practices. The Government seeks to enhance
the evolutionary velocity of the market and
enhance the continuous adaptation of products,
services and offerings to local and global
pressures.
It is the goal of this policy to:
1. Increase the population of competing
companies by creating incentives for play,
lowering the barriers to entry, reducing the
cost of failure, and encouraging the trial of
new ideas.
2. Encourage efficient and equitable access to
public infrastructure to enable enhanced
competition
3. Review the competitive environment for
fair trade practices. Prevent unhealthy
competitive practices through clear and
strategically consistent regulations enacted
in a timely and transparent manner.
4. Facilitate access to government business
through non-discriminatory tendering
criteria, and a deliberate preference for
Kenyan owned business entities.
5. Maintain market integrity and competitive
honesty by preventing and promptly
punishing unfair and/or misleading market
conduct.
6. Facilitate an open, responsive, regular and
continuous dialogue between government,
regulatory authorities and market players
with a view to maintaining a responsive
competitive environment.
7. Create a liberal licensing and registration
regime to permit companies and
entrepreneurs to fail quickly, with low cost.
This will take the form of rules that allow
companies to be licensed for certain
services and only pay for the licenses when
they commence operations or achieve
benchmark goals within predefined time
frames. There will be deliberate overallocation of provisional licenses to increase
the number of license holders with the
subsequent upgrade of provisional licenses
to substantive licenses when defined targets
are achieved. The regulatory authority will
predefine and make public the total number
of substantive licenses intended, when that
target is achieved provisional licenses will
be revoked.
Equity Participation
Ministry of ICT, Kenya
The government strongly encourages Kenyans
to participate in the ICT and Science &
Technology
sector
through
equity
participation. It is the policy that only
companies with at least 30% substantive
Kenyan ownership, either corporate or
individual will be licensed to provide ICT
services. For purposes of this rule, companies
without majority Kenyan ownership will not be
considered Kenyan, and may thus not be
calculated as part of the 30% Kenyan
ownership calculus. Licensees will have 3 years
to meet the local equity ownership threshold
they may apply to the Cabinet Secretary for a
one year extension with appropriate acceptable
justifications.
For listed companies the equity
participation rules will conform to the then
extant rules of the Capital Markets Authority.
Consumer Protection
The Government will:
1. Protect all Kenyan citizens from unfair,
deceptive or fraudulent business practices,
2. investigate
complaints ,
and
promptly
resolve
3. enforce the law and punish violators,
4. restore the rights, property and privileges of
citizens where they have been violated,
5. Develop rules and regulations that maintain
and ensure a free and fair marketplace
6. Educate consumers about their rights,
duties and responsibilities.
The consumer protection policy is intended to:
1. Protect consumers from hazards to their
health and safety;
2. Promote and protect the economic interests
of consumers;
3. Provide
consumers
with
adequate
information to enable them to make
informed choices according to individual
wishes and needs;
4. Consumer Education;
5. Provide a means for effective consumer
redress and restoration of data, rights,
property and privileges;
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