Browsing by Author "Kerretts, Monica"

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    At a crossroad: the GATS telecom framework and neo-patrimonial states:the politics of telecom reform in Kenya
    Kerretts, Monica; Keen, Susan
    The liberalisation of domestic telecommunication (telecom) markets has become a worldwide trend. As a result, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), evolving from deliberations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has been heralded as the mechanism with which to effect telecom liberalisation domestically. For countries in Africa, the GATS instruments have been translated as a means to establish the principles required for an effective telecom industry supported by key institutions in policy, regulation and implementation. However, the analysis of relevant literature on telecom in Africa has tended to focus on technological developments based on current observable outcomes. This methodology is inadequate because it fails to account for the context-specific nature of the policy arena and framework shaping telecom outcomes. I argue that we must consider telecom outcomes by understanding the nature of political institutions domestically and their interaction with the international arena. To explicate this intersection of ideas, I draw on two seemingly independent theories, Neopatrimonialism and New Institutional Economics (NIE) with reference to the works of van de Walle (2001) and North (1990) respectively, to shed light on the nature of the Kenyan political context and the value of the GATS as an instrument that facilitates credibility and reduces opportunistic ex-post behaviour. It is contended in this study, that for the Kenyan Government, the value of the GATS accession lies in the legitimising role that it facilitates in accessing funds from the international community. This study thus highlights the inevitable tension that arises when domestic policy-reform goals are juxtaposed with international trade obligations undertaken through treaty accession and informed by a liberalisation agenda. A qualitative approach was used to collect the data and involved interviews and documentary analysis. The findings suggest that Kenya is partially in compliance with its GATS telecom commitments. However, this partial reform results from patrimonial tendencies in Kenya and is exacerbated by the need to attract hard currency through aid packages that dictate the nature of the policy process and the relationship between Kenya and the international community. In conclusion, even with policy reforms, state agents always find ways to maintain or create clientelist practises. Unless such reform is accompanied by political changes that provide checks and balances on institutions and state agents, reform policies on their own will not create an effective telecom sector. To truly evaluate telecom reform therefore, we must appreciate the context-specific nature of policy making
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    Benchmark indicators for African national regulatory authority websites
    (Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network, ) Kerretts, Monica
    This survey of African national regulatory websites ranks the online component of information provision and facilitation of regulatory processes. This study follows a previous regional survey conducted in 2004-05 which examined the extent to which regulators were using websites to inform and communicate with the public – including consumers and citizens, the private sector, media actors and researchers and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. The benchmarking assessment documents the incidence of different aspects that are important for regulator’s web presence across the categories of basic information and responsiveness, factual information about the national telecom sector, consumer and citizen information including universal service and complaints procedures, business related information and forms, and information about the regulator and regulatory processes. A country’s inclusion into the assessment was contingent on the country having an independent authority* and the authority having a functioning website. Out of a total 54 countries in Africa, 30 had regulatory institutions that could be classified as independent with websites and 24 did not have websites. The countries were assessed by region (Central Africa, Eastern Africa, Island countries, Northern Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa). The benchmarking results show marked differences across countries and regions. Egypt received the highest score and performed well across all categories. Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa completed the top five category. Following closely are Uganda, Algeria, Senegal and Tanzania. These NRAs were considered to have had adequate content in support of users being informed and being able to participate in regulatory processes. The Island countries of Mauritius and Madagascar performed better across most of the regional categories. This was followed by the Northern African and the Eastern African region. Overall, the total African regional average was low with a benchmark indicating that national regulatory authority websites hover between static and emerging levels of information provision.
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    Benchmarking National Communications Regulatory Authority websites 2010
    (IDRC, ) Kerretts, Monica
    This paper provides an executive overview of the communications sector’s National Regulatory Authorities’ (NRAs’) website benchmark results for Africa in 2010, which were evaluated between March and April 2010. The analysis ranks the online component of information provision and facilitation of regulatory processes. This study follows previous regional surveys conducted in 2008 (Kerretts-Makau, 2009) and in 2004-05 (Mahan, 2004), which examined the extent to which regulators were using websites to inform and communicate with the public – including consumers and citizens, the private sector, media actors and researchers and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. The benchmarking assessment documents the incidence of different aspects that are important for a regulator’s web presence across the categories of basic information and responsiveness, factual information about the national telecom sector, consumer and citizen information including universal service and complaints procedures, business related information and forms, and information about the regulator and regulatory processes. The ranking of the elements is derived from the 2001 UN “Benchmarking E-government” report categories. Each ranking examined the information offered in terms of its being up-to-date and facilitating inclusive and informed regulatory processes. The ranking was based on qualitative evidence, but subjectivity was reduced by using the following defined categories rather than simply relying on perceptions. 1. Emerging: Only basic and largely static information is available. 2. Enhanced: Content and information is updated regularly, and information is available not only in its original format (such as acts and legislation) but is also explained and digested. 3. Interactive: Users can download forms, contact officials and make requests. Available information has further value added, such as being hyper-linked to relevant legislation. 4. Transactional: Users can submit forms online – for example to request information, or to submit a request for a license form. The sub-categories were classi!ed with each thematic element assigned a value from one to four based on the stages described above, with each category contributing to a !nal score. It should be noted that a value of zero (0) was used to indicate the lack of information or a service. As shall be seen throughout the Africa analysis !ndings, countries that had no data within a given category were ranked with a zero. Intermediate scores were also used to provide a more precise assessment. For example, if information was available but not completely up to date and lacked su"cient explanation it was recorded as a score of 1.5. Benchmarking implies that comparisons are undertaken between similar websites to identify good practices and to engender a sharing of strategies by which the functional pro!le of the websites may be enhanced, and informed regulatory processes may be facilitated. Because this is a rapidly evolving area, the primary focus of this methodology and this paper is the current state of the art, rather than progress over time. However, although the subcategories may be altered from one evaluation year to the next, the overall framework does allow individual regulatory agencies to access the evolution of their websites. A country’s inclusion into the assessment was contingent on the country having an independent authority1 and the authority having a functioning website. Out of a total of 54 countries in Africa, 30 had regulatory institutions that could be classi!ed as independent with websites, and 24 did not have websites and/or had websites that were not working as at April 8th 2010 and or were merged with the ministries. The benchmarking results show marked di#erences across countries and regions. While ranking per se was not the major focus of the analysis, it is tempting to rank the countries in terms of their overall achievement. Egypt received the highest score and performed well across all categories. Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa were ranked in the top !ve. Following closely are Uganda, Algeria, Senegal and Tanzania. The top ten NRAs were considered to have had adequate content in support of users being informed and being able to participate in regulatory processes. Towards Evidence-based ICT Policy and Regulation 1 1 The term independent is used loosely here to refer to an institution mandated as the regulator of the sector not also functioning in the dual role of a !xed mobile operator or mobile operator or ministry Overall, the total African regional average was low, with a benchmark of between one and two, indicating that national regulatory authority websites hover between static and emerging levels of information provision. Nonetheless, it is not necessarily the case that a value of four is the desirable value for a particular area of information provision. In some instances clear and up-to-date information that is well explained may be preferable to a complicated interactive site. In the same vein, use of Web 2.0 tools have not been speci!cally included in the assessment. However, this NRA survey ranks information provision in terms of increased interactivity and functionality, and hence websites with higher scores such as evidenced by countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt and Tunisia have more likely embraced Web 2.0 philosophies of interconnectedness and sharing of information, if not the actual tools themselves. In this regard, !ndings indicate that there is room for development of best practise around using Web 2.0 technologies on regulatory websites. Interactivity on NRA websites is usually centred around forms to request information or to submit requests, comments, etc. and hyperlinking within the site. The full data analysis is provided in another report. The following analysis provides a summarised overview of the performance of African regulatory websites within the benchmarking criteria. It should be noted that this analysis does not judge websites by their look and feel, rather the main aim of the analysis focuses on revealing best practise of what NRAs are doing within their websites. The analysis thus reveals the type of content provided and the ease of using or accessing the requisite information. Ranking, per se, is thus only a by-product of the exercise. It is hoped that this study will provide African regulators with an insight into what their users will most likely be looking for when searching through their websites. The study also highlights best practices that can be replicated.
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    ICT Regulation and Policy at a Crossroads: A Case Study of the Licensing Process in Kenya
    Kerretts, Monica
    Regulatory reforms in the telecommunications sector in Africa and the rest of the world have been necessitated by the convergence of information and communication technology industries. Given the relative newness of the sector in Africa, information and communication technology implementation problems persist. Research in the sector has tended to attribute implementation problems to technological issues. While not contesting this, this paper contends that information and communication technology implementation in Africa warrants a re-evaluation from the perspective of policy making processes. Drawing on two case studies, this paper critically examines the licensing policy option as documented in the Kenya Communications Act and as implemented by the regulator in Kenya. This analysis is situated within public policy frameworks that highlight the function of domestic institutions and patterns of politics as highly critical filters in policy making, thus influencing actor behaviour and impacting on implementation outcomes in the policy making processes. The findings are that policy making and information and communication technology implementation in Kenya are influenced by institutional/policy arrangements and the contextual forces of ideological, political, social and economic interests. This has significant implications for Kenya, particularly as the study reinforces the call for a critical examination of the policy actors and policy choices that govern information and communication technology regulation and implementation. The study findings also have implications for other African countries, in that the study questions the viability of such policy choices for creating information/knowledge societies in Africa. The analysis in this paper is based on document research and fieldwork, and forms part of a wider study on policy options and implementation processes as enacted through the regulation of the telecommunications sector in Kenya.