Leonard Kore, Senior Research Analyst, Telecom and Networking, at International Data Corporation (IDC) East Africa says that having ICT knowledge in crafting legislation is now a necessity.

Kenya has drafted legislation including the Film, Stage Plays and Publication Act 2016, as well as the Information Communication Technology Practitioners Bill, that have definite technology implications.

"New technologies and platforms such as cloud, IoT and mobility are providing an opportunity for Africa's ICT environment to evolve almost at same pace as the rest of the work. This has placed enormous challenges on regulatory authorities who now have to ensure that existing policies and regulation are up to date to provide necessary direction and clarity within the market to drive ICT adoption and provide enabling environment for competition and investment," Kore told ITWeb Africa.

The need to develop skills within the governing authorities is crucial in understanding the fast-changing ICT environment.

Kore noted that Kenya had appointed former Google Sub Saharan Lead Joe Mucheru as the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, which is a push in the right direction.

"The resourcing structures of ICT regulators in a number of African countries is changing to include specialists who have better understanding of the sector, albeit at a slow pace," Kore added.

From Kore's point of view, ICT legislation should exist primarily to bring clarity to the environment and encourage competition and investment within the sector.

Kore suggests that ICT regulatory bodies should be well-resourced with specialists and leadership with good understanding of ICT sector and with necessary competencies required to keep regulators update with dynamic nature of the sector

"Secondly, countries should ensure a progressive and flexible regulatory framework to keep up with latest ICT trends and innovation. Poor policies and regulations can and will always hinder sustainable innovation and create loop-holes that can be exploited for unlawful practices," he explained.

He also urged governments to constantly review the legislations in place for the ICT sector due to the dynamic and ever evolving nature of the ICT landscape.

"This dynamic nature of the sector calls for a dynamic and proactive legislator or regulator to keep up with, and more importantly to encourage and enable innovations in order to promote growth and competition," he concluded.