The Cabinet Secretary for ICT, via the Ministry of Information Communication and Digital Economy, proposed the Information and Communications Technology Authority Bill, 2024 which aims to establish the Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA). The bill details extensive measures to improve the security, efficiency, and integration of ICT services throughout the public sector and the wider economy.
ICTA will - if the bill passes - be a statutory entity, superseding the existing ICT Authority. The authority’s goal is to improve the delivery, security, efficiency, and integration of ICT services in the public sector.
The bill also aims to promote secure, efficient, and effective ICT resources. It also seeks to standardise the ICT sector by ensuring the provision of secure, proficient, and high-performing ICT services and infrastructure. The bill is founded on principles that focus on inclusive access, cost-effectiveness, encouraging innovation, and ensuring that ICT infrastructure and services are flexible, adaptable, and interoperable.
So, what will be the functions of the ICTA as inscribed in the bill? Here they are:
- Designing, implementing, and managing national ICT infrastructure.
- Formulating and enforcing ICT codes and standards.
- Promoting digital literacy and ICT skill development.
- Accrediting ICT service providers.
- Implementing security measures and monitoring potential cybersecurity threats.
And what are the bill’s possible impacts you ask? Well here they are:
Possible Impacts to the Tech Job Sector
This authority will register and licence ICT practitioners and service providers operating within the country. An annual fee will be required for licence renewal, and only those licenced will be permitted to operate in the industry. The accreditation process will categorise practitioners according to qualifications and skills. ICT service providers will also need to have experience in a specific category of work and the ICT resources needed for the said category. Licensing and categorising practitioners impedes the dynamism aspect of ICT, this is a sector which can be picked up by individuals not trained in a formal setting.
Furthermore, ICT professionals are flexible and fluid, in that they have many fields of practice, and can hop from one field to another, ie, from programming to database management or network engineering. Thus accreditation stunts the industry, and categorisation prevents individuals from trying out new technologies, which grows the industry.
The bill moves to weed out practitioners who do not meet the minimum qualifications to be licensed, reducing the number of individuals willing to try out this field. As much as the bill might promote efficient service delivery, this goal is outweighed by its disadvantages.
The effect of the bill on startups will be observed to be significant. It is important to note that the sentiments of the government toward the creation of innovations as well as entrepreneurship are noble (or is it?). Given that provisions of the bill are more in a way that is appropriate for registered tech companies rather than fresh startup companies - the requirement of a startup to be ‘the holder or licensee of a registered patent or software’ - to qualify for registration creates the impression of expecting a toddler to run a marathon.
Possible Impacts to Future Graduates
Young geeks, graduates as well as wannabes, might be denied the chance to try out this field in terms of practice.
It is worth noting that the bill has been tabled in yesteryears and failed, notably in 2020 where the current “minimum qualifications” requirement for licensing was intended to be a university degree, edging out many of the practitioners who have but experience and youtube-versity accreditation. Also, Bill 2024 fails to explain what or who legally constitutes an ICT practitioner as well as what is an ICT service, providing a grey area
Conclusion
The Kenyan ICT Authority Bill 2024 proposed by the Kenyan Government is both a boon and bane for the spectacular innovation hub. On the one hand, the bill seeks to regulate the ICT sector and make compliance with national laws and regulations However, the introduction of mandatory operational licences for ICT operators can distort the cost structure of doing business and thus impose a burden on the consumers This narrowly translates to a check on the development of ICT industry and technology access to some Kenyan citizens.
Practitioners in the ICT industry raised a public outcry after the Finance Bill was brought to the public raising concerns of dubious taxes and levies and limiting resources for the foreseeable future. Recently, an Addendum from the Ministry of Information, Communications & The Digital Economy was posted on MyGov weekly newspaper indicating that the bill is on the steps to becoming law.
(This is the addendum)
