[kictanet] Vision 2030: ICT and Other Sectors Converged (Day 3)

[bitange at jambo.co.ke]

Eric,
I am not done with your questions yet.  On Government blocking investment in energy.  This is what we are trying to address: The role of government in enterprise.  If you go deeper into Schumpeter's theory, you will find that no government can block an idea or innovation whose time has come.

When Graham Bell invented the telephone, the British Post dismissed the idea saying there were enough messengers around.  With the invention of mobile telephony, the land line is undergoing the same fate it brought to communication early in the 20th century.  This is what is called "creative destruction".  

We must understand this theory if indeed we want to survive in the days to come.  In my recent visit to China, I saw what the future would be like.  A city the size of Nairobi is using both solar and wind energy to light up street lights.  This innovation even in Kenya does not require government approval.  Further we have enriched the Arab world far too long when we use parrafin to power our rudimentally oil lamps.  Instead we should by now have provided a simple battery, a solar panel and a micro wind vane to every household for energy supply.  This will save us billions of dollars that we can invest in preventive medical care.

Your problem is that you want to replicate what you have seen in advanced economies.  Your approach would fail.  You must first create the market through simple understandable solutions.  The demands for energy will then be incremental such that even if you were to build 10,000 MW you have a ready market.

On colonialism;  This is non sense in my view.  Those who colonized us are dead and most of those who were colonized are dead too.  We must not forget that this happened but our focus should be to build confidence in ourselves to face the world.  Take China for example, Japan dominated them but they have not spent their lives grumbling about the past.  They have faced up to Japan and today they compete on an equal footing.

Although parts of Africa are still under the French colony, you must be grateful that the British colonized us.  The British were only interested in domination and material wealth.  The French's integration approach still has implications on their colonies.  Indeed as I write there are Africans in Africa who consider themselves French.  There are African states that still pay French tax.  Mineral resources on African continent still belong to France.

I have nothing against the French.  If our Francophone brothers feel comfortable this way, let it be.  The best we can do is to face up to our colonial power, leverage on the Common Wealth
Association to build a new alliance that benefits all of us.  Together we have more voting power and ability to lead the agenda.


Regards.

Ndemo.

Sent from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: "Eric M.K Osiakwan" <emko at internetresearch.com.gh>
Sender: kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.keDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:51:57 
To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Subject: [kictanet]  Vision 2030: ICT and Other Sectors Converged (Day 3)

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