Blog Archives – Page 76 of 77 – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

17Jun

Call for Expression of Interest to participate in the Youth Fellowship to attend the 5th East African Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF)

admin June 17, 2012

The EAIGF was established to create a Community of Practice that will be a sustaining foundation for meaningful participation of East African stakeholders in Internet governance public policy debates at the national, regional and international level. The EAIGF model allows for the informed participation, contribution and engagement of community members through the sharing of experiences, information, addressing common problems and challenges, the creation of new knowledge and increasing local capacity.
Since its inception, EAIGF has continued to act as a catalyst for an inclusive information society in region and has to date addressed issues ranging from interconnection, IXPs, affordable access, Strengthening ccTLDs in East Africa, among others.
After four successful meetings, held in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda from 2008, the fifth EAIGF will be hosted by the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANET).
The EAIGF is now accepting applications from youth representatives to attend this year’s EAIGF to be held July 17 – 18, 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.
As an EAIGF Youth fellow, you are expected to contribute to the wider regional IG policy debate while providing valuable expertise and know‐how to the policymakers and decision makers who participate in IGF meetings.
The Fellowship Award
Youth Fellows to the EAIGF receive the following assistance:

a round‐trip, economy class airline ticket to attend the meeting
hotel accommodation for the duration of the meeting
a small stipend to offset incidental expenses

Expectations for the Fellows
Youth fellows are expected to:

prepare in advance to make a presentation on a selected topic of the EAIGF meeting
participate broadly in the EAIGF meeting agenda
contribute to the EAIGF blog
share the experience and knowledge gained at the EAIGF with their local communities when they return home (including writing a report on the activities)

Who should apply?
EAIGF youth fellowships are for Ugandans aged between 20‐30 who have a strong interest in the issues and themes of the EAIGF and have demonstrated interest in promoting Internet policy in Uganda.
Selection criteria
Selection for the fellowship is competitive. All applicants must:

be between the ages of 20 and 30
Present a strong motivation for attending the EAIGF meeting
Demonstrate an understanding of Internet Governance issues both at the local, regional and international environment.
Demonstrate experience in leading Internet governance discussions at the national/ regional/international level and in multi‐cultural environments

The selection committee will also attempt to achieve professional, geographical, and gender diversity in the overall selections.
How to apply
Send your expression of interest stating your motivation to attend the EAIGF, and how you meet the criteria above, to Lillian Nalwoga, at [email protected] CC [email protected] no later than Monday June 18, 2012.

12Jun

Citizens' Perceptions on Open Government Data in Uganda

admin June 12, 2012

In addition to the study assessing Uganda’s Open Government Readiness, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) assessed citizens’ perceptions on open governance.
Based on a questionnaire, the study established that in Uganda there is a high level of knowledge about open governance, as well as great expectations of the benefits which Open Governance Data (OGD) would bring. Amongst the benefits mentioned were raising accountability by duty bearers, minimising corruption, promoting transparency, encouraging citizen participation in governance, monitoring service delivery, and aiding private sector innovation.
However, concerns were raised about the potential for misrepresentations and misinformation, increase in violent demonstrations as backlash from disgruntled citizens and increased administration costs associated with preparing data for open access. These fears need to be managed by both the state and by civil actors advocating open governance, in order to convince both citizens and government that OGD is for the good of the country.
The study made clear indications of what departments/ ministries should open up their data as a priority, and also identified various forms of data that citizens need to have greater access to. Moreover, the study has shown that the level of openness in government departments is severely low, even though there are laws that call for openness, and despite having clear examples of how increased openness results into public good. Government therefore needs to show greater political will to become more open, and this will need to be manifested in bold actions rather than simple declarations.
Whereas the results are not representative of Ugandan’s perceptions on open governance, they show a critical mass for demand and usage of open government data. The study establishes a key reference point which government should build on to roll out OGD, and which civil society can use in advocating and raising awareness about open governance in Uganda.
The study was conducted in the context of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) Action Research Network, a project supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC).
Download the full report here.
See also assessment of open government data readiness in Uganda and Q&A with the research coordinator.

18May

Transition to Digital Broadcasting: Africa’s State of Unreadiness

admin May 18, 2012

By Ashnah Kalemera
With three years to the global deadline for shifting from analogue to digital broadcasting as set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), some African nations are falling worryingly behind schedule. Among countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda, there are variations in implementation progress, policy frameworks, service cost and offerings, funding availability, and consumer awareness.
The region’s regulators in April met in Kampala, Uganda to promote cooperation and share experiences so as to make the June 17, 2015 deadline. Organised by ITU, the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) and Uganda’s telecommunications regulator, the ‘Workshop and Frequency Coordination Meeting on the Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television and the Digital Dividend’ was held April 16–20, 2012. Participants were drawn from at least 19 countries, and included government officials, regulators, broadcasters and mobile operators.
Abdoulkarim Soumaila, the ATU secretary general, said digital migration was vital to the enhancement of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Africa because it would allow Africans to access quality radio, television, and broadband services.
Digital migration is the move from analogue to digital broadcasting. It provides for, among others, a variety of high quality audio and visual programmes, interactive services, supports new services such as high definition television, transmission of more content per channel, supports mobile/portable reception and ultimately releases frequency spectrum (“digital dividend”) for other uses, such as broadband provision after full switchover.
The transition requires the development of consumer devices known as set top boxes, and broadcasting and mobile telecommunication standards by key players. The key players are content providers, technical operators, signal distributors, and policy makers and regulators.
Country state of readiness reported at the workshop
Ghana
Ghana has more than 20 licensed terrestrial, satellite, and mobile broadcasters. The current analogue regime is faced with challenges of high industry management costs, poor infrastructure sharing and weak signal reception. Government and a digital broadcasting migration committee are spearheading the country’s strategy for transition to digital broadcasting. Working with other stakeholders, the committee is tasked with policy implementation, planning, budgeting, performance monitoring, and liaising with the public.
The proposed analogue switch off date is December 31, 2014. However, implementation is running four months behind schedule. Low public awareness, for one, could affect the uptake of services and lead to ‘panic’ in the run-up to the switch over deadline. There is also uncertainty about funding for implementation, and consumer incentives for the poor. Furthermore, no legal framework exists for analogue switch off.
Kenya
Migration started with government establishing, in 2007, a taskforce on digital migration hosted by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK). Soon after, a multi-stakeholder committee was set up to guide development of a migration plan.
The first broadcast signal distributor, Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation (KBC), was licensed in 2007 and its pilot digital broadcasting signal was launched in December 2009 in the capital Nairobi. KBC is expected to roll out digital services in eight other towns during 2012. A second broadcast signal distributor, Pan African Networks, was licensed in October 2011. It was expected to go on air in Nairobi in May 2012 and 12 other towns by the end of this year.
Consumer awareness campaigns on television and radio commenced in April 2012. With an original transition deadline date of June 2012, CCK anticipates 70% roll out coverage of the current viewing population by the end of 2012. Amongst the challenges faced are financial constraints – “the required funds are in direct competition with other government obligations such as emergency food supplies and the implementation of the new constitution,” said one government official. The lack of tax incentives or subsidies by government has also had an impact on consumer issues of set top box affordability and development of appropriate local content to populate the channels. The setting of a new transition deadline is subject to progress review at the end of this year.
South Africa
The South African Department of Communication gazetted the final Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy Amendment in February 2012. The set top box equipment standards are due to be finalised at the end of May 2012 and the first batch of boxes are to retail by September 2012. Digital services are due to be launched at the end of 2012 through to 2013. However, final analogue switch off – in line with the ITU resolution date – is yet to be announced. The precise date shall be determined in consultation with the cabinet and broadcasting industry.
The structure of South Africa’s proposed implementation plan is the division of the country’s provincial boundaries into “allotment areas” to allow for cost effectiveness and promote efficient and effective citizen uptake. The digital migration Policy Amendments has a provision for the establishment of the Digital Migration Office to project management of the transmission program.
Uganda
Uganda is faced with challenges similar to the other countries – funding, local content, affordability of set top boxes and lack of a regulatory framework. The government is yet to pronounce itself on a clear implementation plan. However, the work of the digital migration steering committee and digital taskforce in conjunction with the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is on-going.
The country has one licensed signal distributor, the Uganda Broadcasting Cooperation (UBC), and four pilot digital broadcasting projects are underway in three districts – Kampala, Jinja and Masaka. The projects are pay TV services with some free-to-air channels by firms not licensed as signal distributors. According to UCC, these investment firms will automatically qualify for signal distribution licensing in the near future.
Workshop recommendations

In order to achieve economies of scale and development of an African-wide market for digital television set-top boxes, hence minimum cost for this equipment, consideration be urgently given by African States to the possibility of harmonising the digital TV transmission and definition standard, at sub-regional or regional level.
The following timeline be adopted in order to meet the deadline specified by ITU for the cease of analogue transmissions. The dates indicated are the latest possible dates to meet this deadline and it is preferable that they be anticipated, where possible:

December 2012: adoption of a common digital TV standard at sub-regional or regional level in Africa.
June 2013: Finalisation of the establishment of national legislative and regulatory frameworks for the transition to digital TV and the allocation of the digital dividend.
June 2013: End of frequency planning activities (national and international) for the deployment of digital TV and analogue switch off.
September 2013: Start of deployment of digital TV.
June 2014: start of analogue switch off in the UHF band.
17 June 2015 : end of analog switch off in the UHF band

African states make available all necessary human, structural and financial resources to ensure that the above dates are met.
Concerning the information to consumers on set-top boxes, it was recommended that member states implement labeling of equipment which are compliant with the standards adopted to ensure that consumers are not mislead into purchasing non-compliant equipment.

14Nov

An East African Highlight from the Information Economy Report (IER) 2011: Mobile Money

admin November 14, 2011

By Ashnah Kalemera

According to data from the IER 2011, the 51 mobile money deployments in Africa as of April 2011 are creating new opportunities for small businesses to access financial services. The real time money transfers and payment transactions are enabling small enterprises to better manage their cash flow and speeding up the delivery of goods and services.

Furthermore, the platform through mobile phones is proving an incentive for lenders to process and administer small loans to small businesses at low costs. Traditionally, MSEs are poorly served and extended credit by lending institutions.

Musoni, a Micro Finance Institution (MFI) in Kenya, is cited as the world’s first MFI to rely entirely on mobile money for both disbursement and collection.

Also in Kenya, Orange Money, fourth in a market dominated by Safaricom’s M-PESA, is offering mobile money services in partnership with Equity Bank. Orange’s Iko-Pesa is linked directly to a bank account and allows consumers to load and send money, and to deposit it and withdraw it into/out of their Equity bank account. In addition, customers are able to apply for, process and receive loans, via their mobile phones.

IER 2011 stresses that mobile money systems can be further tailored to suit the needs of small businesses. The challenges of interoperability across different mobile operators, security, transaction limits and cross border transfers can be addressed by governments enacting appropriate legislation and regulations. Acknowledging that developed countries have limited experience in mobile money systems policy design and implementation, UNCTAD recommends dedicated research and a “test and learn” approach. This way, governments and their central banks could observe market developments and evolve their laws and policies.

03Nov

Here’s How Social Media Could Promote Democracy

admin November 3, 2011

By Ashnah Kalemera
Social media is fast becoming one of the major uses of the Internet. Wikis, blogs and other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have been added to the Internet as enablers for developing, storing and disseminating instant information to audiences of people in diverse locations at a fairly low cost.
Social networks could potentially be used for a broad range of participatory activities, such as demanding for public services like education and water, contacting leaders, political campaigns and discussions, and fighting corruption. They also could play a critical role in citizen engagement and advocacy, which have a major bearing on transparency and accountability in governance and the conduct of public affairs.
With growing numbers of Africans becoming internet users, monthly web information analysis by Alexa.com shows that there are a significant – and rising – number of users of social media on the continent. Facebook, a social networking platform that allows highly interactive processes, claims that it has 750 million users, half of whom log on daily with the average user having an estimated 130 friends.
In June this year, Alexa.com ranked Facebook the second most visited site in the world. The site was ranked the most popular for social networking in Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria and Sudan. In Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, South Africa and Uganda, Facebook was ranked the second most used website.
Twitter, another social networking and micro blogging service with instant dissemination of up to 140 character strokes, has also greatly attracted citizens and policy makers on the continent. Ranked the 9th most popular social networking website globally by Alexa.com, it was widely used by South Africans, Nigerians, Kenyans and Ugandans, taking 7th or 8th position of these countries’ internet traffic.
Overall, users of social networking sites form a network that provides a powerful means of sharing, organising, and finding content and contacts. Citizens, with the capacity to undertake independent analysis of issues, form opinions and influence others, and can leverage on social media for policy engagement. This engagement can be with other citizens as well as with their leaders. For instance, administration complaints can be made more easily by directing them to public institutions’ Facebook accounts or by mentioning them on Twitter.
For governance in particular, information flow through the smooth collaboration of information providers could help in overcoming various institutional problems such as graft. Citizens’ and governments’ use of social media platforms translates into becoming bound to one another through exposure to a common class of problems, pursuit of joint solutions and thereby embracing ‘change’. With more and more applications being developed by individuals and groups, social media stands to become even more interactive, far-reaching and viral.
However, most African governments have not taken significant steps toward making the use of social media and networks within administrations official and widespread. In fact, the policy environment remains un-conducive with most government Internet related regulations aimed at protecting political interests at the expense of enabling citizen participation.
Ultimately, the prospects and potential of social media remain anchored in the complexity that is the socio-economic, technological, political and cultural environment. Access to the internet, ability to effectively use diverse media tools, as well as time and security issues and citizens’ knowledge of how best to use the mediums, will determine how much civic participation, transparency and efficient public service delivery can thrive via the social mediums available.
Although social media networks are unlikely to replace traditional policy and governance processes in Africa, it is un-doubtable that they can effectively contribute to meaningful citizen motivation, sensitisation, education, mobilization and ultimately, influence. What is required is for governments to leverage on these technologies in service and information delivery.

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