[kictanet] US and OpenData vs Kenyan Situation

S.M. Muraya murigi.muraya at gmail.com
Fri May 10 15:54:40 EAT 2013


Evans,

Assuming 1 million Kenyans are in local and government offices weekly, how
much citizen time is wasted seeking updates which could be provided over
email or CRM web portals?

Has deployment of "free" Linux Mail Servers in many .go.ke offices improved
communications with the general public?

If in some cases proprietary software provides more productivity, than
FOSS, for thousands of internal end users who serve millions of Kenyans,
should we still ignore it?

When was the first/last time you got an email or sms to collect some
documents or permits you applied for in a sirikali org?

Let us plan for some demos...

Sugar CRM (a very good open source CRM) + a Web Browser

vs.

Dynamics CRM + MS Outlook.

Yes? No?
On May 10, 2013 2:13 PM, "Evans Ikua" <ikua.evans at gmail.com> wrote:

> You are very right Rad and I concur with you. I would for instance want to
> know how much money the Government pays in software licenses annually, and
> for which applications.
>
>
> On Fri, May 10, 2013 at 1:28 PM, Rad! <conradakunga at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> It is debatable whether the initiative lived at all.
>>
>> As it stands the data on that portal is completely dependent on the
>> benevolence of bureaucrats and politicians, and as long as that is the case
>> it is difficult for it to succeed.
>>
>> Ideally there should be legislation to compel all government bodies to
>> open up their data on request from the citizens. See Finland for a good
>> example. They credit openness of information as a key factor of low levels
>> of corruption.
>>
>> For example I requested a dataset on
>> 1) Who travelled to London at public expense for the Olympics
>> 2) What was the total expenditure across the board for Kenya's delegation
>> - travel, accommodation, per diems, etc
>>
>> The response was "let me try to ask". Unsurprisingly, that was the last I
>> heard of it.
>>
>> Until we plug that fundamental flaw this initiative will remain a
>> textbook effort
>>
>> On Friday, May 10, 2013, Walubengo J wrote:
>>
>>> Just wondering,
>>>
>>> In the likely departure of both PS Ndemo and CEO Paul Kukubo, I wonder
>>> how much TTL (time to live) there is for our  https://opendata.go.ke/initiative.
>>>
>>> Contrast below:
>>> ~~~~
>>> Today, as he heads to Austin, Texas, for a Middle Class Jobs and
>>> Opportunity Tour<http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/05/08/president-obama-headed-austin-heres-why>,
>>> President Obama signed an Executive Order<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/executive-order-making-open-and-machine-readable-new-default-government->directing historic steps to make government-held data more accessible to
>>> the public and to entrepreneurs and others as fuel for innovation and
>>> economic growth. The Executive Order declares that information is a
>>> valuable resource and strategic asset for the Nation. We couldn’t agree
>>> more.
>>>
>>> http://wh.gov/J5tb
>>>
>>> ~~~~
>>>
>>> walu.
>>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> *----------------------------------------------------
> Kind Regards,
> Evans Ikua,*
> lanetconsulting.com,
> lpi-eastafrica.org,
> ict-innovation.fossfa.net,
> Skype: @ikuae
> Cell: +254-722-955831
>
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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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