The Computer Society of Kenya

Since 1986

Public schools unprepared for laptops as launch date approaches this term

DnLAPTOPs1204rdpxDAILY NATION By OUMA WANZALA

Thursday January 30,2014

Schools are not ready for the laptops despite government assurances that pupils will get the gadgets before the end of this term.

Most of the over 20,000 public primary schools still lack basic infrastructure ahead of its launch.

Pupils in some rural schools are learning under trees and in dilapidated classrooms without electricity.

Some teachers in far-flung areas have also admitted that they have never seen laptops.

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Assets audit welcome

FredMatiang27ipxBUSINESS DAILY BY A REPORTER

Wednesday January 29,2013

The determination by the ICT ministry and the Kenya Revenue Authority to compile a record of all assets that Kenya has comes at a good time as it should increase the amount of tax collected in the coming years if it is developed properly and implemented without undue delay.

The initiative means assets owned by Kenyans, companies, organisations, central and county governments will be entered into a common register, obviating the need to search for such information in all manner of places.

It will deter crooks who have excelled in evading tax and in moving cash from one location or form of asset to another in a bid to avoid detection.

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Tough law to boost fight against rising cyber crime

cyber-crimeDAILY NATION By Lilian Ochieng'

Tuesday January 28,2014

A new cyber-crime law is in the offing, with the draft Bill set for tabling in Parliament for debate by March.

The draft, dubbed Cyber-Crime and Computer Related Offences Bill 2014, is to address offences against confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems. It also seek to curb cyber stalking, hate speech and identity related crimes.

“A person found to be in offence of unauthorised access to computer data attracts a fine of not less than Sh1 million, or a three-year jail term,” says the draft in part.

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Matiang'i appoints six to ICT Authority board

FredMatiang27ipxBUSINESS DAILY By OKUTTAH MARK

Saturday January 25,2014

Information and Communications Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang’i has appointed six members to the board of the newly formed Kenya ICT Authority paving way for the recruitment of its executive officer.

The six, Timothy M. Waema, Esther Njeri Kibere, Bertha Joseph Dena, Elijah Omwenga, David Mugo and Ugas Sheikh Mohamed, will each serve a term of three years. 

The appointments was announced on Friday through the Kenya Gazette Notice and are effective as from January 17. 

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Telkom heads to Supreme Court to appeal Sh3.2bn award to ex-staff

bd-orangeBUSINESS DAILY By NEVILLE OTUKI

Thursday January 23,2014

Telkom Kenya wants the Supreme Court to overturn a Court of Appeal judgment to award Sh3.2 billion to its former workers.

In October last year, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed by the company seeking to overturn a High Court ruling.

Telkom, through lawyer George Oraro, is now seeking audience with the Supreme Court, on grounds that the case is of “great public importance.”

Mr Oraro invoked Article 163 of the Constitution saying that the appeal meets the threshold of Supreme Court’s attention.

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Govt Sh24b laptop project enters crucial stage

DnLAPTOPs1204rdpxDAILY NATION By ISAAC ONGIRI

Wednesday January 22,2014

The government’s Sh24 billion laptop project has now entered a crucial stage after the government dispatched a team of eight experts to conduct due diligence on the top listed company last Friday.

The move came amidst pressure on the Ministry of Education to deliver the Jubilee Government’s most lucrative educational campaign promise.

On Tuesday, the team completed its first phase of tour at Olive’s manufacturing plant in China and are expected in India later Friday to visit the headquarters of the Olive Holdings.

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More Kenyans dump banking halls for mobiles, says study

mpesaDAILY NATION By RAMENYA GIBENDI

Wednesday January 22,2014

More than half of Kenyans today rely on mobile phones to perform financial transactions, a new study shows.

This comes as commercial banks increasingly adopt mobile banking to increase their customers and improve services.

According to the mobile banking survey released by the Kenya Bankers Association Tuesday, up to 60 per cent of Kenyans use the mobile phone to carry out financial transactions.

The report said the complementary relationship between banks, mobile phone firms and agency banking has greatly improved.

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CCK trashes telecom users’ privacy with new spying rules

cofexBUSINESS DAILY By OKUTTAH MARK

Monday January 20,2013

Telecommunications industry regulator, Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), is set to acquire a new set of powers that will give it unfettered access to private or confidential information on consumers without a court order.

The powers, which are contained in a new set of regulations that has been prepared for publication in the Kenya Gazette, allow the CCK or its agents the leeway to obtain information or data held by telecoms operators.

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New laws to stem cyber crime in Kenya

cyber-crimeDAILY NATION By ZADOCK ANGIRA

Friday January 17,2013

New laws are being drafted to fight cyber crime in Kenya, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

He said due to increased prevalence of cyber crime and related offences, the country loses about Sh2 billion annually.

According to him, cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated as Information Communication Technologies advance.

“Cyber crime is now recognised as a threat to national security, key ICT infrastructure and the enjoyment of constitutional human rights of Kenyans such as the right to privacy,’' he said in a statement.

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DPP declares war on cyber crooks

cybercafeTHe STANDARD By ISAIAH LUCHELI

Thursday January 16,2013

NAIROBI, KENYA: Tech-savvy criminals have been defrauding individuals and institutions in the country of over Sh2 billion annually by use of the Internet and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Director Public Prosecutor Keriako Tobiko said yesterday that cyber-crime was now a threat to the country’s national security, ICT infrastructure and the enjoyment of constitutional human rights of Kenyans, such as the right to privacy. The DPP said Kenya was facing challenges in arresting and prosecuting cyber-crime suspects due to lack of effective laws. He, however, said his office was determined to curb the crime and had established a cyber-crime unit to deal with the rising incidence of cyber theft.

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Unregistered SIM card to cost you Sh300,000

SIMCardpxTHE STANDARD BY MACHARIA KAMAU

Wednesday January 15,2014

Use of an unregistered SIM card could soon cost you Sh300,000 or six months in jail. This is according to a new set of regulations that hold subscribers and agents of mobile operators accountable for use and proliferation of unregistered SIM cards in the market.

The new rules, which the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) will gazette in the coming days, will also see subscribers that give out false personal details during the registration process penalised. According to the Registration of the Subscribers of Telecommunication Services Rules, an individual who commits an offence under the laws would be liable to a fine of up to Sh300,000 or a jail term of six months.

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Safaricom gains Sh36.5bn in first ten days of January

scom-ipoBUSINESS DAILY By CHARLES MWANIKI

Monday January 13,2014

The Safaricom stock has gained Sh36.5 billion in the first 10 days of the year, powering the NSE’s total market valuation to just Sh10 billion shy of the Sh2 trillion mark.

Sustained investor demand for the Safaricom share saw it close at yet another all-time high of Sh11.75 in Friday’s trading, lifting its market capitalisation to Sh470.5 billion compared to the opening valuation of Sh434 billion this year.

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Insurance regulator shifts to high-tech data system

matiangiDAILY NATION By Nation Correspondent

Thursday January 9,2014

The insurance sector regulator is counting on a new technology to tighten its grip on the industry.

Through the new Electronic Regulatory System (ERS) launched yesterday, the Insurance Regulatory Authority will access information about the sector in a shorter time and more frequently than in the previous analogue system.

The new system, which enhances risk-based supervision, was developed with the assistance of the World Bank Support Programme (FLSTAP) at a cost of Sh45 million. The system has been supplied by Vizor Ltd consultants.

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Matiang’i rules out Safaricom reprieve from licence terms

FredMatiang27ipxBUSINESS DAILY By MARK OKUTTAH,

Wednesday, January 8   2014

ICT secretary Fred Matiang’i has vowed to tie the renewal of Safaricom’s licence to the voice quality checks that show the mobile phone operator is non-compliant.

Dr Matiang’i said the government and the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) will not negotiate on the voice quality standards.
The communication regulator found that all the four mobile phone operators, including Safaricom, Airtel, Orange and Yu had failed to meet minimum quality of service standards in the year to June.

It has tied the renewal of Safaricom’s licence, which is due before June, to paying Sh2.3 billion and achieving the voice tests— a condition the Nairobi bourse- listed telecom operator has termed as punitive.

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Ministry to assess laptop tender firms

DNLaptop1806cDAILY NATION By Griffins Omwenga

Tuesday January 7,2014

A government team will travel overseas to assess the technical capability of companies that bid to supply laptops for Standard One pupils this year.

The Education ministry said the process of conducting “due diligence” on the companies would culminate in actual site visits before the tender is awarded.

“We will visit the companies in the next few days as  part of the due diligence before we award the tender,” said Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang.

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Kenya’s ICT outlook for 2014.

ictimageDAILY NATION By John Walubengo

Tuesday January 7,2014

January is traditionally reserved for analysts to predict what is in store for the rest of the year.  It is said that the best way to predict the future is to create it.  In other words, visualize what should be the best outcome and proceed to craft the strategies to actualize it.

Having declared itself as “digital”, the government is expected to deepen the reach and use of ICTs in its operations, while simultaneously spurring investments in the sector.

The Laptops for Standard One project seems to fit the bill for this objective perfectly. Whereas political statements that the laptops will be delivered within the next three months have been made, very little data is publicly shared with respect to the implementation details. For a project of this magnitude and public interest, this is a bit mysterious if not outright weird.

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CCK to rebrand as it firms grip on the industry in line with new law

cofexSATURDAY NATION By CHARLES WOKABI

Saturday January 4,2014

The Communications Commission of Kenya is set to undergo a major overhaul in the next three months in a move meant to align it with the newly enacted industry law.

The Kenya Information and Communications Act, assented into law in December, requires the government to reconstitute the board of the communications sector regulator within 90 days of the Act coming into force.

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Pay TV subscribers lose rights to access public channels

setBUSINESS DAILY By OKUTTAH MARK

Friday January 3,2013

Subscribers of pay television services have lost unlimited access to free-to-air channels after the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) relaxed a requirement that the public channels be aired throughout.

The CCK has now obligated pay- TV providers to only allow subscribers two weeks of public channels after which they will be switched off if in default on the monthly fees, stoking another round of controversy over digital migration.

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Safaricom signs M-Pesa payments deal with EABL

safcomepayBUSINESS DAILY By John Gachiri

Tuesday December 31,2013

Safaricom has signed a deal with the East African Breweries (EABL) that will see the beer maker’s distributors use its M-Pesa mobile money service to make payments as an alternative to cash.

EABL recorded an annual turnover of Sh59 billion in the financial year ended June 2013, making the deal potentially lucrative for Safaricom, which is keen to generate more profits from M-Pesa by promoting its use as a cashless payments system besides being a money transfer platform.

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Relief as judges switch on TVs

DSTVSATURDAY NATION By MAUREEN KAKAH

Saturday December, 28,2013

Television viewers Friday got a reprieve when the Court of Appeal temporarily stopped migration to digital TV, which had denied millions their favourite channels.

Appellate judges Kihara Kariuki, Alnashir Visram and Hannah Okwengu granted a request by the Nation Media Group, the Royal Media Services and the Standard Group to halt the switch-off until their appeal is heard and determined.

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