March 2012 - KICTANet

Dr. Ndemo & the KBC Staff Strike
by Odhiambo Washington 11 Mar '12

11 Mar '12

CitizenTV attributes the following to Dr. Ndemo as pertains to the subject: "Information PS says over 1,000 ppl have applied for KBC jobs to replace striking workers from tomorrow". Conditional upon the fact that we (listers) are entitled to our opinions, I'd like to believe this is one of those cases of "I was misquoted". Dr. Ndemo?? -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler. Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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Re: [kictanet] 140Friday. . . and I wept (Brian Munyao Longwe)
by Matunda Nyanchama 10 Mar '12

10 Mar '12

Brian That is a good update and an interesting development. A few weeks ago we were on the same subject with friends in the tech sector although many of them are in the Diaspora. We talked of an ICT sector alliance of key players, and toyed with names such as Kenya Technology Alliance (KETA); Kenya Communications Alliance (KECA or KCA); Information Communications Alliance (ICA) and many others that I cannot recall offhand. Formation of such an organization is timely and could see players in this sector shape the future of ICT sector in the country, indeed in the region. It would ensure that sector interests are heard and stakeholder input (as a sector) is incorporated in major decisions taken by government and other players such as Banks, Insurance Companies and the like. I can see the body advocating for policies such as capacity building (not just in infrastructure but skills development across the entire technology spectrum), incentives (e.g. for risk capital), indigenization (sp) of the sector in the same way India and China have done, and many more. Good luck. Regards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com; Twitter: nmatunda; Skype: okiambe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be prepared to face ICT Security failures & know how to respond when they happen! Call: +1-888-587-1150 or info(a)aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk I have a workstation…" - Anonymous ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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Re: [kictanet] Found interesting opportunity.
by robert yawe 10 Mar '12

10 Mar '12

Hey... life has thrown me a lot of curves at first glance I thought this was fake I learned to expect the unexpected. <a href="http://fetish-project.be/newsjournal/42MartinPhillips/">http://fetish-project.be/newsjournal/42MartinPhillips/</a> im back in control of my life I had to share this with someone.

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Re: [kictanet] Dr. Ndemo & the KBC Staff Strike
by Matunda Nyanchama 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

Grace Many thanks for your remarks and pointer to the report on KBC and its woes. In Toronto Canada, across that country and throughout North America, I can still listen to major broadcasts on AM radio, despite the proliferation of FM stations which usually have limited range. The issue should be how FM technology can be complimentary to what you term obsolete technology that otherwise allow for long-range reach; and would serve us well, considering that Kenya is about 75% rural. KBC's mandate should NOT be seen purely in commercial terms. Its mandate and role should also be nation building. Again I take Cananda as an example, an expansive country (2nd largest in land mass in the world) but whose foundations are credited to (a) the railroad and (b) the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC); and not that the latter doesn't face regular debates on its ROI considering it is heavily tax-payer subsidized. The CBC, under pressure from private broadcasters and the public has been able to produce some of the best Canadian content and helped make careers of people that may never have reached where they have. I am also wondering whether your study attempted any benchmarking (history, mandate, standards, staffing, funding (e.g. as % of GDP), etc.) with respect to similar entities? Finally, the ongoing labour unrest in the country is something we may have to learn to live with. I believe we need to use arbitration techniques more than directives. We could attempt binding arbitration between employer and union, failure of which we involve the legislature to compel a return to work in cases of essential services like healthcare Regards ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com; Twitter: nmatunda; Skype: okiambe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be prepared to face ICT Security failures & know how to respond when they happen! Call: +1-888-587-1150 or info(a)aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk I have a workstation…" - Anonymous ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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Re: [kictanet] 140Friday. . . and I wept
by robert yawe 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

Some of us are great supporters of your thought processes and the voice of divergence and reason many a times… However, my brother this time I would like to be the first to disagree with you. KEPSA is a good forum and grouping that can be used to further sector growth and dialogue with the govt and public sector. But to rubbish a gathering that has taken time out to deliberate issues of importance in our sector is to take the role of criticism to a level that belittles all of us and makes us look foolish – Which I think isn’t your intention. @ Yes, even Dr. Ndemo kept repeating it, lets stop talking and take action, I am propagating his sentiments, I can assure you that apart from the twits that have taken place there will be no follow-up to the "deliberations" if there is I will buy you lunch. If KEPSA is such a strong solution provider how come the sector is still not in synch as we would like. Everyone has a right to air his/her views and to purport that KEPSA is the solution for all our ills is to revert back to the MAMA NA BABA days of old which we all are glad to have left behind. I say that we have all contributed in our own little ways to improve and expand the democratic space and let’s make use of it in a progressive manner. @ Because the ICT Sector at KEPSA has no participation from the small players in the industry all the mobile providers are members and they diligently pay their subscriptions because they have seen results. Just as a matter of curiosity, which industry association are you a member of? The use of Twitter and other social media platforms (including I daresay this mailing list) can only improve our connections and ability to articulate our views and belittling them doesn’t really serve any purpose. I think sometimes we wallow too much in criticizing the view that multi-nationals, foreign companies etc are only here to skim off the top..Be that as it may, what we can do is take on the good and discard the bad. The very fact that we are only so happily using all the western tools at our disposal (the internet et al) and at the same time doing our best not to conform to certain standards then complain that we are losing out is a mockery of progress. @ Please search through this lists past postings and see if all the issues raised at the forum are not already buried in its annals. Dr. Ndemo did not request for a twit but a white paper with structure and form, lets not use technology to justify our laziness Robert, lastly I would hate for you to say a month/quarter from now that ‘I told you so’ that this ‘independent group’ never happened. I challenge you my brother to also provide solutions. Be part of the group, and impart your wise counsel that the industry can move forward in the right direction. @ I have offered a solution, KEPSA or CSK because Mike's proposal to fund the process to me will be short lived not because he cannot afford it or will not be willing but because there will be no signs of progress a month down the road and the fatigue of dealing with twitter type suggestions will wear him down. The term of what transpired today was "managed", the discussion was put down gracefully. Please note the post by Marie-Ann, reproduced below, on this list, as we where having dialogue the next big ICT project was getting signed off. Alert! Shameless plug follows... but I hope it will be of genuine interest :-) Yesterday IBM launched a white paper titled "A Vision of a Smarter City - How Nairobi can lead the way to a prosperous and sustainable future" - while it does not claim to hold all the answers for Nairobi, I think its a nice starting point for more discussion on how technology can resolve some of Nairobi issues. I particularly liked one suggestion in the white paper - using mobile signal density to track traffic flow. You can download it here: http://www-05.ibm.com/za/office/pdf/IBM_-_A_Vision_of_a_Smarter_City_-_Nair… What good can come out of Nazareth, before Nokia recognised Virtual City we never feted Waibochi what has changed after today's session I ask you Ali? My five cents… Ali Hussein|Managing Partner Telemedia Africa Azania Technology Group Chaka Court, Argwings Kodhek Road P O Box 14556-00100 +254 773/713 601113 Nairobi, Kenya Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo "You generally hear that what a man doesn't know doesn't hurt him, but in business what a man doesn't know does hurt.". - E. St. Elmo Lewis, member, Advertising Hall of Fame From:kictanet-bounces+info=alyhussein.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+info=alyhussein.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of robert yawe Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 4:51 PM To: info(a)alyhussein.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] 140Friday. . . and I wept Hi, I took time to attend the 140Friday session and at the end I wept first because as I sat there I realised that this was yet another talk shop activity in full swing but most importantly was the rubbishing of the late Evelyn Rono's efforts to give the sector a voice through KEPSA. Evelyn spent many hours lobbying for the ICT sector within the government an effort that has come to nought as we, yet again, scatter off into our various selfish corners. If all those tributes we kept sending around after she past away were genuine then lets honour her by continuing from where she left off instead of going off in a tangent. It was suggested by Dr. Ndemo and echoed by Mr. Kokubo that a team be formed to prepare a white paper on the issues that arose during the session, it was suggested that this would be best handled through the ICT Sector of KEPSA just for one of the panel to wrongly imply that KEPSA was an association for manufacturers (that organisation is called KAM who are also members of KEPSA). Dan Awendo of Investeq indicated that what is ailing us as an industry is the one man show syndrome and the leopard hunting mentality. If we can not within us form a body that can speak in one voice then all the efforts are a waste of time and resources. I will repeat what I raised a while back when I was not able to get a platform from which to take over the governorship of the ICT sector at KEPSA from Evelyn because the Computer Society of Kenya who I assumed would propose me had lapsed their membership. Unless we as an industry can speak in one voice and become a constituency then we shall continue to wallow in the miasma of deceit that was the session we had today, together we stand divided we fall. Twitter town hall meetings will not resolve what ails the industry it is only if we learn to come together that we can make an impact. KEPSA swings a sledge hammer on behalf of any of its sectors, it recommends who seats on government committees that require private sector participation and finally it has the machinery to draft and push through legislation. Forming small little talk shops will not make any progress and I read an ulterior motive to the proposal by Mr. Kokubo to form an "independent" group to prepare the white paper. He is very well aware that such a group will never see the day of light but if it was under the umbrella of KEPSA well that will be another issue. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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#140friday Updates: Someone please update us
by Collins Areba 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

Im seeing the flurry of conversations on twitter but cant follow effectively, please could someone on the ground update us on any new updates on the Konza issue that seems to have warmed up the floor? is there room for small fiirms in Konza? -- *“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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FBI declares cloud vendors must meet CJIS security rules
by S.M. Muraya 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

There are somethings foreign vendors cannot just do for us. They can build the infrastructure hardware and software, but our local firms provide the customized (customer fitting) services. Trust our security services are not outsourced to foreign governments. :) http://www.itnews.com/cloud-computing/41891/fbi-declares-cloud-vendors-must… * FBI declares cloud vendors must meet CJIS security rules* Feb 07, 2012 03:54 pm | Computerworld Officials acknowledge difficulties facing large cloud vendors like Google, but contends that requirements are met by some firms *by Jaikumar Vijayan* The FBI Tuesday reaffirmed its rule that all cloud products sold to to U.S. law enforcement agencies must comply with the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) security requirements. While the nation's top law enforcement agency concedes that some vendors may have a tough time meeting those requirements, it insisted that there would be no compromising on security. "The FBI remains committed to using technology in its information-sharing processes, but not at the sacrifice of the security of the information with which it has been entrusted," Stephen Fischer Jr., a spokesman for the FBI's CJIS division said today in an email to Computerworld. Fischer's comments come less than two months after the Los Angeles Police Department canceled<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9222932/Plans_to_migrate_LAPD_to_Goo…>a planned migration to Google Apps<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140038/Google_Apps_scores_in_L.A._w…>because it said the cloud service was not compliant with CJIS security requirements. At the time, two city officials noted that U.S. Department of Justice requirements for the CJIS are not currently compatible with cloud computing. Google has also maintained that CJIS requirements are incompatible with cloud computing and therefore present a unique challenge to any cloud vendor. The CJIS database, maintained by the FBI, is one of the world's largest repositories of criminal history records and fingerprints. The records are available to law enforcement agencies and contractors around the country that comply with the security rules, which include requirements that all data, both in transit and at rest, be encrypted and that anyone who accesses the database pass FBI background checks. Fischer today maintained that the CJIS security requirements are compatible with cloud computing. "The CJIS Security Policy is a cloud-compatible policy," that was fully vetted and approved by local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada, he said, while acknowledging that "the requirements may be tough for some vendors to meet." One of the more challenging requirements requires cloud service providers to identify all system, database, security and network administrators who have access to criminal justice information, he said. Similarly, cloud vendors will likely find it difficult to require fingerprint criminal background checks on all administrators with access to the criminal justice information. Fischer said. Analysts have previously noted that large cloud vendors like Google that maintain staffed data centers outside the U.S. Fischer noted as much today. "Admittedly, these requirements may be difficult for some cloud-computing vendors due to the sheer numbers and the geographic disbursement of their personnel," he said. "However," he added, "these requirements aren't new to vendors serving the criminal justice community and many vendors have successfully met these requirements for years." Jeff Gould, CEO of IT consulting firm Peerstone Research, said that the requirements are likely most challenging to large cloud providers with roots in the business of providing hosted services to consumers. http://www.itnews.com/cloud-computing/41891/fbi-declares-cloud-vendors-must… Several small, specialty providers, today offer cloud services that are compliant with CJIS requirements, said Gould, a co-founder of Safegov.org<http://safegov.org/>, which promotes best practices for deploying cloud-based systems in government entities. Gould cited InterAct Public Safety, Datamaxx, and Vertical Computer Services as cloud companies that use secure data centers staffed by people who have undergone the requisite FBI background checks. Services from such firms may be more expensive than the offerings from large vendors like Google, but these firms have invested the needed funds to meet the FBI's security requirements, he said. He added that the FBI has tweaked CJIS requirements to make it easier for cloud vendors to comply. "The old requirements were written before cloud computing took off," Gould said. "CJIS 5.0 goes out of its way to make room for cloud vendors." Jaikumar Vijayan covers data security and privacy issues, financial services security and e-voting for Computerworld. Follow Jaikumar on Twitter at @jaivijayan <http://twitter.com/jaivijayan> , or subscribe to Jaikumar's RSS feed <http://www.computerworld.com/s/feed/keyword/Jaikumar+Vijayan> . His e-mail address is jvijayan(a)computerworld.com .

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Governments have no role in managing gTLDs
by Harry Hare 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

Interesting interview with Sophia Bekele http://bit.ly/wRcEMD Enjoy Harry Hare Director African eDevelopment Resource Centre PO Box 49475 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Tel +254 20 4041646 Cel +254 725 650044

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Colonialism and the spread of AIDS
by Daniel Waweru 08 Mar '12

08 Mar '12

I thought this might be interesting for those who chose to defend colonialism and its modes of thought, in re the Zambian essay. Some new research suggests that colonialism is directly responsible for the spread of AIDS. Here's the essay from the *Washington Post*: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/colonialism-in-africa… book mentioned is at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tinderbox-Sparked-Epidemic-Finally-Overcome/dp/1594… I have attached a paper which goes over the history of the virus, and lends significant support to the headline claim in the *WaPo*. Daniel Waweru www.kenyaimagine.com Art and analysis; debate and opinion.

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Sexist remarks and wolf-whistles could become criminal offences
by alice＠apc.org 08 Mar '12

08 Mar '12

Happy Women's day... Best Alice http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/mar/08/sexist-comments-to-become-cri… Sexist remarks and wolf-whistles could become criminal offences in the UK PM to announce today that UK will sign up to Council of Europe's convention on violence against women, which could mean criminalising unwanted verbal conduct Salacious whistles and sexist comments may fall foul of new laws against sexual harassment to which Britain is signing up, the prime minister will announce on Thursday. The pledge to criminalise "verbal, non-verbal or physical" sexual harassment is one of the commitments in the Council of Europe's convention on violence against women, which David Cameron will commit to signing at a special event to mark International Women's Day. Among the pledges in the convention, which has already been signed by 18 countries including Germany, France and Ukraine, is one to pass legislation or other measures to criminalise or impose other sanctions for "unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment". Another clause would outlaw "psychological violence" – defined as "seriously impairing a person's psychological integrity through coercion or threats", language which suggests serious bullying could be covered by new laws. Other measures Britain and other signatories would have to enshrine in law include compensation for victims of domestic violence; easy annulment or dissolution of forced marriages; and punishments for carrying out or coercing somebody into genital mutilation, forced abortions or forced sterilisation. In a separate move, Cameron is expected to back government support for new laws to criminalise stalking, with jail terms of up to five years and unlimited fines. Signing up to the European convention will be announced in a joint statement by Cameron and deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, to mark International Women's Day. "The agreement is not just a piece of paper," says the statement. "It's going to lift the standards of protection for women across Europe, give greater support for victims and – crucially – bring many more perpetrators to justice." Former attorney general Baroness Scotland, who worked on the convention for four years under the Labour government, said the clause on sexual harassment was not intended to cover less serious incidents such as wolf-whistling and public teasing. However, campaigners on the issue said the convention was "what we've been trying to get for years". Julia Gray, founder of the London branch of US movement Hollaback, dedicated to getting rid of street harassment, said: "The way we see it is if you want to tackle it you tackle all of it – you say no to all forms of unwanted sexual harassment; that includes wolf-whistling, comments, everything." A Downing Street spokesman said it was too early to discuss possible sanctions for sexual harassment. Overall, the convention was largely modelled on UK laws and practices, but signing it would help protect Britain's high standards, said Scotland. "I praise God they have finally signed it, but I'm shocked they didn't sign immediately [in 2011]." The announcement on stalking follows a year-long campaign for reform organised by the charity Protection Against Stalking and Napo, the probation and family court union. The Conservative Lord Oliver Henley will table amendments on stalking law reform to the protection of freedoms bill in parliament. He will be followed by an official announcement from the prime minister at an evening reception to mark International Women's Day at Number 10. In a statement released (WED) on Wednesday night, Cameron said: "Stalking is an abhorrent crime. It makes life a living hell for the victims – breaking up relationships, forcing the victims to move house, making them feel they are being watched 24 hours of the day. That is why we are explicitly criminalising stalking, to make sure that justice is done, protect the victims and show beyond doubt that stalking is a crime." The British Crime Survey estimated that approximately 120,000 incidents of stalking occur each year. Between 2009 and 2010, however, just 53,000 crimes of stalking or harassment were recorded by the police: 2% of which received a custodial sentence, and a further 10% of which were given a fine or a probation order. The reforms are thought to be similar to those introduced in Scotland in December 2010. Since the introduction of the stalking law in Scotland there have been over four hundred400 prosecutions compared with an average of seven per year under existing breach of the peace legislation for each of the previous 10 years.

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