[kictanet] of online degrees + PCK...+ Wifi Project

Thu Aug 30 18:30:37 EAT 2012

interesting...

I think Yawe has a point.  PCK recovery strategy should revolve around 
eCommerce rather than trying to pretend to be another Telco providing 
(cheap) Wifi.  The last time PCK tried  this Telco move was,  I recall, 
was just before the 2002 elections (what a coincidence?)

In 2001-2, they installed Satellite dishes (x4) in each of the 700 
Post-office across the country in preparation to offer internet services
 to the rural folks.  And because bloggers are being hurled to courts in
 recent times, I will avoid naming folks who legally made a killing from
 this project that never quite took off. "Legally" because the won the 
tenders to do the job and they did deliver the equipment. They legally 
won the tender to Consult on the project as Lawyers, Financiers etc and 
the delivered the services accordingly and so really you cannot  blame 
them. Infact recently there was a case in court where one of these 
Lawyers won a case to be paid his balance...

And now in as we approach 2013 elections - PCK is again making another 
"Telco" attempt worth I dont know how many billions?  Yawe - now you 
know why you will never be the Post Master General.  How can you when 
you might fight against such lucrative Telco projects?  Perhaps you 
should remain just a Desktop activist/blogger :-)

walu.

nb: not sure if we have PCK staff are on the list but I think they 
should convince us how this Wifi project will change PCK fortunes. And 
since PCK is fully owned by the Public (unlike Safcom) we can as Edith 
said and  in the spirit of the new constitution,  we can indeed demand 
that they show us how they intend to use our money.  Who knows, we may 
after all  be wrong and they may be right.

--- On Thu, 8/30/12, robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

From: robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] of online degrees + PCK...
To: jwalu at yahoo.com
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Date: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 5:11 PM

Hi Mwangi,

Ask PCK what is the volume of shipments they handle from Amazon and eBay then you will realise that you are one of very few people who still believe that they need to hold an item in their hands before buying.  

Experience and recommendations is what gives the belief that at a supermarket there is an assurance of quality yet for many years Nakumatt was believed to offer low quality products but when Uchumi faltered and people who would never be seen dead in Nakumatt tried the chain and many got hooked and never left.

I will repeat what I have said before, Nairobi is not Kenya, just because we have a choice of which supermarket to shop at does not make it a national norm or a basic human right.  Note my mention of the cost of a CD in Thika (50 KM from Nairobi) and in Nairobi.

I sell
 conference recordings on DVD and people have ordered them online from as far off as Garsen so I wonder which people are you referring to who believe will not shop online if the facility was available.

Bata has just launched an online ordering system which includes delivery, it is a partnership with such an organisation that PCK needs not WiFi hot spots.  

KENet has provided high speed connectivity across Universities most of which is being used for youtube viewing while next door the most profitable business is the photocopying of books at a cost 3 times that of buying the book all because the student in Maseno or Tana River University college can not afford to come to Nairobi to buy a new or used copy of the book.  

Tell me that if the student had a way to order the book online and have it delivered securely that he would still opt for the photocopy because there is quality assurance by looking at the original

Many
 people still have faith in PCK me included which is why every time I have the option when shipping in items from overseas I will use EMS.  Even found out that it was cheaper to send my books from Amazon (still import physical books even though I have a kindle, but don't I say) to my sister's in the US, which is free, then onward shipping using USPS aka EMS. 

Mwangi, I do not theorize I actually do practice what I preach, I participate in online commerce which is why I can stand on this pedestal and give my opinion and proposals to PCK having no fear or reservations to the likelihood of  potshots.

Regards

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

Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
        From: Mark Mwangi <mwangy at gmail.com>
 To: robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk 
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> 
 Sent: Thursday, 30 August 2012, 14:13
 Subject: Re: [kictanet] of online degrees + PCK...

For some of these things the product creates the market. Its like saying how there was no market for cars in the 1800s. We dont buy online because it is not reliable, efficient or trustworthy yet. It is why we all troop to Nakumatt because there is some quality assurance. 

On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 1:22 PM, Josphat Karanja <karanjajf at gmail.com> wrote:

Robert,

Is there anyone currently playing in the online delivery space, say for items purchased from Amazon?

I would be interested in figures of how many people are really buying items online.

Regards
...........................................................
Josphat Karanja, 

Blog: http://mawazoyamkenya.blogspot.com/ 

On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 12:56 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Walu,

Thanks, nonetheless, for the belated lobbying with the ideas being put forth by the new PMG I might be coming back for more lobbying.

More importantly is the issue you have raised about degrees for a degrees sake and I made it clear to PS Ndemo at the height of my lobbying that I would not go and get a US$ 1,500/- online degree just to meet a flawed requirement.  Sometimes what you need is passion (Hon. Kajwang raised the issue of a "passionometer") and a clear understanding of the problem and a grasp of the ideal solution.

Installing WiFi connectivity and offering it at Kes. 150/= per month will never get PCK out of the situation it currently is in now, the silence on this comment is a clear indication that very few of us actually read the article. 

I would like to believe that the WiFi
 was to only access e-gov and local content other wise at those charges he would not be able to cover the cost of international bandwidth let alone the backbone infrastructure to Internet the various post offices.

He would rather be thinking of having an e-commerce platform where you could order items online (a blank CD in Nairobi is 15/- in Thika it is 25/-), pay using PostaPay/PesaPay/mPesa and have them delivered by EMS or PostMail, that is the thinking expected of someone at the helm of PCK today and not one who believes that PCK is only about letter.

So if the WiFi system had 1 million users of which 20% bought online, from a locally situated store, two item every month weighing less than five KG (that is the smallest chargeable unit) for which they paid 250/- each for delivery that would result in a revenue of 1,200,000,000/- (1.2 Billion).

This solution can be implemented today without having to spend 1.2
 Billion in CapEx just use the Safaricom cloud to host the sites and spend 150 Million in media advertising and 50 Million in printing direct marketing materials to be inserted in the post office boxes (no stamp cost required).

If the board and management of PCK are truly interested in revamping the corporation I can put together a consortium of local developers a Pasha loan from KICTB and free hosting from Safaricom (yet to discuss with them but this post should have them salivating to jump on board) to implement the e-commerce solution proposed above all in exchange for a small revenue share arrangement.

There PMG free advice from the person who believes he deserved the job if it was based on the results of a passionometer. 

Regards

 Robert Yawe
KAY System Technologies Ltd

Phoenix House, 6th Floor
P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
Kenya

Tel: +254722511225,
 +254202010696

     From: Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com>
 To: robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk 

Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> 
 Sent: Tuesday, 28 August 2012, 18:28

 Subject: [kictanet] of online degrees + PCK...

Just read from todays Nation http://tinyurl.com/97z64zb that the new Postmaster General
 holds a doctorate from 
http://www.washint.edu/en/  - Washington International University, a Cyberspace University.

Whereas I have nothing against online education - having benefited from one - I just thought that I could share some advice.  If you want to do an online program, do it from a PHYSICAL university that has an Online/Distance Learning division.  In other words, the university should physically exist. Similar to if you want to do Online banking, better do it from an existing bank (e.g. Equity, Barclays, KCB, etc) who have an online division.  That way you are likely to get your quality and credibility issues sorted out.

I know Wikipedia is not very authoritative but it is always a good place to go to after asking 
 Google. And so I did and this is what Wikipeidia said about Washington International University.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_International_University

It even claims in its list of graduates and I quote

" Asman Kamama Abongotum; Kenya's Deputy Minister for Education. He could 
lose his parliamentary position because of the unrecognized degree"  Actually our Commission of Higher Education seems to have a problem with this University.

I know the PCK board - that includes our PS Ndemo - may have seen this but argued rightfully that one may NOT need a PhD to ran a simple Postal Service in some developing economy.  In which case, our self-nominated candidate, Bobby Yawe should have been called for the interview?

Just thinking loudly and hope Kibunja and his friends (the mboys in mblue) dont come for me claiming this is hate speech - because I think its a mixture of advice and belated lobbying :-)

walu.

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