[kictanet] Commodity Exchange System

Thu Sep 23 18:19:19 EAT 2010

Robert  

Your negative week has a good point.  We are talking about the (NIMBY) Not In My Backyard Atitude.  A system that works irrelevant of where it was made might have short time value but a system developed by someone who has very limited stakeholder value is very costly in the long run.  

So we believe because a system has worked somewhere else it will be reliable and better than a home grown product.  That mentality would never have created Mpessa—like it or not Mobile Money as we know it world wide today was born in Kenya.  The code might have been written elsewhere but the real implementation was in .ke region.

My suggestion is that we embrace the EAC and open up local projects in all 5 countries to regional developers or encourage in external bidders to use local skills and services as much as possible when they are awarded contracts.   

Another way of securing work on big contracts for local developers is to make sure that the work permit system for IT staff is refined and emphasis on skills transfer for those roles where we are lacking is enforced.

regards

From: kictanet-bounces+ntegeb=one2net.co.ug at lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+ntegeb=one2net.co.ug at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of robert yawe
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 5:33 PM
To: ntegeb at one2net.co.ug
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Commodity Exchange System

Jewish saying 

When they came for my neighbour I said nothing

When they came for my brother I said nothing

When they came for me there was no one to say anything

This is what this attitude of I do not care where it comes from leads to.

Have a negative week

Regards

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

Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

  _____  

From: Edwin Onchari <eonchari at lynxbits.com>
To: robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Sent: Thu, 23 September, 2010 11:54:13
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Commodity Exchange System

Any  innovation does/should go through some beta testing! That said, whether the system is developed in Silicon Valley or a backstreet in N’Djamena is immaterial. As a user, all I want is a system that meets my needs and is priced right

Edwin

From: kictanet-bounces+eonchari=lynxbits.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eonchari=lynxbits.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Andrea Bohnstedt
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 11:14 AM
To: Edwin
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Commodity Exchange System

Robert, I think you missed my point. 

I wear clothes by Kenyan fashion designers, shoes made locally, use mugs made here, and I have had all my office furniture made on Ngong Road. 

If my locally made furniture is a bit out of shape because the wood wasn't dried properly, no harm done. If a trading system messes up, potentially massive harm done. 

I recall discussions a week or two ago, on this very list, about mobile operators' billing and other systems, and how people got very worked up that this wasn't working properly. And rightly so. How is this different from a trading system? 

In conclusion: I honestly don't care where the system comes from. I need it to work. That's the beauty of a global economy: you have the choice to buy whatever works best for you. If Kenyan companies compete on that level: excellent. If they don't - I'll buy from someone else. 

Andrea 

On 23 September 2010 10:23, robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Hi,

Who had tested the DOS operating system, Windows OS and closer to home MPesa/MKesho/PAP?  Even God created Adam and used him as a prototype for testing.

All systems must begin somewhere, at some point there was nothing but did the fellows who developed the NSE's ATS system begin with a fully tested and proven solution, NO.

Lets stop belittling ourselves, I got children without having to pass an exam on parenting so why do we think that we cannot develop a reliable solution from scratch, we are baby cries all we do is complain, complain, complain and when an opportunity presents itself we crucify it, stone it and finally burn it at the stake.

This can only be explained with the great words of our mighty President, "hi ni u kumbafu" and as interpreted, by one Hon. Michuki, for the uninitiated like Andrea "ni mutu ambaye anajua kile anatakiwa kufanya lakini anakataa kukifanya, huyo ni KUBAFU".

We we cannot pull ourselves out of this importation quagmire lets stop consuming bandwidth that the ISPs have sworn never to reduce in price.

Lets all have a good day dressed in our imported suites, using imported software, on imported computers and sitting on imported chairs.

Asimuamushe alielala . . .

Regards 

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

Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

  _____  

From: Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com>
To: robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Sent: Thu, 23 September, 2010 9:35:41

Subject: Re: [kictanet] Commodity Exchange System

Hey all, 

Both the NSE and a future commodity exchange are trading platforms, and I think it's crucial, absolutely crucial, that they have flawless technology behind them - look at it from the perspective of anyone who trades on them, whether small retail investors (of which Kenya has hundreds of thousands) or large brokers. 

I actually don't care where such a system comes from, whether it's built locally or abroad. But I don't think these are the right places to experiment with new systems. It has to be tried and tested and reliable.  

Have a lovely Thursday, 
Andrea 

On 23 September 2010 09:23, Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.or.ke> wrote:

In other African countries, even where such large projects are outsourced to foreigners, twinning is done with local IT firms as a requirement and subsequent roll-out to branch offices are done entirely by locals - I'm aware of a massive systems deployment within government in a neighboring country where such twinning is being done and the system roll-out will be done by locals. NCPB is a government agency, correct? If so, the government should look inward first! 

Dr Ndemo, any comment? You've always been an advocate of local innovation.

Why do we have global award winners who can't be tried and tested locally? what policy should be in place to encourage local software innovation? The argument that local firms are free to competet alongside international firms at this stage of our development is a "tired" argument in my view. Some "affirmative action" policy may be necessary.

Edith

________________                                    

Edith Ofwona Adera 

Senior Program Specialist 

ICT4D Program and Climate Change & Water Program

International Development Research Centre | Centre de recherches pour le développement international

Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa

Tel: +254202713160 | Fax/Téléc: +254202711063 | Skype: edithadera

eadera at idrc.or.ke |  <http://www.idrc.ca/> www.idrc.ca |  <http://www.crdi.ca/> www.crdi.ca

Error! Filename not specified.

  _____  

From: kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Mwololo Tim [timwololo at gmail.com]
Sent: 23 September 2010 08:26
To: Edith Adera

Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions

Subject: Re: [kictanet] Commodity Exchange System

Hi everyone,
Let us instead push for a policy that is supportive of local software development. Giving up is not an option. Rgds. tm

On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 2:22 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Hi,

The National Cereals and Produce Board together with the East African Grain Council are working towards the creation of a commodity exchange to trade futures.

This process is at an advanced stage which begun with a process called warehouse receipting and currently Equity Bank offers credit against the receipts.

What does this have to do with us in the IT field?  When the Nairobi Stock Exchange tendered for the automated trading system (ATS) and more recently for the Broker Back-office System no local IT company made it past the 1st round.  

The fact that companies like Virtual City are winning international awards for systems development and others like PesaPal are receiving large direct foreign investments means that we do have the skills to develop world class solutions.

This is an appeal to all ICT experts in the country to prepare ourselves to make sure that the grain exchange system is locally developed and we stop being spectators in our own country.  I know it is said that a prophet is never recognised in his own town, it is time we made this phrase redundant.

NCPB and others are already shopping overseas for a solution so be warned that time is not in our hands and if we are to have an impact we need to move quickly.

The proposed system is supposed to provide a trading platform, depository system, GIS for land information, settlement system, warehouse management, weather monitoring and seed planting information system (acreage, seed type, fertiliser, etc).

Lets get off our high horses and put a together a world class solution for a local problem.  No tears after the horse has bolted.

Useful links

http://dn.nationmedia.com/DN/DN/2010/09/03/ArticleHtmls/03_09_2010_030_014.shtml

http://allafrica.com/stories/200904271171.html

http://www.ratin.net/mainfeature.asp?id=40

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Business/Smart%20Money/-/688614/899436/-/bypmdxz/-/index.html

http://www.unctad.info/upload/SUC/LusakaWorkshop/WarehouseServicesKenya.pdf

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

Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 

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