[kictanet] #TurkanaOil-Kenya Discovers

Thu Mar 29 12:35:57 EAT 2012

Bwana Ndemo,

Bold Statement!

I've always wondered (and don't tell me it costs a lot), why we always wait for foreigners to help us discover our precious resources - I have never received a convincing answer.

I vividly recall when we went with you to CFSK and you asked them why they do not accompany "the precious metal they extract from computer parts" to China to discover what Chinese do withthem so we can do the same in Kenya to make more money.

It's the same with exploration - why leave it to foreigners?

Edith 

________________
Edith Ofwona Adera
Senior Program Specialist | Spécialiste de programme principal | Especialista Principal de Programa
Climate Change and Water Program
Agriculture and Environment | Agriculture et environnement | Agricultura y Medio Ambiente
International Development Research Centre | Centre de recherches pour le développement international
Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa 
Liason House 2nd floor, State House Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya
+254-20-2713160/1 | Fax: +254-20-2711063 | Mobile:  +254-733-624345
eadera at idrc.ca | www.idrc.ca | www.crdi.ca

-----Original Message-----
From: kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of bitange at jambo.co.ke
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 12:30 PM
To: Edith Adera
Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'
Subject: Re: [kictanet] #TurkanaOil-Kenya Discovers

Listers,
There have been more than 8 billion mentions of Turkana in the web since the discovery of Oil in the Northern Kenya County.  I also happen to have mentioned it several times as I tried to convince my wife that marrying a Turkana woman as my second now will be a great investment for the future. 
Unfortunately, I have not succeeded but what has struck me is the fact that we have all taken a wrong tangent on this Oil issue.  Personally the first thing that came into my mind is immediate abolishing of our Geography syllabus.

If you recall the Geography that we did and still is valid classifies Kenya as non natural resource country.  Even as Patni was testifying that Kenya had Commercial quantity Gold, none of us "educated" believed what he was saying.  It took us another 10 years to realize that indeed there was Gold in Kenya.  The first Commercial Gold mining was issued last year.  
This was as a result of the Late Michuki's efficiency, that we came to known of a commercially viable mine Gold reserves in this country.

The Monday announcement that Kenya had struck oil was distressful to me as I began to ask myself what other mineral resources do we have that we do not know.  Indeed a simple research revealed that in Taita we have Iron Ore, Uranium, Tanzanite etc; from Kitui to Makueni we have Coal; in Homabay's Homa Hills we have probably the best yield Iron Ore that can be found anywhere; in Migori, Kisii, Transmara and Pokot we have Gold; in Pokot lies many other minerals including Copper, limestone and Zinc plus other rare earth minerals; in the Coastal regions we have Titanium and other rare earth minerals and of course the Northern Kenya is a sea bed of Oil.

As a curious student in the US, I one time discovered a map that had classified East Africa as a possible oil reserve.  I was excited and immediately prepared a strategic concept paper which I wanted to deliver to the then President, Daniel Moi.  It turned out to be my greatest nightmare.  I was pumped from office to office with curious Civil Servants asking me why I will want to waste time with such a document.  Eventually, I was sent to Foreign Affairs to see the Director of Political Affairs. 
He took my document and simply told me "young man, go back to your schooling.  You can very easily go to jail here for underestimating our intelligence".

Should we wait until the British come to tell us what to exploit and what we should not?  Some of the Coal field in Ukambani can be easily mined using open-cast method that does not require complex drilling yet we have destroyed the tree cover by burning charcoal in many parts of this country.  We can package the coal nicely and have it sold in super markets.  There is not much capital expenditure requirement to have as many as 1,000 youth working in this new project.  We can even spend Kazi Kwa Vijana resources in order to save a few more trees.

When we revert to arguments such as "is oil a curse or a blessing" we are borrowing from the Western media without engaging our brains.  Can we see headlines such as "Kenya MUST abolish colonial geography", "Kenyan Universities intensify geological research", "Curious Kenyans root for more research", "Oil discovery what next"?  We must begin to think big and more positively otherwise we shall be dependants for ages to come.

Ndemo.

> Mugo,
>  
> Ok you got me on the 2016/17, lakini I hope this means you are 
> seriously addressing the MDG:-) mine was just to point you to a 
> success story and perhaps you can follow their lead without reinventing the wheel...
>  
> Lucy
>
> --- On Wed, 3/28/12, Mugo Kibati <mugo at vision2030.go.ke> wrote:
>
>
> From: Mugo Kibati <mugo at vision2030.go.ke>
> Subject: RE: [kictanet] #TurkanaOil-Kenya Discovers
> To: "'Lucy Kimani'" <lkimani at yahoo.com>
> Cc: "'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'" 
> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 5:27 AM
>
>
> Hi Lucy - by the time we have oil revenues coming in, MDGs will be 
> long gone! Unless you want us to start seriously addressing infant 
> mortality after 2016/17:-)
>
> Regards,
> Mugo
>
> Mugo Kibati
> Director General
> Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat KUSCCO Centre, 2nd Floor - 
> Upper Hill PO Box 52301 - 00200, Nairobi
> Email: mugo at vision2030.go.ke
> www.vision2030.go.ke
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lucy Kimani [mailto:lkimani at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 6:36 AM
> To: mugo at vision2030.go.ke
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] #TurkanaOil-Kenya Discovers
>
> Mugo, eh didnt think I should let you go unchallenged vis-vis I 
> thought you were already reworking Vision 2030 to change that 
> "unattainable" MDG on infant mortality:-) Today I heard that Cuba has 
> a lower infant mortality than the U.S so question is what are they 
> doing differently to achieve this on a shoe string budget and also 
> somehow they have managed to attain a life expectancy of 80 years for 
> their women?  I know, I know not ICT related but you could start 
> planning how to "USF" some of that oil revenue going towards making 
> the MDG attainable:-) In the meantime perhaps bw. PS will let you use 
> some of his USF to research and look at Cuba's best practices/lessons learned.....
>
> Lucy
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Mar 27, 2012, at 11:51 AM, mugo at vision2030.go.ke wrote:
>
>> Just for the record. We should not be reworking Vision 2030 just yet. 
>> We still need to ascertain commercial viability over the next few 
>> months and even then it will take years to attain that 
>> commercialization. Some thinking can start of course but for now that's about it.
>> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: "S.M. Muraya" <murigi.muraya at gmail.com>
>> Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:31:22
>> To: Mugo Kibati<mugo at vision2030.go.ke>
>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] #TurkanaOil-Kenya Discovers
>>
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>> platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT 
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>> enabled growth and development.
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>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable 
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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, 
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