The Zen Master [He of the liver juggling fame] warned that [sic] this thing [M-PESA] might not end well. One possible reason for this legendary statement was that he knew, unlike in transport, we do not have an equivalent of his 'Michuki Rules' in the ICT sector. In as much as we support the Media fraternity in the concerns they have about the Communications Bill, they ought to understand that there is a whole bunch of legislation which sector players have toiled hard to see it get in to this level of bill making in Kenya. The Media might have reasonable penetration into the public, but our ICT technology is un-matched in terms of penetration. With over 6 million Kenyans directly or indirectly benefiting from money transactions through their cell phones and well over double this number benefiting from communication, it's high time we agreed on this matter. If President-Elect Obama was in Kictanet, he would remind us of the bottom-up approach, where we can collect 6 million signatures of 'kawaida' Kenyans who benefit immensely from services such as M-Pesa to also petition the President on why he should sign this bill with 'Further Ammendments'. If we want 'this thing to end well', at least let us get the ICT Bill signed with a 'Further Ammendment' requesting Parliament to consider the sections the Media has issues with and ofcourse with our whole hearted support to the Media. -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Nairobi Stock Exchange Authorised Information Vendor Suite B2, Tetu Court, State House Avenue P. O. Box 20311 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete S - 1°17'13.8" E - 36°48'22.7" www.mediacorp.co.ke ---