Kenya posts and telecommunications corporation
Encyclopedia
Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) was a government company that provided telecommunication and postal
services across Kenya
.
and Uganda
was provided by the East African Posts and Telecommunications Corporation. The dissolution of the first East African Community
since that era forced Kenya to establish its own monopoly communications company, KPTC.
New government economic policies in the mid 1990s were developed and adopted, supported by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and World Bank
. Recommendations of that process included separation of the postal and telecommunication operations. An IMF loan arrangement also depended on privatisation of KPTC, but IMF suspended this in July 1997 over reported concerns of government corruption.
Controversy over IMF telecommunications privatisation policies continued. KPTC's Board of Directors was terminated by the Kenyan government in February 1999 prior to an IMF visit to the country.
In 1999, the corporation was broken up into three entities:
In 2003, years after the division of KPTC, CCK Board Chairman Peter Kariuki noted the total number of people remaining to be connected to telephone service in Kenya stood at 7 million. Emerging private mobile telephone companies provide service capacity, but remained too expensive for many citizens.
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
services across Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
History
From 1948 to 1977, postal service in Kenya, TanzaniaTanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
was provided by the East African Posts and Telecommunications Corporation. The dissolution of the first East African Community
East African Community
The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...
since that era forced Kenya to establish its own monopoly communications company, KPTC.
New government economic policies in the mid 1990s were developed and adopted, supported by the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) and World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. Recommendations of that process included separation of the postal and telecommunication operations. An IMF loan arrangement also depended on privatisation of KPTC, but IMF suspended this in July 1997 over reported concerns of government corruption.
Controversy over IMF telecommunications privatisation policies continued. KPTC's Board of Directors was terminated by the Kenyan government in February 1999 prior to an IMF visit to the country.
In 1999, the corporation was broken up into three entities:
- Telkom KenyaTelkom KenyaTelkom Kenya is the sole provider of landline phone services in Kenya. It was previously a part of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation which was the sole provider of both postal and telecommunication services...
providing telecommunications services, - Postal Corporation of KenyaPostal Corporation of KenyaPostal Corporation of Kenya is the company responsible for postal service in Kenya . It is also known as Posta Kenya.Kenyan post system was formerly part of the Kenya Post & Telecommunication Corporation , which was split into Posta, the Communication Commission of Kenya and Telkom Kenya in 1999 ....
to offer postal services, - Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), a separate national regulatory authority.
Service provision and quality
Telephone service quality in Kenya remained problematic at times. Official waiting lists of customers seeking telephone service increased almost fourfold to almost 79 000 between 1977 and 1983, but had been reduced to less than 50 000 by 1986. These waiting lists only applied to areas where telephone service is available.In 2003, years after the division of KPTC, CCK Board Chairman Peter Kariuki noted the total number of people remaining to be connected to telephone service in Kenya stood at 7 million. Emerging private mobile telephone companies provide service capacity, but remained too expensive for many citizens.