Hi, I have been fortunate to attend a number of discussions on the ongoing bills in parliament and it is disappointing that as the ICT fraternity we have missed the opportunity to be enshrined in the new laws as has been done with other groups. A case is point is in the Urban Areas and Cities Bill in relation to the parties to be involved in the conferment of a city, with the vision 2030 objective of making Kenya a knowledge based economy the lack of participation by the ICT fraternity in in this decisions means that the way-leave and related issues that are being experienced today shall continue for the foreseeable future. Here is an extract from the bill; Application for conferment of city status. 8. (1) The board of a municipality may, upon a resolution, apply to the county executive committee for consideration for the conferment of city status. (2) Where the executive committee approves the application, the county governor shall constitute an ad hoc committee to consider the recommendation and advise as appropriate. (3) The ad hoc committee shall comprise of relevant professionals in good standing nominated by the following institutions ― (a) the Institute of Surveyors of Kenya; (b) the Institute of Planners of Kenya; (c) the Architectural Association of Kenya; (d) the Law Society of Kenya; (e) an association of urban areas and cities; (f) the Institute of Public Accountants of Kenya; and (g) the business community. Other areas that are lacking our input is in issues such as the need for GIS without it being make explicit that this must be in digital form. In the Elections Bill 2 areas are wanting for our input one is the format for maintaining the voter register and the other is in the recall of MPs where one of the reasons is not appearing in the constituency for an extended period his utilising tele-presence technology for example or a broadcast media should qualify towards appearance. (2) A member of Parliament may be recalled on any of the following grounds— (a) mismanagement of public resources; (b) desertion of the electorate without reasonable cause, including— (i) continual absence from the constituency or county; The ship has sailed on this one, but the lesson to learn should not be wasted. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696