[kictanet] Interesting Piece ...

Wed Jan 25 19:48:44 EAT 2012

I wouldn't change the tax regime at all. If local inverter manufacturers
want a share of the market they need to build stuff the market is willing
to pay for. That also means the government needs to find opportunities for
technology transfer, get inverter manufacturers to set up shop here so that
we know how its done.

By the way, shouldn't KenyaPower consider other options to keeping
customers powered? Sell/lease gensets, inverters, batteries, solar
solutions... Is KenyaPower's mandate to sell only electricity delivered by
the wire? Maybe I digress but it is my opinion that opportunities are
embedded in the challenges we complain most about. It maybe simply about
distilling their business to the basics.

The comments I have seen on Facebook and on the blog in reaction to the
post for the most part seem to focus on the challenges Walter throws out
and what we should do as a people. Others (fewer) point quickly to the
tone, language and twisted view of Africans that Walter expresses. There
will be no consensus of opinion on any of that. However, the conversations
triggered and the viral spread of the article is definitely telling.

It is important to hear others out even when they are wrong :) Someone
else's warped view of us can only be modified by evidence not by loud
protests and there are many like Walter with a view of Africa that needs
modification. The evidence exists, we simply need to tell these stories on
our platforms and celebrate the good things that are happening in Africa.

Kind regards,

Muchiri Nyaggah | PRINCIPAL PARTNER
@muchiri
Cell: +254 722 506400

eGOVERNMENT | HEALTHCARE PLATFORMS | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE | TECHNOLOGY

SEMACRAFT CONSULTING PARTNERS
Nairobi | Singapore
www.semacraft.com | www.semacraft.com/blog
twitter: @semacraft

On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 2:42 PM, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 1:40 PM, simiyu mse <kensimiyu at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> What will putting billions of shillings into making a Kenyan plane aid us
>> if we still have hungry people in our midst? Wouldn't a fraction of that
>> being channeled into making boreholes and expanding the footprint of arable
>> land be a better bet.
>>
>> Granted, We are at the consumption end of the line. We will not make
>> an iPhone contender that will lift us out of poverty or what not. We need
>> to know what we can do within our means that will solve our perennial
>> problems affecting our basic needs. Address our reliance on good weather to
>> have food security. Come up with cheap housing. Address
>> our inefficient transport channels that add an unnecessary cost on goods.
>>
>> Use our ideas to inject simple technology into mundane activities. Use
>> our Kenyan peculiar nature to squeeze some commerce out of it. The idea in
>> the article of the stone crusher is an excellent example.
>>
>
> If we leave out the tone and nature of the article, it has some very
> accurate and painful facts:
>
>    - We can't feed ourselves (we will have a crisis in Northern Kenya,
>    where corporates will be involved in another 'Kenyans4Kenya' campaign -
>    remember Kiss FM used to spear head this, now Safaricom).
>    - We can't build basic roads - Waiyaki Way developed potholes less
>    than 3 months after completion.
>    - We can't build railways - The london subway system was opened up in
>    1862. We've not had any significant additions to our railway infrastructure
>    in the 50 odd years we have been 'in charge of things'.
>    - Our political system is a mess - The fact that we have people facing
>    war crimes charges still in Public office says a lot about our ethics and
>    values.
>    - Our education system is a mess.
>
>
> Before we think of building airplanes etc, why can't we start with the
> basics? e.g. KPLC have proven that incompetence can actually be embedded
> into a company's corporate DNA. Given that, many companies/individuals are
> buying inverters and battery banks to insulate them from the 'KPLC effect
> (darkness)'.  We have many guys in the informal sector who build basic
> inverters. Why can't the government increase taxes on imported inverters to
> aid in the sale of the locally assembled ones (which can also be modified
> for use with solar panels)? This will give the Kenya a skillset in
> inverters etc. Given that the basic physics behind them is the same as that
> used by KPLC's high voltage step down transformers, we can then start using
> locally assembled transformers and slightly fix our balance of trade whilst
> creating a new industry. Our engineers will have practical experience in
> building products and more will be employed. They can start building other
> products such as windmills/motors/power backup systems (just random
> thoughts).
>
> Basic product innovation is what we need to do. Affordable and within
> reach. Policy just needs to aid this.
>
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Phares Kaboro Kariuki
>
>
>
>
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