<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt">Hi Listers,<br><br>Congratulations Dr Bowman and your team for the study tour. Having been the one with my collegaues in JKUAT who developed the digital training curriculum I am quite excite to get your feedback.<br><br>The thing is, we developed the cuuriculum following a rigourous process which entailed a public presentation of dry run at KICC and then later via a pilot which we did for a sample of 200 people in all districts including lokichogio. We later conducted at TOT and ICT board then contracted those acredited trainers to train 7,500 potential Digital Village operators who we even certified. At the time we did the training, the understanding was that only those who had undergone the training will qualify for the funding. So it later turned out that even those who we didn't train got
the funding, so I am not surprised of your findings. Next time, please compare the performance of those who we trained and those who are not trained then perhaps we can know whether the training had any impact. You can get the curriculum from ICT board web site and comment on it also <br><br>Regards,<br><br>Charles<br><div> </div>CHARLES N. NDUATI<br>GENERAL MANAGER<br>JKUAT ENTERPRISES LTD<br>JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY<br>JUJA MAIN CAMPUS, THIKA<br>P. O. BOX 79324-00200<br>NAIROBI, KENYA<br>TEL: 254-067-52420 OR 254-067-52711 FAX: 254-067-52438<br>MOBILE:254-722728815<br>EMIAL:charlesnduati2002@yahoo.co.uk,cnduati@gmail.com,bm@jkuates.jkuat.ac.ke<br><span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.jkuat.ac.ke">www.jkuat.ac.ke</a></span><div><br></div><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><br><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><font size="2"
face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Muchiri Nyaggah <muchiri@semacraft.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> charlesnduati2002@yahoo.co.uk<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cc:</span></b> Patrick Mule Mbithuka <PMbithuka@safaricom.co.ke>; Wachira Kang’aru <wkangaru@ke.nationmedia.com>; KK <kavorek@gmail.com>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thu, 1 September, 2011 14:11:29<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [kictanet] Article on Digital Villages in the Daily Nation<br></font><br>Hi Listers,<br><br>Apart from e-health and e-learning, e-government was a critical part of the whole digital village idea. Bringing government services closer to the people by using technology to remove the barriers of geography and hopefully reducing the barriers
of bureaucracy. One thing we did notice though is that government services such as KRA PIN applications cost upwards of KSh150 with similar costs for filing returns and KNEC applications.<br>
<br>One of the challenges that needs to be tackled is how to innovatively reduce the financial barrier to access whilst still making it worth the business owner's while to keep this services available. I'm certain those insights lie with us.<br>
<br><br clear="all"><br><div><div lang="EN-GB"><div><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Kind regards,</span></font></p>
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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Principal Partner</span></font></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;">
<font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt;">@muchiri</span></font></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10pt;">+254 722 506400</span></font></p>
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<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:47 PM, warigia bowman <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu" target="_blank" href="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu">warigia@aucegypt.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">You can get the PDF here<br><br><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1621502&show=abstract">http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1621502&show=abstract</a><br>
<br>You do not need university access<br><br>Yours, Rigia<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:34 PM, warigia bowman <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu" target="_blank" href="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu">warigia@aucegypt.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex;"><div dir="ltr">Dear colleagues<br><br>Here is an article I had written many years ago. I did not think it was worth much, but it seems very relevant to the discussion we are having on digital villages. The PDF is available free online here. <br>
<br>This is what digital villages COULD BE. <br><br><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1621502&show=html">http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1621502&show=html</a><br>
<br>
<h2>The promise of public access: Lessons from the American
experience</h2><hr size="1" align="left" noshade="noshade">
<h3>The Authors</h3>
<h4>Warigia Bowman, <i>Harvard University, USA</i><br></h4>
<h4>Arifa Khandwalla, <i>University of Massachusetts,
USA</i></h4>
<h3>Abstract</h3>
<p>This essay surveys and synthesizes the academic literature,
archival sources and interviews with key policy makers regarding
the emergence of community technology centers in the US. Community
Technology Centers (CTCs) came to the fore in the late 1990s
through an activist nonprofit sector combined with federal
government and private sector funding. Federal data indicates that
CTCs now represent the most important access points to information
communications technology for the poor in the US. This essay
reviews the latest arguments for and against continued investment
in CTCs and public access in general. In addition to providing
access, which is often used beneficially for employment and
education related purposes, CTCs appear to contribute to social
capital as they become social gathering points. This paper
concludes, that both government and nonprofits play a vital role in
ensuring public access for the poor and that continued investment
in CTCs is warranted.</p>
<h3>Article Type:</h3>
<p>Literature review<br></p>
<h3>Keyword(s):</h3>
<p>Access; ICT; Community; Technology centres;
Government.<br></p>
<h3>Journal:</h3>
<p>Journal of Information, Communication &
Ethics in Society<br></p>
<h3>Volume:</h3>
<p>1<br></p>
<h3>Number:</h3>
<p>2<br></p>
<h3>Year:</h3>
<p>2003<br></p>
<h3> pp:</h3>
<p>87-98<br></p>
<h3>Copyright ©</h3>
<p>MCB UP Ltd<br></p>
<h3> ISSN:</h3>
1477-996X<br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div>On Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 5:00 PM, warigia bowman <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu" target="_blank" href="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu">warigia@aucegypt.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</div><div><div></div><div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<p>Dear colleagues</p><p></p><p>Here is an article I wrote which appeared in Smart Company in the Daily Nation on Tuesday. Victor Gathara and I will be writing a more comprehensive report in the coming months. I had put in some compliments to the ICT Board staff and the Safaricom staff, but those were edited out by the nation. <br>
</p><p></p><p>Yours, Rigia<br></p><p>BY WARIGIA BOWMAN</p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu" target="_blank" href="mailto:warigia@aucegypt.edu">warigia@aucegypt.edu</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:50pt;">P</span>lans
are afoot to improve access to computing and Internet infrastructure in rural
Kenya, thanks to an initiative between the government and the private
sector.<span> </span>In April 2010, the ICT Board, which is part of the Ministry of
Information and Communication, promised to connect each constituency by setting
up a digital centre, complete with five computers and Internet connectivity,
under the Pasha Centres programme. </p>
<p>Kupasha is Kiswahili for “to inform”. The Pasha Centre project
is being supported by $4 million (about Sh36 million) in revolving World Bank
funds administered by Family Bank. </p>
<p>Indeed, the Kenya Communication Amendment Act 2009 stipulates
that the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) should levy telecoms operators
a universal access fund of one per cent of their total revenue to be used for
rural connectivity. </p>
<p>Access to portals</p>
<p>According to the regulator, 90 per cent of Kenya’s 6.4 million
Internet users (2010) are in Nairobi and Mombasa. Both the digital villages and
the pasha centres are to offer services such as access to government portals
like NSSF, identity and driver licensing services, Teacher Service Commission
information, HELB loans and information on farming, as well as access to
e-health and e-learning. </p>
<p>This all sounds fantastic and exciting... on paper.
Unfortunately, the reality on the ground is different. A multi-sectoral group
of academics, private sector consultants and civil society activists have
visited 20 per cent of all pasha centres in Kenya, as well as 15 digital
villages, over the past two months. </p>
<p>What the group found is a matter of concern to anyone
interested in rural connectivity in Africa.</p>
<p>The number of digital villages and pasha centres that are
actually open for business is only a fraction of the reported total. The ICT
Board provided the research team with the list of all approved centres. </p>
<p>Only 37 have actually been approved, although each of Kenya’s
210 constituencies is entitled to one. Of these, only two in the sample of 10
had actually received all of the money awarded to them and had opened for
business. </p>
<p>In addition, Safaricom provided the research team with a list
of 147 digital villages, not 500. On the list of 147, the identifying
information was incomplete and vague.</p>
<p>The team visited pashas and digital villages in Malindi, Embu,
Meru, Muranga, Maragwa, Nyeri, Isiolo, Samburu, Oloitoktok, Machakos, Wote and
Mbumbuni. It was, however, yet to visit and evaluate pashas in Western, Kisii
and Nyanza regions.</p>
<p>Overall, the conditions in the ICT Board run pashas were
better than those in the Safaricom-run digital villages, although the pashas
also needed improvements. </p>
<p>Owners were, on the whole, fairly well educated IT experts,
good businesspeople and visionaries. The two pashas (Mbumbuni and Maragwa) that
had actually opened offered a range of services, including photocopying,
printing, typesetting, printing photos, browsing and IT training. </p>
<p>Most of the centres had heard of e-health and
e-learning, but did not really know what these terms meant and had received no
training from the ICT Board in these areas, although the topics were mentioned
at one training the pasha owners received in late May. </p>
<p>Further, owners had little knowledge of what government
services they could offer other than the registration of KRA pin details and
downloading of police abstracts. Most had received little or no support
regarding branding and marketing, and one of the open facilities was making a
serious financial loss. </p>
<p>However, it is easy to criticise and hard to build. In that
spirit, here are some constructive suggestions.</p>
<p>First, the MOIC, CCK and ICT Board should work together to
implement the tax of one per cent on all telecommunications operators this
year. </p>
<p>Based on a quick back of the envelope calculation, this will
amount to approximately Sh4 billion per year. Part of this money should support
extra staff on the pasha centre project.Right now, there are only two people working on the pasha
project at the ICT Board. </p>
<p>Second, tariffs must come down. Every pasha owner and digital
village operator we spoke to said tariffs were too high. Indeed, the ICT Board
had promised pasha operators free connectivity for a year. </p>
<p>Regardless, operators and digital village operators must be
given highly preferential rates by telecommunications operators. </p>
<p>In addition, pasha owners and digital village operators need
support and training in<span> </span>marketing,
branding, and proper use of government portals. </p>
<p>Owners need to be sensitised on the wealth of information with
regard to farming and husbandry, including Kenya Seeds,
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.infonet-biovision.org">www.infonet-biovision.org</a>, icow, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.nafis.go.ke">www.nafis.go.ke</a>. </p>
<p>Finally, Safaricom should expand the resources it invests in
each digital village.</p>
<p>There are many other reforms needed, but if the government and
telecommunications operators can pay attention to these few suggestions, Kenya
can attain true rural connectivity. </p>
<p> </p>
<div style="border-width:1pt medium medium;border-style:solid none none;border-color:black;padding:8pt 0in 0in;">
<p style="line-height:120%;border:medium none;padding:0in;"><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:120%;">Dr Bowman is an ICT expert in the American
University, Cairo</span><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:120%;"></span></p>
</div>
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