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{
    "id": 1052295,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1052295/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 296,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Gem, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Elisha Odhiambo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13340,
        "legal_name": "Elisha Ochieng Odhiambo",
        "slug": "elisha-ochieng-odhiambo"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2019, be now read a Second Time. By way of introduction, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), quality of service refers to the level of performance that a service provider provides to its subscribers. In telecommunications, this relates to the ability of the service provider to give reliable, accessible and easy-to-use services. The principal object of this Bill is to amend the Kenya Information and Communications Act (Cap 411A). These amendments will provide a regulatory framework for businesses that operate within the telecommunications sector. Consumers in Kenya, over the last several years, have had to accept the fact that the services they subscribe to are, sometimes, not satisfactory. There are instances when the network is inaccessible, making it impossible for Wanjiru to communicate with Awino; for Kariuki to communicate with Wanjau and for Mohamed or Duale to communicate with Elisha Odhiambo. Although the failures of quality of service by telecommunications service providers have somewhat been inadvertent, there is need to protect the consumer who bears the heavy cost of the inadequacies by putting in place legislative measures to ensure compliance with international best practice. There are many instances when Wanjiru wants to talk to Onyango and in the process of talking the phone is disconnected. Whether it is disconnected by a third party or by the inefficiency that exists in the infrastructure of the service provider, Wanjiru would wholesomely think that it is the service provider that has deliberately refused to provide a service equitable to the money she has paid. A majority of issues related to quality of service are related to call drops. The Bill seeks to introduce a new Section 34A to the Act to provide for compensation to a consumer who initiates a call that gets terminated after connection, at the rate of Kshs10 for each call drop. However, a service provider shall not be liable to compensate a consumer when the call gets terminated due to third party interference. The last several years have witnessed telecommunications service providers engaging in other businesses other than provision of telecommunications. Examples are money transfer services and credit facilities such as M-PESA, Airtel Money and M-Shwari . The current legislative framework does not address the issue of telecommunications service providers engaging in other businesses other than their core business as stipulated in the licence. By way of example, Safaricom, which is one of the dominant telecommunications service providers, operates mobile money transfer service under M-PESA, mobile money lending platforms, among them M-Shwari and Fuliza. In the first six months of 2019, Fuliza alone outpaced the loan book growth of any individual bank, surpassing issuance of the closest lender by 2.4 times. In just under nine months of operating the Safaricom Fuliza Overdraft Service, Kenyans have tapped up to Kshs140 billion. I must acknowledge that Fuliza and such other innovative solutions of lending products have enabled the Wanjiku, Chebet and Akinyi access financial services that they would otherwise, The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}