World Dialogue on Regulation

A growing number of African countries are in the process of formulating their ICT policy. In Sub-Saharan Africa the process in Kenya is well documented. The International Development Research Center (IDRC) supported research book At the Crossroads: ICT Policy Making in East Africa describes and comments on the process of the inception of Kenyan ICT policy. A year after the publication we draw up the balance with the Harvard based Kenyan ICT Policy researcher Warigia Bowman.

The bundle of articles in At the Crossroads: ICT Policy Making in East Africa tells the story of the inception of an ICT Policy in 22 chapters and through the eyes of 32 authors. To place the Kenyan experience in perspective, the book documents the experience of ICT policy making in three other East African countries, but keeps the Kenyan case as its focal point. It relates the serious experiences, challenges and strategies faced during this convoluted process.

At the Crossroads is divided in five sections: introduction, the history of ICT policymaking in Kenya, sectoral and thematic histories, learning from others and conclusions. In the introduction Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, the Minister for Planning and National Development, shares his personal experience of a national consultative process to determine a national course of action, which his ministry supervised. This sets the tone and stage for much of the next section, Section 2, which is devoted to the history of ICT policy making in Kenya. Four of the six chapters in this section recount the path that the country has walked on this long journey. Tim Waema, Professor at the University of Nairobi, narrates the many false starts, while attempting to explain why each successive move seemed to be unsuccessful. The section narrates both stories of personal involvement in the process as well as institutional contributions.

In Chapter 7, two staff members of the Communications Commission of Kenya, one of them the chief executive officer, recount research and experiences with one of the most important issues in contemporary telecommunications - universal access. The contributions in section 3 are a kaleidoscope of related subjects. Although interesting they form the least coherent part of the book. Section 4 is devoted to stories of policy making in other countries. Rwanda's history is told by Professor Silas Lwakabamba, while two contributions from Uganda, by David Obot, Fred Kintu and Laurent Elder, and Goretti Amuriat and Dorothy Okello give readers a glimpse of what happened there. David Sawe shares his experience of the impact of the e-ThinkTankTz as a story of successful lobbying. Benchmarking, the new term for constructive comparison, juxtaposes the Kenyan experience with Malaysian, Singaporean, Egyptian and South African ones in Chapter 19. It is fitting for a section on 'learning from others' to also examine a developed European country. Matti Kääriäinen's contribution narrates the Finish experiences. In the concluding section, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza gives a sobering picture of developments, inviting and exhorting readers to circumspection in matters of ICT on the continent. In the final chapter Florence Etta, while summarizing the salient elements and experiences of policy making, recommends responsible policy making as the way forward.

In short, the book explores tells a the story of policy making in Africa and tries to draw lessons from what worked and what did not; it recounts research as well as daily experiences of ICT policy making; and it captures elements of both process and outcome. Although the book provides a thorough understanding of the process, the actual role the ICT Policy plays to improve access to information and communication technology for the people in Kenya for the remains largely unarticulated.

Warigia Bowman contributed an article on The Kenya Private Sector Foundation ICT Board. She is a lecturer at Kabarak University in Nakuru, Kenya and at the same time completing her doctorate in public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. With her we look at how the private sector has spearheaded the efforts to push forward Kenya's ICT policy.

WDR: What is the status of the ICT policy in Kenya - has it been approved? Since when?

WB: Kenya published an ICT Policy document in March. This document incorporated comments from the public. However, this document does not have any legislative status. It does not have the force of law. Currently, the Kenyan Ministry of Information and Communications has circulated an ICT Bill. The Ministry is in the process of collecting comments on that bill. There is not a clear linkage between the bill and the policy.

WDR: For whom, in your opinion, is the policy made: general people, businesses, or other?

WB: The ICT Policymaking process has been an elite driven process. The main drivers have been the private sector, through a trade association called the Kenya ICT Federation (KIF), as well as civil society, through an organization called the Kenya ICT Network (Kictanet). To some extent, Kictanet represents social justice interests, by including representatives of open source organizations, gender activists and the youth. However, there is also a high level of private sector participation in Kictanet. Finally, the government is under to legal or regulatory obligation to consider the public's comments on the ICT policy in Kenya, which weakens the democratic implications of the policy.

WDR: Who really benefits now that the ICT policy is in place?

WB: The policy probably is good for the Kenyan economy. It stabilizes and clarifies the market to some extent for both large multinationals as well as for smaller technology focused businesses in Kenya.

WDR: Do you think it is a good policy, or not, and for what reason?

WB: The "policy" is fairly good, as it benefited enormously from public comment. The bill, however, does not match the policy, and fails to adequately address how rural connectivity will be achieved and paid for, and on what time frame. Also, the Kenyan telecommunications sector really suffers from a duopoly. Accordingly, Kenyan law needs to force a liberalization of the market to drive prices down for consumers. That is missing from the bill as it currently stands.

WDR: Do you think that Kenyan ICT Policy process is an example for the region?

WB: I would say that the Kenyan ICT policy process has been incremental yet "authentic." What I mean by that is that the policy process has been slow, and has proceeded in fits and starts. However, the policy process has been driven by Kenyan citizens, not donors, for the most part. By contrast, the ICT policy process in Rwanda has been largely donor directed. Only time will tell which is more effective, but I anticipate that the Kenyan process will have more buy in from local constituents. It has been an extremely positive development that the Kenyan government has considered public comments at all with regard to the policymaking process. This is a sign that democratic reform in Kenya is actually working and that the people's voice is increasing.

WDR: A policy is only one side of the coin. When the right regulatory mechanisms are not in place, there is a big chance of an unimplemented policy or a wrongly implemented policy. Does Kenya have a regulatory mechanisms in place to guide the implementation of the policy?

WB: Kenya has a very efficient and technically skilled regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya. This entity is one of the most independent of all government bodies in Kenya. However, there is not a dedicated regulator for "ICT" in Kenya. It has yet to be established. The current entity the National Communications Secretariat, housed inside of the Ministry of Information and Communications, is a relic of the 1998 Telecommunications Act. This entity has struggled with a culture of secrecy, which has made cooperation with more progressive entities such as the CCK and the Directorate of E-government housed inside the President's office.

WDR: You have monitored the process closely. Are there some final recommendations that you like to make?

WB: As Tim Waema of the University of Nairobi and I recommended in our article to the Ministry of Planning on this topic, Kenyan ICT needs institutional and organizational reorganization. At a minimum, the relationship between the Directorate of E-government, CCK, NCS, and the Ministry of Information must be clarified. CCK's powers need to be expanded to include ICT. In addition, Kenya could probably benefit from the establishment of an entity that would direct ICT Policy and Planning at the national level, as exists in Rwanda. It makes sense that such an entity would absorb or incorporate NCS and E-Government.  At a minimum, cultural change needs to take place inside of NCS to enhance cooperation with entities inside of government, as well as with the private sector and civil society outside of government. Finally, all government entities, especially those dealing with ICT, need to create a culture of transparency and accountability.