#KeIGF15 Online Discussions Day One: Inclusiveness and Diversity
Listers, Since promulgation of the Constitution, Kenya has become a litigious society, and the ICT/Internet sector has not been spared. For instance, the processes used to constitute public ICT bodies was contested while a good part of the digital migration process also played out in the public galleries. Looking at Kenya's past journey in ICT/Internet governance, has it been inclusive? Are we presently adhering to Article 10 on public participation in local Internet governance matters? Do the present mechanisms facilitate meaningful participation of all including those with disabilities? What are the roles of the various stakeholders and are they all playing their roles? Is the ICT environment in Kenya inclusive—that is, with an atmosphere in which all people feel valued and respected and have access to the same opportunities? What is the state of Universal Access and implementation of Universal Service Fund in Kenya? Are the USF Council members representative of the Internet community in Kenya? Are all stakeholders' interests taken into consideration in forming the USF council? Welcome to the discussion. -- Grace L.N. Mutung'u Nairobi Kenya Skype: gracebomu Twitter: @Bomu
Thank you Grace and Barrack for this important topic. I will start by sharing the sentiments of the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi. http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Kenyans-must-be-involved-in-all-process... The speaker lamented that public participation ... and consultation in matters of national building are either not happening, or not enough. "citizens wanted to be consulted on everything being done on their behalf by their leaders and that transparency was not optional", he said. As it stands, the Communications Authority of Kenya is in limbo after the court threw out the sitting board pending appeal. Is it possible that there was proper consultation by the Ministry and Cabinet Secretary of ICT, but some people did not feel their "interests" were covered well enough and opted to run to the courts? Well, being a member of the CA board may attract bigger allowances, probably the reason why the litigants did not bother with the important Universal Service Fund (USF) Council. The USF is supposed to be the ultimate inclusiveness and diversity tool when it comes to offering a semblance of uniform communication services to all Kenyans may it be radio, postal, telecommunications or cyber services. I am yet to see any report on how the USF Council has contributed to bridging the digital divide using the funds at their disposal. A little history here will help. The Universal Service Advisory Council (USAC) was entrenched in the Kenya Information and Communications act (1998) to advice the then CCK and give policy guidance in the implementation of the USF. The term of the first USAC expired in January 2014, and a new Council put in place from May 2014 to May 2017. I understand there are a few pilot projects that have been setup across the country by the USF, but we would like to see a report on the same from the said Council, and probably measure the effectiveness of these projects. There is also the issue of "Multi-stakeholder-ism", how is it playing out in our ICT landscape? Does the word make any sense to the different stakeholders? How are partnerships forged between say government and business community or academia? Well, I have seen many initiatives in the country where the different stakeholders have partnered and blended really well to transform the society. A good case is our celebrated ICT hubs especially in Nairobi ... iHub, iLab, C4Dlab, Nairobi Garage, e.t.c. where businesses have partnered with the government and academia and the technical community to give our youth hope and opportunities in life. "The Kenyan Dream". Truly, multistakeholderism can work. We only need to put more effort, and recognise the important role eac stakeholder plays. Sincerely, ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya "There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson
participants (2)
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Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) -
Mwendwa Kivuva