November 2012 - KICTANet

Digital TV migration postponement
by robert yawe 04 Dec '12

04 Dec '12

Hi, It was with shock and dismay that I watched the CCK director general lie to the public on a mass broadcast on the reasons for the postponement of the cutoff to digital. He said the reason was that the cost of decoders was still too high for the common mwanainchi, he then proceed to lie by saying that the average price was currently Kes. 6,500/-, yet the price for the StarTimes decoder is 3,499/- and that of GoTV is Kes. 3,999/-. When I was in school many years ago the formula for calculating average was the sum of the numbers divided by the number of numbers (3,499 + 3,999)/2 = 3,749/- so which formula was the DG using? What has incensed me more is that none of the members of the press has taken up the issue instead they have "liked" and "shared" the comments as if they where gospel truth. Regards PS. Have an analog Christmas Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Resign and seek to supply the system as an outsider
by Grace Githaiga 04 Dec '12

04 Dec '12

ListersThis is a follow up to the KRA story on Dream of a Career gone sour. Would they really give him the tender to supply? Read on. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has asked an employee who innovated a system to help track property tax cheats — and which the authority is now seeking to procure from a third party — to resign and seek to supply the system as an outsider.http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/KRA-will-not-trade-with-employee-says-Njiraini/-/1006/1626176/-/2psj7rz/-/index.html

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Syria shuts down Internet? How can we stop this from happening again?
by Warigia Bowman 03 Dec '12

03 Dec '12

Dear Kictanet List, Please see the work by Jean Camp and Warigia Bowman on how to "Protect the Internet from Dictators: Technical and Policy Solutions to Ensure Online Freedoms. This paper is particularly timely given today's events, since Syria is one of the countries we analyze. Can you please help us to figure out what technology we missed, or in what areas our analysis could be improved? Many thanks. * You can find and download our work here* *http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2101677* * Here is the permalink * *http://ssrn.com/abstract=2101677 *************************************************************************************** * Please see ISOC's statement below. http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-syria%E2%80%99s-intern… Sincerely, Rigia

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Dreams of a cosy career that turned into a nightmare
by Ali Hussein 03 Dec '12

03 Dec '12

Listers This is an interesting case study of the link between employer/employee relations on Intellectual Property. Who owns the IP when you invent/innovate while working at a company and the invention/innovation is directly linked to the work you have been hired to do? IN SUMMARY When Mr Samson Ngengi beat thousands of applicants to land the coveted position at the tax agency in December 2009, the graduate of Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT) had one thing on his mind; to ensure that he gets absorbed into the job Mr Ngengi came up with an innovation that links plot boundaries and location, ownership, and building details as well as tax status of a taxpayer as a single view in a computer application, in an effort to give KRA an insight into how to get its pound of flesh from the lucrative real estate sector His innovation was named the Geo-spatial Revenue Collection Information System (GEOCRIS). But little did he know that he would, early in his career, find himself fighting his employer Is there a strong case here to also focus our Techpreneurs on the 'softer' stuff of turning their ideas/products etc into viable businesses? You know the boring stuff...the nuts and bolts of building an enduring business? Protecting your business idea, building a business system to deliver on the values opposition, sales, legal standing (company registration) etc.. What would have happened if Samson had decided to quite his job at KRA and develop his idea independently? There has been lots of news of late about the hype that has become known as 'Silicon Savannah'. It would be sad if the hype is not concurrently followed by serious efforts to build an ecosystem to support all these brilliant (and not so brilliant) ideas and turn them into strong enduring businesses. For every Cellulant there are maybe tens of others that will never see the light of day. There is a case here for a new type of Multi-stakeholder intervention - between government, private sector (VC, Companies etc) and Not For Profits. I suspect this is already happening in some form or other. More focus is required. Ali Hussein CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPad

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Google takes a swipe at ITU ahead of WCIT event, and ITU responds
by Brian Munyao Longwe 02 Dec '12

02 Dec '12

My head is spinning with this battle being waged on the public policy front: http://itu4u.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/the-google-campaign-an-itu-view/ Brian [image: logo] *Brian Munyao Longwe* | Mobile: 254715964281 http://mashilingi.blogspot.com <http://www.facebook.com/brianmunyao> Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/brianmunyao> <http://www.twitter.com/blongwe> Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/blongwe> <http://ke.linkedin.com/pub/brian-munyao-longwe/0/32/254> LinkedIn<http://ke.linkedin.com/pub/brian-munyao-longwe/0/32/254> Contact me: [image: Skype] blongwe Want a signature like mine? <http://r1.wisestamp.com/r/landing?promo=16&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wisestamp.…> Click here.<http://r1.wisestamp.com/r/landing?promo=16&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wisestamp.…>

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Re: [kictanet] [PK] Kshs 8.5 billion on just CCTV cameras within Nairobi?
by Matunda Nyanchama 01 Dec '12

01 Dec '12

Friends National Task Force on Police Reforms (created following the post-election violence of 2008) was presented with various views and made certain recommendations. I have included below some views and recommendations pertaining to technology. May be the Kenyan Police have a roadmap towards effective use of ICTs. For example what would be priority: automating the occurrence book (and use of intelligent data mining to design effective/efficient solutions), HR, Finance, etc or CCTV? On our part, we did prepare an unsolicited proposal in which we suggested a diligent approach to technology needs for policing, which would result in prioritization. We later learnt that the priority they had was acquiring CCTV, an idea we felt was being pushed by CCTV vendors rather than security priorities. NB: Kshs 8.5 billion? I hope someone has a good rationale. Here are the police views according to the report a) Communication equipment within the police, particularly in rural areas, were found to be either absent, non-functional, or poor and outdated. This directly undermines the ability by members to access telephones, mobile phones or internet facilities to enable them to undertake their normal policing functions. Police investigators routinely use their personal mobile phones for official purposes, as they have no access to police communication systems. The Task Force was also informed that some criminals have superior communication equipment to that of the police, which enables them to intercept police communications. b) The investigative function of the police has been weakened by inadequate crime intelligence, lack of modern technology, reduced operational autonomy of the CID, transfer practices, and a re-active ‘fire fighting’ approach to policing. The Task Force noted that: a) Information and Communication Technology (ICT): The police services lack the basic ICT knowledge and skills, equipment and infrastructure. The lack of an effective electronic network and communication system, which connects police stations, undermines the ability of the police to use simple and cheap communication systems for policing purposes. The police are further not able to key in and preserve crucial information and data that would ordinarily help them not only track criminals but also to inform them on crime patterns or trends as well as assisting in case management. b) Cyber crime: This Task Force noted the increase in the use of information technology in the commission of crimes including complex frauds, computer hacking, credit cards scams, spreading of computer viruses, facilitation of human trafficking and child pornography using internet. It was clear that most police officers lack the most basic I.C.T. knowledge. The Task Force recommended, inter alia, (a)That the tooling, logistical and technological capacity of the police services be reviewed to establish the exact needs and specification in order to bring policing to international standards. Consideration should be given to prioritizing Communication and information technology and transportation. (b)That the use of CCTV cameras as a policing component particularly in major cities and our highways be incorporated in the National Policing Plan. The police should coordinate with the private sector to maximize and synchronize the use of CCTV to combat crime. (c) Legislation needs to be developed to make electronic, audio-visual, computer data and photographic evidence to be admissible in court. (d)That the capacity of Forensic Science Service Department (FSSD) be enhanced within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to be staffed by civilian experts to enable the police concentrate on their core duties. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com; Twitter: nmatunda; Skype: okiambe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be prepared for ICT security failures & know how to respond when they happen! Call: +1-888-587-1150 or info(a)aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The best revenge is massive success" - Frank Sinatra----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

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Will thugs rule the web? Beware the UN power grab
by Davis Onsakia 01 Dec '12

01 Dec '12

Dear all, I find this article bothering on hate speech but the guy has some valid points. Judge for yourself. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/will_thugs_rule_the_web… Best Regards, Davis M Onsakia "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."

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Taking stock of the 2012 IGF and suggestions for 2013 IGF
by Alice Munyua 30 Nov '12

30 Nov '12

Dear all The IGF secretariat is inviting "written contributions taking stock of the 2012 Baku meeting and inviting suggestions on the themes and format of the IGF 2013 meeting. The deadline for contributions is *14 February 2012*. These inputs will be summarized in a synthesis paper that will act as an input into the discussions of the February meeting. I would be grateful if you could inform your respective stakeholder groups." Best Alice --

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Fwd: WCIT-12 briefing paper
by Ali Hussein 30 Nov '12

30 Nov '12

Listers For those following WCIT-12 discussions here is a good summary on what's going on. See email thread below. Regards Ali Hussein CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: > From: "Peter Dunn" <Peter.Dunn(a)cullen-international.com> > Date: November 29, 2012, 8:23:50 PM GMT+03:00 > To: undisclosed-recipients:; > Subject: WCIT-12 briefing paper > > Cullen International’s latest briefing paper on WCIT-12 is now available. The briefing covers the main points raised in ITU member states’ proposals to WCIT-12, which starts in Dubai on 3 December. For a copy of the briefing, click here. > > For more information on other Cullen services, please contact: peter.dunn(a)cullen-international.com > > Peter Dunn > Principal Analyst > Cullen International > > Tel: +32 81 25 74 76 > Mob: +32 473 99 04 38 > email: peter.dunn(a)cullen-international.com > > > > Clos Lucien Outers 11-21/1 > 1160 Brussels, Belgium > www.cullen-international.com

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Re: [kictanet] [PK] Kshs 8.5 billion on just CCTV cameras within Nairobi?
by Areba Collins [ ＠BrainiacKE ® ] 29 Nov '12

29 Nov '12

Listers sorry for cross posting: Dear Omtata, Ill begin with a statement I read somewhere: "An elephant is a rat built to government specifications". That Said & Done, the person answerable to us on this matter must, and has to be the PS , Daktari Ndemo. The assumption has to be that Due diligence was followed (or should have been followed) and procurement of these gadgets involved the necessary ministries for technology oversight. That said, I doubt that the procured equipment was of the order that you find on Kimathi street or other local suppliers. As interested parties in the security of the nation, I would assume that only military grade equipment would do, where various organs, NSIS, KDOD & other uniforms would put in requirements for this that would then be added up to determine the scope. Considering our military is a highly secretive one, and that procurements come to be heard of years later, and factoring in the fact that while latest trends show that our learnings have been to the east when procuring hardware, we still maintain a "joined in the hip" relationship with some western leaning nations such as Israel. It would therefore not be inimaginable that some obscure "additions" might have been added onto the mix to do more specific tasks than just "seeing". In which case then securing these 51 installations, getting the relevant persons trained to the right skill set and running interferance would easily hit that mark. but who knows, maybe we have an unmanned predator hovering over the city doing all this. On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 8:49 AM, Okiya Omtatah Okoiti <omtatah(a)yahoo.com>wrote: > Is there anybody familiar with this issue of CCTV cameras within cities? > It is reported the we will be spending Kshs 8.5 billion on CCTV cameras > within Nairobi, in just 51 locations!?... One expert told me this: > "One high tech camera costs about kshs. 60,000. If you multiply this with > 51, you get kshs. 3.06m. Assuming each will be controlled by a Mac > computer, kshs.250k by 51 you get kshs.12.7m. If you add even 100m for > installation and other expenses. There is no way it could amount to > kshs.8.5 billion!!!" > > On the procurement of public goods and services, the Constitution > declares in Article 227(1) that: "When a State organ or any other public > entity contracts for goods or > services, it shall do so in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable, > transparent, competitive and cost-effective." > > Regards, > > Omtatah > > -- > > ************************************************************************************************* > Geniuses Training and Business Services > Certificate and Diploma in Teaching, Training, Business Management & > Entepreneurship, Legal Studies, Social Media & Marketing, Project > Management, Multimedia Development, English and Literature Studies, > Children Studies, Psychology, ICT Foundation Course > Call 0705297307 or 0786695083 or Email to: info(a)geniusesltd.com > > > ************************************************************************************************* > TO ADVERTISE HERE: email: amosogal @ gmail.com > > ************************************************************************************************* > To subscribe:progressive-kenyans+subscribe@googlegroups.com: > Unsubscribe:progressive-kenyans+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > > > -- *“The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy”*

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