007 The switch to digital broadcasting systems will allow us to enjoy multiple broadcasting services, improved video and audio quality as well as greater spectrum efficiency, the notice says in part. For those interested especially media sector, please have a look and ensure that our views/comments and input are submitted. best alice

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ICT Bill - wish list, Day 4 of 4
by Alex Gakuru 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

Dear Listers and Listeners, Thank you for stating a wish or two, online or off line and your unending passion of technology, communication, and information. We are concluding this matter today to compile our Monday's presentation. Unless there is a burning wish still unsaid, permit Walu and I to compile the Wish List. Sincerely, Alex & Walubengo(shortly logging out off the Wish Listing session) ____________________________________________________________________________________ Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545367

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ICT Bill - wish list, Day 4 of 4.
by John Walubengo 13 Jul '07

13 Jul '07

here's another gem from the past on the ICT bill...a summary of proceedings. KICTANET ICT BILL ANALYSIS WORKSHOP HELD ON FRIDAY, 16TH JUNE 2006 AT THE JACARANDA HOTEL walu. ...and with that I have officially ran down on ICT wishes. Probably not, one more, I finally wish that wishes were horses then we could all fly {-by the way I have never understood what the Englishman had in mind with this phrase, but i like the way it sounds ;-)} ____________________________________________________________________________________ Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more. http://mobile.yahoo.com/go?refer=1GNXIC

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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:[email protected]] 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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