[kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???),

Adam Peake ajp at glocom.ac.jp
Thu Jun 21 14:43:04 EAT 2012


Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy:
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16>

A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the
refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the
problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without
explanation is ridiculous.

Adam



On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook at gmail.com> wrote:
> Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the
> wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
>
> Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone
> caught using a VoIP app.   There IT indicators are among the lowest in
> Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to
> "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development,  share
> ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at
> least in so far as social and political environments go.   Anyone who
> has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain
> sailing.  Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
>
> And they are one better than Kenya?
>
>
> On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Thanks Kivuva,
>> On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these
>> have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by
>> foreigners and Kenyans alike.   Pick a cause, shed light on how bad
>> things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing
>> around the cup.
>>
>> I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs
>> and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of
>> resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the
>> govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because
>> certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights,
>> etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I
>> think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had
>> vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move
>> amounted to nought.
>>
>> I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare
>> more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better,
>> malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc.   Of
>> course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I
>> have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago.
>> Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions
>> of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must
>> mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
>>
>> Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in
>> Kenya and we need to support them.  But for the most part, and I make
>> no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy
>> the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir
>> controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to
>> remain relevant in order to secure funding.  In so doing they must
>> continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
>>
>>
>> On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com> wrote:
>>> Francis,
>>>
>>> Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with
>>> perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is
>>> our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums,
>>> drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to
>>> "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's
>>> image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see
>>> western country publish widely sensationalizing  their homeless, street
>>> gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
>>>
>>> In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on
>>> positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If
>>> we instill cockiness in the direction of  narcissism, then the west will
>>> stop taking us for granted.
>>>
>>> Self Love
>>>
>>> On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT
>>>> aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information,
>>>> ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
>>>>
>>>> This index is by the US group Fund for Peace.   I wonder what metrics
>>>> they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices
>>>> they use.
>>>>
>>>> Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???),
>>>> 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria,
>>>> Niger among others. The lower the  score, the more "failed" a state
>>>> is.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway....the links:
>>>>
>>>> 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
>>>> (updated with 2012 Index)
>>>>
>>>> 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or
>>>> so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more
>>>> heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) -
>>>> and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing
>>>> how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would
>>>> be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline,
>>>> slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people
>>>> living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last
>>>> half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary
>>>> application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The
>>>> Patriots Act).
>>>>
>>>> And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's
>>>> case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted)
>>>> by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain
>>>> regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument
>>>> for another day.
>>>>
>>>> I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean
>>>> Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly
>>>> ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an
>>>> issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this
>>>> "failed" states index?
>>>>
>>>> Rgds
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Francis Hook
>>>> +254 733 504561
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> ______________________
>>> Mwendwa Kivuva
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Francis Hook
>> +254 733 504561
>
>
>
> --
> Francis Hook
> +254 733 504561
>
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