[kictanet] Bitange for President? And a Peaceful Election

Fri Aug 5 17:30:39 EAT 2011

Wamuyu,
In the remainiing one year or so we can do much.  We are not a unique lot during electioneering.  The British will soon demand a constitution considering what they went through in the past election.  If they get 50 political parties like we do, they will behave exactly like us.  This will mean shelved ideology.

The tension in the US after the protracted budget negotiations is very high.  This actually means racism is at unbearable levels.  The difference between then and us is that media does not focus on divisive issuies.  At times like that media begins to drum up patriotism and ideology to mitigate against militants creating new parties.  If you carefully analyse the US media, they are not promoting the Tea Party because it will tear down the conservative ideology.

Similarly, our Media should rise to the occassion and help create a democratic Kenya.  This is possible.  Instead of cheering tribal rhetoric they focus on common issues like how we can tame inflation, which is the right educational system for Kenya, health insurance ete.

Avoid such things as domination by this and that ethinic group.  Us vs them within one Kenya.  The fear of domination is useless.  The Scotish people did not attempt to cecede when their son was beaten by David Cameron an Englishman after English dominating the leadership for centuries.  

When we sought for a new constitution it was said that it would not matter who is in office.  Nevertheless, we have to do something.  For a start we have the e-voting strategy document ready.  The LTE rollout will provide the necessary infrastructure.  We shall wait for instruction to utilize ICTs.  

In the last election the problem was verification of ID to the extent that some dead people voted.  This we can sought out if we used biometrics.  Although I am not a prophet, we shall have a clean election.  So please don't panic.

Ndemo.

Sent from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: Wamuyu Gatheru <wamuyu at soko-id.co.ke>
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:18:13 
To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? And a Peaceful Election

Thanks PS. I hope you have enjoyed the challenge. They don't call you  
Daktari for nothing - you have given us a 'Vision 2030'.

So much for Presidency. How about the election? Political risk remains  
the most significant risk to business and life generally in Kenya.  
Basically, Kenya has been given an 'early warning' that unless close  
attention is paid to the conduct of the election we could have an  
emergency.

I would like to propose that those with ICT platforms use them to  
change the content of the election conversation. For example, messages  
could be shaped around the new Kenya values (pride in diversity,  
commitment to individual and community welfare, respect for the  
environment, aspiring for good governance...see Chapter 1 of  
Constitution). These messages can be cleverly mass marketed to  
undermine the dominant political agendas based on ethnic mobilisation  
(" the G7", "our community must unite").

Am happy to work with anyone willing to lend their communication  
platform for this work. A few NGOs will be working on this but their  
efforts will be too marginal to stop the dominant ethnic sabre rattling.

Wamuyu

Quoting bitange at jambo.co.ke:

> Muraya,
> I am still working with Blackberry at my sisters funeral that had an  
> elaborate program with a start time and finish.  But the MC may be  
> having another program and as I write the finish time has come but  
> the Pastor has not started.  All manner of politicians have talked  
> seeking help come next year but nothing to do with what brought us  
> here.  We shall never develop with this kind of irresponsibility.
>
> I say this because it is a reflection of your post.  We all need  
> change.  We are frustrated not by colonialists but us.  We must  
> respect any responsibility that is given to us.  Be it as small as  
> being MC or a manager of public resources.
>
> We need to embrace a common value system.  You cannot build any  
> trust without a value system.  With a new constitution we must  
> figure out the values we put in the constitution.  We must  
> eternalize these values, respect every saul, feel guilty when you  
> deviate from the common values.
>
> Foreiners are cautious about us.  If we cannot trust one another how  
> then can a foreigner trust us.  We are a selfish people as often I  
> see people talk ill of others simply because they come from another  
> ethnic group.  This is not Government.  This is us.  Let us not keep  
> on asking for more policies when we know the underlying variables  
> are stronger than any policy.
>
> We must one by one commit to work towards a common goal for a One Kenya.
>
> Regards
>
>
> Ndemo.
>
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "S.Murigi Muraya" <murigi.muraya at gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 13:22:48
> To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? Driving Knowledge
>  Economy?OnlineInterview with PS Ndemo
>
> Dakitari,
>
> All well and good..
>
> Some interesting Public Administration concepts learned in some courses I
> once took..
>
> Policy = Decision making..
>
> Decision making.. Requires Information -- of which there is never enough to
> make a decision with 100% knowledge / accuracy of a situation.. the more
> information available, the better the policy / decision made / action taken
> to resolve a situation at hand..
>
> Also learned.. Information enables... Prioritization (part of decision
> making)... Sequence of services / social goods to provide to enable even
> more social services / goods..
>
> So good governance ALWAYS involves prioritizing Information Systems..
>
> Yesterday, a clearing agent told me that clearing goods has become less
> crooked due to Information Systems implemented by Serikali.. Not completely
> straight yet.. but much improved :-)
>
> How can we, the Private Sector, help ensure Internal / Intranets and Public
> / Websites are more current / updated  / sms codes for information work e.g.
> for passport information..?
>
> Our.. private firms.. are asking.. as techies often ask us when we ask them
> to learn / master some technical concepts.. for projects to turn theory into
> professional skills.
>
> How do you ensure that LOCAL firms can turn academic theory into
> professional / practical / certified skills without partnering them with
> FOREIGN firms winning our government projects?
>
> Did these FOREIGN firms, not become competent technical & financial giants
> by being awarded contracts by their own governments / which demanded
> excellence from them / also rejecting corruption in them..?
>
> How about public officers refusing to issue IT projects to firms that will
> not give them a "commission"..?
>
> How about  IT firms winning and messing up projects they won due to
> Political Connections not because they demonstrated Professional Skills
> Development?
>
> How about major software & hardware vendors who do not invest in local
> partners.. to keep them up to up to date on their technologies.. We do not
> seem to have Distributors who value or relate well to Indigenous Kenyans..
> then major software & hardware vendors wonder why IT Resellers and IT
> Managers are not buying their products as they should...and we wonder why
> they do not invest in local assembly or manufacturing.. providing us with
> even more technical know how..
>
> Earlier this Century (sounds like 100 years ago), a Kenyan at a
> Multinational Firm told me that Indigenous Kenyans do not invest as much as
> the Companies with major software and hardware distributorships / contracts
> in Kenya / EAC / COMESA...
>
> How do you deal with these situations?
>
> PS..
>
> Have heard PS Ndemo state that instead of demonizing Central Kenyans, some
> of their Business Ventures should be emulated by all Kenyans..
>
> Once heard a Kenyan Brit telling some Expatriates to never to look down on
> peasant looking Central Kenyan wazee.. he explained how liquid / wealthy
> some of them are.. and how much they could buy from / invest in ventures of
> those who did not look down on them... Am sure these kind of wazees / their
> clans / future companies / exist in every Kenyan county...
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 10:17 AM, <bitange at jambo.co.ke> wrote:
>
>> Joseph,
>> About four years ago soon after I joined Government I called several of my
>> colleagues from Universities of Nairobi and JKUT. Purpose was to start
>> manufacturing a simple hand set just like Hyundai Ponny. I also embarked on
>> Madaraka PC which we later called e-mado. The idea was to put our country on
>> a learning curve. We set to assemble PC while research or reverse
>> engineering on the Mother Board and the chip went on at UON. JKUAT was to
>> work on the Power supply.
>>
>> Eventually we assenbled about 5,000 PCs from JKUAT, Nairobi and Multimedia.
>> I had secured funding from CCK and Safaricom. Later with Prof. Kamau we
>> embarked on the set top box. Then suddenly something died. My appeal to the
>> private sector to take up the project fell on deaf ears (see why we need to
>> change it). Sad you find many private sector selling the finished goods.
>> Nobody wants Kazi ya Mkono.
>>
>> Today we could be having a fully fledged semi conductor factory. Money has
>> never been a problem. It is us. We can do it but we must have the passion to
>> succeed. The will to grow our economy and the desire to felt throughout the
>> region.
>>
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>>
>> Ndemo.
>>
>> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>> ------------------------------
>> *From: * joseph wafula <muliaro at yahoo.com>
>> *Date: *Thu, 4 Aug 2011 23:39:45 -0700 (PDT)
>> *To: *bitange at jambo.co.ke<bitange at jambo.co.ke>
>> *ReplyTo: * joseph wafula <muliaro at yahoo.com>
>> *Cc: *KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *Subject: *Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? Driving Knowledge
>> Economy?OnlineInterview with PS Ndemo
>>
>> Listeners,
>>
>> PS Ndemo is provoking a healthy debate on key issues that we need to pay
>> attention to if Kenya is to accelerate in the right direction.
>>
>> Industrialization is key to economic development. China, Malysia and Koreas
>> of this world have demonstrated it. ICT is now identified as one of the
>> vibrant
>> industry in Kenya. Indeed it is, yet we have limited it to service sector.
>> My proposal is that we make delibarate effort to bring on board
>> Semiconductor industries
>> that manufacture SIM cards, Mobile Phones etc. this are light industries
>> that require small spaces and are not bulky. they are knowledge intensive.
>> we have the knowledge and skill to produce.  I trained in this area
>> at the Hitachi Microectronics Research Centre , University of Cambridge UK
>> with colligues from USA, Canada  and Greece. They all went into
>> establishment of Semiconductor industries that have promoted the economies
>> of their countries. why cant we do the same? there are enough engineers in
>> our country who can come together  and start up such industries with the
>> support of government. The environment is now in our favour. PS Ndemo,
>> please take up this idea. Lots of jobs and businesses can be created for our
>> people.
>>
>>
>> Muliaro
>>
>>
>>
>>  *From:* "bitange at jambo.co.ke" <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
>> *To:* muliaro at yahoo.com
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> *Sent:* Friday, August 5, 2011 6:07 AM
>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? Driving Knowledge
>> Economy?OnlineInterview with PS Ndemo
>>
>> Listers,
>> I hoped someone will ask how to get housing to all other Kenyans after we
>> deal with Northern Kenya.  Let me explain.
>>
>> We have trillions in the cooporative movement managed by wazees that have
>> little education while the people who created the wealth languish in Jigger
>> invested huts.
>>
>> Those who come from coffee and tea growing areas know that billions are
>> being wasted and records are being destroyed. Actualy as I too is a victim
>> of this mismanagent.  While growing up we picked coffee and carried it on
>> our heads to processing factories.  The highest pay per KG I remember my
>> late mother got was Ksh. 1.  Much of the moner had been deducted for
>> investment.  Some of these investment are now prime properties which we have
>> no say in and I do not think we shall ever redeam the investment.
>>
>> First thing I will do is to deal with the cooperative act and bring justice
>> to the original investors.  Since most of them are not a live we deal with
>> successors of their estates.  The resource will then be used as collateral
>> to build  decent housing for Millions of Kenyans and and more importantly
>> those suffering under inhuman condition with jiggers yet they played a key
>> role in creating wealth.
>>
>> I will start an aggressive program of cottage industries with the aim of
>> bulding a wage economy.  This will make it easier for mortgage banks to lend
>> money for eco homes throughout. The country.  You must agree that to move
>> our people from the begging culture to mordern ways of living we need to
>> create structures that support such life.  It will force us to plan in
>> almost all aspects.  To plan to pay mortgage, to plan the number of children
>> etc.
>>
>> Then it will be easier to deploy fibre and other utilities to every home.
>> With such utilities we can help our people sustainably.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ndemo.
>>
>>
>> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: "[ Brainiac ]" <arebacollins at gmail.com>
>> Sender: kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 01:09:31
>> To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? Driving Knowledge Economy?
>> OnlineInterview with PS Ndemo
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
>> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
>> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>
>
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