Notes from Kenyan ICT Conference
Hi all, Here are my notes from a presentation that has just been given by Eme Essien of the World Bank/IFC i will forward the powerpoint presentation as soon as I can get hold of it... ----------------------------------------- EASSY Presentation from World Bank Eme Essien, Senior Investment Officer, IFC/World Bank Shared Objectives: - provide more affordaclbe ICT access - meet demand for high speed boradbankd connectivity in the region - spur followon ICT investment in region - provide cheaper alternative to satellite - encourage greater connectivity and integration within region - ALL CAPITALS AND MAJOR CITIES IN E & SA SHOULD BE LINKED TO GLOBAL NETWORK 10 Landing points - Sudan - Djibouti - Somalia - Kenya - Tanzania - Mdagascar - Mozambique - South Africa Eastern Loop Northern Loop Southern Loop World Bank Group Role - assist parties deliver on shared objectives - facilitate reduction of risks (policy/regulatory) to increase private sector participation - Conditionalities - liberalisation of international segment - Open Access - non-discriminatory access to regional infrastructure to all operators - identify funding gaps - build capacity in relevant regional organisation Conditions for Success OPEN ACCES - maximises project's development impact - clised club deal SAT3 structures have had limited impact on traffic, pricing, development - capacity should be accessible to all parties, fixed line operators etc.... Challenges - 30-ish members - Telcos, parastatals, regulators, private operators, incumbents - countries with differing progress on reform agenda - differing levels of economic development, infrastructure, ICT needs etc - no single champion to establish common interests East Africa Backhaul System - overland backhauls to EASSY project - majority of traffic will be routed overland - various stages of deployment - MSA-KLA IFC Advisory services role WB workign closely with members of East Loop Jan 2006 Mandate has been signed with EASSY - produce transaction structuring report - conduct technical feasibility study - among others.... Foreseen East African Backhaul Route My Question: Is the World Bank applying an Open Access approach on other telecoms infrastructure projects in Africa or only on EASSY Anwer: James Morley<sic>, IFC - YES - Open Access approach is being applied across the board - over all projects - initially the EABS - WB is pushing for Open Access; pushing for smaller parties to take part - Open Access is a principle underlying WB engagements Kirui<sic> - Open Access has (finally) been embraced by EASSY - last hardliner has last week finally given in and agreed to accept Open Access based on a Special Purpose Vehicle approach
Kenya to sell shares in Telkom Kenya, Safaricom Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:59 PM GMT13 NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya will offer 60 percent of its shareholding in fixed-line monopoly Telkom Kenya on the stock exchange and to a strategic investor after it restructures the loss-making company, President Mwai Kibaki said on Tuesday. "The government is going to sell 34 percent of the company shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange," Kibaki told an information technology conference. "We are also looking for a strategic partner to take up to 26 percent of the company's shares." Information and Communication minister Mutahi Kagwe told reporters that the government would sell 9 percent of its share in leading mobile firm Safaricom to Britain's Vodafone to finance the restructuring of Telkom Kenya. Telkom Kenya owns 60 percent of shares in Safaricom, which it jointly owns with Vodafone. Vodafone had offered to purchase an 11 percent stake in Safaricom from Telkom at $100 million but government sources said Kenya had baulked at the prospects of giving the British company control of the mobile operator. Based on a consultant's reports, the cost of restructuring Telkom Kenya and buying out around 12,000 of its 18,000 employees would range from $154 million to $300 million. The restructuring is deemed as an essential step to be taken before Telkom's privatisation can go ahead as donors have insisted. Kenyan businesses have long complained that poor telephone services due largely to Telkom's inefficiencies add a huge cost to doing business in the country, east Africa's biggest economy. KEY REFORMS But the government said it had embraced key reforms to boost efficiency in the industry. "In order to encourage more investments in the sector, the government has fully liberalised the sector through opening up of the international gateways to other players and licensing of new operators to compete with Telkom Kenya," Kibaki said. He said the number of mobile telephone lines had increased to 5.5 million lines from 150,000 in 2000. Kibaki said the government would spend $30 million to roll out broadband wireless in rural areas. The government has issued eight licences to Internet backbone gateway operators, 15 local loop operators and eight public data network operators, Kibaki said. "I have directed that additional licences for national telephone operators to be auctioned," he said. Benjamin Makai Tel: 254-722-540641 P.O. Box 8608, 00300, Nairobi, Kenya --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail Use Photomail to share photos without annoying attachments.
participants (2)
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Benjamin Makai -
Brian Longwe