ICT law in sight?

It seems that the promise of an ICT law will spill to next year. This year had been touted as the year of the main breakthrough. But the response from Parliament is not very encouraging; the minister was not there to answer questions when the bill came up in Parliament.

The idea about having an ICT act started in 1993, and after a long 13-year wait, the ICT policy was approved by the Cabinet in 2006. Now, it is two years, and there is no indication that we are about to get an act.

It seems like the fiber-optic cables will become operational, with all manner of emerging issues, and we may not have a law to govern the various issues.

Yes, there is the existing municipal law, but there are some technology-specific issues that are not exactly covered under existing laws.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication has been saying that Kenya will have an act by end of the year, but it seems such promises should be left to the politicians.

At this rate, we will go to the next elections in 2012 and will still be talking about having an ICT law. And it will be the political promise: "I will ensure Kenya gets an ICT act in 90 days after I am elected."