Kenya Cabinet Secretary denies claims that government wants to break up Safaricom
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
The government has allayed reports that it is intending to split leading telecommunication operator in the country, Safaricom. Information, Communication and Technology Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has insisted that the government’s role is to provide policy guidance and coordination in the sector as opposed to interfering in business operations and investment.
Mucheru blamed the rumours on a leaked competition report commissioned by the industry regulator – Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
The cabinet secretary said that the report is a work in progress and is yet to be discussed and sanctioned by the CA board. In acknowledging the need to bring fair competition in the sector, Mucheru said there are ongoing consultations on how to break up Safaricom’s dominance.
He said that stakeholders are working on modalities to enable small players thrive in the sector.
“We have been having discussions with all the telecommunications operators in the country and we’ve agreed to look at things like national roaming, we’ve agreed to look at the interpolability of mobile money,” said Mucheru. The CS refuted claims that government has intentions of separating mobile money business from data voice communications.
Source: Citizen TV (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Technology
