[kictanet] [isoc_ke] The Elephant in the Digital Migration Room?

[Barrack Otieno]

Ali

Sometimes we learn the hard way. Digital migration has been a living
room  joke until CAK woke people up. I laud the bold steps taken by CA
DG Mr. Francis Wangusi and his team, they have gotten every household
enquiring what this digital migration elephant (which indeed it is )
is all about. Anyway, what is the fuss all about? arent we driving on
roads built by the Chinese across the continent?, i think this is a
wake up call for us to style up in terms of raising our standards in
business. Excellence is  not an option that is why the Chinese have
reached where they are. Even those crying foul are likely to source
for technology from the East because it makes business sense. I think
the Supreme Court of Kenya made very wise rulings that could and
should resolve this issue. People should learn to sit around a table
and resolve contentious issues instead of invoking legalese. This is
indeed a demonstration that some sections of the industry do not value
Multistakeholderism hence the challenges we have encountered in the
recent past that have slowed down our growth as a sector. I am a
strong beleiver in the Multistakeholder model, let all the people
concerned sit on one table and iron out their issues amicably as
proposed by the highest court in the land propaganda will only make
things worse for everybody.

Regards

On 2/18/15, Ali Hussein via isoc <isoc at lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
> Listers
>
> Interesting article by Jaindi Kisero.
>
> Titled 'Digital migration across Africa is all about dubious deals with
> Chinese'
> The gist of the article is that:-
>
> 1. StarTimes has basically dominated digital migration contracts in a number
> of African Countries. (Is this the new Lonrho?)
> 2. That there are dubious and opaque deals being cut (tell me something new
> in Africa!)
> 3. That Africans are giving away their national broadcasting Crown Jewels to
> the Chinese (More like replacing Western Interests with Chinese ones!)
> 4. That we shouldn't allow foreign companies to build networks for us. He
> goes on to quote an American security official:-
> "I liked the way a senior American security official, Mr Michael Chertoff
> defended the action against Huawei. He said: “If you allow a foreign company
> to build for you the network  on which all data flows, the company will be
> in a perfect position to populate it with backdoors and vulnerabilities that
> only the foreign company knows about. And, each time the foreign company
> upgrades it, that will be an opportunity to install new spyware” .
>
> For once, let’s think about national interest."
>
> Question: When did we ever build our own ICT Infrastructure? If it's not
> Huawei its Ericcson, IBM or Cisco.
>
> The truth of the matter is that both sides in this Soap Opera of Digital
> Migration have erred. They have let egos and vested interests mar a process
> that should be beneficial to this country.
>
> Not sure where this country goes from here...
>
> http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/2627116/-/3rcbqgz/-/index.html
>
> Meanwhile, tune in to second part of Season I
>
> http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Minister-quizzed-on-digital-migration-row/-/1056/2627216/-/135yu9cz/-/index.html
>
> My take is that we really don't have the interests of this country at heart.
> Private Sector does a shoddy job of lobbying government for the right
> policies, government turns a blind eye to 'national interest' and the people
> look on helplessly like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding road
> train.
>
> Ali Hussein
>
> +254 770 906375 / 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
> Skype: abu-jomo
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>
> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will
> have a generation of idiots".  ~ Albert Einstein
>
> Sent from my iPad


-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254-20-2498789
Skype: barrack.otieno
http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/