[kictanet] A good piece by Dr. Bitange Ndemo

Tue Nov 19 16:19:48 EAT 2013

For the Chinese guys putting CCTVs on the cycle lane, someone approved it
right? Some govt official decided that the design was a waste of space and
it was a perfect space to put a post right? The contractor would not do
that without being allowed by the council, govt or whichever body is
incharge.

The day Uhuru will cycle to work and his ministers get on a matatu headed
home then something will start to change. Till then none of our noise
making is making sense to the guy seated in a Govt Mercedes.

On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 3:41 PM, Rad! <conradakunga at gmail.com> wrote:

> What i find saddening in that in Kenya road users automatically means
> motorists. Zero consideration for cyclists and pedestrians. For instance if
> you are walking from town and want to go to Purshottam on foot, how do you
> do it without cheating death?
>
> Compare and contrast Denmark where there is a very strong cycling culture.
> I see no reason why we can't have the same here, reducing pressure on both
> infrastructure, the environment and improving overall health
>
> http://www.visitdenmark.co.uk/en-gb/denmark/nature/cycling-denmark
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 3:15 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com>wrote:
>
>> Interesting revelations coming through. Nice observation Conrad.
>>
>> There are these very good widen roads that have been build in Nairobi,
>> Thika road, University Way, Ngara ring road, Pangani road, e.t.c. with
>> pedestrian walks and cyclists ways. Just like what we see in developed
>> countries. Very impressive.
>>
>> Interestingly, the Chinese guys installing CCTVs on the highways have
>> seen it fit to fix the CCTV poles in the center of these cyclists and
>> pedestrian walks as shown in these pictures. Total crap they are doing. I
>> wonder if that can be accepted where they come from, or they consider us
>> standard-less and shoddy.
>>
>> I had nowhere to rant but the CCTV is an ICT issue, and the process
>> should be done correctly. I hope somebody somewhere in authority is
>> listening.
>>
>> [image: Inline images 3][image: Inline images 4][image: Inline images 2][image:
>> Inline images 1]
>>
>> ______________________
>> Mwendwa Kivuva
>> twitter.com/lordmwesh
>> google ID | Skype ID: lordmwesh
>>
>>
>> On 19 November 2013 09:54, Rad! <conradakunga at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> That would explain the ludicrous design of a single lane that is also a
>>> bus stage
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 12:08 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> We also have a Kenyan company doing flyovers and bridges for China Wu
>>>> Yi (Lot 1) as a sub contractor and hired by the Japanese funder to do Yaya
>>>> - Westlands Link (Motorways Construction Group)
>>>>
>>>> Then we also have the Kenyan firms behind Upperhill roads(if there is
>>>> such a thing) (Mattan contractors) and re-carpeting of Waiyaki Way (SS
>>>> Mehta).
>>>>
>>>> The quality of the works is a matter of why you know and who is funding
>>>> the project. It is easier to spend taxes :-)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tuesday, 19 November 2013, Mark Mwangi wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> We have Kenyan companies building Highways in Botswana. They are led
>>>>> by Njoroges and Kamaus and Ochiengs. It is not a matter of local capacity
>>>>> but complacency and impunity. A contractor is paid according to milestones
>>>>> right? No delivered product no payment. Why would a contractor waste  years
>>>>> if he is not getting paid? Best incentive in my opinion.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 9:38 AM, Emmanuel Khisa <
>>>>> oloo.khisa at googlemail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> @ Mark, I do think that we would *ever* have heard roads done if ever
>>>>>>
>>>>>> we used Kenyan Contractors...sorry to say this but look how far we got
>>>>>> during the pre Kibaki era with contractors that did a 10km of a road
>>>>>> for 5 years and still never completed them...I think one credit I
>>>>>> would give the China Bridge and Co and H Young and Straberg is that
>>>>>> they actually did up the game...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I otherwise agree with you on the rest of the points raised above.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 9:35 AM, Emmanuel Khisa <
>>>>>> oloo.khisa at googlemail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> @ Mark, I do think that we would never have heard roads done if ever
>>>>>>> we used Kenyan Contractors...sorry to say this but look how far we
>>>>>>> got
>>>>>>> during the pre Kibaki era with contractors that did a 10km of a road
>>>>>>> for 5 years and still never completed them...I think one credit I
>>>>>>> would give the China Bridge and Co and H Young and Straberg is that
>>>>>>> they actually did up the game...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I otherwise agree with you on the rest of the points raised above.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Tue, Nov 19, 2013 at 9:12 AM, Mark Mwangi <mwangy at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> > I agree with Adam albeit partly. Running to make everything under
>>>>>>> the sun is
>>>>>>> > no a smart move. However building horizontal industries where
>>>>>>> products from
>>>>>>> > one industry feed another and by products are the base of another
>>>>>>> shoulfd be
>>>>>>> > encouraged. Building spare parts for local cars is an example.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > A knowledge economy is a good foundation but we still need to
>>>>>>> build and make
>>>>>>> > stuff. e.g Swiss chocolate, german cars, American Missiles,
>>>>>>> Chinese iPhones
>>>>>>> > etc. Am yet to see a stable economy that doesn't manufacture and
>>>>>>> export
>>>>>>> > physical goods.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 10:03 PM, Adam Nelson <adam at varud.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> The first sentence does not lead to the second and third:
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> "We cannot have high unemployment, and at the same time import
>>>>>>> clothes
>>>>>>> >> from Sri Lanka or mitumba, when we can grow cotton and make our
>>>>>>> clothes.  We
>>>>>>> >> must defy economic explanations on what works and what does not
>>>>>>> work.  If we
>>>>>>> >> deployed thousands of youth digitizing land records, we would
>>>>>>> reduce
>>>>>>> >> caseloads in courts, become more efficient, and create more
>>>>>>> wealth to grow
>>>>>>> >> our economy."
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> Kenya should go towards counter-cyclical employment of youth doing
>>>>>>> >> productive infrastructure work: being teachers, building
>>>>>>> railroads,
>>>>>>> >> digitizing land records, etc...
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> However, you can't forget Adam Smith who talked extensively of
>>>>>>> Comparative
>>>>>>> >> Advantage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage).
>>>>>>>  Sri Lanka
>>>>>>> >> (or really Bangladesh) has a far more economical solution for
>>>>>>> producing
>>>>>>> >> cotton clothing than Kenya has.  This mostly has to do with the
>>>>>>> port of
>>>>>>> >> Mombassa being a stranglehold and the fact that a 40M person
>>>>>>> economy (Kenya)
>>>>>>> >> doesn't have the same economy of scale as a billion person
>>>>>>> economy (a guess
>>>>>>> >> at the number of people a Bangladeshi factory can export to
>>>>>>> easily).
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> Kenya is a small country and a small economy and if it wants to
>>>>>>> bring in
>>>>>>> >> more money and reduce unemployment, the solution is around
>>>>>>> creating an
>>>>>>> >> amazingly well-educated population and doing more knowledge work
>>>>>>> - not
>>>>>>> >> producing more clothing.
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> --
>>>>>>> >> Kili.io - OpenStack for Africa: kili.io
>>>>>>> >> Musings: twitter.com/varud
>>>>>>> >> About Adam: www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> On Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 9:21 PM, Kivuva <
>>>>>>> Kivuva at transworldafrica.com>
>>>>>>> >> wrote:
>>>>>>> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> Dr. Ndemo has struck a cord that has been played in this list
>>>>>>> >>> countless times before. I  remember him saying in another thread
>>>>>>> "you
>>>>>>> >>> cannot have unemployed youth yet we have countless garbage
>>>>>>> lining our
>>>>>>> >>> streets and estates!"
>>>>>>> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> His argument on us importing cloths yet we can do it here is
>>>>>>> basic
>>>>>>> >>> economic that any country can master. India went that way
>>>>>>> through the
>>>>>>> >>> leadership of Mahatma.
>>>>>>> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> But Dr. Ndemo, in the previous administration that you served so
>>>>>>> >>> ardently, the government shipped billions worth of capital on
>>>>>>> works
>>>>>>> >>> that could be done by Kenyans. I'm talking about the massive
>>>>>>> >>> infrastructure development that took place in the last 10years.
>>>>>>> That
>>>>>>> >>> capital could have done our unemployed generation justice if it
>>>>>>> was
>>>>>>> >>> utilized here home. I believe Kenyans can build decent roads,
>>>>>>> brides,
>>>>>>> >>> buildings and ports. What happened to national pride? It's the
>>>>>>> same
>>>>>>> >>> argument of importing cloths or planting cotton and producing
>>>>>>> our own
>>>>>>> >>> garments.
>>>>>>> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> We're still not out of the woods yet, remember the Korean firm
>>>>>>> >>> implementing the PKI?
>>>>>>> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> My cent-less
>>>>>>> >>>
>>>>>>> >>> On 18/11/2013, Dorcas Muthoni <dmuthoni at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> >>> > A good piece by Dr. Bitange Ndemo
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/oloo.khisa%40gmail.com
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > 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.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> "Service to Mankind is the greatest form of service"...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Oloo Khisa
>>>>>>> P.O. Box 24324-00100
>>>>>>> Nairobi
>>>>>>> 0721321086/0731849128
>>>>>>> http://ke.linkedin.com/in/olookhisa
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> "Service to Mankind is the greatest form of service"...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Oloo KhisaP.O. Box 24324-00100Nairobi0721321086
>>>>>> <0721321086>/0731849128 <0731849128>http://ke.linkedin.com/in/olookhisa
>>>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/olookhisa>*
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Mark Mwangi
>>>>>
>>>>> markmwangi.me.ke
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> with Regards:
>>>>
>>>> blog.denniskioko.com <http://www.denniskioko.com/>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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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,
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>>>
>>>
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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,
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>>
>>
>
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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
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