[kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?

Wed Mar 6 23:19:34 EAT 2013

Harry,
I did not imply that the whole issue be abandoned. I meant to say that the act of electronic transmission is now water under the bridge.  I am hoping we shall have a thorough audit.

Ndemo.

Sent from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: "Harry Delano" <harry at comtelsys.co.ke>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2013 22:54:36 
To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
Reply-To: <harry at comtelsys.co.ke>
Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Subject: RE: [kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?

Mr.  PS, 

Thanks for this, and this is precisely the reason on this list we've kept
harping on the whole issue of Integrity..

We need to understand the design architecture of the entire system deployed,
to know why, where, when and
how it failed.  A flowchart would do as a start. Failure or not this
constitutes the national election process, which 
calls for integrity. So I do not believe it should all be shrouded in
iron-clad secrecy.

It would also be re-assuring to know that with any loopholes plugged and
sealed, the system will not be open
to a litany of litigations aimed at challenging integrity of the process..

Could failure thereof or otherwise constitute a breach of Integrity..? Only
a tested, good understanding of how the 
System works from start to end would help debunk that, and would also go a
long way in debunking the myriad of 
theories  now making rounds..

Harry

-----Original Message-----
From: kictanet
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
Behalf Of bitange at jambo.co.ke
Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 9:04 PM
To: harry at comtelsys.co.ke
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?

Edith,
First let me clarify that the Biometric Voter Registration worked and that
is how we were all registerted.  The Voter verification system (a small
gadget that takes the impression of your thumb and verifies with the
registration data)failed in most polling centers.  The data transmission
system worked but the server could not cope within the short window period
for transmission (just a few hours after polling centers were closed before
they moved the ballot papers to the constituency tallying centers).
 Not all data was transmitted due to various issues including failure to
fully charge the equipment, alligning data capture with the server software
and other minor human errors.

This does not qualify to condemn the entire industry.  I remember once in
the US when the space shuttle blew up yet they had made many missions into
space. They did not claim failure of the program but rather used it to build
a better program.

In our election exercise we may need to further examine the errors in a more
detailed way.  Often we say we understand when we have not understood.  We
do not have the courage to say I have failed and need help.  We see errors
that we do not report.  We do not learn from mistakes around us (KNEC has
failed a couple of times in a similar exercise but we have never learnt from
it).  These are simple behavioral issues but it is what we need to correct
if any training is to work on us.

In my view we should rather examine ourselves in an increasingly complicated
world.  Recently, I boarded a Matatu from Westlands to city center which the
drive pumped the breaks more that five times to get it to stop.  When I
asked him, he just laughed and said "Mheshimiwa hii inaweza enda hata
mwezi".  I decided to inform everybody that we are riding a vehicle with no
breaks as I alighted.  Nobody followed my call as they looked at me as
though I was crazy. Technology may not be the problem as we think.

Ndemo.

> Mark,
>
> The law requires that the results are transmitted electronically, so 
> it's not a PR exercise! I guess this was made a requirement to avoid 
> rigging and disappearing returning officers like Kivuitu experienced - 
> as these are transmitted in the presence of all party agents observers 
> etc. I guess also a back-up to the actual signed paper copies.
>
> So ICT was playing a very crucial role.
>
> Edith
>
> From: kictanet
> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On 
> Behalf Of Mark Mwangi
> Sent: March 6, 2013 12:23 PM
> To: Edith Adera
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?
>
> The way I understand the electronic system is that it was only meant 
> to be a public facing results platform that would give a general feel 
> of the winners and loosers before the official figures were declared.
>
> The failure of the system thus does not affect the integrity of the 
> elections but only the PR skills of IEBC. The official results are 
> still on form 16a i presume.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 11:57 AM, Erik Hersman 
> <erik at zungu.com<mailto:erik at zungu.com>> wrote:
> Valid question Edith.  The short answer is that only the people in 
> Bomas can answer that question.  I'm looking forward to when they talk 
> about it as well.
>
> Erik Hersman
>
> www.ushahidi.com<http://www.ushahidi.com/> | 
> www.iHub.co.ke<http://www.ihub.co.ke/>
> www.whiteafrican.com<http://www.afrigadget.com/> | 
> @whiteafrican<http://twitter.com/whiteafrican>
>
> On Mar 6, 2013, at 11:45 AM, Edith Adera 
> <eadera at idrc.ca<mailto:eadera at idrc.ca>> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Erik,
>
> Key question, were these companies working in sync or providing 
> services independently without a lead ensurin tgat everything works.
>
> The demo seems to have failed as per article circulated by Muthoni, 
> why were these not addresed as the same problems were experienced 
> during the`live show`.
>
> Hard to understand.
>
> Why not use one integrated system?
>
>
>
> ____________________________________
> From: kictanet
> [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet-
> bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke>]
> on behalf of Erik Hersman [erik at zungu.com<mailto:erik at zungu.com>]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2013 1:52 AM
> To: Edith Adera
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Has the ICT Sector Failed?
>
> Agreed with Evans here.
>
> Every single tech system has problems, that IEBC does as well should 
> be no surprise.  I've been spending last night and this morning trying 
> to better understand how the IEBC's data flow works, their lack of 
> clarity here is the only problem that I can find.  You can see my 
> questions, sources and even the IEBC RFP for the system here: 
> http://iebctechkenya.tumblr.com/
>
>  *   Polling station uses Safaricom SIM cards >
>  *   App installed in phone, proprietary software from IFES >
>  *   Transmitted via Safaricom's VPN >
>  *   Servers hosted/managed by Next  Technologies (needs confirmation) >
>  *   Google hosted website at http://vote.iebc.or.ke >
>  *   Google hosted API at http://api.iebc.or.ke
>
> You'll note that, besides the IEBC itself, there are at least 4 
> (large) organizations that have to be in sync in order for the system 
> to work (Safaricom, IFES, Next Technologies, and Google).  That's no 
> small task, and as you can see by the list of companies involved, 
> these are largely not local companies.
>
>
> Erik Hersman
>
> www.ushahidi.com<http://www.ushahidi.com><http://www.ushahidi.com/> | 
> www.iHub.co.ke<http://www.iHub.co.ke><http://www.ihub.co.ke/>
> www.whiteafrican.com<http://www.whiteafrican.com><http://www.afrigadge
> t.com/>
> | @whiteafrican<http://twitter.com/whiteafrican>
>
> On Mar 6, 2013, at 9:42 AM, Evans Ikua 
> <ikua.evans at gmail.com<mailto:ikua.evans at gmail.com><mailto:ikua.evans at g
> mail.com>>
> wrote:
>
> Edith, I beg to differ. Its not ICT that has failed here. Its the 
> processes. Just throwing some expensive servers and plenty of 
> bandwidth at a problem will not solve it. The top leadership has to 
> fully understand their organization's ICT strategy. They have to 
> internalize the opportunities that technology brings to the table, as 
> well as the inherent risks that come with it. This cannot be left to 
> techies, however good they may be. The reason being that if the 
> organization that you lead fails (and the reason was technology), its you
who is answerable, not the techies.
> This is the spirit of IT Governance.
>
> It would be interesting to know if the IEBC commissioners fully 
> understand the risks of the technologies that they are relying on.
> Let us not blame the technology.
>
> Evans
>
> On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 8:55 AM, Edith Adera 
> <eadera at idrc.ca<mailto:eadera at idrc.ca><mailto:eadera at idrc.ca>> wrote:
> Listers,
>
> It is a shame that for the first time in Kenya's history when IT is 
> given a chance to bring credibility and efficiency in the electoral 
> process, ICT has failed SPECTACULARLY!
>
> what went wrong?
>
> Edith
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>
> --
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Kind Regards,
> Evans Ikua,
> lanetconsulting.com<http://lanetconsulting.com><http://lanetconsulting
> .com/>, 
> lpi-eastafrica.org<http://lpi-eastafrica.org><http://lpi-eastafrica.or
> g/>, 
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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.
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> _______________________________________________
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> om
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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.
>
>
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Mark Mwangi
>
> markmwangi.me.ke<http://markmwangi.me.ke>
>
>
>
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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.

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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.