[kictanet] Our Response to Systematic ICT Systems Failure at IEBC

Tue Mar 12 19:08:21 EAT 2013

+1,
@ Sam,
From your pitch, 
>>...are we saying that nobody in this list bid for this system? nobody 
tried? ... doesn't that mean we are just talking ..... and talk is 
cheap.

am tempted to confess that indeed as a member of the ISACA-Kenya (the information system audit community) I did get an invite to make a bid to externally audit the election information system.  But guess what, the invite came on a Friday Feb 22nd and was due by that Monday 25th which incidentally was then just 1week to the voting/election day.  Assuming the eventual IS Auditor (whoever it was) did find issues that needed more than a week to fix?

My point which I have been singing all along, folks in Government and related type of organisations know what needs to be done, they just never get the complimentary and  necessary support in a timely manner.  So your post-mortem must go beyond the technical and begin to address the "organisational" context/issues.

walu.

________________________________
 From: Sam Gichuru <gichuru at gmail.com>
To: jwalu at yahoo.com 
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> 
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 6:45 PM
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Our Response to Systematic ICT Systems Failure at IEBC

Edith, 

I am one of those who suggested a full Audit of the system but only after the elections and I am definitely looking forward to this weeks #140 Friday with Brian, I hear people involved will be available for candid discussions. 

What I am seeing and I stand to be corrected is the spectator syndrome, when everything is ok and the international press highlight Kenya as a tech destination, Mpesa is praised, Ushahidi and startups with all our Mvitus, we celebrate, claim our team (#teamtech/ICT) is winning and write long blog posts and gazillion tweets etc

This only last as long as nothing goes wrong, but when it does, suddenly the conversation changes from "we" to "them", they have failed, they dint consult, they dint test, they... not us. This is what most football fans/Spectators do, they love their football team only when its winning, which basically makes one wonder are we players or are we fans of this game?

But to bring this home, we have a bigger problem, if this community started asking about the procurement process, the system architect and the companies that were selected to implement  the IEBC system only after it failed, we are not engaging enough, are we saying that nobody in this list bid for this system? nobody tried? ... doesn't that mean we are just talking ..... and talk is cheap.

I would like to challenge the community to engage more with an aim to problem solve, to tender and bid for local contracts, to build more open source solutions, to fundraise with an aim to seed fund startups, if we dont... we are going to be running around in circles and then move to Rwanda and guess what we will all say ..... they dint do xyz... 

Let ask Ourselves ... who is they?

On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 4:35 PM, Edith Adera <eadera at idrc.ca> wrote:

Harry,
> 
>Not sure you were in Kenya or buried your head in the sand!
> 
>It’s a fact that the system did not work and IEBC had to revert to the manual system as reported by the Chair of the IEBC on TV.
> 
>We need to learn to tell the truth as a country and confront our issues. Someone suggested on this list, can’t remember who,  that as an ICT industry an audit should be carried out so we know what went wrong and learn for the future.
> 
>Why do we always turn to the easy targets….tribalism, partisan interests etc when hard questions are asked?
> 
>Edith
> 
>From:kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Harry Delano
>Sent: March 12, 2013 3:22 PM
>To: Edith Adera
>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>Subject: [kictanet] Our Response to Systematic ICT Systems Failure at IEBC
> 
> 
>Aye..!
> 
>Could someone please aver what the furor was all about on this list when systems failed at IEBC last week. I thought it was so that
>we could address systemic issues in that part of the election process..? Please someone correct me, but I seem to be settling on
>this conclusion that we collectively only raise hue and cry when the system(s) are perceived to be working  against “us”, or not in 
>“our” interests – whichever side of divide each one of us sits. Once they serve ‘our’ interests, we quickly move on.. So where is 
>posterity in all this..? A pattern emerges where well calculated intellectual arguments everywhere nowadays, that  thinly  veil and 
>mask the real motives in us. We completely bury our heads in the ground and deny that we have deeply rooted issues that stem
>from tribe, class etc and as a result,  we are caught up in this  vicious cycle that we cannot seem to free ourselves from and which 
>clouds our entire vision as a nation. Who will free us, if we do not take initiative ourselves..? How and when will we as a nation 
>confront this ‘monster’ head on, by first of all acknowledging it exists. Then moving to deal with it. Can this list be at the forefront 
>of it..?
> 
>If so,  let’s start now..
> 
>Harry
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-- 
Warm Regards,
------------------------
Sam Gichuru

twitter: | @samgichuru
Blog: |  www.samgichuru.com
Facebook: | Sam.gichuru
Skype: Sam.gichuru
Cellphone: | +254-722-730565 

Co-founder/ Director /Nailab Incubation
Location: | Nairobi 
Website: | www.nailab.co.ke
twitter: | @thenailab 
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