The proposed ICT law has sparked outrage with critics questioning its tough provisions on academic qualifications and moral standing for one to be registered as a practitioner in Kenya.
According to the ICT Practitioners Bill 2016, for one to be registered as an ICT practitioner, he or she must have at least a bachelor’s degree in an ICT-related field from a recognised university. Other requirements are a diploma from a recognised university in addition to fulfilling other academic aspects recognised by the ICT Practitioners Institute Council.
One must also satisfy the council that he/she is of good moral character and is a fit and proper person. On experience, the Bill proposes that one must have practised for three years to be registered. Also any ICT company must have technology expert as a shareholder.
Critics say this and other provisions would k**l talent and innovation among young people, which has been the secret behind Nairobi, and Kenya’s emergence as an ICT hub in the world and which the government has hitherto been supporting.
They term the proposed registration rules a paradox. A petition to President Uhuru Kenyatta on change.org also points out that the new provisions will mean licence fees, and other possible fines. Â “The youths are the ones who practice ICT. Most youths do so because they are jobless. This will obviously discourage any current or future practitioners,” it says.
The petition further notes the extra bureaucracies that would be created will most likely discourage youth from registering and possibly foster c********n. “Anyone who has worked in the ICT field knows that this is a free world of trade. These regulations are more likely to hinder youths progress than to help the industry,” it concludes.
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A hashtag #KillICTBill generated by bloggers led by Robert Alai is currently trending at number one in Kenya on Twitter overtaking one on Lionel Messi’s p****n sentence for t*********n.
Some of those who have expressed their voice include State House Digital Communications Director Dennis Itumbi, who notes talent is God-given. Nominated MP and TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja says had the regulations existed previously even the likes of the late Steve Jobs, a college dropout who founded technology giant Apple, would not have qualified.
