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"id": 218256,
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"speaker_name": "Capt. Nakitare",
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"legal_name": "Davis Wafula Nakitare",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank hon. Weya for bringing this Bill to this House. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is now a necessity. It is not a luxury. In the recent past, people who owned television sets or computers were known to be people from a privileged class. That means that they had access to international information all to themselves. However, as years have gone by, Kenya is now moving from the past into the future and with various inventions, engineering has now come up with a science that has taken media performance into the future context. ICT, which is actually an underline, and when you look at the Media Bill, this is pretty much close to what the media is craving for. They are craving for an enabling position in which case they would also like to be performers or better doers in accordance with the universal requirements. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, e-commerce is all about electronics. There is nothing else, but electronic communication as opposed to what we had in the recent past where, for example, one would buy stamps over the counter and stick them on an envelope, seal in a letter and mail it. The letter would go at a snail speed to a counterpart in the next world, probably, after three weeks. Today, ICT has enabled communication to take only seconds. Within a few seconds, you can pass information all over the continent. So, this Motion calls for funding. It creates a sense of accessibility and it is not something that one would stop at the doorstep. We have to go out of our country to develop and communicate with other countries. We have information from remote areas, say, as far as Timboroa or Saboti Constituency. June 13, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1765 There are people in those areas who have never set foot in town. They do not even know what a radio is. This ICT is now penetrating areas like Lodwar and down to Vanga at the Coast Province. So, it is not something that we are going to hide because our children have now been born in the invention age. They are also looking at the complexities of the systems that they are using, for example, the calculators that have been allowed to be used in our national exams. That is ICT. The gameboy that is used to babysit children is electronic. It is a game that makes the child want to know what the next thing is or what the game is all about. So, this is a creation that this House must look at and approve because it is going to benefit those people tomorrow and in the future. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to a one-stop shop for making decisions, when you look at the licensing of businesses--- I came to Kenya with a computer in 1979 and I was subjected to go through various stages at the post office when it used to be called External Telecommunications. I could not get a frequency. Now, we have gone the satellite way and we use satellite communication. The Government has also acquired information and technology which is helping them to communicate faster. They are trying to create a cobweb which will enable communication in the offices. We are now talking of computerisation of all files in the Government registries. In the Judiciary, they want to go e-tec. In the Government registries, they also want to go e-tec. Now, if you want to clear your materials at the airport, you do not have to go there. Even at the port of entry in Mombasa, you can use a computer to clear your materials. This is internet communications. So, this is a viable Motion that hon. Weya has brought here. It is a wake up call for us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Motion is about the future of Kenya, which is still in the past. Kenya has now got to move from the past into the future to catch up with the international world. A lot has been talked about in comparison to countries that have gone a yard ahead. Why can we not have Kenya as an example to other countries instead of saying, \"Malayasia,\" as though Malayasia was born a long time ago? Malayasia's economy just turned the other day. Dubai is another area. The Government relaxed its muscles and let the people have a free flow of information and licences. It is a nuisance to have so many licences. If I want to have satellite communication, I have to go for an approval, or clearance, from more than five offices. I have to go to another company for a letter of \"no objection\", because there is no open market for this. But if I do not have the ability, if the Government cannot empower ICT firms, then a common man will not be able to get into the future, or will go into the future with a blind eye. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}