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

[Eric M.K Osiakwan]

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 31, 2011, at 4:38, bitange at jambo.co.ke wrote:

> Eric,
> I think to a large extent we are saying the same thing.  
.......In which case this would be my last commentary (facts and opinions) so that we won't necessarily prolong this discussion in 2012 because it is the year of ACTION (less talk, more walk). Am personally committed to the pattern of talking less on this list except for major interventions like this, this is not to say other interventions are not relevant....

> My question is simple.  How much Government do Africans want in their entrepreneurial activities? 
Answer: less and less government as the markets mature and the context demands but let me hasten to add that markets are not perfect and would never be so we would always need regulation. In this assertion, I lean more towards Soros and Karl than Adam and Milton.

> 
> My arguments tends to show that in general if there is less government, policies tend to favour enterprise at the expense of the poor majority.  
Agreed but my argument represents the other side of the coin (remember every coin has two sides....:-) which is that more government turn to craft policies that make a demi-god of government which is evidenced also by poverty and I would give you the African example soon, just stay with me for a minute....so again moderation is the key, we need a balance between government and private as well as other equally important stakeholders.

> This is when the government takes politics as a branch of economics as previously theorized by Adam Smith and Milton.  Friedman.  
Am never arguing that it is wrong but rather calling for none-extremism 

> Although greed has been with us for ages, within such an environment, greed is therefore sanctioned by government.
Yes but don't forget that greed is also an animal in government and now to my example. The richest people in Africa are politicians which begs the question, where did they get their money from? On the contrary the richest people in the advanced economies are private sector entrepreneurs who create business, employ people, pay taxes etc. Forbes recently named Aliko Dangote as the richest African with 10.2billion but you and I known thats a joke, right? Because Gaddafi had way more loot than that and only if the Swiss bankers would be honest which I know they won't, you would realize Forbes was only focusing on private sector wealth. Am sorry to be soo blunt but for the sake of Africa let's speak plainly.....

> The extreme end of capitalism is only found in Somalia where the economic activities are independent of government.  Sometimes politics in Somalia is a complete branch of economic activity.
Yes and i acknowledge that it is working but let's see if it stands the test of time.

> 
> I am surprised that you are defensive about Africa's private sector.  
Am an embodiment of that estate so would defend it not just for defending sake but on the basis of facts and you know I also pointed out the flaws and said we need to do much more.

> You do not need to do much in Africa to grow at 5%.
At the least I like to recognize little efforts even if they are insignificant, otherwise it won't become significant.

> The inefficiencies in Africa are mind boggling.  
Which may suggest that doing things means overcoming these bogglings so not be as easy.


> I have extensively written about this in this forum.  Africa can actually grow at a rate of 20% on an annual basis.
Yes so lets develop a strategic plan for that, these are the elements that I expect to be on the agenda of the African Union..... 

> We have not even reduced post production inefficiencies to stem food insecurity.
Am not an expert in this area but common sense tells me, yes...

> 
> Much of the enterprise in Africa today was due to privatization of state enterprises including the communication sector.  
The entire mobile magic has nothing to do with incumbent privatization. I actually think that it happened because governments were busy privitising so could not have time to be a "stumbling block", some deliberately though.

> Innovations like Makmende in Kenya were not seen as opportunity to invest in.  You can even ask Liko in this forum.  We have not even taken seriously innovations coming from our youth.  
.....hmm, you want to open another can of worms, right?

> If you apply Schumpeter's creative destruction theory, you will find that there are only a handful of Africans who fit the bill even though we have had opportunities to destroy existing technologies.  Makmende would have dealt face book a big blow.
No doubt and I think the opportunity has not passed. Mpesa is a written text application on the mobile phone, the spoken word is pretty generic but my the time the moving images set in, we would have a cruchendou and am certain that African would be the playground for that.....

> 
> I attend most of presentations by youth at I-hub and I-Lab.  The angel investors you see in these presentations are not Africans.  
The question is are there any angels in Africa, answer, no but a few who are trying. Next question, why? Because the banks rates are soo lucrative that it is best and safest to lodge the money there than give it to "some youth with a great idea". Ideas don't even have merit and guess who sets the bank rates?


> By any statistics, if all venture capitalist are foreign then when such ideas break big, we shall simply be onlookers.
That is my biggest nightmare....

> Who should be taking the risk?
Government and private sector should be spending sleepless night thinking through this and again, these are the things the AU should be discussing.

> Should government be in business only to privatize when risk is minimized?
That's her track record, unfortunately...

> 
> Here is our real problem.  Africa celebrates with drum beats with the hatching of one chick while the west would only celebrate with violins when all the chicks have been hatched.  The potential growth rate in Africa has not reached where we can begin to celebrate with drum beats.  We must keep on the pressure.  The private sector must wake up. 
Yes but I also think that if we don't celebrate our little effort to urge us on to greater works, we may relent....

> 
> Your celebration of our academics in the diaspora again is too early.  Most of African academics abroad are suspect.  I do not know whether they are genuine or simply saying what is politically correct.  
I prefer to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and for at least saying these things I would give them credit for moral courage because there are lots who won't, innother words for at least stepping to the game, I would rather not suspect them....

> I think they are guilty for not coming back to be foot sodiers of development.  
I really beg to differ because we all have different roles from different locations. The success of Asia is largely due to their ability to leverage their dispora.

> It is easier to cheer or jeer from the sidelines.  They must make sacrifices and come home to share their experiences.  Let us see them take the leadership and show us the way.
I worry that your submission above dismisses structural form entirely. For any country to advance there is a role for academics and intellectualism in the same manner that there is a role for the arts and sciences so asking for academics to be private sector seems not okay by me....

> 
> On leadership and pragmatism.  There is nothing out of playing in the middle and call it pragmatism.  You either have the Government in business activity or not at all.  
Well, this is where we part ways....

> Obama is a liberal and a good one after nationalizing the collapsing enterprises of America.  If it was not his intervention there will not be GM or Citi Bank.  
Freddie Mae and Freddie Mark, Lehman Brothers etc were allowed to perish, why? Because there needs to be a balance between what you can nationalist and what you can't....

> This is not politics of the middle, this is reminding the world that economics is a branch of politics.  This what Roosevelt did to safe capitalism.  Pragmatism is when you sit in the fence.
Am not necessarily in agreement but I can live with it so see you my friend in 2012 for more action.....

> 
> 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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