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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: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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Re: [kictanet] [africa-oped] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petitin......... http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA
by Mike Theuri 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

TKL is being sold for pennies on the dollar, unfortunately this is a phenomenon that keeps repeating itself over and over again with telecom licencing in Kenya. Investors in several other Africa countries pay hundreds of millions of dollars to secure licences but in Kenya it appears to be ok to sell a 15 year term licence for $50m and 6-7 years down the road the companies are making annual profits in the hundreds of millions that major western corporations would envy. In this particular case, TKL is being sold with its basket of licences which alone should cost hundreds of millions of dollars more, its exclusivity as a existing and the only current nationwide provider should also factor in. Interestingly enough the paltry valuation of TKL at $205m is a slap in the face and an affront to taxpayers who have a stake in TKL by virtue of it being a government owned entity, not forgetting the TKL owned infrastructure that is already in place. Not factored into the equation seems to be the undersea cable which TKL has a key stake in. The sale of TKL to foreigners should not take place as a matter of key national security and interest. Countries such as Canada and the US have well established laws that state that their telecom companies should not be foreign controlled because they understand the implications this has on their sovereignty and interests. In 1999 in part : 24 September 1999 Africa Confidential Vol 40, No, 19 "If the politicians prevail on CCK over the cellular licence, more questions will be raised about the sell-off of the state's land-based telephone network, Telkom Kenya. Continuing delays in its sale due to political interference have lost the government over $300 mn. in revenues, according to industry sources. Kenya's telecommunications sector was valued at some $1.2 billion in 1997 by Rothschilds, the government's then financial advisors on the privatisation, but would be unlikely to fetch much more than $800 mn." ----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Alai Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 4:35 PM Subject: [africa-oped] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petitin......... http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA Dear Members The Kenyan government is in the process of looking for an investor to buy off 40% of Telkom Kenya shares. The current bidders which they say is the highest is giving 5.6Billion Kenya Shillings. This is an amount which we, stakeholders in the IT sector in Kenya feel is less than the amount the corporation can fetch when privatised. This makes us think that the best way the Kenyan government can sell the corporation at the right price is by listing it in NSE. It would be good for the strategic National interest for Telkom Kenya to remain in the hands of Kenyans and only around 8% shares be sold to a foreign investor or a maximum of 10%. Why should we be selling all our state corporations to foreigners. We cannot allow this and must stand up to this. Telkom Kenya is a very vital corporation which must either remain in the hand of Kenyans or be sold to individual of corporate Kenyan investors but not what is currently happening. Why is the government not ready to list telkom Kenya in the bourse? What is the rush to sell to an outsider. We must never allow this. Please click the following link and sign the petition. We must never allow Telkom Kenya to be owned that much by foreigners. 40% is just too much. Please sign the petition http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA . Please dont let your country down. We must never allow Telkom Kenya to go that far at that less amount. Its just too cheap. Robert Alai Onyango IT Stakeholder Kenya On 7/8/07, yamanjanl < yamanjanl(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > BT EMERGES FRONTRUNNER IN RACE TO BUY TELKOM KENYA, ACCORDING TO GOVT > OFFICIAL > > A consortium that includes British Telecoms and Libyan investors has > emerged as the only strong contender to acquire a strategic 40 per > cent shareholding in Telkom Kenya. People close to the matter told > the Business Daily that senior officials from BT and Libyan investors > on Friday met top Treasury and Ministry of Communication officials to > work out the deal's finer details. Treasury estimates the stake to be > worth Sh5.6 billion —meaning that Telkom Kenya is now valued at Sh14 > billion. > > The British firm is said to have tabled a number of proposals, > including a strong financial bid as commitment to finance the > turnaround of Telkom Kenya, in the meeting that ended at 11.30 pm. > Such a high level leak means that the Government is doing its best to > talk up the price that will be paid for Telkom Kenya. > > "The consortium led by BT is the team to beat. They have a credible > technical group and have the finances," an official, who attended the > meeting, said. It is the second time that the Government is trying to > sell a significant portion of its stake in Telkom Kenya, the first > attempt having flopped after bidders placed financial bids that they > ultimately could not back up with real money. > > The Government had this time around included a condition that > required bidders to have an annual revenue of $200 million (Sh14 > billion), more than 500,000 voice subscribers and demonstrated > experience in the deployment of broadband to avoid similar flops. > > In recent months, Libyan firms, loaded with petrodollars, have been > clinching lucrative deals in Kenya mainly on the infrastructure front > including the upgrade of Kenya Petroleum Refineries. This has > cemented close trade ties between Kenya and Libya that was recently > pushed by President Kibaki's official visit to Tripoli. > > The Government intends to sell its 40 per cent stake to a strategic > investor who is expected to come on board before the end of the year. > Analysts say that BT has been desperate to get a foothold in the > lucrative Eastern African market through an acquisition, a pointer > that the Telkom deal would turn their dream true. > > Already, BT is well represented in the rest of the continent with its > regional headquarters in South Africa to the Southern part of the > continent. For the North African market, it has the Libyan office and > the Nigerian office to serve the West African market. > > "Safaricom has shown there is money to be made in this part of the > world and everyone is now looking at getting a share of the market," > James Rege, chairman, Capital Real Time, a telecommunication > consulting firm. > > Safaricom broke its earlier record to emerge as the most profitable > firm in the East Africa posting Sh17.7 billion in profits, an > increase of 39 per cent recorded a year earlier. > > With Telkom already in the wireless voice market through their new > service offering dubbed Telkom Wireless, which is set to be > officially launched this Thursday, this could be big opportunity for > BT to take a stab at a growing market. > > Rege, a former permanent secretary in the information ministry, said > BT looked the most credible firm to clinch the deal should it come > through. This is not the first time the British telecommunications > giant has made a bid at Telkom Kenya. Six years ago it indicated its > interest in acquiring the state firm but it was disqualified during > the preliminaries. > > Other firms that are in the race to buy the stake include Indian > mobile service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Tata > Holdings and Vtel communication, who had won the licence to become > the country's Second National Operator but were disqualified after > failing to raise the required license fee. > > American telecommunication giant AT&T pulled out of the race after > the Government failed to buy into its demand where it indicated it > would only buy a stake in the state firm if they were given a 51 per > cent stake. This, they noted, was the only way they could get a free > hand to turnaround the loss-making company. > > South Africa-based Econet is also making a second attempt to enter > the Kenyan telecommunications industry having won a licence for the > third mobile phone operator that is subject of litigation. The recent > attempt has seen potential bidders demand that the Government > increases the 26 per cent stake it had initially planned to sell for > them to consider the offer. But this has since changed as the stake > to be bought by the strategic partners has been increased to 40 per > cent and the government holding will stand at 49 per cent. > > The remaining 11 per cent will be reserved to be sold to the public > through the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Telkom is currently deemed to be > unable to pass the Capital Market Authority (CMA) listing test. CMA > regulations require that any firm keen on listing at the NSE must > have posted profits for at least three in the five years to the > listing. > > But Telkom Kenya has been making losses for years, weighed down by > huge staffing levels and growing competition from the wireless voice > market. > Figures sent to the potential investors show that Telkom financial > performance has been declining over the last four years. > > Its turnover has been declining at an annual rate of 10.5 per cent > over the last three years as competitors eat into its market share to > settle at Sh16.3 billion in 2006 from Sh20.9 billion in 2003. > > The firm notes that it expects to make a loss of Sh1.18 billion, > which is a reduction from last year's figure of Sh2.7 billion. > While the special shares reserved for the public will be held in > trust by the Government, dividend payouts from Telkom Kenya will > stream straight into the State coffers. > > According to Dr Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary Ministry of > Information, the revision had been informed by the need to go around > the State Corporation Act in a move that was aimed at making the deal > more suitable to strategic investors. > > Had the strategic investor held a minority holding at 26 per cent and > the Government holding a 64 per cent stake, Telkom Kenya would not > run as a private company, but under the Act which guides the > operation of parastatals. > > At the moment the government is racing to clean Telkom debt ridden > balance sheet as it prepares to bring the strategic partner on board > as well as strike a better deal in the sale of the 40 per cent stake. > The Government has already committed Sh26 billion to fix the pension > and tax arrears with pensions taking Sh10 billion and the remaining > Sh16 billion being taken by Kenya Revenue Authority. To keep the > state firm afloat, the firm is set to complete a massive staff layoff > that will reduce its work force to 3, 200 members down from 17, 000 > by the end of August. > > According to Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo, BT have also > expressed interest in investing in the TEAMS fibre project. > (SOURCE: Telegeography) > > > -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? .........Martin Luther King, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: kenyaclub(a)yahoogroups.com Subscribe: kenyaclub-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: kenyaclub-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com List owner: kenyaclub-owner(a)yahoogroups.com Yahoo! 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Moses Geneology
by Alex Gakuru 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

This is an interesting one; We are having an argument whether or not Moses was of Kenyan origins! Some say Yes -with Queen of Sheba, General Mathenge, et. al. from next door. The others say "No way" What do you think? Thanks, Alex ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

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[Fwd: Satellite Wireless Broadband & Voip Forum 12-13 July 2007]
by alice 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

AITEC Africa, in collaboration with leading suppliers of these technologies, is hosting SatWiBB East Africa and the African VoIP Forum to provide marketing and education platforms to promote effective roll-out of satellite and wireless technology throughout Africa. The theme for this year's event is **/" Broadband Bridges Across /****/Africa: First & Last Mile Solutions". /**These conference follow the highly successful WiMAX & CDMA Forum held in Johannesburg in April 2006 (see http://new.aitecafrica.com/WiMAX_CDMA_Forum) and Wireless Broadband East & West Africa in Nairobi and Lagos in December 2006 (see http://new.aitecafrica.com/node/432) **Introduction****** Satellites still provide a communications lifeline for a large proportion of Africa’s internal and external traffic. And wireless broadband technologies are increasingly providing the continent’s intermediate and last mile links. SatWiBB Africa is the first conference to cover both ends of this increasingly integrated and converging communications paradigm. SatWiBB East & West Africa will provide practical business and technology briefings to empower resellers, service providers and users to maximize their returns on the increasing investment that they will be making in satellite and wireless broadband technology over the coming years. By providing a platform for vendors, service providers and users to network and share knowledge, the conference will act as a catalyst to stimulate take-up of the right technologies to multiply connectivity across the region. In addition, to usher in the conference there will be a */Wireless Security Preview Masterclass/* on the 31^st May 2007 to be presented by Maiendra Moodley, Security Advisor, South Africa Reserve Bank (*/attached find his profile/*). **Who is Satellite and Wireless Broadband aimed at?** SatWiBB has several key audiences: * ICT Managers & network administrators in major corporates & public institutions * Telecom Operators: senior managers and planners, engineering managers and staff, network managers * Telecommunication policy-makers & regulators * ISPs & Cyber Cafe operators * NGOs/ Civil society organizations directly involved with connectivity * Media representatives * Senior telecommunication engineering students * Service providers, consultants and suppliers serving the telecommunication industry Regards**** **John Mwangi** Operations Manager In-Sync Ltd Dik Dik Gardens| Kileleshwa PO Box 63103-00619, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 2011233/44 | Tel/Fax: +254 20 4451655 Mobile: +254 721 860 228 | Email: johnm(a)aitecafrica.com <mailto:johnm@aitecafrica.com> Web:www.aitecafrica.com <http://www.aitecafrica.com/>

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EuroAfrica-ICT Workshop: Links (to ppts) and More Info
by Janet Feldman 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops.html The fourth EuroAfrica-ICT awareness workshop will be held on July 26 & 27 at the Hilton Hotel (Nairobi, Kenya). This 2 day event is a key component of the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative since it is aiming at connecting sub-Saharan African and European organisations for ICT partnerships in the framework of the FP7 and to develop scientific and technological cooperation between the two regions. Workshop attendees will be able to: 1) Receive updated information on the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative and the opportunities it offers 2) Collect updated and comprehensive data on the ongoing FP7/ICT call for proposals (for those interested in submitting a project proposal to the EC for funding) 3) Network with their peers in the field. The event will gather the main stakeholders in the field (universities, ICT entrepreneurs, public stakeholders, NGOs, EC representatives, international or regional organisations dealing with ICT, etc.), both from sub-Saharan African and European Union countries, and all interested in Research and Development in ICT or involved in S&T cooperation between the two regions. This workshop is supported by the African e-Development Resource Centre (AeDRC), Kenya, the Science and Technology -Europe Africa Project (ST-EAP) consortium partners, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), Kenya. Registrations (attendance is free but pre-registrations are compulsory): http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops_formulaire.html Agenda: http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/downloads/Awareness_Workshops/Nairobi/Program… You can download from the url listed above, if you have a powerpoint program: Proposal idea template l Expression of interest template Please visit http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/index.html and click on "Awareness Workshops" for the PowerPoint templates and draft agenda. Should you require a template be emailed to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. The deadline for submission of your presentation will be July 12 and should be returned to rnaidoo(a)csir.co.za. Selection will be made on a "first come first serve" basis. Rebecca Naidoo Research & Development Initiatives Coordinator Meraka Institute Ph: +27-12-841 2948 Fax: +27-12-841 4720

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