[kictanet] Dr. Ndemo & the KBC Staff Strike

Tue Mar 6 14:51:20 EAT 2012

Well articulated Washington!

I like the quality of debate......following your questions and probing.... made me wish we had such platforms (digital or not) where regular Kenyans can hold our leaders to account....and ofourse on the receiving end many Bwana Ndemos to respond.

Bwana Ndemo...kudos to you for always responding to issues via email and otherwise. In the next Kenya....we need more people like you...to respond to Kenyan issues live!

My moment of reflection! My vote will go to such leaders.

Edith

________________
Edith Ofwona Adera
Senior Program Specialist
Climate Change & Water Program
International Development Research Centre | Centre de recherches pour le développement international
Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa
Tel: +254202713160 | Fax/Téléc: +254202711063 | Skype: edithadera
eadera at idrc.or.ke<mailto:eadera at idrc.or.ke> | www.idrc.ca<http://www.idrc.ca/> | www.crdi.ca<http://www.crdi.ca/>
________________________________
From: kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Odhiambo Washington [odhiambo at gmail.com]
Sent: 06 March 2012 10:35
To: Edith Adera
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Dr. Ndemo & the KBC Staff Strike

Hello Dr. Ndemo,

I appreciate your response, but I'd like to know from you what it is that is ailing KBC - and kindly be open with facts as they are. So far, you've only said that KBC is grossly in debt, and you've only attributed this to dumping of technology which was being phased out - specifically Medium Wave equipment. Your answer is not convincing, unless you are saying the 20b comprises debt incurred in the dumping process and running of the MW equipment. Are there other factors that are associated with the debt and what is the govt doing to address those?
A string of govt/KBC staff are responsible for this dumping, and we are talking about public funds here. Obviously, these people who did the dumping (when new FM stations were being licensed and operating everywhere) knew so well what they were doing. It's not really hard to prove connivance on their part. Did KBC import equipment without supervision/knowledge of CCK or whatever name the regulator was at that time? What action is being taken against those people? We do have an authority to deal with cases of corruption. Are they dealing already?
How and when is the debt going to be serviced?

Anyway, the main issue in the current debate is about those grievances that led the staff to take to the streets. You are in the right position to tell us what these were specifically and which ones were genuine (or not). It's important that we also get insid information on what the actual truth is. What I've heard is "poor pay", "nepotism", "sexual harrassment". The issue about poor pay is rather obvious within the govt and some parastatals. How true are the later two? What action is being taken to address them?

And finally, you've mentioned that the govt's strategy is to replace the MW stations with FM stations. Good enough, because one of the issues you are addressing is the high cost of running the MW equipment. What strategy has the govt put in place to ensure that these FM stations will be able to be competitive and profitable in the current market regime - even to an extent of being self-sustaining? We (the taxpayers) are not always happy to carry the barden:-)

Two last questions:

1. How is the govt going to dispose of the MW equipment? I believe they are electronic waste.
2. Is the govt going to process the 1000+ applications you received so that it can replace the politically-correct employess with
    the right talent required to achieve the objective of turning KBC around? Please don't tell me that the same tainted team of
    managers (as alleged) is going to be same one tasked with turning it around. I am sure you know how diffiuclt it has been to
    change the work culture at Orange. Sometimes (more often actually) it requires the injection of new blood to turn things
    around. I am hoping that some of those 1000+ applicants are going to be given jobs at KBC to achieve this.

Once again, thank you for your time addressing this.

On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 08:57, <bitange at jambo.co.ke<mailto:bitange at jambo.co.ke>> wrote:
Washington,
KBC would emerge strong from this crisis.  We found KBC with a debt of
Ksh. 20 billion.  It used be the conduit for corruption through dumping of
technology especially the Medium Wave (MW) just as FM was emerging.  It
cost ten times more running a medium wave station than it is with FM.  We
are changing this.  So far we have six new FM stations replacing the old
technology.

We have spilit the organization into theree, that is, infrastructure under
Signet, Public Broadcast and Commercial Broabcast.  The later two will
basically content providers and would worry less on infrastructure that
will be supplied by Signet.

The strike was unnecessary since we had commited to implementing their
demands.  I had personally issued a circular to that effect.  Even the
Union they had joined advised them that the strike was illegal but
unfortunately they defied this.  Even more unfortunate they denounced the
Union out of anger.

We shall continue with the reforms and improve their welfare.  It is not
in our interest to see those we work with in the streets.  I was shocked
to realize that we have thousands of Kenyans seeking for employment.  I
think some of you may have watched TV the heaps of applications.  By
yesterday we had in excess of 10,000.  I was not misquoted because on
Sunday I was at the station and there were more than 1,000 applications.
We must do something for our brothers and sisters.  Either we start
teaching them on areas of wealth creation or find ways of creating massive
employment.  We are trying in our sector but we have not done enough.

Ndemo.

> On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 21:06, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi at gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>> I feel we should sort out our National Broadcaster. It's a pity that
>> other
>> private media stations have taken over KBCs position as we stood by and
>> watched. At the moment, KBC still has good will and can recover.
>>
>> It also does not make sense for we to push for cutting edge initiatives
>> such as Konza, TEAMS if we are going to let the state at KBC remain as
>> it
>> is. I am sure they can play  a major role in local content creation.
>>
>> Having colleagues in the journalistic filed at KBC, I have heard rumours
>> of situation where the national broadcaster's crew were first at ground
>> breaking events (read disasters) in the country. However, such news is
>> broken by private radio stations where the footage is sold even before
>> it
>> ever gets to KBCs studios. I have even heard more rumours of the
>> broadcasters equipment being used to shoot footage that ends up with
>> private broadcasters.
>>
>> I am sure the leaked payslips of staff at Standard Media Group
>> <http://thejackalnews.com/media-news/news-media/1688-horror-of-massive-salary-discrepancies-at-standard-group-exposed>led
>> to most of the staff questioning what it is they did wrong for their
>> colleagues at media school to end up on the better side of luck .
>>
>> An amicable solution is required. We are all sure that the national
>> broadcaster can make enough revenue to sustain a highly skilled
>> workforce,
>> given the right leadership.
>>
>> I believe Dr. Ndemo, having seeing his deeds in the ICT sector, can also
>> be the champion credited with overhauling KBC.
>>
>>
> @Dennis,
>
> For me, it's a simple question so far:
>
> What is it that KBC doesn't have (and cannot afford) that the private
> broadcasters do have?
>
> If someone can answer this for me, I'd be very happy because it's "looking
> at issues from BASIC PRINCIPLES". Maybe it's as hard as having to disband
> KBC, if that situation cannot be addressed.
> However, KBC being a National Broadcaster means it's funded by public
> taxes
> and that is a very very deep pocket! I am not ready to accept any
> explanation to the effect that the govt cannot put in place the necessary
> measures to make KBC a profitable business-case. Rumors have it that
> Management at KBC are well-connected individuals, not necessarily
> qualified, and that is typical for the govt, which is not a business and
> so
> is not expected to make profits, but KBC must make profits like other
> Media
> houses. I don't understand what it is that Citizen does right with its
> myriad Radio Stations that KBC cannot do, having been the only broadcaster
> before these FM Stations were born.
> Oh, most of KBC veterans can be heard at the private Radio Stations,
> especially Royal Media. Someone must be able to explain why they had to
> leave KBC for these other places. The reasons are obvious.
>
> Perhaps the govt should just bite the bullet and shut down KBC if they
> cannot improve it and attract talent and stop acting stupid!
>
>
> --
> Best regards,
> Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
> Nairobi,KE
> +254733744121/+254722743223
> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
> I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke
>
> 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.

--
Best regards,
Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
Nairobi,KE
+254733744121/+254722743223
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
[cid:image001.png at 01CBFF85.F00DA370]Please consider the environment before printing this email.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20120306/1f50a79b/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 652 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20120306/1f50a79b/attachment.png>