[kictanet] KONZA: The failed promise of Kenya’s smart city

[John Kieti]

Hello,

My overall sense is that Konza gets unfairly beaten up, by us commentators
most of the time. To begin with, the project is very young compared to the
likes of Shenzhen, which became an SEZ in 1980, 41 years ago. The problem
arises when our planning and implementation horizon is too short. Even
10-15 years is too short for an objective appraisal of failing or
succeeding. I think questions about the progress thus far can be more valid
than a declaration that the project has failed.

My 5 pence.

Sent on the move ...
Blog: https://kieti.org
Whatsapp: +254735764242
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnKieti
LinkedIn: https://ke.linkedin.com/in/kieti

On Wed, 2 Jun 2021, 09:09 Grace Githaiga via KICTANet, <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Good points @Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>. I like your point number 3
> 'can the project get back on track?'
>
> Considering it was a vision 2030 project, can we say that that there are
> still 9 or so years to get it back on track?
>
> Rgds
> GG
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *Grace Githaiga*
>
> Twitter: @ggithaiga
>
> Skype: gracegithaiga
>
> Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga
>
>
> .*..**the most important office in a democracy is the citizen. So, you
> see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you!----Barrack Obama.*
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* KICTANet <kictanet-bounces+ggithaiga=
> hotmail.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke> on behalf of Ali Hussein via KICTANet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Sent:* 02 June 2021 7:33 AM
> *To:* ggithaiga at hotmail.com <ggithaiga at hotmail.com>
> *Cc:* Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] KONZA: The failed promise of Kenya’s smart city
>
> GG
>
> Thanks for sharing.
>
> Listers, even the best-laid plans can miss their targets. I'd rather we
> discuss:-
>
> 1. What went wrong.
> 2. What are the lessons to be learned.
> 3. Can the project get back on track?
> 4. Has it gone wrong? How long does it take to build a new city?
>
> Regards
>
> *Ali Hussein*
>
> Digital Transformation
>
>
> Tel: +254 713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>
> Skype: abu-jomo
>
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>
>
>
>
> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
> organizations that I work with.
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 7:32 PM Grace Githaiga via KICTANet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>
> Listers
> This may be of interest to some here.
> Rgds
> Grace
>
> Kenya was one of the earliest countries to outsource its dreaming to
> McKinsey. The entire Vision 2030 strategy was developed by the Kenyan
> government in conjunction with McKinsey & Company, with Konza being one of
> many techno-utopian urban renewal projects the firm was involved in. At
> first, most were undertaken in Asia, then, in the 2000s, the focus shifted
> to African countries, which were seen as growth markets for big tech and
> financial corporations.
>
> ...the McKinseyfication of government and federal services often means
> that the mere production of paperwork counts as progress. ...The question
> then becomes, Who is responsible for the failure of Konza?”
>
> Read on:
> https://restofworld.org/2021/the-failed-promise-of-kenyas-smart-city/
> --
>
> Grace Githaiga
> KICTANet Convenor
>
> KICTANet portals
> KICTANet.or.ke <https://kictanet.or.ke/> | Twitter
> <https://twitter.com/kictanet> | LinkedIn
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/18428106/admin/> | Facebook
> <https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/>
> _______________________________________________
> KICTANet mailing list
> KICTANet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
>
>
> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>
> 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.
>
> KICTANet - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
> engagement platform.
>
> _______________________________________________
> KICTANet mailing list
> KICTANet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkieti%40gmail.com
>
>
> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>
> 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.
>
> KICTANet - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
> engagement platform.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20210602/6941bde4/attachment.htm>