It's a catch-up-or-perish race for technology progress

By Humphrey Odhiambo, Mon March 25, 2004

"Having lagged behind in technology for decades, Kenya is now trying to catch up with IT pioneers by closing its digital-divide gap. As the country grapples with challenges of creating opportunities for economic growth, it has to narrow the gap between the haves and the have-nots. It is imperative, therefore, that effective utilisation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives is encouraged through a national e-strategy framework. The changing role of the Government in the era of telecom deregulation and rapid emergence of converging technologies in the late 1980s and the early 1990s saw Kenya adopt an autonomous regulatory model in 1997.

Subsequently, the Government launched the Telecommunications and Postal Sector Policy Statement, which facilitated enactment of the Communications Act. The legislation, described by industry stakeholders as a forward thinking legal framework, removes monopolies and duopolies in the sector, and creates an opportunity that integrates Kenya into the global economy. By 2006, almost half of the work force in developed countries will secure employment in industries that are either producers or intensive users of ICT. With a paltry 0.19 digital access index, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) places Kenya among countries with low access economies. The low digitisation arises from insufficient infrastructure, unaffordable pricing of ICT facilities and services, high illiteracy level and the slow pace at which the Government is digitising its service utilities.

Mr Sammy Buruchara, the Telecommunications Service Provider's Association of Kenya (TESPOK) chairman, says the country still lags behind in the transition to an Information-based economy. "The country has experienced partial liberalisation in the communications landscape and we believe that for ICT to thrive and speedily improve the economy, full liberalisation of the telecommunications market is inevitable." The country's digitisation gap has widened as it can barely meet the demands of globalisation set out by developing countries. Locally, people experience a divide in universal access, human resource development, foreign and local direct investments and socio-economic development, which the telecommunications sector has dubbed the "Digital divide." Among the setbacks, Buruchara argues, is the Government's move to grant Telkom Kenya a monopoly status until June on crucial market segments. "The country has since been on a catch-up game on areas that it would have otherwise opened for competition and hence achieve economic prosperity," he asserts.

The launch of a policy framework that suits the current communication trends is, according to National Communications Secretariat, on course. However, Mr Brian Longwe, chief technical officer of the Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP), says impending implementation of the sector reforms is rather slow. He outlines the framework that the country's digital divide provides, saying the current trends in global communication tend to converge toward the empowerment of people, contributing to the establishment of a new world, which is exclusive and elite-oriented. Kenya, he emphasises, must begin to view the development of ICT infrastructure as a mechanism that not only develops its own economy but also catalyses regional development. At the moment, the country is experiencing a disparity of distribution of communication services since demand has far outweighed supply.

To optimise availability of efficient, reliable and affordable communication services, Kenya plans to improve the country's teledensity by 2015 as follows: Rural areas - With anticipated 1.5 million lines, teledensity to increase from 0.16 to five lines per 100 people. Urban areas - With anticipated 2.4 million lines, teledensity to increase from four to 20 lines per 100 people. The amount estimated to be spent in this major investment stands at $5.85 billion within 15 years. This translates into an annual investment of $390 million. Owing to the Government's lack of sufficient resources to stimulate economic growth, the involvement of private sector participation (PSP) has become necessary. The Communications Commission of Kenya and Canada-based IDRC are conducting a study that ultimately aims to address ICT-density gaps. Although in the 2003/4 Budget the Government recognised the importance of the ICT sector in economic development - by zero-rating taxes on computer equipment and accessories - its effort to foster ICT growth left out the telecommunication aspect in the tax cuts - Tax on telecommunication equipment is still 25 per cent. Coping with the challenge of globalisation and digital divide depends on the readiness to grow. Kenya has a tall order in its catch-up race to enable citizens to fully enjoy ICT development as happens in countries that have blazed the trail.

As the market is freed, it is the consumer who will have the last laugh By Jared Oluoch

Reports that five firms have been short-listed in the search for a fixed line telephone service provider to rival Telkom Kenya are refreshing. The stage is now set for a duopoly in the business, which will lower the cost of internet services as the firms will be competing to offer quality services at low costs. Statistics show that only an average of 500,000 Kenyans have access to internet services annually. This paints a grim picture in a country that hopes to achieve tremendous techno-industrial growth in the near future. Other recent reports point at attempts by rich Western countries to snub a brilliant initiative to bridge the ICT gap between Africa and developing countries. The US and its developed partners are said to have shot down the Digital Solidarity Fund, a pool of African countries seeking contributions from the developed world to roll out cheap computers and communication networks across the continent. As the race for ICT advancement gains momentum, it would be in order for Kenya to scout for homegrown solutions to stay on the right course in the global economy.

Today, many young Kenyans flock to cyber caf"s to read newspapers online, sending mail or downloading literature because few people can afford the services at home. Botswana, whose economic achievements are a far cry from Kenya's, is arguably the only African country with a surplus budget. Its roots of success could well be traced to the heavy investment in its ICT policy. That no less a person than Vice-President Moody Awori headed Kenya's delegation to the recent World Conference on ICT in Geneva shows the Government's commitment to enhancing the field. And that the Kenya Pipeline Company received an award for its improved ICT policy is good news for Kenya. It is imperative that a fully-fledged ministry of ICT be established and allocated a budget. Currently, this sub-sector is tucked in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Although there exists an office of the Director of Information Technology, it does not have the financial wherewithal and expertise to deliver. As we toy with the idea of attending the next conference in Tunisia in 2005, let us put in place measures that will ensure that by then, middle income families will be able to install internet services in their homes. The enthusiasm with which Kenyans in online discussion forums debate matters of ICT in general, and fibre optic cables in particular, should be encouraged. *The writer is an IT student.

Better safe than sorry; set up back up system for your data, By Catherine Gitahi

Fire accidents are shocking, devastating and merciless. They reduce treasured belongings to ashes, and full recovery is, most times, impossible. One of man's most prized assets is information. Whenever files, books and computers are razed by fire, the corollary is unbearable - invaluable information lost. People, therefore, should find ways of storing information in such a way that in the event of a catastrophe, vital data can be easily retrieved to ensure continuity. In this age of technological advancement, it only makes sense to set up a computer back up for vital data, say for a company. Disasters occur all the time, whether natural or man-made. Unexpected tragedies are less likely to shake businesses that have effective disaster-preparedness arrangements in place. One of the major concerns shared by businesses is the amount of paper generated in the course of transacting business. Companies are finding that they have to double their storage capacities every six months to a year.

Whether your concern is streamlining business operations for a more robust bottom line or improving efficiency, paper-filing systems pose a significant business challenge. When all the data your company needs to do business comes in the form of millions of pieces of paper, finding ways to store them becomes a nightmare. Various companies offer technologies to create back-ups for corporate information stores. Records and Archives Management Systems is one of such firms. Using Document Imaging/Digital Technology, the firm ensures that corporate records are reproduced and their copies stowed away. Document imaging refers to a computerised environment that permits the creation, capture, organisation, storage, retrieval, manipulation, and controlled circulation of documents in an electronic format. The system enables a user to create and manage electronic documents that can be viewed, searched, shared and printed from virtually any computer or printer while ensuring pages retain their form and specifications. It involves conversion of paper documents into electronic images on your computer through scanning. Documents are then backed up/stored on the hard- drive, optical disk, magnetic tapes, DVD or CD and stored in remote locations.

Whenever a scanned document is needed, retrieval is fast and easy. Effective document imaging reduces paper documents in an office by a whooping 85 per cent. Another technology for document imaging for long-term storage is microfilming - a digital archiving method involving transfer of scanned images to rolls of microfilm. It is the best method currently available for the long-term preservation of high value records or which have a retention period of more than 20 years. Archival quality microfilm has an expected life span of 500 years. Microfilming allows copies of records to be stored in several locations. Another storage method is the hybrid system, which use of both technologies - Digital and Microfilm - by taking full advantage of their strengths to increase efficiency. For firms that have a huge backlog of inactive records, microfilming is the best method for long-term preservation. Information preserved this way will be easily accessible due to current technology to scan microfilm images into digital format to make it possible to view on a computer, print or distribute via internet.

Document imaging revolutionises information archival and provides the means to rapidly find, retrieve and share all documents in an organisation. A recent study revealed that more than 50 per cent of businesses that lose data in disasters bow out of business two years after the tragedy. Yet many, if not most, business owners fail to protect their resource properly, as a cost-cutting measure.

Kenya strives to join ITC pacesetters, By Marcel Werner

Countries in the West have made tremendous strides in ITC advancement, and this has made life easy and enjoyable. Things work quite smoothly, so there is less cause for people to get up and make enquiries from, say, the water company, your wholesaler or local clinic. In these countries, people are on the World Wide Web. They toss emails and documents to each other, within and across companies and across the globe. And, increasingly, people buy things on the web, like holidays and books. Business information is available online and ordering goods and services takes place online, too. When people visit, it is not to sort out a routine transaction but to talk about, for instance, collaboration. This pushes productivity up. This trend is beginning to show in Kenya as well. We are in a race with the rest of the world. Which are the countries we are looking up to? Perhaps not the largest economy in the world, but more likely an emerging one like Malaysia or a developed one with a large rural base such as Australia, as well as our two neighbours Tanzania and Uganda. In Australia, 85 per cent of all businesses have computers, 75 per cent use the Internet and 25 per cent have an Internet presence, that is a website for promotion and sales. In Kenya, these numbers are 6.5 per cent, one per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.

Let us also look at our communication infrastructure. Mobile calls are very expensive in Kenya compared to Uganda and Malaysia. The benchmark price for a call is Sh28, Sh16 and Sh6, respectively. Landline call rates are about five times higher in East Africa than in Malaysia or Australia. Local calls are essential for the majority of our Internet users, but are expensive in Kenya. Other countries like Uganda and even Malawi have introduced a nationwide local telephone number for Internet access. This works out economically for upcountry surfers. Dial-up Internet subscriptions cost anywhere between $15 (Sh1,140) and $30 (Sh2,280) per month across East Africa and in some advanced economies. However, the quality at our end cannot compare with what happens elsewhere. Many of us often lose a business day due to Internet problems. To get a wider perspective, we should add electrical energy as an Information and Communication Technology- (ICT) related cost: One kwh in South Africa is Sh3.28, while it is almost three times higher in Kenya at Sh8.55. Since our power is not free from outages, we have installed generators and inverters.

Over the years, we have been rating countries on the basis of teledensity - the number of telephone lines per 100 people. As policy makers continue to repeat teledensity ranks, today, we have a better rating yardstick with the Digital Access Indicator (DAI), a tool also introduced by the International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations. The DAI is a technical, market and social set of indicators and looks at four categories: teledensity, bandwidth availability, education enrolment and prices for communication services. It is a useful performance rating and the Kenya ICT Federation (KIF), the ICT sector of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, uses it to track progress and keep policy makers and service providers on their toes.

Cabinet ministers must know Kenya's DAI rating - you cannot manage what you do not measure. The US and South Africa are interesting because their rankings are dropping, albeit slightly. South Korea shows off as a high performer, mainly because of its highly focused national industrialisation strategy. Estonia is amazing. This small northern European country has sprung up the information society ladder within a very short time. Now it boasts 33 per cent of the population using Internet and 20 per cent practising Internet banking. Further penetration of the Internet in Estonia is being hindered by the slow rollout of the national phone network, even though the people are ready. If we look at where Kenya stood five years ago on the teledensity scale and today on the DAI scale, we do not see jumps like some Asian or former socialist economies have made. What is so different in other countries that they perform better? First, they have national policies and strategies.

The Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia is a business zone with top-of-the-bill communication facilities developed with government support. It has a total outgoing bandwidth of nearly 30 Gigabit/second (Kenya has less than 1 Gbps). Two things are behind this: high investment in education and a liberalised communication services sector. Kenya is less competitive in this sector because of the small size of its market and restrictive market access regulations. There is only one reason why communication services are cheaper and more widely available in Uganda: open competition in the market. Kenya has one monopoly gateway to the global Internet called JamboNet, which is operated by Telkom Kenya. This service is not cheap and struggles with surging demand.

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) imposes a levy of 0.5 per cent on gross revenue of all communications companies. This is a hefty burden on profitability. CCK market access regulations for providing data services are restrictive, thus reducing competition and pushing up consumer prices. This shows that the cost of doing business in Kenya is high. It will not be resolved by a few measures here and there, but by a solid national strategy in which ICT has its place.

Many gains, but bigger challenges on the way, By Katherine Getaos

Many years ago the film Love Brewed in the African Pot took Kenya by storm. Audiences around the country joined long queues to watch it. Prior to this film, popular wisdom had it that the film industry was the preserve of the West and the East. In the film sphere, as in so many other domains, Africa had been relegated to the role of audience to what the rest of the world produced. However, suddenly, Kenyans caught a whiff of what an African film industry could create and they responded with a determination to participate. Twenty years later, Kenyans have glimpsed another possibility.

Even without fully understanding Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Kenyans have caught a whiff of its possibilities to change lives and help achieve aspirations. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in the large investment that Kenyans across the country are making in ICT education. Even in the smaller trading centres one can always see a banner in an upstairs window on the town commercial building announcing "Computer Packages." This is to say nothing of the wildfire-style spread of mobile phones across the country.

Despite ICT's complexities, it is conceived, built and made by human beings. Its primary purpose is to serve the interests of human kind. With its multipurpose capacity, it comes nearer than any other technology to being a perfect "people technology." For ICT to meet its aspirations, it must grapple with the people (human resource), the ontology (knowledge) and technology issues, giving rise to the acronym POT. ICT literacy is just the basic (user) level. For proper functioning we need technologists, engineers, managers and educators as well. There is a lot of good news when it comes to ICT people in Kenya. First, there is a great deal of computer awareness, at least within the urban population. Secondly, we have a large number of trained users and a substantial number of trained technologists and engineers.

We also have several diploma and degree programmes in ICT. To harness this slight edge, we require an ICT human resource strategy that will, among other things, measure and locate our existing human resources, define their capacities, define our needs and spell out the way forward. We also need to ensure that our education system is geared towards build on our existing strengths in the following ways: 20,000 certificate holders 5,000 diploma holders 1,000 first degree holders 800 postgraduates 15 PhD holders First, we need to invest in ICT teacher training. Without adequate quality ICT teachers, ICT education will be handicapped. Secondly, we need to strengthen mathematics, science and language education at the basic education level. Without strong mathematical and language foundations, ICT educators would be building skyscrapers on sand. Thirdly, we need to define capacities and set standards to various concepts like computer literacy, programmer, systems analyst or even web designer.

A blueprint for ICT education in Kenya is overdue. It took two decades for the promise of Love Brewed in the African Pot to be realised. By taking simple actions to prepare and harness Kenyan human resources for the ICT revolution, we can ensure that we begin to reap the fruits of ICT success long before 2020. The Office of the President has released a master plan for e-government in Kenya. All ministries and government divisions are affected. Will Kenyans be able to build the required e-government engines? *Dr Katherine W. Getao is the director, School of Computing and Informatics, University of Nairobi."