Firm resumes cable work in Nanyuki as governor gives nod
About Us Kenya ICT Press Firm resumes cable work in Nanyuki as governor gives nod 
SUNDAY NATION By MUCHIRI GITONGA
Sunday October 27,2013
An Internet firm has resumed work on a multi-million shilling project to lay fibre optic cable in Nanyuki town more than a month after the Laikipia County government halted it.
Jamii Telecoms Limited had in September disagreed with senior county officials over charges for laying the cable.
The officials slapped the Internet service provider with a Sh3 million way leave fee eliciting outcry from potential customers who had already paid for the last mile connection in the hope of having access to high Internet speeds.
The county government wanted ISPs to pay Sh600 per excavated metre, which most firms consider prohibitive.
More than 10 institutions, most of them banks, had applied for the last mile connections by the time the county government halted work.
COUNTIES DILEMMA
In blocking the contractor from laying the cable, Laikipia’s action embodied the dilemma facing many county governments that are torn between losing potential revenue from way leave charges and supporting investors bringing cheaper and faster Internet to their regions.
But amid protests last week, Governor Joshua Irungu not only gave JTL the go-ahead to lay the fibre optic cable but also asked county staff not to interrupt their work.
“It will not be in order for the government to deny the people of Laikipia their right to better and faster communication due to some slight misunderstandings which can be ironed out even as the work continues,” the governor’s principal assistant Mr John Wambugu said in an email to JTL and county staff.
He noted that although JTL had protested the high way leave fee being charged by the Laikipia County government, they had expressed willingness to pay a reasonable fee “just as it has been the case with other counties.”
According to Mr Wambugu, the Internet company had also agreed to repair any damage caused in the town in the course of their work.
County education and ICT executive John Bosco Akaale wrote to the contractor on September 30 asking them not to proceed with the work until the county executive committee meets.
“I cannot ask JTL to restart work before the county executive committee endorses the decision. Otherwise what would happen if somebody decides that the project should stop again?” he said.
FREE CONNECTIONS
He said the county might consider waiving the way leave fee on condition that JTL connects some public institutions free of charge.
Industry experts, among them ICT Secretary Fred Matiang’i, have warned that such moves by counties could frustrate the growth of ICT, a key pillar of Vision 2030.
Dr Matiang’i, who was in Nanyuki on the day the county government barred Jamii Telecoms Limited from continuing the project, encouraged county governments to make it easier for firms laying fibre optic cables in their areas instead of frustrating them.
“If you know the benefits of a river or a fibre optic cable passing through your county, then you would give them a sort of moratorium: you tell them if you bring fibre within the next 20 months I’ll not charge any way leave free,” the cabinet secretary said.