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face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>J Wals,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>I suppose the bottom line from most of the posts is that
all task forces/ boards / agencies created - have </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>to
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>account </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>on every </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>mandate </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>they have. Otherwise, everyone will pretty well
do what they 'd like </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>to do.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Robust checks and balances demand that a working Public
Private Partnership model be </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT
color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>developed to enhance accountability
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>and transparency, and drive out any form of 'cliches',
especially </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>in this time and age...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Question again, where do we start to re-examine,
cross-examine, and purposely build on what we </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>have to move
forward...?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=687213010-08042010><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2 face=Arial>Harry</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B>
kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] <B>On
Behalf Of </B>Walubengo J<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 08, 2010 11:21
AM<BR><B>To:</B> harry@comtelsys.co.ke<BR><B>Cc:</B> KICTAnet ICT Policy
Discussions<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Re: Is Kenya
Ready forInnovation?-Genesis of ICT Board<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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<TD vAlign=top>Yawe,<BR><BR>it appears your hijacked question has
meta-morphosized(?), gone round the world and came back with some answers
below...<BR><BR>walu.<BR><BR>--- On <B>Wed, 4/7/10, Kulubi James
<I><jkulubi@yahoo.co.uk></I></B> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From:
Kulubi James <jkulubi@yahoo.co.uk><BR>Subject: Re:
[ke-internetusers] Re: Is Kenya Ready for Innovation?<BR>To: "Alex
Gakuru" <gakuru@gmail.com><BR>Cc: "ke-users"
<ke-internetusers@bdix.net><BR>Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2010,
7:37 PM<BR><BR>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Alex has raised issues which are deep and far
reaching but either way can still be answered by those who participated
in shaping the ICT policy in the period 2003-2006. </FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">The decision to create the ICT Board was made
after various studies and consultation over a 3 year period.
<SPAN> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Towards the end of the 5-year exclusive
<SPAN> </SPAN>period granted to Telkom Kenya (TKL) over
International Gateway services, VSATs and National Long-distance
services (1999-2004), the then Minister of Information and
Communication, <SPAN> </SPAN>was so much concerned about the
impending privatization of Telkom Kenya that he paused the following
question to his advisors: “Tell me.. If the Government goes ahead to
privatize Telkom Kenya by selling majority shares but later wants to ‘do
something in the sector’, what vehicle would the Government use?” He was
immediately informed that the Government will still maintain some shares
in TKL and therefore will still have a voice. But he pressed further,
“What if the new majority shareholder in TKL vetoes the decision?”
Everybody fell silent and he then added , “Think about it.”</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">In 2006, it became apparent that there were
operational matters in the ICT sector that could not be handled by the
existing institutions. The investment and trade promotion authorities
were not well positioned and equipped to handle new investment/promotion
matters in the ICT sector. Similarly, the communication regulator (CCK)
was going to run into credibility problems if it started participating
directly in the promotion of ICT services or the initiation of pilot ICT
projects. The other body was the National Communications Secretariat
which had its role clearly specified in Section 84 of the Communications
Act as : “to advise the Government on the adoption of a communication
policy.” It could therefore not extend its operations to other ICT
matters without substantial amendments to the law.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Eventually, consensus was build around setting up
an ICT Authority. But even this paused some problems. An authority had
to have its own Board separate from management. This was going to
require the appointment of a group of eminent persons from the ICT
sector to the Board of the Authority who in turn would have to appoint
another group of persons (mostly from the same sector) to run the
affairs of the Authority in line with contemporary corporate governance
principles. Eventually, the Government settled on the ICT Board with a
CEO who was to be the Chairman of the Board. Following this decision,
the Board was created under section 3 of the State Corporation Act as a
corporate body with perpetual succession and common seal, and capable of
suing and being sued.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">This I believe is long enough for all of us to
digest.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Anybody who remembers more can contribute or
amend before <SPAN> </SPAN>the mandate can be scrutinized as Alex
has attempted to do.</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Regards</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">James Kulubi</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman">=====================</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN> </SPAN>The views expressed here are
personal and not in any way those of the Multimedia University College
of Kenya where the Author Works as the Principal.</FONT></P><BR></DIV>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: bookman old style,new york,times,serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>
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<B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Alex Gakuru
<gakuru@gmail.com><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Kulubi James
<jkulubi@yahoo.co.uk><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Cc:</SPAN></B> ke-users
<ke-internetusers@bdix.net><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Wed, 7 April, 2010
10:59:30<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re:
[ke-internetusers] Re: Is Kenya Ready for Innovation?<BR></FONT><BR>I
hope this contribution is not cheapened to protecting individuals
or<BR>name calling. My intention is solely to address the "approach"
most<BR>holistically but I am alive to the fact that some will
invariably view<BR>this as a "personal attack" hence may react
unexpectedly. Anyhow,<BR>everyone has a right to their
opinion.<BR><BR>On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 8:17 PM, Kulubi James <<A
href="/mc/compose?to=jkulubi@yahoo.co.uk" rel=nofollow target=_blank
ymailto="mailto:jkulubi@yahoo.co.uk">jkulubi@yahoo.co.uk</A>>
wrote:<BR><BR>> I have read with interest recent discussions about
the ICT Board and also<BR>> about innovation in our beautiful
country. I am compelled to contribute.<BR><BR>The genesis of the ICT
Board problem stems from contradiction between<BR>what the ICT Board
believes is their mandate, repeated governance<BR>questions hanging
around their ad hoc and tax payer costly series of<BR>activities. They
diverted their mandate to “four-fold<BR><BR>1) Marketing: Positioning
and promoting Kenya as an ICT destination<BR>(locally and
internationally), especially promoting Business process<BR>Outsourcing
(BPO) and Offshoring.<BR><BR>2) Advisory: Advise the government on all
relevant matters pertaining<BR>to the development and promotion of ICT
industries in the country<BR><BR>3) Capacity Building:Providing
government and other stakeholders with<BR>skills, capacity and funding
for anchor implementation of ICT projects<BR>for development.<BR><BR>4)
Project Management: Coordinating, directing and implementing
anchor<BR>ICT projects in development.”<BR><A
href="http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php/theboard/our-mandate-a-objectives"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php/theboard/our-mandate-a-objectives</A><BR>-
-<BR>Whereas the Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 11 Legal Notice No.26 of
2<BR>march,2007 that established them states their mandate as:<BR>-
-<BR>Functions of the Board: “4. The functions of the Board shall be to
-<BR>[emphasis mine]<BR><BR>(a) advise the Government on all relevant
matters pertaining to the<BR>development, co-ordination and promotion of
information and<BR>communication technology industries in the
country;<BR><BR>(b) promote both locally and internationally the
opportunities for<BR>investment in information and communications
technology;<BR><BR>(c) facilitate and manage information and
communication technology,<BR>industrial incubation parks and technology
parks together with<BR>associated facilities on sites, estates and
land;<BR><BR>(d) appoint agents within and without the country to carry
out such<BR>functions, as it may consider necessary, in accordance with
this<BR>Order;<BR><BR>(e) carry out any other activities as, in the
Board's opinion, will<BR>promote and facilitate the development of
information and<BR>communications technology products and
services.”<BR>- -<BR>Therefore, the ICT Board's continued journey on
their ultra vires path<BR>will go very far, but in the wrong direction.
Question the value<BR>proposition in abandoning income generating
activities to attend the<BR>next hurriedly convened meetings “to
discuss” what such so clearly<BR>stated on the law? (Civil Society
describes such gatherings as<BR>“ventilating forums” or “whining forums”
where the aggrieved public<BR>poured their frustrations hearts out, yet
nothing much changed<BR>thereafter at high-office government circles...
simply “officials<BR>criticism management” events of sort often used by
government fat<BR>muscle machinery to crush legitimate criticisms by
individual members<BR>of the public. Another forum was held at the
KICC 2 years ago which<BR>discussed the very Kenya ICT Board. Soon
after, they went back to<BR>“business as usual” where nothing much
changed.)<BR><BR>> We will soon have a new constitution and the
public will expect changes not<BR>> only in government systems but
also in the way they live and work. This<BR>> therefore brings to
bear a new question.<BR><BR>The public has long cried for changes in the
matter state officials<BR>(their employees) have been poorly serving
them. For example, the<BR>secrecy around deals entered into by officials
with private companies,<BR>opaque and costly ICT activities and
“projects” etc. The Rights sector<BR>has since 2000 tirelessly urged the
governmnet to implement the<BR>Freedom of Information to shed light on
thus far governance in<BR>darkness which has only served as breeding
grounds for extended,<BR>entrenched and institutionalised corruption.
The new constitution<BR>dilutes the current top-down power structure and
empowers mwananchi.<BR><BR>> Is the country ready for radical
innovation?<BR><BR>Yes! And it has always been... But the power holders
detest<BR>'disruptive' innovation. They are the ones that in fact have
been<BR>opposed radical innovation because that dilutes their grip on
power,<BR>resources, and public control. They fear innovation because it
it has<BR>the potential of creating new centres of power - A wild
allegation<BR>that must be supported by facts?<BR><BR>Consider the
history of how the Internet entered Kenya. Moi era was so<BR>frightened
of it that an official communication banned it from all<BR>government
offices. And only a handful of the “politically correct” in<BR>the
private sector were gradually permitted to operate it. Their loss<BR>of
public thinking capture through state controlled KBC as the
only<BR>means of receiving information and communication was
simply<BR>unbearable. Dr. Mary Muiruri wrote the chapter on Kenya on the
book<BR>“Negotiating the Net” <A href="http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/ntn/"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/ntn/</A><BR><BR>In
other words, power brokers oppose innovation unless and until
they<BR>can manipulate it – directly(through policies, laws, and
regulations)<BR>or indirectly,for example, where they co-own the
ventures (e.g.<BR>mobitelea) thus can influence decision and/or their
“right” ones are<BR>put in charge of the innovations- never mind their
(or lack thereof)<BR>technical qualifications to manage
innovation.<BR><BR>>>Fast forward>><BR><BR>Could today's
high communication prices be deliberately engineered by<BR>the
establishment so as to frustrate bottom-up innovation- as back<BR>door
to retain power at the top? How much does the powerful ruling<BR>elite
own in the telecommunications industry? Did they game the system<BR>to
privately benefit from public exploitation by “private
sector”<BR>companies when in essence they are one an the same? Why
public funds<BR>invested in TEAMS cable today has never benefited the
public? Did the<BR>government that was the initiative leader
deliberately water down its<BR>shareholding on the cable? Was it a
deliberate shareholding weakening<BR>to later conveniently excuse self
and blame “private sector” and<BR>perpetually expect and “hope [failed]
competition will bring prices<BR>down.”<BR><BR>As proof of sincerity,
all public official need to first exercise<BR>Freedom of Information
principles in their projects, activities,<BR>so-called
“public-private-partnership” and deals entered into<BR>therein,, etc
then the public can discern genuine public-good<BR>initiatives from
private and personal steal-quick initiatives that<BR>have absolutely no
relation to promoting innovation or of any national<BR>interests
(mistaken by some as “Nationals Interests”)<BR><BR>Engagement on this
innovation, and other, governance matters should be<BR>three-fold a) the
politics b) motive of the actors and c) the details.<BR>Unless the
politics and and motives are clearly understood, then it<BR>may be time
wasteful to over-engage on details - because the a) and b)<BR>forces
easily wreck whatever “details” one may have invested so much<BR>in
(time, expertise, money, reputation etc)<BR><BR>Meanwhile, as indicators
to the some of the frustrations facing local<BR>innovators, have a look
at "The excruciating pain of being a Kenyan<BR>Coder" by Idd Salim<BR><A
href="http://www.iddsalim.com/blog/2009/11/09/the-excruciating-pain-of-being-a-kenyan-coder-pt-1/"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://www.iddsalim.com/blog/2009/11/09/the-excruciating-pain-of-being-a-kenyan-coder-pt-1/</A><BR>and
<A
href="http://www.iddsalim.com/blog/2009/11/13/the-excruciating-pain-of-being-a-kenyan-coder-pt-2/"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://www.iddsalim.com/blog/2009/11/13/the-excruciating-pain-of-being-a-kenyan-coder-pt-2/</A><BR><BR>Some
of us have been screaming ourselves hoarse... but nothing gets<BR>done.
Could we be back to the pre-June 2005 ICT Policy position
"Kenya<BR>lacks high level ICT
leadership?"<BR><BR>regards,<BR><BR>Alex<BR><BR>> The millennium
challenges require the Third World to change focus and<BR>> address
simple and well-stated goals. However, the paradigm called
“third<BR>> world decease” which was introduced to me over 20 years
ago by one Prof.<BR>> Leo Van Biesen (you may Google him) still
hangs on our necks. To highlight<BR>> this decease, he paused the
question: “What does it matter if one knows<BR>> something but
nobody is using that knowledge? What does it matter? In any<BR>> case
chances are that with the rapid advances in knowledge, somebody
is<BR>> going to gain the same knowledge anyway or even put in a
better way –<BR>> somebody somewhere may already have the same
knowledge.”<BR>><BR>> In this breadth, Third World has many well
trained experts in all spheres of<BR>> knowledge with outstanding
decorations but they are completely unable to<BR>> translate what
they know into some kind of innovative service or product<BR>> that
can significantly improve the lives of the ordinary person. Year
in<BR>> year out we complain about bad leadership, limited foreign
investment,<BR>> limited access to information ,
etc.<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> In this regard, Dr. Mohan (IBM
Fellow and Former IBM India Chief Scientist<BR>> recently gave
a speech at the University of California at Santa Cruz<BR>>
entitled “Can India be an innovation superpower?” A summary of his
speech<BR>> can be found at <A href="http://bit.ly/dxuurP"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://bit.ly/dxuurP</A>. According to him,
the innovation<BR>> eco-system includes:<BR>><BR>>
Government: Infrastructure, Incubation/Research Funding,<BR>>
Intellectual Property protection, R&D Labs<BR>> Universities:
Faculty including adjunct, Students, Teaching Vs<BR>> Research,
Consulting, Incubation,<BR>> Public/Private firms: R&D labs,
Visionary leaders, University linkages<BR>> Funding Entities:
Banks, VC firms, Government agencies – debt Vs equity<BR>>
Networking/Trade Bodies: Mentoring, Standards,<BR>> Large customer
base, especially domestic,<BR>> Society at Large: Cultural attitudes
like questioning authority, Relatives<BR>> Money focus, press
freedom, and availability of relevant role models.<BR>><BR>> Dr.
Mohan goes further to list the essential attributes for innovation
as:<BR>><BR>> Sheer intellect, analytical thinking, synthesis,
inquisitiveness,<BR>> Sustained work in an area,<BR>> Maniacal
focus and attention to detail,<BR>> Appreciation for long term
technical careers and related role models,<BR>> Soft skills and
belief in collaborating with other people,<BR>> Risk taking and
handling failures gracefully,<BR>> Dedicated follow through to turn
invention to innovation,<BR>> Scale: pockets of brilliance are often
insufficient for meaningful impact,<BR>> Paths/desire for faculty to
turn research into commercial impact,<BR>> Truly serious
collaboration between academia and industry, and<BR>> Ability to
promote startups while at the same time upholding<BR>>
well-established companies.<BR>><BR>> Further, he identifies the
following issues that appear pertinent to India<BR>> but may also
apply to any third world country.<BR>><BR>> Putting too much
focus on compensation;<BR>> High-quality work and leaving a legacy
are often secondary goals, if at all;<BR>> Sense of entitlement,
instant gratification pervade youth from day one at<BR>>
work;<BR>> Lots of MoU signings between industry & academia, and
Indian & foreign<BR>> universities – more photo ops and not
enough serious follow ups;<BR>> true desire for collaboration lacking
even in faculty (within/outside the<BR>> university);<BR>> Not
enough accountability of outcomes with R&D investments;<BR>> When
good does happen, not enough publicity/documentation;<BR>> Not enough
interest in postgraduate education/research;<BR>> Tempting to blame
convenient scapegoats: infrastructure, government,<BR>> politicians,
bureaucracy, corruption, reservations;<BR>> Only lip service provided
on striving for excellence In spite of becoming<BR>> modern in many
ways, hierarchy still matters and questioning authority is<BR>>
frowned on;<BR>> Too often looking westward for requirements/problems
when local customers do<BR>> have non-trivial problems that call
for innovation;<BR>> Acute shortage of soft skills;<BR>>
False believe that all entrepreneurship equals being innovation;<BR>>
Quantum leap in level of professionalism needed;<BR>> Doing
subcontract/QA work may bring in money but cost arbitrage won’t
be<BR>> sustainable – have to move up the food chain;<BR>> Too
much of narrow grunt work and not enough indulgence in exploration
on<BR>> the side as skunk works by individuals; and<BR>> Lank of
understanding that managing technologists and technology
products<BR>> requires special management skills.<BR>><BR>>
When I carefully examine these issues, I see myself, all you my
colleagues<BR>> and the rest of the third world as part of the
problem but not the solution<BR>> or ARE WE?<BR>><BR>>
Regards<BR>><BR>> James Kulubi<BR>><BR>><BR>> From: Alex
Gakuru <<A href="/mc/compose?to=gakuru@gmail.com" rel=nofollow
target=_blank
ymailto="mailto:gakuru@gmail.com">gakuru@gmail.com</A>><BR>> To:
ke-users <<A href="/mc/compose?to=ke-internetusers@bdix.net"
rel=nofollow target=_blank
ymailto="mailto:ke-internetusers@bdix.net">ke-internetusers@bdix.net</A>><BR>>
Sent: Mon, 5 April, 2010 21:29:08<BR>> Subject: [ke-internetusers]
Re: Price never goes down in Kenya<BR>><BR>> The painful truth
behind this article is quite upsetting. That costs<BR>> keep rising
or at best remain high. We have complained about it yet<BR>> not much
seems to result in lowered consumers internet costs.<BR>><BR>> But
at least, domain hosting has just became much more
affordable!<BR>><BR>> Background:<BR>><BR>> Hosting has been
expensive - 'New communications technologies and<BR>> freedom of
expression in<BR>> Kenya'<A
href="http://www.freedomofexpression.org.uk/files/Kenya_FoE.pdf"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://www.freedomofexpression.org.uk/files/Kenya_FoE.pdf</A><BR>>
- - - -<BR>> 2.2.3 Costs of having an online presence<BR>><BR>>
The costs of internet domain names, website development and web<BR>>
hosting are expensive in Kenya, effectively preventing most of
the<BR>> population from having a presence online. As of 23 October
2008, there<BR>> were 9,238 generic .ke domains and 548 restricted or
‘second level’<BR>> domains registered, totalling 9,786 .ke domain
names. The policies of<BR>> Kenic (Kenya Network Information Centre)
on internet domain pricing<BR>> were hotly discussed during the
period of this study. A price of Ksh<BR>> 2,000 per domain had
applied for all .ke domains, until sustained<BR>> complaints that the
domain was overpriced, and that this was a barrier<BR>> to
purchasers, compelled Kenic to review prices downwards in August<BR>>
2008. However Kenic’s Board decided to lower to 500 Ksh only the<BR>>
prices of restricted domain names (those used by government and<BR>>
schools) which were also the least registered. Kenic’s minutes
from<BR>> its annual general meetings fail to record the levels of
public<BR>> dissatisfaction with their policies, reflecting a
tendency to report<BR>> only on positive
achievements.<BR>><BR>> Estimates suggest that the lowest accepted
commercial rate for website<BR>> development is around US$ 1,000
(approximately Ksh 80,000), making the<BR>> cost prohibitively high
for community and civil society organisations.<BR>> Professionally
developed websites can cost upwards of three times this<BR>> amount.
Popular ‘cheap’ hosting in the US costs about US$ 100<BR>>
(approximately Ksh 7,500) per year29, which is expensive for
many<BR>> Kenyans and civil society organisations.<BR>><BR>>
Around 50% of Kenyan websites are currently hosted overseas. The<BR>>
organisation Afrispa (A continental Association of African
Internet<BR>> Service Providers) has published a strategy arguing
that this is the<BR>> case because the ‘unfair distribution of
bandwidth cost sharing is<BR>> actually driving traffic out of AISP
[African Internet Service<BR>> Provider] backbones and into IBP
[International Backbone Providers]<BR>> backbones’. Kenyan ISPs, it
says, are effectively bearing the cost of<BR>> international
connectivity in both directions, resulting in higher<BR>> costs to
consumers. The strategy proposes redressing this imbalance of<BR>>
cost sharing and the consequent high prices, by promoting the<BR>>
development ‘peering’ through Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) so
that<BR>> locally-destined traffic can be routed locally and at lower
cost.<BR>> - - -<BR>> Today hosting services remain quite
expensive, for example, below are<BR>> annual costs published at one
of the local hosting company's website:-<BR>><BR>> 50MB - KSH
3,000/=<BR>> 100MB - KSH 6,000/=<BR>> 300MB - KSH 9,000/=<BR>>
500MB - KSH 12,000/=<BR>><BR>> Quite prohibitive costs which I
know should be way much lower!!!<BR>><BR>>
Intervention:<BR>><BR>> An own small contribution towards lowering
the prevailing high internet<BR>> costs.<BR>><BR>> In
contributing to the solving the internet domain hosting costs,<BR>>
today I partnered with one of the best hosting companies in the
world.<BR>> I am pleased to inform you that from now on your
domain/website can be<BR>> hosted (with 500MB disk space) at
shillings 3,500/= (three thousand<BR>> five hundred only) per
year.<BR>><BR>> You can assist:<BR>><BR>> May I request that
you kindly let persons that may be interested in<BR>> this affordable
hosting know of this intervention?<BR>><BR>>
regards,<BR>><BR>> Alex<BR>><BR>> On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at
10:04 AM, Alex Gakuru <<A href="/mc/compose?to=gakuru@gmail.com"
rel=nofollow target=_blank
ymailto="mailto:gakuru@gmail.com">gakuru@gmail.com</A>>
wrote:<BR>>> [Our cartels ruled economic arrangement defeats 'free
market'<BR>>> philosophy. Unless government intervenes on
telecommunication prices<BR>>> as promised a while back by PS
Ndemo, then consumers should just<BR>>> forget all those promised
'wonderful benefits of ICTs' - internet<BR>>> fibres, mobile,
contents/applications, etc. etc. -true or false? AG]<BR>>>
--<BR>>> [Daily Nation]<BR>>> By ALLAN NGUNGU<BR>>>
Sunday, April 4 2010<BR>>><BR>>> Kenya has in all along been
a veritable capitalist country whose<BR>>> free-wheeling economic
model has compared the US and Britain.<BR>>><BR>>> In
Africa, it is ranked among the top entrepreneurial states,
its<BR>>> people staking their business acumen from Eastern Africa
to Botswana<BR>>> to the goldmine havens of South
Africa.<BR>>><BR>>> But even with this “market economy”, it
has had a major flaw: it’s<BR>>> almost entirely based on an
edifice of ever rising prices of goods and<BR>>> services — and
production costs. These always go up but never, ever<BR>>> come
down even when the open market dictates so.<BR>>><BR>>> The
precepts of a free market as espoused by the Keyneses of
this<BR>>> world never seem to work here, no supply-driven price
drops.<BR>>><BR>>> During times of drought, for instance,
prices of goods shoot up, but<BR>>> when it rains cats and dogs,
prices remain high for all manner of<BR>>> dubious reasons
including the favourite: the roads are
impassable.<BR>>><BR>>> Right now, prices of maize, potatoes
and milk have precipitously<BR>>> dropped in various parts of the
country but the middle-men vultures<BR>>> have swooped in, buying
at throwaway prices only to make a killing in<BR>>>
towns.<BR>>><BR>>> When cattle are dying and herders are
selling at rock-bottom prices,<BR>>> meat prices never go down but
will swiftly go up if there is a minor<BR>>>
shortage.<BR>>><BR>>> When crude oil prices escalated from
around $60 to $147 a barrel in<BR>>> the latter half of 2008,
Kenyan oil companies gleefully raised prices<BR>>> to over Shs110
in days, When the barrel prices dropped below the<BR>>> original,
it took the virtual intervention of the Government with<BR>>>
threats of price controls to nudge these companies to reduce
the<BR>>> prices even though all they did was a slap-in the
face.<BR>>><BR>>> After the huge escalation of electricity
rates late last year<BR>>> supposedly because of the drought,
there has virtually been no drop<BR>>> even as we have swollen
rivers wiping out villages.<BR>>><BR>>> WHEN CONSUMERS WERE
ENDURING the economically costly power rationing,<BR>>> Kenya
Power and Lighting Co — that edifice that is adept more at
power<BR>>> outages than lighting — was reporting astronomical
profits. How one<BR>>> makes huge profits during a power rationing
regime is a mystery.<BR>>><BR>>> There are many other
examples, including, mobile telephone rates that<BR>>> are some of
the highest in the world, Internet charges that remain<BR>>> high
despite the landing of the much-hyped fibre optic cables or<BR>>>
matatus that triple fares because it has suddenly rained or because
it<BR>>> is Christmas.<BR>>><BR>>> It is the same for
Kenya’s legendary shylocks in the form of banks who<BR>>> have
defied all pressure including positive measures to reduce
their<BR>>> high credit interest rates while paying puny amounts
to depositors.<BR>>><BR>>> The result is always the same:
far from increasing their sales and<BR>>> customer base, Kenyan
businesses, big and small, end up excluding huge<BR>>> numbers,
while remaining highly uncompetitive globally.<BR>>><BR>>>
They don’t have a clue about why huge companies such as
Wal-Mart,<BR>>> Ford, Toyota and others became such success
stories — they sold cheap<BR>>> to all strands of clients, not
just to those who could afford their<BR>>>
goods.<BR>>><BR>>> Henry Ford captured this early last
century when he found out his<BR>>> workers could not afford the
cars they made.<BR>>><BR>>><BR>>> <A
href="http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Price%20never%20goes%20down%20in%20Kenya/-/440808/892692/-/rpwg5a/-/index.html"
rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Price%20never%20goes%20down%20in%20Kenya/-/440808/892692/-/rpwg5a/-/index.html</A><BR>>><BR>><BR>>
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