KENYA GOVERNMENT TO INVEST HEAVILY IN THE ICT SECTOR, PLEDGES THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT

EACO proposes interventions in policy harmonization to enhance citizen participation and grow Intra-African trade 

Kenya: Deputy President, William Ruto pledged the government’s commitment to invest heavily in the ICT sector.

He said Kenya was banking on the sector, which he described as “a major transformative instrument,” to drive the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and reduce poverty.

The Deputy President urged ICT regulators in East Africa, including Communications Commission of Kenya to forge private public partnerships (PPPs) with the ICT industry captains to develop regional seamless connectivity to unite the region and provider cheaper services that will facilitate a free market to the region with a combined population of 120million.

Mr. Ruto was opening the East African Communications Organization (EACO) congress and Exhibition in Nairobi’s KICC that was preceded by EACO assemblies and workshops attended by the CEOs of ICT regulatory authorities, industry players and delegates from all five member countries of East African Community since Monday.

He called for reduction in the cost of ICT-related services particularly in mobile phones to benefit more users saying that before the advent of M-PESA, 80 per cent of Kenyans were unbanked but today Sh670billion is exchanged every year through M-PESA.

“We need a clear broadband framework both for the country and the region. Broadband is recognized for its high correlation with GDP growth and therefore high impact on productivity. We therefore need to look at infrastructure, cost of deployment and access so that more people can access ICTs at a lower cost”, he said, adding that in order to lower tariffs, service providers should seek avenues to share infrastructure across networks and pass on the benefits to the consumer.

Mr. Ruto also called for a clear spectrum policy aimed at optimizing the utilization of the scare resource and release it to other services such as digital broadcasting.

The opening ceremony was also addressed by the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Dr. Fred Matiang’i’ who called for the harnessing of resources to development the ICT sector and especially in the development of local broadcast content to provide employment to the youth.

“Regional integration and seamless connectivity will not only help in uniting the region but further present cheaper regional communication and facilitate a free trade market. What was once a large landmass without physical or geographical boundaries can still be revived by taking advantage of ICTs to recapture our shared past and our common cultural heritage”, Said Dr.Fred Matiang’i –Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication.

Some of the key issues that have been put into sharp focus during this year’s congress include the provision of requisite legislation on Pay TV providers’ use of FTA content for commercial purposes, which has been termed as vague and hindering relationships between players.

Regulators have been asked to impose existing policies with explicit authorization on the provision of FTA channels on Pay TV platforms at no cost and the need to separate FTA and Pay TV by setting a minimum number of channels allowed on each platform in order to enhance content regulation.

On his part, the CCK Director General, Mr. Francis Wangusi who took over as Chairman of EACO for the next two years said: “Today as we start the Congress which is the highest decision making organ of EACO we should come up with resolutions and seek harmonization of regional ICT policies in order to address the disparities in access to communications services to all our citizens”

EACO provides a platform for dialogue and to exchange experiences crucial in formulating fair regulation for players in the communication sector within the East African region. The proposals presented to congress will be used to guide country and regional policies & legislation aimed at propelling the access and provision of fast, affordable, quality and secure communication services which support the various business processes of the private organizations and civil society.