[kictanet] Voiceless 'Knowledge Workers

Mon Jun 16 09:42:36 EAT 2008

Dr. Shem,

That insight on Rwanda being transparent in the way they conduct their ICT
is more than fascinating.I believe you were there for how long 3 years(more
or less).How much time do we need to reach there as Kenyans?We have all the
resources that we need to get us going.I also would love to participate as a
local entrepreneur to driving Kenya into the digital age.These is where we
are failing as a country.We are outsourcing heavily to other companies while
the local guys we are left with little to scramble.I wish the government
would be more dedicated to the local guys and support them.

Regards,

>
> >> 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
> >>>
> >
>
>
>
> ..............................
> ?As we look ahead into the future, Leaders will be those who empower
> others?
> Bill Gates
> E-environment cost saving: Please print this email and or any attachment
> only if you have to.
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:14:31 +0300
> From: Vincent Ngundi <vincent at kenic.or.ke>
> Subject: [kictanet] Official Lauch - KENIC IPv6 Workshop and Africa
>        6Deploy chapter
> To: KICTANet ICT Policy Discussion <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Message-ID: <94D0A1A4-090B-4818-83E6-6693E2F4D023 at kenic.or.ke>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Dear ICT Actors,
>
> Please note that the KENIC IPv6 workshop is scheduled to start on
> Tuesday the 17th of June 2008 at the Sarova Panafric hotel. The
> workshop will run until the 20th of June 2008.
>
> The honorable Minister for Information and Communications is expected
> to officially launch both the IPv6 workshop and Africa's chapter of
> the 6Deploy project.
>
> The official launch is scheduled to take place at the Sarova Panafric
> hotel on Tuesday the 17th of June 2008 at 9:00am. Kindly consider
> this our formal invitation to you to attend this all important event.
> As an ICT actor, your presence is of utmost value and importance.
>
> About the 6Deploy Project
> The 6Deploy project is a global initiative funded by the European
> Union to support initiatives that promote the awareness and
> deployment of IPv6, the Next Generation Internet. Kenya, arising from
> its vibrant Internet and ICT community, has been honored by Africa's
> Internet community by being selected as the venue for launching the
> Next Generation Internet in Africa, through the formal launch of the
> Africa chapter of the global 6Deploy project
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> -----------
> Vincent Ngundi
> Administrative Manager
> KENIC - The Kenya Network Information Center
> http://www.kenic.or.ke
> vincent at kenic.or.ke
> [T] +254 20 4450057/8
> [C] +254 20 2398036
> [M] +254 733 790073
> [F] +254 20 4450087
>
> "dot KE for Every Name in Kenya!"
>
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-- 
James M. Muendo
IT Consultant & Hardware Engineer
Timsoft Technologies & Solutions Ltd
P.O Box 28016 - 00200,
Nairobi.
Tel: 020- 2309126
Mobile: +254725567508 , 254733219008
skype:tim.rick
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