[kictanet] KISERO: Kenya’s corruption tsars have perfected looting through Ifmis - Daily Nation

Mon Jan 9 23:51:24 EAT 2017

Put into context - why are the Kenyan ICT professionals not the ones providing the said high level systems, expertise etc?
Might the procurement systems be so designed to exclude them?
Or would the World Bank or donor requirements for major projects (if they are the main funders) come with stipulations attached which exclude nationals or we just do not qualify? and why? what may be done on this?

Flashback Bitange Ndemo's time when some security related work was being presented and the work was assigned to a foreign firm.....
Candidly, where have we legezad  in the "skilling part". What the seniors require to acknowledge is the obligation to pave the way for a newer generation and as much as possible clear the obstacles.

Blessed day.

Regards/Wangari ---
Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - "Being of the Light, We are Restored Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on Earth".

    On Monday, 9 January 2017, 23:06, Douglas Gichuki via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

 Baiju,Retract nothing.Call it how you see it. And if people take offence, well too bad. I am a advocate and just the other day we were protesting attempting to reclaim our very black bar from the disgrace it had become. With notably few exceptions, corruption, incompetence and a lack of dedication to duty permeate almost every sector of Kenyan life. These issues are systemic and I cannot imagine that the rot and incompetence in bar- bench circles has antiseptically avoided the ICT sector. Regards,

On Jan 9, 2017 9:33 PM, "David Otwoma via kictanet" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Ngigi,
This guy Baiju is spot on when he writes "If you want ethics and integrity then let's award government jobs on merit and not who you know and what personal relationships exist, bring transparency to the whole. Can we do that?"
We should upgrade from talking about colonialism to talking of neo-colonialism with our own black skins  treating us badly, worst case point being the Riek Machar vs Silva Kir in our neighbourhood. There is an old book, written before I was born which has this quote "The leader pacifies the people. For years on end after independence has been won, we see him, incapable of urging on the people to a concrete task, unable really to open the future to them or of flinging them into the path of national reconstruction, that is to say, of their own reconstruction; we see him reassessing the history of independence and recalling the sacred unity of the struggle for liberation. The leader, because he refuses to break up the national bourgeoisie, asks the people to fall back into the past and to become drunk on the remembrance of the epoch which led up to independence. The leader, seen objectively, brings the people to a halt and persists in either expelling them from history or preventing them from taking root in it."  https://www.marxists.org/ subject/africa/fanon/pitfalls- national.htm
Close at home let us call a spade a spade and interrogate how our ICT bodies have CEOs and other heads along what Baiju asks.
In energy where I am more conversant the same scenario is repeated as what is happening in ICT.  We have village boys sitting on both PS positions with a clueless CS shuffling in between. So we have "Kenya Power has restored supply to parts of Nairobi and Mount Kenya regions, with Eng Tare saying efforts were being made to restore supply to the Coast region."  http://www. businessdailyafrica.com/ Nairobi--Mount-Kenya-and- Coast-region-hit-by-blackout/ 539546-3510776-14wpp7hz/index. html
As if that is not enough the 5,000+ MW addition is having to stay in the back burner and the diesel generators will be back. Hear "CS Keter said the thermal stations are now account for 18 per cent of the power produced in the country. He expects this to further go up to 24 per cent in the coming months as the drought bites, which would mean further decline in the contribution of hydro electricity."Read more at: https://www.standardmedia.co. ke/business/article/ 2000229172/demand-setback-now- puts-kenya-s-mega-power-plan- on-the-back-burner
So Ngigi, please go slow on Baiju along the race card and let us address the issue he raises i.e. "If you want ethics and integrity then let's award government jobs on merit and not who you know and what personal relationships exist, bring transparency to the whole. Can we do that?"
David
--
--
David Otwoma, PhD
Chief Scientist,
National Commission for Science Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI)
Utalii House, P.O Box 30623-00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Safcom tel: +254 722 141771,
Orange tel: +254 (0)20 2346915,
email: otwooma at gmail.com & otwoma at uonbi.ac.ke
http://www.facebook.com/ profile.php?ref=profile&id= 100000614284149
http://www.nacosti.go.ke
&
Chairman,
Eastern Africa Association for Radiation Protection, 
http://www.eaarp.org/

On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 11:01 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:

Baiju,
So you claim, there are no decent System Architects, Projects Managers, System Analysts in Kenya...
Would you perhaps extend that to other professions such as there are no decent Lawyers, Doctors, Architects etc in Kenya, or is ICT an exception? 
In which case then, you would be suggesting that we were born 'lacking' a certain gene, perhaps, that would have endowed us with certain ICT capabilities.
The last time we heard such talk in this country was during the colonial period, when *Africans* could never be good at anything that the white man did, so I suggest you retract your statement above, as it racially loaded and has not place in this forum!
RegardsWaithaka Ngigi
Sent from Nylas N1, the extensible, open source mail client.  
 On Jan 9 2017, at 8:56 pm, Baiju Shah via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote: 

 Hi Barrack,If I agree with you then I am not being honest to this group. I have not seen a decent solution architect in exception the are from Somewhere else, I have not seen a decent business analysts or system analyst, I have not seen decent project managers... Therefore, we need to get the education system up and running. If you want ethics and integrity then let's award government jobs on merit and not who you know and what personal relationships exist, bring transparency to the whole. Can we do that?Not really, it is impossible to get any traction on the government ICT jobs while a briefcase co or a co from anywhere else in wins the work because of their local agent who cannot even spell ICT. The company deploys a poor project as our stakeholders are not managed and our requirements have not been ratified and confirmed by business experts. We are not able to get a holistic delivery as the solution architecture was never done e.g. Please look at ifmis have a critical audit and compare them
To the original set of requirements that were drawn up. I am sure you will not be allowed.I hope this provides a view of my personal experiences and helps to put together a framework that the new Kenyan built technology solutions come to market and
NOT built in the USA...Thanks,Best Regards,
Baiju> On 9 Jan 2017, at 08:10, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Baiju and colleagues,
> 
> Reading your comments, the main challenge is ethics and integrity. We
> have to address it even if it affects all of us. We are not short of
> qualified project management experts, Software Analysts and Designers
> as well as System Engineers. We are not short of industry lobby
> groups as well, we are short on ethics and integrity.
> 
> Regards
> 
>> On 1/9/17, Baiju Shah via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> Well now ok about the issues with the IFMIS, can we focus on building a
>> better pool of business system analyst, solution design, quality assurance
>> and project management. These are the key skills missing from the ICT
>> sector, furthermore let's not blame the customer as we all lack a little or
>> any amount of ethics... In reality please look at yourselves in the mirror
>> and reflect when and where you individually have taken short cuts or came up
>> with lame reasons for non delivery. Have created issues for fellow
>> professionals who have won a project on merit. It my prayer that we get out
>> stakeholder management sorted and develop a proper lobby group that is given
>> a representation on the government projects to provide quality assurance and
>> assure the delivery of the project in line with the vision, mission and
>> scope signed off by the key stakeholders. Further provide advice on the
>> Correctness of the scope which requires industry expertise per vertical.
>> Therefore, my challenge to the group is what are we doing to align the
>> technology with the business needs?
>> 
>> Thanks and have a good week,
>> 
>> Best Regards,
>> Baiju
>> 
>>> On 9 Jan 2017, at 05:29, Alex Watila via kictanet
>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
>>> 
>>> good morning,
>>> IFMIS is in the news again
>>> 
>>> 
>>> State audit finds serious loopholes in Ifmis system - Daily Nation
>>> https://t.co/4dPksjnJBT
>>> 
>>> https://twitter.com/dailynatio n/status/818261005935448064
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 3 Dec 2016 12:08, "S.M. Muraya via kictanet"
>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
>>> Ngigi,
>>> 
>>> Nothing less than Multi Factor authentication is required in Kenya.
>>> 
>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Multi-factor_authentication
>>> 
>>> Negligence needs to be penalized (we know, in Kenya, prosecution never
>>> succeeds where looting succeeds).
>>> 
>>> This includes negligence of local talent, not just theft. Kickbacks are
>>> often deposited (invested) abroad. As such, foreign firms will always be
>>> favored by crooked officials. Developed nations penalize bribery because
>>> it compromises national pysche, skills and service delivery levels.
>>> 
>>> EACC should also look for good examples to publicize.
>>> 
>>> Public officials, organizations, who/which over a 24 month period, have
>>> sourced and provided MANNED (conversation recording) hotlines, e-mail
>>> addresses, feedback portals and CRM's to measure, and promptly provide
>>> citizen services.
>>> 
>>> Crooked officials have no problem with payment systems (which increase the
>>> funds they collect), but they neglect systems which measure, expose
>>> service delivery levels.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> SMM
>>> 
>>> "Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one
>>> who takes a city." Prov 16:32
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 9:45 AM, Waithaka Ngigi via kictanet
>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
>>> Ali,
>>> 
>>> It's also time to put‎ professional blame squarely where it lies.
>>> 
>>> Any system tasked with moving *huge* sums of money and that does not come
>>> with at least Two-Factor authentication be *default* is either:
>>> 1. A very, very bad implementation
>>> 2. ‎Intentionally left unsecure to allow looting.
>>> 
>>> Blaming users & ethics in our users is just looking for scapegoats.
>>> Citibank, Stanchart & other Financial Institutions do not rely on user
>>> ethics when using their online banking platforms. You key in your
>>> password, for every transaction, you confirm using your 2FA Code, ensuring
>>> it's only you, or someone you gave your physical 2FA card that can
>>> authenticate that transaction.
>>> 
>>> And that's before you put in anti-laundering functionality, which should
>>> catch most of those transactions dead in their tracks if well implemented.
>>> E.g before payment of sums above KSH 100m cross-check on company
>>> registration date, if less than 1 year, flag! Common addresses, Directors
>>> btn different firms.
>>> 
>>> ‎Online payments in Kenya have been with us since the early 2000s, why is
>>> it we've never heard complaints from the Banks that billions are being
>>> lost through basic identity fraud similar to IFMIS.
>>> 
>>> Don't blame the Kenyan people, blame lies squarely with the Systems we
>>> have put in place.
>>> 
>>> Waithaka Ngigi
>>> 
>>> Alliance Technologies
>>> www.at.co.ke
>>> From: Ali Hussein via kictanet
>>> Sent: Friday, December 2, 2016 5:33 AM
>>> To: Ngigi Waithaka
>>> Reply To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>>> Cc: Ali Hussein
>>> Subject: [kictanet] KISERO: Kenya’s corruption tsars have perfected
>>> looting through Ifmis - Daily Nation
>>> 
>>> Listers
>>> 
>>> Related to to the discussion of 'reigning in' quacks in the ICT Sector how
>>> do you explain the fiasco that is IFMIS?
>>> 
>>> Except from the article:-
>>> 
>>> In theory, the Ifmis system we have is based on Oracle E-Business Suite,
>>> an accounting package developed by Oracle of the USA. In reality, what is
>>> in place is a product of conspiracies between crafty government officials
>>> and local rent-seeking software merchants.
>>> 
>>> Through highly inflated and ill-conceived customisation and re-engineering
>>> projects, the merchants have colluded with public officials to create a
>>> mongrel of the original Oracle E-Business Suite.
>>> 
>>> This is the system at the heart of corruption in the public sector.
>>> 
>>> http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/O pinion/Kenya-corruption-tsars- have-perfected-looting-through -Ifmis/440808-3469632-kg5rbv/
>>> 
>>> So if we were to talk this discussion a step further:-
>>> 
>>> 1. The customization of an Oracle E-Business Suite cannot be done by a
>>> 'quack' who isn't a Certified Oracle Software Engineer.
>>> 
>>> 2. The customization must be approved by the client and mapped with the
>>> business processes mutually agreed by the vendor and the customer. In this
>>> case the government.
>>> 
>>> A pig is a pig even if you apply lipstick on it. Let's call this what it
>>> is - Corruption. Period. Perpetuated in this case by the client and using
>>> qualified IT Professionals. We in the industry must call out the ones who
>>> collude to fleece this country instead of chasing a red herring in the
>>> name of 'quacks'!
>>> 
>>> Ali Hussein
>>> Principal
>>> Hussein & Associates
>>> +254 0713 601113
>>> 
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alih kassim
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking
>>> what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>> 
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>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
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>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
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>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Barrack O. Otieno
> +254721325277
> +254733206359
> Skype: barrack.otieno
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