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

Thu Jun 21 14:49:29 EAT 2012

True true.

And coincidentally most of the "failed" or nearly failing states (at
least in Africa and ME) are
1 - New or existing oil producers.
2 - Have increasingly strong ties with China as development partners
(and potential markets for oil e.g. S Sudan, Sudan, Angola, Uganda,
etc)
3 - Rich in natural resources (DRC - story for another day - merits a
chapter of its own)

On 21 June 2012 14:42, Warigia Bowman <warigia at gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, and another amusing indicator is that they say that Ghana is
> borderline. The last time that I checked, Ghana is one of the most stable
> and successful of all African countries, with a thriving democracy.
>
> On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 1:19 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
>> >> For
>> >> Business Development
>> >> Transworld Computer Channels
>> >> Cel: 0722402248
>> >> twitter.com/lordmwesh
>> >> www.transworldAfrica.com  | Fluent in computing
>> >> kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
>> >>
>> >>
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>> >>
>> >> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> >> for
>> >> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> >> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> >> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
>> >> development.
>> >>
>> >> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> >> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and
>> >> bandwidth,
>> >> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy,
>> >> do
>> >> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Francis Hook
>> > +254 733 504561
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Francis Hook
>> +254 733 504561
>>
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Dr. Warigia Bowman
> Assistant Professor
> Clinton School of Public Service
> University of Arkansas
> 1200 President Clinton Ave.
> Sturgis Hall
> Little Rock, AR 72201
> 501-683-5227
> wbowman at clintonschool.uasys.edu
> http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
>

-- 
Francis Hook
+254 733 504561