The fact that the Bill has been presented to Parliament before the ICT Policy review process is completed means that it will be very difficult to administer it when enacted into law. Usually, the policy sets vision and mission for the sector for a foreseeable future. The policy may have a human resource development component. The policy is then implemented through legislation, government budget and regulations. When I read the reason and memorandum of the bill, the only policy statement that I can see is ‘to establish a legal framework for the training, registration, licensing, practice and standards of Information Communication Technology (ICT) professionals in Kenya.’The ICT practitioners bill therefore creates some unusual situation. Those who can remember, we in the ICT sector faced a similar situation in the period 2005 – 2007. There were many people supporting the legislation of the Media Bill but there were serious disagreements on the media council membership; licensing of media practitioners; the role of the government; the role of the media owners; regulation of print and electronic media, offences, and the financing of the Council.The government, for instance, while supporting the establishment of the Media Council, did not want the Council to be financed from foreign sources. On the other hand, some media practitioners did not want to be financed by the government. The middle ground was funding by member subscriptions and accreditation. This too was opposed by many media practitioners.Eventually, a policy was developed through public consultation covering such aspects as media ownership, accreditation of journalists, code of conduct of journalists and the broadcasting code, etc.In my view the policy informing the ICT professional bill should have borrowed heavily from the outcome of current ICT policy review process and been subjected to wider stakeholder consultation. The following issues, for instance, require wider consultation.1. The definition provided for ICT practitioner which I quote ‘ICT practitioner (ICTP)" means a person registered under this Act as an ICT practitioner who is also licensed under section 20 to practice’ is vague, misleading and may be viewed as discriminating.2. Many ICT professionals qualify or are already registered by other organizations. These include those in fields like Telecommunication Engineering, Computer Engineering, Medical Information Systems, financial information systems, etc.3. The eligibility for registration which is stated as ‘holder of at least a bachelor's degree in an ICT related field from a recognized university,’ is vague and can be abused. Already, we have other fields like engineering where applicants for registration are suffering due to this condition. Graduates from countries like USSR which offer MSc as first degrees cannot be registered. Similarly, those with Higher National Diploma who have gone ahead to get MSc and even PhD cannot be registered! Further, in some universities like Maseno all degree programmes have an extension ‘with ICT.’ How will the Council treat these degrees?4. Technologists have drafted another bill which is before Parliament. How will the Technologists bill co-exist with the ICT practitioners bill?5. There are many institutions carrying out institutional accreditation and certification of ICT practitioners. How will such accreditation and certification be treated by the Council?Best regards,Prof. James KulubiOn Wednesday, 6 July 2016, 19:10, Wangari Kabiru via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
_______________________________________________Blessed Wednesday!A handshake to the 2014 article!There is a great opportunity for Techies to take their rightful place as professionals and be invited to give valued contributions to the nation building table.As I said earlier, non-Techs will be there. Perhaps another classification within the broader "ICT Professional".*ICT Practitioners - sounds like a very broad term to attempt to compact and create shared guidelines/standards.On the said ICT Practitioners Bill - it seems that part of the issue is with regard to who is/are behind it. All in all, to have gotten a hearing, it means this is an organised group.
Which is perhaps what this community might seek to engage with and build together before "shooting the innovator".Blessed day.Regards/WangariOn Jul 6, 2016 15:47, Alex Watila via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:Thanks Walu,What is the way forward on the bill?Regards,AlexFrom: Walubengo J [mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 6, 2016 3:26 PM
To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Cc: Dennis Muthuri <muthuridennis@gmail.com>; Alex Watila <awatila@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Kenya ICT Practitioners Bill - Walu's Views@Alex, @Muthuri,Thnx for 'bursting' me @
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.