Kenyan regulator disbanded

Johannesburg, 11 Mar 2005

In an unprecedented step, which has had industry bodies questioning its legality, the Kenyan government has dissolved the nation`s regulator.

According to Joseph Mucheru, chairman of the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya, the decision to disband the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and relieve the director-general (DG) of his duties has thrown the entire industry into disarray.

"This is a day that will go down in history as one of the darkest in both Kenya`s and Africa`s communications sectors," says Mucheru.

"The actions taken by government can only be seen as intrusive, obstructive, short-sighted and diversionary, coming in the midst of the ongoing liberalisation of the sector and the convergence of technologies that are presenting regulators worldwide with unforeseen challenges."

He says it is his association`s contention, on behalf of the industry, that this was a hurried, unplanned and poorly thought out action, particularly as ongoing disputes within the sector demand a stable, objective and levelheaded regulator.

"Besides this, the former DG is the current chairman of the International Telecommunications Union Council, which oversees telecommunications worldwide," he says.

"This is due to recognition by the international community of the CCK`s efforts to reform Kenya`s regulatory environment from one of the worst in the world to its current status, where it is being emulated by countries such as SA because of its progressive regulations."

Mucheru claims that not only can no further licences be issued or disputes settled, but even more worrying is the fact that an acting DG has been appointed from a ministerial department, raising questions as to the government`s sincerity in providing for an independent regulator.

"It is our understanding that the position of DG has tenure of office under the Communications Act of 1998 and his removal from active duty without any explanation begs the question as to whether the government really respects the law," he says.

"We hereby express our outrage at the way in which this matter has been handled and demand an immediate explanation from the government regarding its actions and its plans to restore confidence and stability in the communications sector in the shortest time possible."

Local view

According to William Stucke, chairman of the African ISP Association (AfrISPA), there has been little mentioned about the whole affair, although it appears the communications minister has been summoned to Parliament next week to explain himself.

"Personally, I`m wondering whether the fact that the CCK last week overturned a government decision regarding the awarding of the third cellular licence to Econet Wireless did not get up their noses, although that is still no reason to do what they have done," he says.

"What really worries me is that other African governments may see this as acceptable behaviour - if they don`t like what the regulator does, they`ll just disband them, which is particularly worrying when one considers that 80% of the digital divide is caused by African governments."

He says another huge worry is the fact that investments in Africa as a whole may suffer, rather than only in Kenya, as the outside world often forgets that there are over 50 countries in Africa, and often sees the continent as a single nation.

"I am really afraid that SA may get tarred with the same brush as Kenya, and their decision to disband the CCK makes us all look like a bunch of banana republics," says Stucke.

"The real issue is that Africa as a whole has its reputation brought into disrepute both through the bad governance of African authorities and thanks to the fact that the rest of the world is ignorant of geography."