[kictanet] Election fiasco reveals Technological dinosaurs

[Evelyn Rono]

Hi Bobby,

 

Several ICT companies and individuals approached the ECK with the intention
of  supporting and a managing the process with ICT.    I quote " ECK in 2004
was provided with IT hardware & software and GIS electoral database created
with each individual polling station positions' mapped using GIS technology
that integrated with the electoral database through a unique ID for polling
station.  The constituency boundaries provided the domain universe within
which each polling station could be located for administrative purposes.
Training was also conducted for ECK".  The same company tried to do the same
2007

 

This did not happen - Only ECK knows.

 

Evelyn Rono

 

From: kictanet-bounces+evelyn.rono=kdn.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+evelyn.rono=kdn.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
Behalf Of robert yawe
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 11:51 AM
To: evelyn.rono at kdn.co.ke
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] Election fiasco reveals Technological dinosaurs

 

Happy new year to you all and I pray that you are all well.

It is shocking that in this day and age we can actually have the kind of
electoral fiasco that has been visited on us by the ECK and Co as well as
the political parties.

This draconian problem reared its head when the Orange house was broken into
and the computers stolen.  Hon.Nyongo's statement indicated that the
objective was to steal the member register.  If I needed to steal the
register which from his comments was in electronic form what was the need of
taking off with the computer.  Has he ever heard of flash disks,  external
hard dis drives and CD/DVD writers.  Technology allows me to steal his data
without him every knowing.

After this issue Kivuiti dismissed the SMS service that had been made
available by Telkom to enable voters confirm their details.  He even went to
the extent of saying he does not know how to send an SMS.  As the IT
fraternity in the country can we really escape blame for this fiasco?

The next time was when  I saw Hon. Ruto standing at KICC and screaming
himself hoarse over the forms 16 & 16A that had not been received.  It seems
he might be using a Nokia 1018 mobile phone (he actually uses a Nokia N
series).  

Was it so difficult for the opposition to provide each of their agents with
a camera equipped mobile phone that they would have used to to take pictures
of the form and also record the returning officer announcing the results.
This would then have been easily sent to party head quarters.

There are 210 or so constituencies in the country and the mobile phones I am
talking about cost about 10,000/- each do the math. 

I ask am I the only Kenyan who is aware of such technology or is this entire
fiasco a stage managed process.  Even the EU observer teams came equipped as
if it was the 12th Century after which they proceeded to make unsupported
statements about the result that further inflamed bloodshed.

Maybe its a techie thing to keep in our glass houses and refuse to add value
to a process and only send around message (this one included) after the
fact.  

It is re-assuring when we remember the Florida fiasco but this not
withstanding do we really have a moral standing to point fingers about the
election results?


What will be our contribution to stopping this from being repeated in
future?
 
Regards

Remember Matiba and his video cameras during the good old days of mulolongo
voting?

Robert Yawe
KAY System Technologies Ltd
Phoenix House, 6th Floor
P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
KEnya

 

Tel: +254722511225

 

 

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