Badru, Your concerns are genuine. But your conclusion are incorrect. It is not  an African problem. It is a global problem. All over the world consultants are used for many other reasons other than expertise. A century old joke  "a consultant is the person who borrows your watch to tell you the time." But why do organisations use engage consultant? Other illicit reasons:Local  organizations: 1. To get a kickback from the consultant/consultants when  a solution in the organization exists. The consultants simply copy and paste internal reports and share the loot with some people in the organization. A friend once quipped that if you want to get really broke try to chase consultancy tenders - sometimes the reports are ready before the tender is advertised. You simply escort the chosen one;2. For senior management to force a course of action  which is opposed by the junior staff;3.  To hoodwink the public/shareholders that sufficient study or research was carried out;4. To forestall opposition by  using expert advice as a shield; and lastly as you mention ..5. To hide behind the consultant reports when things go really wrong - Recall the current wave of cases involving consultant advice (Mumias and Kenya Airways). One ex-MD simply said that the external auditors had given him a clean bill of health or was it?International organizations:1. To repatriate  funds against local regulations  to the home country. 2. To ignore local opinion in furtherance of other self-serving headquarter interests.I could go on but let me pen off here.Best regardsJames On Monday, 5 October 2015, 12:32, Badru Ntege via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:  To Ali On 10/1/15, 9:34 PM, "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: On a related matter on the issue of dominance and abuse of market position:- Why do we need a consultant to tell us what is already obvious in the Telco sector? I think the regulator is throwing too much bureaucracy at an issue which can be resolved over a cup of tea with the various protagonists in the industry.  This is a common African problem where public agencies get legitimacy by employing a consultant to tell them what they already know.  That way if things go wrong they can blame the consultant.    Makes you wonder how this would happen in Private sector.  Would you keep that person in a job if they always depend on consultants to tell them the obvious.  ????? Just Asking ……. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkulubi%40yahoo.co.uk 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.