[kictanet] Day 12 of 12 -- BPO Discussions, Wrapping Up

Wed Jun 17 08:49:42 EAT 2009

Gilda,

There was a story in Nation titled 'Key projects in last year’s Budget yet
to be initiated'

See

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/607244/-/ujrwjc/-/index.html

For instance, Mr Kimunya had proposed the building of a Sh900 million
Business Process Outsourcing Park by the Information ministry to create
10,000 jobs annually. The project has not taken off.

Permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo said the government took back Sh500
million, thus stalling the project.

Budget reallocation is a normal exercise at the Treasury, to ensure key
programmes are given priority. Money for some projects is said to have been
diverted to the famine which hit sections of the country.

The Information ministry used the balance to pay deposit for 5,000 hectares
of land at Nairobi’s Kitengela for the project. Dr Ndemo now expects the
Treasury to allocate more cash for the programme.

On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 2:35 PM, <godera at skyweb.co.ke> wrote:

>
> David,
>
> I feel pained to hear that sh.500,000,000/= is being returned to Treasury
> having
> not been utilised. Can someone in the picture confirm to me that this is
> not
> correct? The BPO sector is in dire need of funds for so many other
> activities.
> If the BPO park (purchase of land)did not need that amount,why was it
> allocated
> all that amount? Is this not why the ICT Board says it did not get
> sufficient
> funds for other activities since sh.900million all went to the park? And
> now
> someone is telling us it was not fully utilised?
> Someone please provide the correct information or explain what really
> happened.
> (I am hoping this is not true).
> And how can we ensure that this does not happen again in 2009-2010? We gave
> our
> input in the budget prior to allocation, as to whether our input is taken
> in is
> another day's discussion.
>
>
> Gilda
>  Quoting David Otwoma <otwomad at gmail.com>:
>
> > 4. If 3 out of every 100 eighteen year olds are not able to access
> > University education.....
> >
> > I mean only 3 out of every 100 eighteen year olds who qualify, attend
> public
> > universities while 97 are not able to access University education because
> > they cannot afford to pay!!!!!!!
> >
> > On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 9:10 AM, David Otwoma <otwomad at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Morning Nyaki,
> > >
> > > You say "*For example, both KICTB and MoHEST are planning for
> > > technology/BPO parks. This is likely to lead to duplication of effort,
> > > differences in the messages communicated to stakeholders and confusion
> on
> > > the part of investors with respect to whom to deal with, amongst other
> > > problems.*"
> > >
> > > We were 'lucky' to have been involved, as advisers to GoK (one of the
> > > crucial mandates of National Council of Science and Technology) in the
> > > formative task forces set to see to it that we do not miss out on the
> ICT
> > &
> > > Science and Technology Parks development. At the technocrat level we
> > reached
> > > the stage where the need to merge efforts (additionally Ministry of
> > > Industrialization has Industrial Parks; Ministry of Trade has
> Incubation
> > > Parks etc.) was clearly communicated to decision makers. The coming up
> of
> > > the Special Economic Zones later should have assuaged the fears
> expressed
> > in
> > > your quote above, however many commentators e.g. "On the ICT side,
> > however,
> > > there seems to be some laxity. Not much has been heard about the
> Business
> > > Process Outsourcing Park which the minister earmarked Sh900 million for
> > its
> > > construction." see
> > >
> >
> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/-/539552/608168/-/item/1/-/3te68rz/-/index.html
> > > ....appear to side with you and hence on that matter lets rest the case
> as
> > > the month of June draws to a close. However, shs. 400 million of the
> above
> > > money was used to buy (pay for deposit) land in Arthi River area, and
> > sadly
> > > the shs. 500 million may be returned confirming the title of the above
> > story
> > > i.e. Broken promises, wrong plans in last budget
> > >
> > > You say "*Whether it is a consequence of this lack of devolution or
> not,
> > > the M&E capacity of the Ministry of Information and Communications,
> Kenya
> > > ICT Board and all the other institutions highlighted earlier is weak.*"
> > >
> > > We may have to look at 'independent entities' for a way forward on this
> > > one. Drawing from the debacle during the supplementary budget when the
> > 'typo
> > > cum computer error' was detected by MARS group and later brought to the
> > > attention of the rest of the parliamentarians by one MP, it may pay to
> > look
> > > outward for effective M&E. This is why it makes sense to strengthen,
> say
> > the
> > > Kenya BPOCC Society (as concerns BPO issues) which is composed of
> > > individuals and entities that represent private, public and academia.
> > >
> > > That brings me to your question for the day, and here are some
> > suggestions.
> > >
> > > 1. We need to walk the talk. Imagine if the shs 500 million bound to be
> > > returned to Treasury for lack of "absorptive capacity" had the Ministry
> of
> > > I&C, CCK and KICTB calling for a stakeholders forum (composed mainly of
> > BPO
> > > operators and academia plus even the Kenya BPOCC Society) to give them
> a
> > way
> > > out (how to spend it) and hence not have a situation of "Broken
> promises,
> > > wrong plans in last budget" ?
> > >
> > > 2. Coordination between decision makers who do not trust one another is
> an
> > > unrealistic expectation. What may work is akin to what made the Two
> > > Principals accept (shingo upande) to form a GCG. The desire certainly
> did
> > > not come from their mutual liking but pressure from .... yes you and me
> as
> > > citizens of our beloved Kenya and some nudge from the International
> > parties
> > > with vested interests.
> > >
> > > 3. Taking the S. African route may pay faster that hoping for the
> Indian
> > > case as concerns clients for BPO work. S. Africa built a strong local
> > > outsourcing before venturing out to obtain international work. Here
> again
> > > GoK needs to be made to walk the talk....imagine if the Judiciary let
> > > transcription work be done by young (wo)men who now are joining in
> their
> > > droves to illegal outfits (making non Kenyans think all our unemployed
> > young
> > > ones are Mungiki adherents)?
> > >
> > > 4. If 3 out of every 100 eighteen year olds are not able to access
> > > University education because of inability to pay the university fees
> what
> > > makes us (in GoK for example) shy off the Egyptian model (see
> > > http://www.businesstodayegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=7931 for
> Egyptian
> > > case of incentives like rental and training subsidies between 85% and
> > 100%)
> > > so as to open doors to the young ones instead of lamenting that the
> Media
> > is
> > > being negative when they make a headline story of how a Crisis is
> > unfolding
> > > as we open and blink our eyes.
> > >
> > > Have to run off to MoHE,S&T workshop for validation of Science,
> Technology
> > > and Innovation Bill, University Bill and Technical, Industrial,
> Vocational
> > > and Entrepreneurship Training Bill.
> > >
> > > It was good while it lasted.
> > >
> > > Kind regards,
> > >
> > > David
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >   On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 8:06 AM, Catherine Adeya
> > <elizaslider at yahoo.com>wrote:
> > >
> > >>    -- Day 12 of 12- BPO Discussions, Wrapping Up --
> > >>
> > >> After extremely interesting discussions yesterday, where I summarized
> > once
> > >> or twice during the day, we would like to bring the BPO discussion to
> a
> > >> close. It was very interesting to see that many of you were concerned
> > that
> > >> the media is portraying Kenya negatively and this could (or maybe was)
> > >> affecting some of the decisions of potential investors. Some in the
> media
> > >> fraternity responded that they really must report what is there and
> that
> > >> their priority is Kenyans not foreigners first. As one said
> “…bottomline-
> > >> the media can’t just be improvised to promote the interests of the
> > business
> > >> and capitalist class. There are the rest of us citizens whose welfare,
> > life
> > >> and worries too must be reported”.
> > >>
> > >> Thank you to all of you who have actively participated both online and
> > >> offline (directly to the moderators sometimes) during the last 12
> days.
> > To
> > >> recap, we have covered the following themes:
> > >>
> > >>    1. The policy, legal and institutional frameworks for BPO sector
> > >>    2. Subsidies accorded to BPO sector
> > >>    3. Human Capacity Issues
> > >>    4.  Youth and Gender Issues
> > >>    5. Strengths, Challenges and niches for Kenya as a BPO destination
>  > >>
> > >> As we wrap up today I believe we could have done more justice to the
> > >> institutional framework issue. More specifically I draw from the
> > conclusion
> > >> of the institutional framework summary and the question:
> > >>
> > >> *In conclusion for Kenya, it can be observed that there is an overlap
> > >> between KenInvest and the Kenya ICT Board when it comes to promotion
> of
> > >> Kenya as an investment destination to potential investors. There could
> be
> > >> other overlaps as well. For example, both KICTB and MoHEST are
> planning
> > for
> > >> technology/BPO parks. This is likely to lead to duplication of effort,
> > >> differences in the messages communicated to stakeholders and confusion
> on
> > >> the part of investors with respect to whom to deal with, amongst other
> > >> problems. In addition, there is need to coordinate between ICT Board,
> > >> KenInvest, EPC and MoEST. The big question is: Who will perform the
> > >> coordination? Finally, the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Directorate
> in
> > >> the Ministry of Planning has never been devolved into the ministries
> and
> > >> public enterprises. Whether it is a consequence of this lack of
> > devolution
> > >> or not, the M&E capacity of the Ministry of Information and
> > Communications,
> > >> Kenya ICT Board and all the other institutions highlighted earlier is
> > weak.
> > >> At the same time, the institutional framework for Vision 2030 is in
> the
> > >> formation* *stages and, even if it were to develop strong M&E
> > >> capabilities, it may not be able to marshal enough power to ensure
> > >> corrective action is taken by the concerned institutions in a timely
> > manner.
> > >> *
> > >>
> > >> This draws me to the discussion question*: What needs to be done to
> > >> improve/strengthen the institutional framework in order for the BPO
> and
> > >> outsourcing sector to play its planned role in the Kenyan economy?*
> > >>
> > >> Let us discuss this today and any other gnawing issues in all the
> > thematic
> > >> areas as we wrap up.
> > >>
> > >> Best,
> > >>
> > >> Nyaki
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
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> > >
> >
>
>
>
>
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