[kictanet] Voiceless 'Knowledge Workers'

Fri Jun 13 15:30:48 EAT 2008

Following on this interesting discourse,

Rightly said Shem, Rwanda has done a lot on ICT however caught between
chicken and Egg on the content vs Access. A travel around the country early
this year reveals fantastic connection of ICT in all districts and sectors,
nonetheless there are few government institutions using knowledge based
systems so email remains the main means of communication of data from one
government office to the next and even this is still through international
connection (yahoo and all) as most have not been educated on using local IXP
though this is changing. On the Kenyan front, I commend the KENIX team for
what they are doing and indeed Shem your role in that process on its initial
set up.

In addition, Language is still its biggest barrier with more than 80% of the
population not able to speak English or French. Slowly however, things are
changing, the entire customs offices are on a database that can remotely be
accessed  So what is excellent  is that Access is getting there but content
is still an issue and with all the talk on ICT, my observations are that
this is yet to  to filter down to institutional level with much of the
political rhetoric still in place.

So this is a learning process both for Rwanda and as well Kenya. When
thinking of all the ICT projects, Lets all think content, process and task
rather than just technology and maybe if we can do both at the same time
then we will really get somewhere.

The existing fibre is hardly utilized and yet to be but that is because
prices are still high on it and its owned by the private sector. Nonetheless
Intelsat charges are USD 2300 per I mbps currently , we are hoping to
negotiate this down and was in discussions with them this morning
incidentally. 
Personally, I think this is where much focus in Africa should be, if we can
get our international bandwidth charges lowered this will filter down to
affordability within households at good speeds, which then translates to
more use of ICTs etc. I hope the TEAMS projects and other will ensure that
prices are truly affordable for the majority and not do as was in some
countries where the fibre owners still kept it high.

Allow me one comparison however, as you rightly say Rwanda is CLEAN way down
to every house (including lower income households) and Much SAFER !!!!! And
its way right down to every little village etc.
Every day that I walk down the street I ask myself when we will get here: my
answer when we stop talking and just begin to act one day at a time.

I think we should give Credit to Kenya for coming this far, but we all agree
 we can, and should be much further with right focused policies and
implementation procesess. When we can all be doing work from every village
in our rural areas without relying on being physically in Nairobi, then we
can pat ourselves on the back...and maybe, yes,  we should blow our trumpet
... Even in the little things! While not loosing sight of our focus.

Cheers,
Monica

Dr. Monica Kerretts-Makau
Advisor, Universal Access and Partnership Projects
Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA)
+250 03163245 Kigali, Rwanda
(The contents herein reflect my personal opinions on this issue)

On 13/6/08 2:11 PM, "Shem Ochuodho" <shemochuodho at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Victor,  I wouldn't have responded to this, save for the record. I am not sure
> which Rwandan 5-star hotel you are talking about (as they are not many), but
> whatever the case, you and I seem to be talking about 2 different Rwanda's.
> And btw, 300km of fiber for Rwanda is not the same thing as 300km for Kenya,
> not that Kenya's laid and functional national fiber is significantly much
> higher!  Even with the fact that it would be unfair to compare Rwanda's ICT
> status with Kenya's (given the countries' histories, sizes, populations, and
> economies), one cannot deny the fact that Rwanda is a miracle story, largely
> due to leadership and vision. And it is not only limited to ICT: look at
> governance, gender, security (Kigali is one of the safest of the 40+ African
> cities am familiar with), cleanliness/environment, good roads, etc. This is
> not to say Rwanda does not have its flip side; of course it does, e.g.
> democracy and private sector are still nascent, limited human resource base,
> etc.  Back to ICT: neither you nor I would be the best judge on whether Rwanda
> or Kenya is doing better in ICT. But last year's UNCTAD's Global ICT Diffusion
> Index put Rwanda at per with (if not ahead of) Kenya. If we are talking
> implementation, sample this:-  1. Rwanda was the 1st Sub-Saharan Africa's
> country to link its two largest cities by fiber 2. Rwanda's Cabinet sessions
> are e-ready (a good number of ministers prepare their own power point
> presentations) 3. Rwanda is the only country I know of where within 24 hrs of
> a Cabinet meeting, decisions are available on the web (Official Govt website -
> talk of transparency!) 4. Rwanda's e-Parliament is being used by NEPAD as a
> model for Africa - Internet-ready/WiFi/WiBro at every point of 'Parliament's'
> precinct (both Senate and Chamber of Deputies) 5. Rwanda was the first African
> country where e-Schools was simultaneously launched in all the 6 urban-rural
> schools with live webcast 6. Nearly 80% Govt offices in Kigali have
> fiber-to-office 7. About 10 local/district headquarter sites already have
> functional video-conferencing facilities connected to Kigali 8. Rwanda was
> first Sub-Saharan Africa to establish an ICT/TechnoPark (already with over a
> dozen active clients/innovators/companies) 9. Rwanda is the only African
> country I know of whose IFMIS (Treasury/Ministry of Finance System) is
> anchored on a locally developed software, by a Rwandan company (talk of
> supporting local private sector) 10. Telemedicine Network: several major
> hospitals are already connected 11. With Rwanda's Karisimbi 'Earth Satellite
> Station' linked to a Transponder in Stockholm, in October 2006 Rwanda was able
> to negotiate with Intelsat bandwidth rates down from US$ 4,500 per Mbps a
> month (which is what everybody pays - some countries pay as high as $6,000) to
> $1,300. COMESA/ADB have now adopted the facility for use for regional
> air-traffic control and surveillance. 12. On the e-legislation front, Rwanda
> was one of the first Africa's countries to evolve an IPR Law, and its
> e-Transactions Law (like ours) is under consideration.  .... I could go on and
> on with the list. If these don't constitute 'achievements', then I don't know
> what does. Btw, several African countries I know of are borrowing one leaf or
> the other from the Rwandan 'humble' experience (including its plans).  But
> then again, is it fair for Kenya to compare with Rwanda? Shouldn't we have
> done much better than we have? I recall a saying that 'one thing's their
> mother is the best cook in the world until you taste another woman's dish'. Of
> course am not saying we have done nothing/little; my contention is that there
> are strategic things we could and should do to make an even greater leap.
> Best rgrds, Shem
> 
> --- On Thu, 6/12/08, Victor Maloi <victormaloi3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> From: Victor Maloi <victormaloi3 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Voiceless 'Knowledge Workers'
> To: shemochuodho at yahoo.com
> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008, 1:26 PM
> Dear Shem, 
>> I am in utter shock that you want to involve stakeholders from day 0ne.
>> Havent you ever heard the African saying - "too many cooks spoilt the
>> broath".  Do you want Kenya to go the Rwanda way.  For those who do not know,
>> Rwanda ICT programme cannot be compared to any in East Africa.  It is simply
>> way back.  What they have succeeded with the help of Shem, is to talk about
>> ICTs.  The NICIs.  There is nothing on the ground.  The speeds of internet in
>> any five star hotel are far below what you get in our three star hotels here.
>> They have laid only 300 Kms of fibre but they have plans all over.
>>  
>> Although I have often criticised our policy mskers here, they have mostly
>> been action oriented with a mix of stakeholder participation.  For example,
>> we all know or have the summary Master Plan that I hear is being expanded.
>> Had we waited to finish the plan before we start the infrastructure projects,
>> ICTs would still be discussed among the techies.  If you listened to the
>> Budget proposals today, you will know that the ICT programme in Kenya means
>> sereous.  Please Dr. Ndemo do not listen to Shem because he may contaminate
>> you with the Rwandese rhetoric.
>>  
>>  
>> Victor.
>> 
>>  
>> On 12/06/2008, Shem Ochuodho <shemochuodho at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> Joseph,  Apologies for a late acknowledgement of your mail.  Well put. I
>>> guess the greatest desire for people like Nyong'o, Juma, etc, is to see
>>> those dear things they espouse done - not necessarily by them, but done
>>> nonetheless. Let's hope that some of the actions being floated in these
>>> spaces will some day (sooner or later) see the light of day.  Best rgrds,
>>> Shem 
>>> 
> 
>  
> 
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