July 2007 - KICTANet

Re: [kictanet] [africa-oped] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petitin......... http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA
by Mike Theuri 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

TKL is being sold for pennies on the dollar, unfortunately this is a phenomenon that keeps repeating itself over and over again with telecom licencing in Kenya. Investors in several other Africa countries pay hundreds of millions of dollars to secure licences but in Kenya it appears to be ok to sell a 15 year term licence for $50m and 6-7 years down the road the companies are making annual profits in the hundreds of millions that major western corporations would envy. In this particular case, TKL is being sold with its basket of licences which alone should cost hundreds of millions of dollars more, its exclusivity as a existing and the only current nationwide provider should also factor in. Interestingly enough the paltry valuation of TKL at $205m is a slap in the face and an affront to taxpayers who have a stake in TKL by virtue of it being a government owned entity, not forgetting the TKL owned infrastructure that is already in place. Not factored into the equation seems to be the undersea cable which TKL has a key stake in. The sale of TKL to foreigners should not take place as a matter of key national security and interest. Countries such as Canada and the US have well established laws that state that their telecom companies should not be foreign controlled because they understand the implications this has on their sovereignty and interests. In 1999 in part : 24 September 1999 Africa Confidential Vol 40, No, 19 "If the politicians prevail on CCK over the cellular licence, more questions will be raised about the sell-off of the state's land-based telephone network, Telkom Kenya. Continuing delays in its sale due to political interference have lost the government over $300 mn. in revenues, according to industry sources. Kenya's telecommunications sector was valued at some $1.2 billion in 1997 by Rothschilds, the government's then financial advisors on the privatisation, but would be unlikely to fetch much more than $800 mn." ----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Alai Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 4:35 PM Subject: [africa-oped] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petitin......... http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA Dear Members The Kenyan government is in the process of looking for an investor to buy off 40% of Telkom Kenya shares. The current bidders which they say is the highest is giving 5.6Billion Kenya Shillings. This is an amount which we, stakeholders in the IT sector in Kenya feel is less than the amount the corporation can fetch when privatised. This makes us think that the best way the Kenyan government can sell the corporation at the right price is by listing it in NSE. It would be good for the strategic National interest for Telkom Kenya to remain in the hands of Kenyans and only around 8% shares be sold to a foreign investor or a maximum of 10%. Why should we be selling all our state corporations to foreigners. We cannot allow this and must stand up to this. Telkom Kenya is a very vital corporation which must either remain in the hand of Kenyans or be sold to individual of corporate Kenyan investors but not what is currently happening. Why is the government not ready to list telkom Kenya in the bourse? What is the rush to sell to an outsider. We must never allow this. Please click the following link and sign the petition. We must never allow Telkom Kenya to be owned that much by foreigners. 40% is just too much. Please sign the petition http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA . Please dont let your country down. We must never allow Telkom Kenya to go that far at that less amount. Its just too cheap. Robert Alai Onyango IT Stakeholder Kenya On 7/8/07, yamanjanl < yamanjanl(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > BT EMERGES FRONTRUNNER IN RACE TO BUY TELKOM KENYA, ACCORDING TO GOVT > OFFICIAL > > A consortium that includes British Telecoms and Libyan investors has > emerged as the only strong contender to acquire a strategic 40 per > cent shareholding in Telkom Kenya. People close to the matter told > the Business Daily that senior officials from BT and Libyan investors > on Friday met top Treasury and Ministry of Communication officials to > work out the deal's finer details. Treasury estimates the stake to be > worth Sh5.6 billion —meaning that Telkom Kenya is now valued at Sh14 > billion. > > The British firm is said to have tabled a number of proposals, > including a strong financial bid as commitment to finance the > turnaround of Telkom Kenya, in the meeting that ended at 11.30 pm. > Such a high level leak means that the Government is doing its best to > talk up the price that will be paid for Telkom Kenya. > > "The consortium led by BT is the team to beat. They have a credible > technical group and have the finances," an official, who attended the > meeting, said. It is the second time that the Government is trying to > sell a significant portion of its stake in Telkom Kenya, the first > attempt having flopped after bidders placed financial bids that they > ultimately could not back up with real money. > > The Government had this time around included a condition that > required bidders to have an annual revenue of $200 million (Sh14 > billion), more than 500,000 voice subscribers and demonstrated > experience in the deployment of broadband to avoid similar flops. > > In recent months, Libyan firms, loaded with petrodollars, have been > clinching lucrative deals in Kenya mainly on the infrastructure front > including the upgrade of Kenya Petroleum Refineries. This has > cemented close trade ties between Kenya and Libya that was recently > pushed by President Kibaki's official visit to Tripoli. > > The Government intends to sell its 40 per cent stake to a strategic > investor who is expected to come on board before the end of the year. > Analysts say that BT has been desperate to get a foothold in the > lucrative Eastern African market through an acquisition, a pointer > that the Telkom deal would turn their dream true. > > Already, BT is well represented in the rest of the continent with its > regional headquarters in South Africa to the Southern part of the > continent. For the North African market, it has the Libyan office and > the Nigerian office to serve the West African market. > > "Safaricom has shown there is money to be made in this part of the > world and everyone is now looking at getting a share of the market," > James Rege, chairman, Capital Real Time, a telecommunication > consulting firm. > > Safaricom broke its earlier record to emerge as the most profitable > firm in the East Africa posting Sh17.7 billion in profits, an > increase of 39 per cent recorded a year earlier. > > With Telkom already in the wireless voice market through their new > service offering dubbed Telkom Wireless, which is set to be > officially launched this Thursday, this could be big opportunity for > BT to take a stab at a growing market. > > Rege, a former permanent secretary in the information ministry, said > BT looked the most credible firm to clinch the deal should it come > through. This is not the first time the British telecommunications > giant has made a bid at Telkom Kenya. Six years ago it indicated its > interest in acquiring the state firm but it was disqualified during > the preliminaries. > > Other firms that are in the race to buy the stake include Indian > mobile service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Tata > Holdings and Vtel communication, who had won the licence to become > the country's Second National Operator but were disqualified after > failing to raise the required license fee. > > American telecommunication giant AT&T pulled out of the race after > the Government failed to buy into its demand where it indicated it > would only buy a stake in the state firm if they were given a 51 per > cent stake. This, they noted, was the only way they could get a free > hand to turnaround the loss-making company. > > South Africa-based Econet is also making a second attempt to enter > the Kenyan telecommunications industry having won a licence for the > third mobile phone operator that is subject of litigation. The recent > attempt has seen potential bidders demand that the Government > increases the 26 per cent stake it had initially planned to sell for > them to consider the offer. But this has since changed as the stake > to be bought by the strategic partners has been increased to 40 per > cent and the government holding will stand at 49 per cent. > > The remaining 11 per cent will be reserved to be sold to the public > through the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Telkom is currently deemed to be > unable to pass the Capital Market Authority (CMA) listing test. CMA > regulations require that any firm keen on listing at the NSE must > have posted profits for at least three in the five years to the > listing. > > But Telkom Kenya has been making losses for years, weighed down by > huge staffing levels and growing competition from the wireless voice > market. > Figures sent to the potential investors show that Telkom financial > performance has been declining over the last four years. > > Its turnover has been declining at an annual rate of 10.5 per cent > over the last three years as competitors eat into its market share to > settle at Sh16.3 billion in 2006 from Sh20.9 billion in 2003. > > The firm notes that it expects to make a loss of Sh1.18 billion, > which is a reduction from last year's figure of Sh2.7 billion. > While the special shares reserved for the public will be held in > trust by the Government, dividend payouts from Telkom Kenya will > stream straight into the State coffers. > > According to Dr Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary Ministry of > Information, the revision had been informed by the need to go around > the State Corporation Act in a move that was aimed at making the deal > more suitable to strategic investors. > > Had the strategic investor held a minority holding at 26 per cent and > the Government holding a 64 per cent stake, Telkom Kenya would not > run as a private company, but under the Act which guides the > operation of parastatals. > > At the moment the government is racing to clean Telkom debt ridden > balance sheet as it prepares to bring the strategic partner on board > as well as strike a better deal in the sale of the 40 per cent stake. > The Government has already committed Sh26 billion to fix the pension > and tax arrears with pensions taking Sh10 billion and the remaining > Sh16 billion being taken by Kenya Revenue Authority. To keep the > state firm afloat, the firm is set to complete a massive staff layoff > that will reduce its work force to 3, 200 members down from 17, 000 > by the end of August. > > According to Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo, BT have also > expressed interest in investing in the TEAMS fibre project. > (SOURCE: Telegeography) > > > -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? .........Martin Luther King, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: kenyaclub(a)yahoogroups.com Subscribe: kenyaclub-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: kenyaclub-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com List owner: kenyaclub-owner(a)yahoogroups.com Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kenyaclub/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kenyaclub/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto: kenyaclub-digest(a)yahoogroups.com mailto:kenyaclub-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: kenyaclub-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? .........Martin Luther King, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------- __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Calendar Africa-oped welcomes opinions & analysis on African issues. A short essay of 400-1500 words is preferable: Africa-oped is world readable at http://www.egroups.com/group/africa-oped. Coming soon: www.africa-oped.org that will carry the "best of Africa-Oped" Share and obtain business information: http://www.aganoconsulting.com. Contribute Africa-related business articles and get paid; send your articles to: info(a)aganoconsulting.com. - Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity a.. 2New Files Visit Your Group SPONSORED LINKS a.. African b.. African american christian dating c.. African american christian dating single d.. African american christian single e.. African safari Yahoo! Music Hot music videos Check our Top 10, and many more. Yahoo! Mail Get it all! With the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta Y! Messenger All together now Host a free online conference on IM. . __,_._,___

1 0

Moses Geneology
by Alex Gakuru 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

This is an interesting one; We are having an argument whether or not Moses was of Kenyan origins! Some say Yes -with Queen of Sheba, General Mathenge, et. al. from next door. The others say "No way" What do you think? Thanks, Alex ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

2 2

[Fwd: Satellite Wireless Broadband & Voip Forum 12-13 July 2007]
by alice 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

AITEC Africa, in collaboration with leading suppliers of these technologies, is hosting SatWiBB East Africa and the African VoIP Forum to provide marketing and education platforms to promote effective roll-out of satellite and wireless technology throughout Africa. The theme for this year's event is **/" Broadband Bridges Across /****/Africa: First & Last Mile Solutions". /**These conference follow the highly successful WiMAX & CDMA Forum held in Johannesburg in April 2006 (see http://new.aitecafrica.com/WiMAX_CDMA_Forum) and Wireless Broadband East & West Africa in Nairobi and Lagos in December 2006 (see http://new.aitecafrica.com/node/432) **Introduction****** Satellites still provide a communications lifeline for a large proportion of Africa’s internal and external traffic. And wireless broadband technologies are increasingly providing the continent’s intermediate and last mile links. SatWiBB Africa is the first conference to cover both ends of this increasingly integrated and converging communications paradigm. SatWiBB East & West Africa will provide practical business and technology briefings to empower resellers, service providers and users to maximize their returns on the increasing investment that they will be making in satellite and wireless broadband technology over the coming years. By providing a platform for vendors, service providers and users to network and share knowledge, the conference will act as a catalyst to stimulate take-up of the right technologies to multiply connectivity across the region. In addition, to usher in the conference there will be a */Wireless Security Preview Masterclass/* on the 31^st May 2007 to be presented by Maiendra Moodley, Security Advisor, South Africa Reserve Bank (*/attached find his profile/*). **Who is Satellite and Wireless Broadband aimed at?** SatWiBB has several key audiences: * ICT Managers & network administrators in major corporates & public institutions * Telecom Operators: senior managers and planners, engineering managers and staff, network managers * Telecommunication policy-makers & regulators * ISPs & Cyber Cafe operators * NGOs/ Civil society organizations directly involved with connectivity * Media representatives * Senior telecommunication engineering students * Service providers, consultants and suppliers serving the telecommunication industry Regards**** **John Mwangi** Operations Manager In-Sync Ltd Dik Dik Gardens| Kileleshwa PO Box 63103-00619, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 2011233/44 | Tel/Fax: +254 20 4451655 Mobile: +254 721 860 228 | Email: johnm(a)aitecafrica.com <mailto:johnm@aitecafrica.com> Web:www.aitecafrica.com <http://www.aitecafrica.com/>

1 0

EuroAfrica-ICT Workshop: Links (to ppts) and More Info
by Janet Feldman 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops.html The fourth EuroAfrica-ICT awareness workshop will be held on July 26 & 27 at the Hilton Hotel (Nairobi, Kenya). This 2 day event is a key component of the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative since it is aiming at connecting sub-Saharan African and European organisations for ICT partnerships in the framework of the FP7 and to develop scientific and technological cooperation between the two regions. Workshop attendees will be able to: 1) Receive updated information on the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative and the opportunities it offers 2) Collect updated and comprehensive data on the ongoing FP7/ICT call for proposals (for those interested in submitting a project proposal to the EC for funding) 3) Network with their peers in the field. The event will gather the main stakeholders in the field (universities, ICT entrepreneurs, public stakeholders, NGOs, EC representatives, international or regional organisations dealing with ICT, etc.), both from sub-Saharan African and European Union countries, and all interested in Research and Development in ICT or involved in S&T cooperation between the two regions. This workshop is supported by the African e-Development Resource Centre (AeDRC), Kenya, the Science and Technology -Europe Africa Project (ST-EAP) consortium partners, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), Kenya. Registrations (attendance is free but pre-registrations are compulsory): http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops_formulaire.html Agenda: http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/downloads/Awareness_Workshops/Nairobi/Program… You can download from the url listed above, if you have a powerpoint program: Proposal idea template l Expression of interest template Please visit http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/index.html and click on "Awareness Workshops" for the PowerPoint templates and draft agenda. Should you require a template be emailed to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. The deadline for submission of your presentation will be July 12 and should be returned to rnaidoo(a)csir.co.za. Selection will be made on a "first come first serve" basis. Rebecca Naidoo Research & Development Initiatives Coordinator Meraka Institute Ph: +27-12-841 2948 Fax: +27-12-841 4720

1 0

Fw: eLearning Africa 2007 News Service - Post-Conference edition
by Fatma Bashir 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

----- Original Message ----- From: newsservice(a)elearning-africa.com To: fbashir(a)cyberschooltech.com Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 5:03 PM Subject: eLearning Africa 2007 News Service - Post-Conference edition To unsubscribe, please scroll to the end of this message. News & Information on the eLearning Africa - eLA conference, an annual event for building eLearning capacities in Africa www.elearning-africa.com Content 1. eLA 2007 Post-Conference Report Online Now 2. What Participants Say About eLearning Africa 2007 3. Ghana to Host eLearning Africa 2008 4. Coming up with Inventive Solutions - Solar PCs in Uganda 5. Progress Towards Development Targets Is Mixed, UN Finds 6. Harambee - Just Get Started! 7. Voices of Africa - Talking about African "Silver Surfers" 8. Shelter for Africa: Establishing a Radio Station for Distant Education 1. eLA 2007 Post-Conference Report Online Now 1406 participants from 88 countries attended eLearning Africa 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 77% of the participants were from African countries which reflects the vital interest in eLearning on the continent. It became clear that there exist a great diversity of approaches in dealing with the challenges of ICT deployment and education in the different regions. Read the post-conference report for more information ... [more...] 2. What Participants Say About eLearning Africa 2007 The conference was attended by eLearning experts from universities, schools, companies, the health sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) engaged in capacity development and education, major development bodies, as well as by government representatives. Each participant arrived with different views, opinions and hopes - we asked some of them during the conference about their first and spontaneous impressions... [more...] 3. Ghana to Host eLearning Africa 2008 Ghana has made good progress in preparing the ground for further proceedings in eLearning, and eLearning Africa takes great pride in the country's willingness to host the next edition of the Conference in 2008. Delighted with the result of eLearning Africa 2007, Ghanaian presenters like Daniel Nettey, International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT), have already signalled their enthusiasm in contributing to the upcoming event: "eLearning Africa 2007 has been a step in the right direction for Africa. Keep up the good work, and you can count on my team anytime to assist in any way to bring ICT to a complete realization in the African continent." eLearning Africa will convene again from May 28 - 30 2008 in Accra, Ghana, under the patronage of the Ghanaian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports. [more...] 4. Coming up with Inventive Solutions - Solar PCs in Uganda Thinking about the hardships many African PC users have to face, Uganda's ICT State Minister John Nsambu and his partners have been seeking inventive and sustainable solutions that go beyond merely buying expensive equipment. eLA editor Nina Wittrock asked him about his activities in the fields of cheap and energy saving PCs, as well as his ideas concerning Uganda's overall access to ICT technology. [more...] 5. Progress Towards Development Targets Is Mixed, UN Finds Halfway to the 2015 deadline, there has been clear progress towards implementing the Millennium Development Goals, a set of global commitments to lift millions of people out of extreme poverty. However, their overall success is still far from assured, a progress report by the United Nations has found. [more...] 6. Harambee - Just Get Started! In Kiswahili, Harambee means "Let's all pull together!" It was Kenya's first President, Jomo Kenyatta, who introduced an informal self-help movement based on this concept. His shouts of 'haaa-ramm-bee' motivated many people to undertake community action. eLearning Africa 2007 wanted to continue with the original idea - to provide conference attendants with a flexible, interesting, and hassle-free platform to get things started. [more...] 7. Voices of Africa - Talking about African "Silver Surfers" Abishag W. Waugombe, a retired Kenyan teacher, knows a lot about the needs and necessities of the elderly people in her community. Long committed to community work, she and her friends have made use of the Internet in a rather unique way. eLA's Nina Wittrock spoke with Ms. Waugombe about her experience and future plans regarding eLearning, story telling, and the delivery of cultural memory. [more...] 8. Shelter for Africa: Establishing a Radio Station for Distant Education Shelter for Africa, situated in Hamburg, Germany, is a non-government organisation that carries out non-profit projects for the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa. The foundation is currently in the process of establishing a new radio station in Freetown - 'Culture Radio' - to provide distance education programmes for people who would otherwise not be able to receive educational support. Young girls and boys without schools education and their families are addressed, as well as school dropouts and young illiterate adults. [more...] ==================================== Please send any feedback, comments or suggestions to the eLearning Africa newsletter team at press-service(a)icwe.net. For more information, please contact: ICWE GmbH Leibnizstrasse 32 D - 10625 Berlin Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 180 Fax: +49 (0)30 324 98 33 www.icwe.net, www.elearning-africa.com E-Mail: info(a)elearning-africa.com ==================================== Click here to unsubscribe or to change your settings. ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world"

1 0

ICT-Enabled Entrepreneurship - Seminar
by Rebecca Wanjiku 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

Hi! You are invited to this very useful Seminar on Entrepreneurship & SME Development. Please see attachments. Best, Amadi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.africasbraingain.org : abg(a)africasbraingain.org ~~~~~~ ... putting Africa on the path to development is tough but it is also our responsibility ... ~~~~~~ --- Submitted by: namadi(a)africasbraingain.org 2007-07-09 06:07:09 EDT4 (Please reply to original submitter for private communication) --- You are currently subscribed to kiplist-cl as: [rebeccawanjiku(a)yahoo.com] To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-kiplist-cl-102279M(a)lyris.idrc.ca Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more.

1 0

jwalu@yahoo.com has sent you an article from PCWorld.com
by jwalu＠yahoo.com 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

This story, which was originally posted at PCWorld.com, has been recommended to you by jwalu(a)yahoo.com. Belgian ISP Held Responsible for File Sharing Belgian court has ruled that an ISP is responsible for blocking illegal file sharing on its network, could set precedent. The complete story can be found here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134159/article.html We hope you will find this story interesting and informative. PC World, an IDG publication, has been providing independent, unbiased, reviews, news, and information about technology since 1983.

1 0

BT EMERGES FRONTRUNNER IN RACE TO BUY TELKOM KENYA, ACCORDING TO GOVT, OFFICIAL
by alice 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

BT EMERGES FRONTRUNNER IN RACE TO BUY TELKOM KENYA, ACCORDING TO GOVT OFFICIAL A consortium that includes British Telecoms and Libyan investors has emerged as the only strong contender to acquire a strategic 40 per cent shareholding in Telkom Kenya. People close to the matter told the Business Daily that senior officials from BT and Libyan investors on Friday met top Treasury and Ministry of Communication officials to work out the deal's finer details. Treasury estimates the stake to be worth Sh5.6 billion —meaning that Telkom Kenya is now valued at Sh14 billion. The British firm is said to have tabled a number of proposals, including a strong financial bid as commitment to finance the turnaround of Telkom Kenya, in the meeting that ended at 11.30 pm. Such a high level leak means that the Government is doing its best to talk up the price that will be paid for Telkom Kenya. "The consortium led by BT is the team to beat. They have a credible technical group and have the finances," an official, who attended the meeting, said. It is the second time that the Government is trying to sell a significant portion of its stake in Telkom Kenya, the first attempt having flopped after bidders placed financial bids that they ultimately could not back up with real money. The Government had this time around included a condition that required bidders to have an annual revenue of $200 million (Sh14 billion), more than 500,000 voice subscribers and demonstrated experience in the deployment of broadband to avoid similar flops. In recent months, Libyan firms, loaded with petrodollars, have been clinching lucrative deals in Kenya mainly on the infrastructure front including the upgrade of Kenya Petroleum Refineries. This has cemented close trade ties between Kenya and Libya that was recently pushed by President Kibaki's official visit to Tripoli. The Government intends to sell its 40 per cent stake to a strategic investor who is expected to come on board before the end of the year. Analysts say that BT has been desperate to get a foothold in the lucrative Eastern African market through an acquisition, a pointer that the Telkom deal would turn their dream true. Already, BT is well represented in the rest of the continent with its regional headquarters in South Africa to the Southern part of the continent. For the North African market, it has the Libyan office and the Nigerian office to serve the West African market. "Safaricom has shown there is money to be made in this part of the world and everyone is now looking at getting a share of the market," James Rege, chairman, Capital Real Time, a telecommunication consulting firm. Safaricom broke its earlier record to emerge as the most profitable firm in the East Africa posting Sh17.7 billion in profits, an increase of 39 per cent recorded a year earlier. With Telkom already in the wireless voice market through their new service offering dubbed Telkom Wireless, which is set to be officially launched this Thursday, this could be big opportunity for BT to take a stab at a growing market. Rege, a former permanent secretary in the information ministry, said BT looked the most credible firm to clinch the deal should it come through. This is not the first time the British telecommunications giant has made a bid at Telkom Kenya. Six years ago it indicated its interest in acquiring the state firm but it was disqualified during the preliminaries. Other firms that are in the race to buy the stake include Indian mobile service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Tata Holdings and Vtel communication, who had won the licence to become the country's Second National Operator but were disqualified after failing to raise the required license fee. American telecommunication giant AT&T pulled out of the race after the Government failed to buy into its demand where it indicated it would only buy a stake in the state firm if they were given a 51 per cent stake. This, they noted, was the only way they could get a free hand to turnaround the loss-making company. South Africa-based Econet is also making a second attempt to enter the Kenyan telecommunications industry having won a licence for the third mobile phone operator that is subject of litigation. The recent attempt has seen potential bidders demand that the Government increases the 26 per cent stake it had initially planned to sell for them to consider the offer. But this has since changed as the stake to be bought by the strategic partners has been increased to 40 per cent and the government holding will stand at 49 per cent. The remaining 11 per cent will be reserved to be sold to the public through the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Telkom is currently deemed to be unable to pass the Capital Market Authority (CMA) listing test. CMA regulations require that any firm keen on listing at the NSE must have posted profits for at least three in the five years to the listing. But Telkom Kenya has been making losses for years, weighed down by huge staffing levels and growing competition from the wireless voice market. Figures sent to the potential investors show that Telkom financial performance has been declining over the last four years. Its turnover has been declining at an annual rate of 10.5 per cent over the last three years as competitors eat into its market share to settle at Sh16.3 billion in 2006 from Sh20.9 billion in 2003. The firm notes that it expects to make a loss of Sh1.18 billion, which is a reduction from last year's figure of Sh2.7 billion. While the special shares reserved for the public will be held in trust by the Government, dividend payouts from Telkom Kenya will stream straight into the State coffers. According to Dr Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary Ministry of Information, the revision had been informed by the need to go around the State Corporation Act in a move that was aimed at making the deal more suitable to strategic investors. Had the strategic investor held a minority holding at 26 per cent and the Government holding a 64 per cent stake, Telkom Kenya would not run as a private company, but under the Act which guides the operation of parastatals. At the moment the government is racing to clean Telkom debt ridden balance sheet as it prepares to bring the strategic partner on board as well as strike a better deal in the sale of the 40 per cent stake. The Government has already committed Sh26 billion to fix the pension and tax arrears with pensions taking Sh10 billion and the remaining Sh16 billion being taken by Kenya Revenue Authority. To keep the state firm afloat, the firm is set to complete a massive staff layoff that will reduce its work force to 3, 200 members down from 17, 000 by the end of August. According to Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo, BT have also expressed interest in investing in the TEAMS fibre project. (SOURCE: Telegeography)

1 0

EuroAfrica-ICT Workshop: Response by JULY 12th (for meeting in Nairobi)
by Janet Feldman 08 Jul '07

08 Jul '07

From:Rebecca Naidoo <RNaidoo(a)csir.co.za> To: Subject: Registration: EuroAfrica-ICT Workshop Attachments: Template_EoI_Kenya.ppt Template_Proposal_Idea_Kenya.ppt Template_Open Consultation.doc ** High Priority ** Thank you for your interest in the EuroAfrica-ICT (START) initiative. Kindly confirm your participation in the Awareness Workshop to be held in Nairobi at the Hilton Hotel by return email. This confirmation assists us in determining our numbers in preparation for the workshop. In order to facilitate contacts between European and sub-Saharan African organisations interested in the development of cooperation projects in the ICT field, you are invited to present a Proposal Idea (10 min on an ICT project idea you or your organisation may have) at the workshop or an Expression of Interest (10 min about your organisation, expertise, experience, etc) . Please visit http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/index.html for the PowerPoint templates and draft agenda. Should you require a template be emailed to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. The deadline for submission of your presentation will be July 12 and should be returned to rnaidoo(a)csir.co.za. Selection will be made on a "first come first serve" basis. Attendance at the workshop is free and participants will need to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements if required. Should you wish to stay at the Hilton hotel, a negotiated rate at US $90 has been secured for workshop participants. Hotel details are: Contact person: Caroline Owira Hilton Hotel Mama Ngina Street; Nairobi, Kenya 00100 Tel: +254-20-250000 Fax: +254-20-226477 E-mail: caroline.owira(a)hilton.com Website: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=NBOHIT We also ask that you take a few minutes to complete the attached Open Consultation questionnaire. The purpose of this questionnaire is to take into consideration the experience, visions and suggestions of the European and sub-Saharan African ICT communities at large. The input received will form part of the document EU-Africa S&T Cooperation on ICT under FP7 - Status & Perspectives to be presented to the European Commission as a manifest. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries, We look forward to meeting you in Nairobi, With thanks, Rebecca Naidoo Research & Development Initiatives Coordinator Meraka Institute Ph: +27-12-841 2948 Fax: +27-12-841 4720 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~Margaret Mead~

1 0

Fwd: Parliament-in-a-box
by Alex Gakuru 08 Jul '07

08 Jul '07

Wish List! Parliament-in-a-box Have a look at www.bungeni.org and www.parliaments.info On 7/6/07, Frederick Noronha [à¥à¤°à¥à¤¦à¤°à¤¿à¤ à¤¨à¥à¤°à¥à¤¨à¤¯à¤¾] <fred(a)bytesforall.org> wrote: Basically, a whole lot of office tools that make governance accountable to the citizen. Easy-to-create websites for so many departments (opensourcecms.com is a good source). How to place online the tonnes of parliamentary information that is churned out, but seldom reaches the commonperson. All those PDF and other tools for sharing information. I think parliamentary officials need to think of transparency above every thing else. Many of us have 'representative' types of democracies, following the Westminister model,because it was British colonialism that ruled our countries. There is the assumption that the citizen would vote for his or her representative, once every five years or whatever. And the rep would then represent the citizen. What happens when the citizen doesn't have a clue as to what the representative is doing in his or her name? This may be on account of wider problems like illiteracy. Or the lack of transparency, disinterest, and the fact that the poor (the largest section in many of our countries) are too busy struggling with their lives to be able to focus on such esoteric matters. We need to look at how free software can make a real difference here. I guess it would be a mix of many existing solutions, from diverse fields. FN/ Goa, India On 06/07/07, Cecilia Matanga <cmatanga(a)sadcpf.org <cmatanga%40sadcpf.org>> wrote: We are planning a FOSS workshop for IT staff of Parliament and was just wondering what sort of tools are available and could be included in a Parliament-in-a- box. Also if someone has had training for Parliaments, could they share their training programme and materials with me. Regards, Cecilia Matanga ICT Officer SADC Parliamentary Forum ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396546091

1 0