<div>Joe, </div>
<div> </div>
<div>We have many qualified Kenyans both within and outside the country, who could run these companies just as efficiently, the foreign investors behind these companies obviously have their financial interests higher placed and that is why one of their own is at the helm. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Economically speaking, there are many squandered opportunities that go to waste. For example the Egyptian government raised US$1 billion dollars from the sale of 3G licences. An entity with heavy interests in Kenya's ICT sector spent over $500m for such a licence. In contrast the same licence in Kenya went for $20m. Naturally new shareholders associated with the entity will be happy as "investors" that their new investment did not spend hundreds of millions to acquire access to a rare and finite national asset. Which brings one to what might seem like a wish list. What if the government had sold the 3G licences for $100m? $40m could have gone to the exchequer to ease tax payers burdens and $60m could have gone into an ICT specific development fund. The below thoughts assume that one would not come to the table empty handed and that the necessary vetting and due diligence would be naturally carried out:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- Establish a self sustaining government managed fund to promote indigenous Kenyan ownership of enterprises specific to ICT </div>
<div> a) Ease access to capital needs by helping fund eligible and qualifying indigenous enterprises</div>
<div> b) Can be administered through the CBK or in conjunction with local commercial banks and limited to specific lending terms</div>
<div> c) Establish repayment periods </div>
<div><br>- Issue government backed guarantees to ease access to capital for qualifying enterprises or locals engaged in equity participation</div>
<div> with foreign investors.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- Establish laws and the framework to grant incentives to foreign investors who create opportunities for local investors to participate</div>
<div> in their entities through significant equity participation.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- Passive equity participation by government in local indigenous enterprises</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- Passive equity participation by government in foreign led enterprises with a view to eventually offloading the equity to Kenyans</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Perhaps additional questions to ask in trying to address these issues are:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- What will it take to ensure that Kenyans can effectively compete in the global/regional ICT sector?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- Who are the stakeholders needed to ensure that policies get the due attention of parliament? </div>
<div> </div>
<div>- What are the regulatory changes needed to allow the government to participate passively in private ICT sector investments?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>- At what level do regulatory changes that promote local ownership and entrepreneurship need to be undertaken to make </div>
<div> this a part of official government policy and economic strategy?</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 5:51 PM, Joseph Manthi <<a href="mailto:jmanthi@gmail.com">jmanthi@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Mike<br>So the question of the day is this?<br><br>Where do we go from here? Look at what foreign companies are doing all over Africa while we are napping - especially Indian and Middle Eastern ones? If I may be rhetorical - Is it a well established fact that we cannot find Kenyan - I mean indigenous Kenyans - MDs of Celtel, Safaricom, KDN, Orange etc? Is that a fact?<br>
<br>All Kenyan members of this list would like a concrete resolution to this - if I may be bold enough to say this.<br><br>Thanks,<br>Joe
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="Wj3C7c"><br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 6:39 PM, Mike Theuri <<a href="mailto:mike.theuri@gmail.com" target="_blank">mike.theuri@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">
<div>Joe, </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Had these rules been implemented, today we might be in a position to call Kenya "economically sovereign" but that is far from reality and unless corrective measures are undertaken rather quickly it will be too late unless the government of the day turns radical and resorts to nationalising private entities the Hugo Chavez way. However that is a mirage on the horizon, as any such attempts would likely to lead to expropriation claims in international world courts, pariah status and we would be headed the Zimbabwean way where having seven figures in one's bank account would qualify one as a poor millionaire. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Friends of Kenya are most welcome to give their input and offer expertise, however, policy making ought to be led and controlled by Kenyans. Policy makers and decision makers will hopefully grasp the urgency of the need to ensure that the country's economic independence and national security is not threatened by abdicating their core duties to formulate policy that will result in greater Kenyan ownership and control of the key sectors of the economy. If it takes legislation to mandate a shift in shareholding over time eg the South African economic empowerment way, it would be worth the time, consideration and study. As you correctly point out, the US, Canada, China, Libya and many more around the world would never allow foreigners directly or indirectly by proxy to define public policy, to do so would be to deliberately disown the nation's sovereignity.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Mike </div>
<div> </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 9:54 AM, Joseph Manthi <<a href="mailto:jmanthi@gmail.com" target="_blank">jmanthi@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">Mike<br>Well said.<br><br>What I would like to add is that every investor in Kenya should be subjected to the same rules that a Kenyan would be subjected to in India and EEU or any other country. Additionally we should not be having foreigners attempting to shape Kenya's public policy. In fact in the US no foreign owned company is allowed anywhere near where public policy is created. Any foreign based public policy body must identify itself as such. In this case KIF would be an illegal associations because it has non Kenyan entities as its members.<br>
<br>At the end of the day when all hell breaks loose these guys are the first ones to get airlifted by their embassies and leave Kenyans to face the music alone. We have seen it time and again all over Africa.<br><br>They say: "History does not repeat itself only the folly of Kenyans does"<br>
<br>Joe<br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div></div>
<div>On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 7:41 AM, Mike Theuri <<a href="mailto:mike.theuri@gmail.com" target="_blank">mike.theuri@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div></div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">
<div>
<div></div>
<div>
<div>One need only look at past history and realize that a Kenyan whether resident in Kenya or not is an underdog when it comes to fairly competing against foreign entities that have the "right connections" and "right" goes beyond having "business connections". When official policy intentionally or unintentionally appears to dictate that anything Kenyan led should be relegated or ranked lower because local is not better, is the biggest single contributing factor that has led to foreign control and ownership of key sectors of the economy. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>One need only look at India's current economic prosperity where official policy was key in ensuring that any major player wanting to do business in India had to engage in joint ventures with local players, the benefit of that foresight can now be seen as some of these firms turn into true multinationals as a result of knowledge and technology transfer while ensuring that in the process, the wealth and long term benefits generated remained mostly in India and not in foreign coffers.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>As for the diaspora, they may have already decided to keep off due to the lack of incentive and a guaranteed (not preferential) level playing field , besides remittances, can anyone mention any major investment activity in a key national sector that a broad based diaspora led initiative has succeeded when competing in one's own country against foreign led entities? The answer might be found once again in official policy and approach as this brief analysis indicates, why should one invest where they are likely to get burned by playing their cards fairly and transparently when the policy makers are not willing to address key issues of legitimate investor concern? </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="http://kenyaimagine.blogspot.com/2007/03/kimunya-attempts-to-woo-kenyan-diaspora.html" target="_blank">http://kenyaimagine.blogspot.com/2007/03/kimunya-attempts-to-woo-kenyan-diaspora.html</a> </div>
<div> </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 11:36 PM, Alex Gakuru <<a href="mailto:alex.gakuru@yahoo.com" target="_blank">alex.gakuru@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">
<div><br>--- On Sun, 7/13/08, Brian Munyao Longwe <<a href="mailto:blongwe@gmail.com" target="_blank">blongwe@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br>><br>> To certain members of this list who are either not resident<br>
> or have<br>> not been resident in this country for some time, please be<br>> cautious<br>> with your statements, sometimes you might be bashing<br>> someone who has<br>> made huge sacrifice to serve this nation's ICT.<br>
><br><br>Earlier said we should not discriminate against non-Kenyans.<br>Would you be asking that honest opinion now also be qualified and legitimized by the residency status? The Diaspora should keep off?<br><br>Expanding to all society, are historical "made huge sacrifice to serve this nation" permanent tickets to never be questioned? To be rewarded generously ad infinitum? I am avoiding cheapening the discussion.
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