Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), Board Chairperson, Ms. Mary Mungai, is the new Vice Chairperson of the Council of African Regulators (CAR). Ms. Mungai garnered 7 votes to help her clinch second place. The round of voting took placed during the 13th meeting of the Council of African Regulators in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Mr. Mamady Doumbouya, garnered 12 votes, hence, he will serve as the new chairperson of this consultative forum for ICT regulators within the Smart Africa Alliance. Currently, Doumbouya is the Director General of the Regulatory Authority for Posts and Telecommunications for Guinea Conakry.
In 2013, African leaders joined forces to create Smart Africa, an initiative aimed at using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to drive sustainable economic and social progress across Africa. This ambitious program prioritizes affordable access to broadband internet as a key tool for achieving this goal
Ms. Mungai’s election comes barely two months after Kenya won the bid to host the Transform Africa Summit (TAS) later in the year from 28th to 30th August 2024. Smart Africa convenes the Transformative Africa Summit (TAS) each year. This leading African forum unites over 5,000 regional and global leaders to address strategies for driving Africa’s digital transformation.
In another win for ICT sector, Ms. Mungai’s election comes a few months after Kenya’s Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait MBS, was voted to the position of 1st vice chair to the board of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA). Kenya is also set to host the next (NADPA) General Assembly this year.
The CA was also the host of the forum that led to the “Nairobi Declaration”. A declaration on the Formation of the African National Public Key Infrastructure (NPKI). This declaration is a joint commitment by Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Ivory Coast, and Ghana to promote the implementation and use of NPKI across Africa.
