[kictanet] the budget and ICT

Fri Jun 11 14:38:27 EAT 2010

Interesting discussion going on , i am abit pessimistic though about
the success of this new initiative, my greatest concern is whether the
move is well informed or that there is a potential of it turning into
a White elephant of sorts. We have had many initiatives aimed at
ensuring ICT tools are available and accessible to all, however there
has been very little feedback or research on how this initiatives have
faired on or their real impact on the community.
That said i am asking myself whether it is better to teach a man how
to fish or whether we should keep buying fish for them. To elaborate
if we focus on capacity building we will enable the people to see the
need for buying computers whether refurbished or not, when they buy
the computers they will expect to get value for money (aka roi) and as
such we are likely to see more innovative communities proping up from
all corners of the country, it is for this reason that i feel this
move is ill advised and something needs to be done before the money
goes down the drain, computers are not an end in themselves they are
just a means to an end, the notion that they are an end must be done
away with.
Well i suppose it is time the communication commision or any other
relevant body conducted a study on the impact of previous initiatives
similar to the one being implemented i suppose it is our right as
citizens of this great republic to be informed. I fully support the
other issues raised by fellow listers, i would also like to know where
we are with the e-mado project and where it fits in this arrangement.
I would like to hear from stakeholders their take on this matter

On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:36 AM, Ngũgĩ Kĩmani <ngugi at mafundi.co.ke> wrote:
> Back in March 2010, the Kenyan government had announced a proposed ban on
> second-hand computers, aimed at avoiding dumping and reducing electronic
> waste in the country.
>
> Well I've not heard that the ban is being enforced, or lifted, but I am a
> buyer of second hand branded computers and I have established that they are
> indeed more stable and reliable than "new" assembled klones.
>
> I would advocate that the sale of second hand Dells and HPs and Compaqs etc
> be allowed to continue, in fact be encouraged over assembly of klones,
> because some of those computers have a minimum of 256 MB RAM + 2.something
> processors and this is clearly adequate to run most open source
> applications. What does a new user of computers need anyway - just OS
> proficiency + word processing + spreadsheet. They can then move to faster
> computers as their proficiency increases.
>
> :)
>
> --
> Ngũgĩ Kĩmani
> Fundi wa Mitambo
>
>
> On 11 June 2010 11:58, Josiah Mugambi <jmugambi at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> It is safe I suppose to assume that not all targeted schools have a
>> reliable (if any) source of electricity. Is there a plan for this?
>>
>>
>> --
>> Josiah Mugambi
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:35 AM, Vitalis Olunga <volunga at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> The plan (purchasing of) for computers for schools, if implemented, seems
>>> more sustainable than the last year's budget for mobile ICT buses for
>>> constituencies. What the constituency leaders should now work for is to
>>> ensure the allocation of resources from the CDF to build computer labs in
>>> schools where they may be lacking. Many emerging schools may still be
>>> lacking computer labs and science labs as of now. One such school where I am
>>> the chairman of BGO (Obambo, Siaya) is yet to have a computer lab in
>>> place, and has no equipped science lab,  but is it one of the best in the
>>> district (both in academic performance and sports).
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> Vitalis
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: "ikua at lpakenya.org" <ikua at lpakenya.org>
>>> To: volunga at yahoo.com
>>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>> Sent: Fri, June 11, 2010 9:20:18 AM
>>> Subject: [kictanet] the budget and ICT
>>>
>>> Listers,
>>> The Government will spend 1.3B to buy 300 computers in each of the 210
>>> constituencies. That means that each of the 63,000 computers will cost the
>>> taxpayer KSh 20,634/=. This is a very good initiative.
>>>
>>> Now, they say that these computers will be assembled by institutions. I
>>> just hope this does not mean they will go for clones. They would do much
>>> better with branded, refurbished computers. As far as I know, the minister
>>> did not mention anything touching on used computers in the budget.
>>>
>>> Now then, at this price, there is absolutely no allowance for software
>>> purchases. Which is all well as these computers can be loaded with open
>>> source software that will give much more value to the investment anyway. So
>>> we will be watching keenly to see what kind of deals Microsoft will try to
>>> push at the government to include their software in these computers,
>>> probably at a ¨small price¨.
>>>
>>> The open source community is available and willing to advise the
>>> Government on the best way of ensuring that tax payer money is used
>>> prudently for the benefit of this country.
>>>
>>> Ikua
>>> LPA-Kenya
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+41767892272
Skype: barrack.otieno