Media left to fight it out on the KCA amendment bill

Earlier this year, there was talk in the ICT industry that the Kenya Communications Amendment bill needed further work. It was argued that there was still a chance that industry players would meet the parliamentary committee to discuss other issues.

Then the media finally woke when the bill was at the third reading stage in Parliament. They realized that the bill had clauses that gave the minister and the Communications Commission of Kenya the power to regulate electronic media content. By electronic, it is interpreted to mean broadcast media -- radio and TV.

The media raised a raft of other issues that they feel gives the government too much power to interfere in programing.

The government, through Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo, argued that there were stakeholder consultations and all that is the bill was agreed by the industry.

Now it seems everything else that the ICT industry wanted to be included has taken a back seat, as the media now hopes the president will not assent to the bill, given that it has gone through the fourth reading.

But the main question is: Is the larger ICT sector quiet because it does not want to be seen to be taking sides, or do they actually think that the government is acting fairly by regulating content?

Is the media the only issue that needs to be addressed in the bill or is the ICT sector waiting for their day to engage government over the issues?

The debate is highly polarized, with the media feeling that press freedom is at stake, while others feel that the public should be protected from the electronic media, which has taken a pornographic twist, making it hard for families to listen to certain radio stations.

The attack on perceived government-hostile media houses has proved that the government will be more than happy to invoke the clauses, even for political gains.

But again, I am a journalist, and soon, my online forum may be the subject of debate, whether it promotes morality or not, which in this case, will be left to the minister and other technocrats to interpret.