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Kenya: Insiders Head List for CCK Job
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Business Daily (Nairobi)
21 May 2008
Posted to the web 21 May 2008
Mark Okuttah And Kui Kinyanjui
Two insiders are among the top three contenders to succeed John Waweru, as the head of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the media and telecoms regulatory body.
The CCK board has presented the names of John Omo, Charles Njoroge and Nashon Awayo to Information minister Samuel Poghisio for appointment to the sensitive and strategic position in the public service.
Mr Njoroge is the director of Competition, Tariffs and Market Analysis at CCK where he has played a crucial role in overseeing the renegotiation of interconnection charges between rivals Telkom Kenya, Safaricom and Celtel.
The renegotiation led to the setting of the maximum levy for a call across networks at Sh30 per minute late last year. He has worked with CCK since 1999 after leaving the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Company where was a senior economist.
Mr Omo is the Commission Secretary and Head of Legal affairs at CCK where he has been involved in developing the new licensing regime presently under discussion in the industry. The proposed structures have three broad licence categories, which include: network, services and content providers. Previously, the licensing regime was a hostage of the technology employed by the providers.
The new regime is geared towards convergence of technologies and multimedia services.
Mr Owayo, an engineer by profession, is a former Telkom Kenya employee.
The three were selected from a list of 47 candidates who had expressed interest in the job following the scheduled retirement of Waweru. Mr Omo joined CCK from the Attorney- General Chambers in 2000.
Initially six names had been presented to the CCK board by Ernst & Young, which was hired to source for the possible candidates for the post. The board chaired by Mr Joseph Kagau dropped Timothy Waema, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi school of informatics who is understood to have opted not to appear before the CCK board.
The two others dropped by the board were Dr James Kulubi of the Kenya College of Communication and Technology and Stephen Mallowah of the Retirement Benefits Authority.
Mr Poghisio is expected to choose the new director general from the list of three names presented to him any time now.
In his last Press interview, Mr Waweru said the five essential qualities of an effective director general were being "highly receptive, decisive, learned, thick-skinned and sporty individual, keen to take the unenviable task of acting referee to the most transformative industry."
As the head-hunting process for his successor progresses to its final stage with an announcement from the Ministry of Information and Communication expected later this month, the successful contender from the three will be tasked with taking over an increasingly challenging docket.
First on the new D-G's to do list will be how to continue managing the transition of the industry as it evolves in line with its rapid growth.
"He/ she will have to ensure that they continue to operate CCK to keep a level playing field and also ensure that the regulations are not skewed to favour the larger players," said Mr Jonathan Somen, the chairman of industry lobby group, the Telecommunications Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK).
In 2003, the start of a liberalization wave within the telecommunications industry meant mobile network connections grew by 81 per cent. Five years ago, there were just 1.6 million mobile subscribers, with five per cent tele-density. Today, that number stands at 11.4 million subscribers today with over twenty per cent tele-density.
An immediate challenge for the new D-G will be to maintain that growth while addressing the entry of two new players - Telkom Kenya and Econet - to ensure fair play among players.
"The new unified licence regime will come into effect in July and effectively level the field. This could mean smaller players such as Flashcom or Popote could roll-out new products and services that would position them against more established players," said Waweru.
For industry players, a more critical issue will be how to allocate frequencies as available spectrum shrinks with the entry of more players.
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"It is a scarce resource and will become very contentious in the future. Already, there are discussions about auctioning the spectrum - this could play into the hands of the larger players and make them even stronger to the detriment of the wider licensed operators," said Mr Somen.
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