The Upper House of Somalia’s parliament has today passed the National Communications Act, which was earlier passed by the National Assembly on August 9, 2017.
The Act was approved with 39 of the 40 sitting members voting in favour after serious discussions in the last couple of days. This makes the first act that is approved by this new House to Somalia’s legislative system.
The president is expected to sign this bill into law very soon before it becomes effective.
H.E. Eng. Abdi Ashur, the minister for Posts, Telecom and Technology, said while discussing the bill in Upper House, “It is an important act for Somalia. This was the bill that all stakeholders were eagerly looking forward to.”
“It is another historic day for Somalia and a giant step towards establishing a regulatory framework for our vibrant telecom industry, because this was the oldest bill that remained idle before the parliament for more than 10 years,” he added.
The current leadership of the Ministry has made passing of this act as one of the priorities of the Ministry by drawing a new, successful strategy that involved all stakeholders.
The law will help the government increase revenues and contribute to security. It will also improve rights of the consumers and attract more investment for the sector, among other benefits.
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