Let’s aspire to make ICT access a legal right

The release of the Draft Constitution by the Committee of Experts early last week has generated substantial murmurs in my industry.

Catching the attention of an industry that in normal cases would be hard pressed to notice anything that is not binary in nature, underlines the importance of this document.

I would like from the outset to confirm that I have read the 197-page document and take this opportunity to congratulate the committee for what I consider a job well-done.

However, and as stated by the chair of the committee, this document is still in its draft form and subject to input from us all.

In the last decade, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have impacted society in an unprecedented way.

We see ICT all around us, at our work place and at home.

And that is why in 2003, ITU organised the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to draw up a master-plan that would see a systematic and inclusive development of ICT as an enabler to better the lives of citizens of the world — a constitution of sorts.

Later in 2005, the WSIS declaration of principles signed by all members of the United Nations stated among others the “common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilise and share information and knowledge”.

ICTs have the potential to help the country reach key development goals as stated in the Vision 2030 and as agreed upon in the United Nations Millennium Summit: reduced poverty, improved education and healthcare, enhanced empowerment, and greater protection of environmental resources.

One can then trace the increasing importance of ICT in the modern society and this is where my industry is coming from when they complain quietly of lack of recognition of ICT as a key contributor to the prosperous future of this country as envisaged by the draft constitution.

That is why we have the 30 days to debate, deliberate and input this rare historic activity.

So here is my attempt to articulate the vision of a digital Kenya enshrined in the constitution.

Emerging evidence indicates that ICTs are central to the creation of a knowledge-based economy and can play an important role in accelerating growth, promoting sustainable development and creating wealth, this in turn increases the county’s global competitiveness.

We should aspire to provide access to ICT infrastructure to all Kenyans, and this be a provision in chapter six - the Bill of Rights - of the draft constitution.

Ambitious? Yes, ambitious, but that is how constitutions are supposed to be. Finland declared that broadband Internet access is a legal right.