Re: [kictanet] Media Bill
This debate is now on the right track thanks to Brian, Alice, Dr. Ndemo and Bill; I would ask that the government to consider a structure that gives the media representatives greater visibility in the Media Council and the Advisory Board e.g. having the Chairperson as a member selected by the media or a different model that makes them bodies more "media". Hoping we can all now work to protect the media from government extremes (as the case of Citizen Radio/TV) and protect the people of Kenya from the extremes of a lawless media (as was in the case of blackout given to Martha Karua/Water Ministry and many others). Neither side should be using threats or propaganda. --- 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/ or Community Access Point (Subukia) subukia@madeinkenya.org http://www.madeinkenya.org/projects/ictother.php
-------Original Message------- From: alice <alice@apc.org> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Media Bill Sent: 21 May '07 22:26
Dear all
In my opinion, the justification for our media bill would be the policy vacuum in the media sector and an outdated existing legislative framework characterised by often times conflicting laws with regards to the access and dissemination of information.
Therefore the presence of an implementable legislative framework allows for the establishment of, for example, professional bodies, which would monitor professional and ethical conduct and practices, while protecting consumers. The media sector, I am sure does agree that the absence of self and or co-regulatory measures in the sector would and has resulted in many governments, ours included, to consider applying sometimes unfavorable/draconian regulatory measures (we have seen this played out in in various aspects/instances) in order to protect Kenyans rights to dignity, privacy, etc
I would agree and join Brian in urging the media and all stakeholders including consumer networks to, quoting Brian, " take hold of the olive leaf extended by this government - and the goodwill that is present at the Ministry - and ensure that we have a good if not a great Media Act"
best alice Note: The above comment are entirely personal and do not reflect any position of the organisations I am affiliated with.
Brian Longwe wrote:
To all,
I would like to take a little bit of your "airtime" and lay down a slightly different perspective with regards to the Media Bill that is under discussion. (Although my comments relate to any Bill that is put before Parliament.)
First and foremost my personal position is that I welcome the move to put a law in place that governs the 4th estate. On a recent radio input I emphasized that any sector law has two sides to it: 1) It defines and protects a particular constituent group e.g. Communications Industry (Communications Act '98), Childrens Bill etc... 2) It protects society and the Kenyan populace in general from harm caused by the parties covered under the Act/Bill
Therefore taking these two elements into consideration I would encourage that the media fraternity (and all other stakeholders) take this opportunity to engage with the process and ensure that we put in place a good if not excellent law/Act.
I will give a short story to illustrate my point:
In 1997, the Kenya Communications Bill was published - it aimed to regulate, govern and facilitate the growth and development of the communications sector. For those of you who recall, the first draft was a nightmare and if that is what eventually became the law - we would still be living in the dark ages of blind control.
There was a lot of activity surrounding this bill. I remember a number of public forum discussions that sought to provide government with opportunity to shed light on some of the less clearer parts of the bill (i.e. most of it) but also to hear from the public and stakeholders what their views and opinions were. The Institute of Economic Affairs played a key role in a number of these fora.
Eventually it became abundantly clear that there was a lot of talk but very little action. So a group of non-profits, Insitute of Economic Affairs, Econews, FemNet and East African Internet Association got together and went clause by clause through the draft and came up with a very comprehensive set of submissions that addressed what we felt were the key/crucial parts of the Bill.
As many of you know, in the commonwealth law system any bill of parliament must go through a series of readings. This allows both fellow parliamentarians as well as the public to provide input along the process. Public input into the process is normally handled by a select committee of parliamentarians who are responsible for capturing and channeling the inputs into the process and where necessary making amendements/changes to the draft.
In our case, we made an appointment to see the House committe - at the time chaired by Hon. Shem Ochuodho - and the Chair of the EAIA at the. Mr. Suchindranath Aiyer then presented the paper to the House Committee. At the end of the presentation our group was unceremoniously thrown out (paper, submissions and all). I guess that was the governance style of the day (read - KANU).
Nevertheless we didn't give up and decided to use all means possible to "squeeze" in our submissions. There were breakfast, lunches and cocktails held for parliamentarians - none of which seemed to yield much. Eventually it was too late - the Bill had gone for 2nd reading - and passed without any changes - now only the Minister and President could make any changes. But we didn't give up.....
At the end of the day we were able to find a way of getting the draft to the then Minister - Hon. Ntimama. He read through our comments, understood all of them and passed them to the Attorney General to incorporate. The Kenya Communications Act '98 - which has governed our communications sector for the past 9 years consists of almost every single point that we had in our draft. As an individual I will always have respect and admiration for Ntimama - he was truly concerned and focused on this role.
I have told this long story to make one strong point. As a country we need good laws to ensure that not only our present - but our future and that of our children can be brighter than our present. I would strongly encourage the media and all other stakeholders to take hold of the olive leaf extended by this government - and the goodwill that is present at the Ministry - and ensure that we have a good if not a great Media Act.
Regards,
Brian
On May 21, 2007, at 10:14 AM, bitange@jambo.co.ke wrote:
Dear All, I feel compelled to respond to Kanja's surprising response to the Media Bill. Media especially MOA has decided to distort information with blatant disregard of a journalist's cardinal rule (objectivity) to poison the People of Kenya with lies and propaganda;
Here are the Facts . The Bill was drafted by stakeholders among then Kanja himself; The content especially on the code of conduct for journalist were transposed from the current code of conduct with the Media Council; All stakeholders were kept informed throughout the stages of the Bill and Kanja as the former Chair of MOA received letters informing him of the progress; The Bill does not seek to control, it simply gives some teeth to the Media council to regulate professional journalists; Regulation is not control (think, we all are free to drive but we must drive on the left hand side); Without regulation you have quacks as journalists who may plunge the country into chaos (just listen to Venacular FM stations to understand why we need professionalism in Journalism and remember what happened with Hope FM); The controversy in the Bill arises from funding. MOA and KUJ did not want to fund the Advisory Board and the Media Council instead they asked the Government to finance; and Government funding comes with certain strings as you all understand and even if you were to fund you will expect the recipient to adhere to certain rules (we have gone through this with the World Bank even though we did not like it).
Bitange Ndemo
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Wainaina et al, this thing is quite touchy - judging from the initial salvos unleashed from both the PS & Waruru K. I really would like to also get into the fray but am constrained by the fact that I have not getten my hands (or mouse) on either the Media Bills. Could someone plse Sambaza(c) the Media Bill as proposed by the Govt and as proposed by the Media Owners Assosciation? And then we can all dive into the ring... walu. --- Wainaina Mungai <wainaina@madeinkenya.org> wrote: > This debate is now on the right track thanks to Brian, > Alice, Dr. Ndemo and Bill; > > I would ask that the government to consider a structure > that gives the media representatives greater visibility > in the Media Council and the Advisory Board e.g. having > the Chairperson as a member selected by the media or a > different model that makes them bodies more "media". > > Hoping we can all now work to protect the media from > government extremes (as the case of Citizen Radio/TV) and > protect the people of Kenya from the extremes of a > lawless media (as was in the case of blackout given to > Martha Karua/Water Ministry and many others). Neither > side should be using threats or propaganda. > > > --- > 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/ > > or > > Community Access Point (Subukia) > subukia@madeinkenya.org > http://www.madeinkenya.org/projects/ictother.php > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: alice <alice@apc.org> > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Media Bill > > Sent: 21 May '07 22:26 > > > > Dear all > > > > In my opinion, the justification for our media bill > would be the policy > > vacuum in the media sector and an outdated existing > legislative > > framework characterised by often times conflicting > laws with regards to > > the access and dissemination of information. > > > > Therefore the presence of an implementable > legislative framework allows > > for the establishment of, for example, professional > bodies, which > > would monitor professional and ethical conduct and > practices, while > > protecting consumers. The media sector, I am sure > does agree that the > > absence of self and or co-regulatory measures in the > sector would and > > has resulted in many governments, ours included, to > consider applying > > sometimes unfavorable/draconian regulatory measures > (we have seen this > > played out in in various aspects/instances) in order > to protect Kenyans > > rights to dignity, privacy, etc > > > > I would agree and join Brian in urging the media and > all stakeholders > > including consumer networks to, quoting Brian, " > take hold of the > > olive leaf extended by this government - and the > goodwill that is > > present at the Ministry - and ensure that we have a > good if not a great > > Media Act" > > > > > > > > best > > alice > > Note: The above comment are entirely personal and do > not reflect any > > position of the organisations I am affiliated with. > > > > > > Brian Longwe wrote: > > > To all, > > > > > > I would like to take a little bit of your "airtime" > and lay down a > > > slightly different perspective with regards to the > Media Bill that is > > > under discussion. (Although my comments relate to > any Bill that is > > > put before Parliament.) > > > > > > First and foremost my personal position is that I > welcome the move to > > > put a law in place that governs the 4th estate. On a > recent radio > > > input I emphasized that any sector law has two sides > to it: > > > 1) It defines and protects a particular constituent > group e.g. > > > Communications Industry (Communications Act '98), > Childrens Bill etc... > > > 2) It protects society and the Kenyan populace in > general from harm > > > caused by the parties covered under the Act/Bill > > > > > > Therefore taking these two elements into > consideration I would > > > encourage that the media fraternity (and all other > stakeholders) take > > > this opportunity to engage with the process and > ensure that we put in > > > place a good if not excellent law/Act. > > > > > > I will give a short story to illustrate my point: > > > > > > In 1997, the Kenya Communications Bill was published > - it aimed to > > > regulate, govern and facilitate the growth and > development of the > > > communications sector. For those of you who recall, > the first draft > > > was a nightmare and if that is what eventually > became the law - we > > > would still be living in the dark ages of blind > control. > > > > > > There was a lot of activity surrounding this bill. I > remember a > > > number of public forum discussions that sought to > provide government > > > with opportunity to shed light on some of the less > clearer parts of > > > the bill (i.e. most of it) but also to hear from the > public and > > > stakeholders what their views and opinions were. The > Institute of > > > Economic Affairs played a key role in a number of > these fora. > > > > > > Eventually it became abundantly clear that there was > a lot of talk > > > but very little action. So a group of non-profits, > Insitute of > > > Economic Affairs, Econews, FemNet and East African > Internet > > > Association got together and went clause by clause > through the draft > > > and came up with a very comprehensive set of > submissions that > > > addressed what we felt were the key/crucial parts of > the Bill. > > > > > > As many of you know, in the commonwealth law system > any bill of > > > parliament must go through a series of readings. > This allows both > > > fellow parliamentarians as well as the public to > provide input along > > > the process. Public input into the process is > normally handled by a > > > select committee of parliamentarians who are > responsible for > > > capturing and channeling the inputs into the process > and where > > > necessary making amendements/changes to the draft. > > > > > > In our case, we made an appointment to see the House > committe - at > > > the time chaired by Hon. Shem Ochuodho - and the > Chair of the EAIA at > > > the. Mr. Suchindranath Aiyer then presented the > paper to the House > > > Committee. At the end of the presentation our group > was > > > unceremoniously thrown out (paper, submissions and > all). I guess that > > > was the governance style of the day (read - KANU). > > > > > > Nevertheless we didn't give up and decided to use > all means possible > > > to "squeeze" in our submissions. There were > breakfast, lunches and > > > cocktails held for parliamentarians - none of which > seemed to yield > > > much. Eventually it was too late - the Bill had gone > for 2nd reading > > > - and passed without any changes - now only the > Minister and > > > President could make any changes. But we didn't > give up..... > > > > > > At the end of the day we were able to find a way of > getting the draft > > > to the then Minister - Hon. Ntimama. He read through > our === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ It's here! 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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
participants (3)
-
John Walubengo -
Muriuki Mureithi -
Wainaina Mungai