The public perceptions on ICTs can be termed to be robust and welcoming. A good example of this is the way the public received the mobile phones. After years of lackadaisical service from Telkom Kenya (then Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation – KP&TC) the public welcomed with both hands the liberalization of the mobile telephony. The same thing happened when the radio and TV airwaves and frequencies were opened to other players. In short the public cannot be blamed for not participating on the current Draft National ICT Policy. Members of the public are not all that ignorant on ICTs as the popular notion goes. No one has cared to educate them on the need for the inclusion of their views in the National ICT Policy.

Again, the little that is contained in the draft policy has not been made public either. The much the government has done is to put the downloadable draft in the virtual village (Internet). This is appealing to those with access to the Internet. According to the draft itself, which has the latest statistics on the Kenyan ICT sector, only one million Kenyans have access to the Internet. In a population of more than 30 million, this simply means that the views of 29 million Kenyans will not be taken into account. Reason they cannot comment on the Draft Kenya National ICT Policy as they have no access to the Internet. This is wrong.

This is different as compared to other issues that are considered to be of intrinsic value to the public. The National Land Policy Formulation Process (NLPFP) which will lead up to a National Land Policy is well known. Since early last year the Ministry of Lands and Housing which steers the land policy together with stakeholders on land matters have charted a clear course for their boat and traveled the width and breadth that is Kenya seeking for views from the public on what should be in the National Land Policy.

It is the same story when we talk of the yet to be finalized new constitution (Bomas Draft). These two are well known because the concerned civil societies and the government included have been extremely vocal about the veracity of an all-inclusive and mutually agreed National Land policy and new constitution. Put simply, the public who will be the consumers of the dictates of the policies have a major stake in anything that will affect their lives.
The same cannot be said of the Draft National ICT Policy.

Why then is there apathy on the Draft National ICT policy? Is it because the public has been excluded? Has the media conspired to deny the public their rightful share of information on ICTs? Does this mean that ICTs are not ‘juicy’ to make it to the front page? Are the citizenry too ignorant to contribute on ‘complex’ ICT issues?
These cannot be further from the truth. Right from the word go the ministry in charge decided to play solo on this issue. After encountering some noise from civil society stakeholders, the ministry decided to include them. Apparently after securing seats in the high-table the civil society organizations also decided to overlook the masses and play ball with the government. The Draft national ICT Policy has been reduced to a ‘conclave’ discussion issue between the government and a select few civil societies. The public who will ultimately be guided by the contents contained in the policy are rudely unnoticed in the whole process.

In other words no one cares what the public has to say. At the moment the Kenyan radio, which covers some 90%, has largely been ignored in educating the public on ICTs issues. The same has happened to TV stations. The Draft Kenya National ICT Policy notes:
“Urban areas in the country, especially major towns, enjoy better ICT access compared to the rural areas. In the area of fixed telephone service, for instance, Nairobi and Mombasa account for over 60% of the installed telephone exchange capacity. There were approximately 11,500 public phones installed throughout the country in the year 2003.
“Approximately 1 million inhabitants are estimated to have access to the Internet. This figure is due to increase significantly with the on-going provision of public tele-info centres in all post offices in the country and investments by the private sector.

“Although electronic media services have experienced rapid growth over the last 8 years, it is estimated that 60% of the population have access to television and 90% have access to radio services. In terms of geographic coverage, the radio and television coverage by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation are 90% and 50% of the Kenyan land mass respectively.”

The latest Steadman & Associates survey findings indicate that Citizen Radio is the leading in both rural and urban listenership. It is a known fact that the rural masses and the urban poor have little access to the Internet, and fixed telephony not so for the radio.

Ironically the ministry in charge of communications (read ICTs) is the same parent ministry in charge of the state broadcaster the KBC. Why these avenues, which could encourage the masses to contribute on the draft policy, have been ignored is still a wonder.

With this state of affairs it is clear that a select group of persons in connivance with the ministry’s top officials have something to hide. Are we then seeing the emergence of a “Communications Mafia” or is it plain ignorance on the part of policy makers?

Apart from having the Draft national ICT Policy in the Internet, the only other time the Ministry made an effort to publicize and invite comments on the policy was in February. The Ministry then through the Permanent Secretary, James Rege posted an advert in all the English dailies in the country soliciting for views from the public on the Draft national ICT Policy. Surprisingly, the national language Swahili has been reduced to a mere footnote in all these, yet it is a well-known fact that a majority of Kenyans speak Swahili. Surprisingly the draft policy has not been translated into the national language, yet the ministry has been vocal on “local content”.

The Draft national ICT Policy further rightfully reckons:

“The broad challenge facing the country is to harness the potential of information and communications technology to eradicate poverty, support universal primary education, improve maternal health, combat diseases, maximize agricultural production, ensure food security, promote trade and industry, ensure environmental sustainability, develop global partnerships for national development, and incorporate ICTs in the mainstream development policy of the country.”
In other words the policy recognizes the importance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the role ICTs will play in meeting them. However the main pushers of the policy are closing their eyes to the citizenry who are the core of the MDGs. The input of the citizens is disregarded outrightly.
The government and the ICT civil societies have all failed Kenyans. The Draft national ICT Policy is not an elite affair, as they want us to believe. This is a daylight naked betrayal of trust.

The world is moving towards an all-inclusive knowledge and information society. The Kenyan ICT stewards are doing the exact opposite. Do they want an “exclusive-ignorant and uninformed society”? Banish the secrecy and let Kenyans have their say. That is the spirit of a knowledge society.

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