<div dir="ltr">Dear Dr. Ndemo,<div><br></div><div>Thank you for this piece of report. </div><div><br></div><div>I captured your last words: <span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"> "<font color="#0000ff">Last but not least we</font></span></div>
<font color="#0000ff"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">must do an impact assessment on democracy and ask ourselves questions such</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">as: Is too much democracy bad for development?" </span></font><div>
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">This I believe, democracy has nothing to do with being righteous: a Key for Development (Proverbs 14:34)! Hence it is ALWAYS NOT SAFE TO BE FREE! </span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">That is the greatest a miss in our democracies! We cry for freedom, while actually we thirsty to be righteous! It is a spiritual hunger!</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Keep up thinking! keep up discussing...</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br>
</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Regards</span></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>__________________________________</div>
<div><strong>Eng. Dr. Zaipuna O. Yonah, PhD</strong></div>
<div><strong>Consulting Engineer in ICTs</strong></div>
<div><strong style="color:rgb(51,51,255);font-size:x-small">P. O. Box 32736</strong></div>
<div><font color="#3333ff" size="1"><strong>Dar es Salaam</strong></font></div>
<div><font color="#3333ff" size="1"><strong>Tanzania</strong></font></div>
<div><font color="#3333ff" size="1"><strong>Tel: +255-784-786429</strong></font></div>
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<div><strong>Email: </strong><a href="mailto:engzaipuna@ieee.org" target="_blank"><strong>engzaipuna@ieee.org</strong></a></div>
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<div><i>It is About Engineering People's Lives! </i><i style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">& </i></div><div><i style="font-family:arial;font-size:small">Advancing Technology for Humanity!</i></div><div><i>===============================</i></div>
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<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 4:01 AM, Bitange Ndemo <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Listers,<br>
I am attending India’s Economic Times e-Governance Forum where several<br>
experts have gathered to chart the way forward for India’s Information<br>
Technology diffusion within government. Attending also are ministers from<br>
the 29 states of India. The Minister for ICT Mr. Ponnala Lakshmaiah,<br>
opened the conference challenging the experts to use ICT as a tool to<br>
eliminate poverty by enhancing inclusivity and equity within India.<br>
<br>
In his speech, the minister said, one in four IT experts globally is<br>
Indian yet India is ranked 124th in the diffusion of technology.<br>
Virtually every top university in the World has at least one Indian<br>
professor in IT. MIT alone has several Indian professors heading projects<br>
in IT yet here at home we are still struggling to provide services to the<br>
people. To change this he says, this year, India will connect 250,000<br>
villages with fibre optics.<br>
The Minister further said that technology has had a huge impact with<br>
respect to disaster management. He says, the state of Ander Pradesh for<br>
example has seen reduction in deaths out of the cyclones. In 1977 for<br>
example, he said, we lost 10,000 lives to the cyclone, in 1990 technology<br>
helped to lower the deaths to 1,500 and last year we only lost 30 he said.<br>
Loosing 30 is still not good when we have technologies that help protect<br>
the lives of citizens, he said. We must have high powered computing to<br>
deal with environmental disasters.<br>
<br>
Through public private partnerships with google, Ander Pradesh is mapping<br>
every village and tagging every house to ensure every citizen receives the<br>
services they are entitled to. From such connectivity, service delivery<br>
to citizens will be made easier. He finished his speech by stating: ICT<br>
is a leveler – where every young woman or man will have an opportunity to<br>
succeed otherwise we shall have a violent revolution if the gap between<br>
the rich and poor keeps on widening.<br>
<br>
Indeed ICTs will create new opportunities as the senior advisor, Planning<br>
Commission BN Satpathy says. Digitalization of government records<br>
globally created six million jobs and $196 billion in new revenue. It is<br>
therefore important that India position ICT as key to economic growth.<br>
There must be a paradigm shift from classical economic thinking where the<br>
focus was on resources to modern ways where technology and knowledge is<br>
key. This is the only way we can reduce inequalities between rich and<br>
poor and disparities between different states in India. This is how we<br>
can build an inclusive country he says. He emphasized that experts must<br>
look into developing applications in education and health to enable<br>
improved social services to the poor.<br>
<br>
The World Bank country Director, India Mr. Onno Ruhl concurs with Minister<br>
Lakshmaiah and Satpathy and moves to give examples from other parts of the<br>
World. Norway has made Broadband a human right issue by providing free<br>
internet to every home. Chile has made it possible for tax payers to pay<br>
online. Several other countries are taking services to the people. He<br>
gives Kenya as a model on mobile payments that has changed the lives of<br>
many people and created financial inclusivity within a short period.<br>
<br>
A panel discussion by nine senior government officials ranging from<br>
immigration, supreme court of India, health, education, ICT and some<br>
private sector from Wipro, National Innovation Council as well as World<br>
Health Organization reveal the elephant in the house – silo mentality or<br>
protection of turfs - that lead to corruption. They were clear as to what<br>
needs to be done and how but there must be political will to move this<br>
forward. Public Private Partnerships have helped create the efficiencies<br>
they enjoy thus far. Just like in Kenya each department does what they<br>
want without making reference to the other. Multiple infrastructure such<br>
as data centers that should be shared is duplicated making seamless<br>
integration difficult. For example, the passport department has biometric<br>
data but you find the electoral commission will also collect its own data.<br>
<br>
Rajiv Gauba, Additional Secretary, e-Governance emphasizes shared<br>
infrastructure and creation of integrated services to reduce cost but at<br>
the same time he is aware that ministries are not ready for this. He<br>
feels that the National Government must mandate this in order to optimally<br>
utilize the meager resources. He feels the Government must build a common<br>
gateway for all government services. He wants a mandate to eliminate<br>
parallel government systems and putting most of the services on the cloud<br>
to eliminate multiple data centers.<br>
<br>
At lunch break I meet Pradeem Kumar, he has been to Kenya and tells me<br>
that everything that has been said here cannot be done in India. You guys<br>
are lucky that you can learn from us and implement things immediately.<br>
Here we have very powerful and corrupt state governments. This all talk<br>
that resources will move from the center to the goal is nonsense if<br>
kickers in the field are wearing shoes with nails such that the ball will<br>
never get to the goal. It is always deflated before we can score. Indeed<br>
all presentations that followed by the private sector did not mince any<br>
words. Corruption starts from the specification such that you will never<br>
win.<br>
Professor Anil, a governance expert argued that India will never<br>
effectively deal with corruption until they set up schools of governance.<br>
Why is that the entire of India with thousands of higher learning there is<br>
not one of them teaching governance? We must go to the Kennedy School to<br>
learn governance? He posed. In his view, there is sufficient political<br>
will but the wheels of government are stuck somewhere. India has the best<br>
brains any country can have but they cannot put their finger on that<br>
thing.<br>
<br>
We have a lot to learn from India since we share a similar history having<br>
been colonized by the British. In my presentation I made what I thought<br>
was a joke. This is what I said. The British ruled almost the entire<br>
world without a single computer. Their secret I am told is that they used<br>
bureaucracy and when they left, we perfected it to the extent we now have<br>
analysis by paralysis. One of the state representatives repeated my words<br>
and said this is it. This is our problem. We spend too much time doing<br>
analysis. I was stunned. I gathered myself to say that we do the same in<br>
Kenya.<br>
<br>
In my thinking, indiscipline is causing both India and Kenya a great deal<br>
of the future. Like many developed countries, we need to establish a boot<br>
camp for the youth after high school. Every class from high school<br>
through University must have an ethical component. Last but not least we<br>
must do an impact assessment on democracy and ask ourselves questions such<br>
as: Is too much democracy bad for development?<br>
<br>
To be continued.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
University of Nairobi<br>
Business School, Lower Kabete Campus<br>
<br>
<br>
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