Seated in his office on the 10th Floor of Teleposta Tower, Nairobi, Dr Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, cuts the image of a confident CEO sitting on the crest of a blue-chip company. Music from his computer is on low volume as we settle down for the interview. But contrary to the aura of satisfaction that surrounds his office, Ndemo is an impatient public officer.
His restlessness is underpinned by the fact that the telecommunications sector over which he presides remains one of biggest drawbacks to economic progress in the country. Currently, the sector contributes a mere five per cent of Kenyas Gross Domestic Product compared to an average 20 per cent in more developed economies.
Having taken over the position from James Rege at a time when the telecom sector was fast changing, Ndemo has had to learn the ropes fast. In his in-tray is the long overdue restructuring and privatisation of Telkom Kenya, the licensing of a second national operator, and the entry of a third mobile service provider into the market.
Ndemo says his brief is to fully liberalise the telecom sector and raise its contribution to the GDP to above 10 per cent. The starting point, he says, is the streamlining of the licensing requirements to open the sector to more players.
The PS reckons that the absence of competition has raised the costs of services and limited the range of products available. This, he says, is against the logic of competition and private investment that is the driver of growth in the ICT sector worldwide.
For a long time players in the telecoms industry have complained that movement towards a liberalised market has been rather slow. Most of them cite the delay in the privatisation of Telkom Kenya as a clear sign that the Government is not committed to opening up the sector to other players.
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