News

Kenya Yet to Fully Address Internet Governance Issues

By Rebecca Wanjiku

October 16, 2008 — IDG News Service —

Kenya has yet to fully address its legal, infrastructure, access, content and security issues, according to a report released Tuesday at the Kenya Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

There are gaps in policy and legislative drafting and the general development of regulatory framework as it relates to e-commerce, said Mwende Njiraini, a telecommunications engineer who co-authored the report with John Walubengo, a security expert.

Njiraini and Walubengo presented their report, "Online Deliberations on Internet Governance," at the meeting in Nairobi after two weeks of online discussions with ICT sector representatives.

The report identifies Kenya's position in relation to issues addressed by the KICTANet mailing list discussions, which took place online in August as a precursor to the IGF. These issues will be raised again at the East Africa IGF meeting in November and the international IGF meeting in India in December.

On security, the report recommends national or regional certification for Internet security experts who handle corporate security issues. Currently, certification is handled by international bodies.

It also suggests that ISPs (Internet service providers) be generous in allocating IP (Internet Protocol) space. Organizations like Google monitor Internet points, and the IPs determine the level of reported Internet penetration, the report noted.

Njiraini added that there is a need to address multilingualism and the use of local languages on the Internet, as well as rural access to wireless technologies.

"Kenya has 2.5 million Internet users, and we would like to see constructive use of the Internet and engagement of stakeholders to better address the industry," said Charles Njoroge, director general of the Communications Commission of Kenya.

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