The Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) sector is expected to have a new National ICT Policy in the next 30 days once a review of the 2006 policy is complete. ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru says the new policy will create an enabling environment that will allow a lot of ICT companies to list at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
“A lot of companies in this sector have come of age and it is time they joined the NSE as it will not only encourage growth but also help us understand the value of the sector. You can see how companies like Safaricom have performed. To date the share is still on demand. So I would encourage us all to take this route,” he said.
The CS noted that the move to have a new policy is as a result of tremendous changes in most in the ICT sector in terms of introduction and use of new technology that need to be regulated and manage them to avoid competition conflicts.
“The move to revise the 2006 National ICT Sector Policy Guidelines has been necessitated by rapidly growing technology and will guide the sector over a decade,” said CS Mucheru.
He added that the review process is in the final stage of stakeholders consultation before it is handed over to the Ministry for compiling and finally, to the Cabinet.
“The stakeholders are going to give us the final comment, and at the ministry we will go through it and compile it and it will be tabled at Cabinet. And then we will have a new policy. So we are expecting that to happen within the next, let’s say 14 to 30 days,” Mucheru said during the closing of the final stakeholders’ consultation forum in Nairobi.
Launched in March this year, the process of reviewing the policy was carried out through three sectoral groups, with the first one looking at the infrastructural issues, the other at devices, applications and content while the third sectoral group has been looking at how the policy will address new and emerging issues.
A draft document on the policy guidelines was developed in 2015, but upon extensive consultation, it was felt that it required further input aimed at providing a more inclusive document incorporating additional new and emerging issues within the ICT sector.
