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kenyan techies headed to jail
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Jul '07

23 Jul '07

Kenyan techies headed to jail... By Rebecca Wanjiku If the new Kenya Communications Amendment bill becomes law, all Kenyan techies and computer owners with pay a fine of shs 1 million, or risk a jail term or both. Why? Section 86 of the KCA bill states that... No person shall Operate an electronic Certification system Update a repository Administer a sub-domain in the ccTLD To do the above one requires a license, or face the penalties. Michuki Mwangi, the chief executive officer of KENIC, reckons that there are many Kenyan techies who have been infringing on this rule and will face the full force of the law once its assented. In interrogating these issues, Michuki asks, what is a repository? He argues that a repository could constitute a computer hard disk, mainly because the bill has not defined what a repository is. I have a self signed certificate, I create sub-domains and so many other Kenyans do. The government will have to give 32million potential sub-domain users. Thats a whole load of licenses to issue, said Michuki. Section 87 and 88 provides that: The dot KE registry and the Digital Certificate Registry need a license Michuki reckons that .KE model is globally recognized and in deed South Africa wants to follow up but adds that the new law will open room for subdivision of the registry, provided one can pay the license. For instance in south Africa, the .CO.ZA , .AC.ZA and other domains were operated by different entities and this is the time they are trying to integrate registry operations under one registry. It has the right intentions but just needs a bit of tweaking and rewording. The bill could have captured other areas of IT like local content matters were not well addressed, said Michuki. Ends Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool.

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Police excuse angry computer user for outburst
by Alex Gakuru 23 Jul '07

23 Jul '07

Humor a cold quiet afternoon! http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid… BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who startled his neighbors when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathized with his technical frustrations. Police in the northern city of Hanover said they would not press charges after responding to calls made by residents in an apartment block who were woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Saturday. Officers found the street and pavement covered in electronic parts and discovered who the culprit was. Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the 51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer. "Who hasn't felt like doing that?" said a police spokesman. While escaping any official sanction the man was made to clear up the debris. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

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Fwd: [ke-internetusers] CCK Preaching Wine & Drinking Water
by Alex Gakuru 23 Jul '07

23 Jul '07

--- robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 06:37:41 +0100 (BST) > From: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> > To: Internet user group <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> > Subject: [ke-internetusers] CCK Preaching Wine & > Drinking Water > > Hi All, > > Here is a trick question, where is the > Communications Commission of Kenya's (CCK) web site > is hosted? > > Wrong it is not at Telkom or at their headquarters, > it seats in a foreign land, from the routing seems > like the UK. Evidence provided below. > > C:\>tracert www.cck.go.ke > > Tracing route to meru1.africaonline.co.ke > [216.251.32.98] > over a maximum of 30 hops: > > 1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 192.168.0.1 > 2 36 ms 37 ms 42 ms 212.49.74.1 > 3 37 ms 36 ms 34 ms 196.202.200.193 > 4 37 ms 37 ms 36 ms 62.24.96.131 > 5 37 ms 37 ms 38 ms 192.168.2.2 > 6 636 ms 607 ms 637 ms > t3a2-h12-0-0.uk-goo.eu.bt.net [166.49.213.137] > 7 602 ms 698 ms 612 ms > t2c1-p3-2.uk-lon2.eu.bt.net [166.49.163.21] > 8 619 ms 699 ms 638 ms > t2c2-ge6-2.uk-lon2.eu.bt.net [166.49.164.170] > 9 1188 ms 1271 ms 706 ms > t2c1-ge5-1.uk-lon1.eu.bt.net [166.49.208.242] > 10 1106 ms 1137 ms 675 ms > t2a5-ge2-1.uk-lon1.eu.bt.net [166.49.135.115] > 11 * 651 ms 648 ms > 166-49-214-130.eu.bt.net [166.49.214.130] > 12 690 ms * 721 ms 217.239.40.78 > > > > So when the regulator has no faith in the > infrastructure he is meant to regulate and monitor > how are the mortals like us supposed to have faith > in the infrastructure. > > > > Robert Yawe > KAY System Technologies Ltd > Phoenix House, 6th Floor > P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 > KEnya > > Tel: +254722511225 > > --------------------------------- > Inbox full of unwanted email? Get leading > protection and 1GB storage with All New Yahoo! Mail.> _______________________________________________ > ke-internetusers mailing list > ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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eGovernment for Development
by Alex Gakuru 22 Jul '07

22 Jul '07

http://www.egov4dev.org/indonesiatender.htm eTransparency Case Study No.8 More Transparent Tendering for Infrastructure Development in Indonesia More Transparent Tendering for Infrastructure Development in Indonesia Case Study Authors Anonymous Application In 2001, the Department of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure in Indonesia introduced an online information system to support the process of tendering. Application Description The Department of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure is responsible for public infrastructure in Indonesia (particularly transport, water and housing infrastructure), with a budget of more than US$100m annually, much of which is dispersed through a system of tenders, bids and contracts. The new information system provides information about all aspects of the procurement process: · Details of projects to be tendered, including their content, duration and budget allocation. · Tendering process details including dates, value, details of the pre-qualification process and information regarding the tender winner. · Contact details for the relevant procurement officer that enable queries or inputs into the process. Armed with this information, citizens and citizen groups could then identify cases where tendering procedures have not been followed properly, or where contractors with close relations to government have received many contracts, or where infrastructural deliverables have not been constructed. Contractors themselves can also benefit from the information provided by the system. It helps them to know what to bid for. They can also use e-tendering components within the system in order to submit their bids online. However, full e-procurement is not yet possible because electronic documents are yet to be given legal status in the Indonesian courts. Thus all key documents must still be handled in the conventional manner. There are no specific technical standards or benchmarks for the transparency of tendering in Indonesia, nor is there any law regarding freedom of information. Normal government regulations apply to the actual tendering/procurement processes. Role of ICT The e-tendering system is Web-based, and made available to citizens and businesses via the Internet in Bahasa Indonesia (the national language). The system uses ASP for scripting, with My-SQL for the underlying database. Application Drivers/Purpose President Suharto ruled Indonesia from 1965 until his resignation in 1998. His rule is typically seen as autocratic and as fostering corruption. The e-tendering application was introduced as part of post-Suharto reform in Indonesia. One main focus of this reform has been good governance, including an attempt to address widespread corruption and to reduce the costs of government. Another has been more balanced regional development, which has sought to redress earlier distortions between the disadvantaged Eastern and better-developed Western parts of the country, and to devolve decision-making powers away from a small Jakarta-based clique. All elements came together in the development of the e-tendering/procurement system, which aims to improve the transparency and efficiency and costs of tendering/procurement. A key driving force for the application in practice is seen to be external pressure from international donor organisations. Stakeholders Senior officials and staff of the Department of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure are key internal stakeholders for this new system. Consultants and businesses are stakeholders since their approach to bidding has been affected. Finally, citizens and NGOs are stakeholders since they have a general interest in improvements in both the efficiency and effectiveness of government infrastructural contracting. Transparency and the Poor There has been no direct support for transparency to the poor, since the service is primarily targeted at government-to-business links. There is also little or no ICT infrastructure in most poor communities, especially outside Jakarta. Impact: Costs and Benefits Project costs are unknown. The main system benefits seem to be: a) Increased awareness about tendering processes among some citizens. There have been a few queries about tenders from members of the public and NGOs. This may have a knock-on impact to make contractors and government officials feel they are under greater scrutiny than previously. It may help to create some groundswell of demand for more freedom of information and greater transparency. b) Benefits of reduced costs for contractors who wish to participate in the bidding process. Although this has no direct transparency benefit, it may help broaden the range of contractors who participate. In general, contractors have been supportive of the system. There is a perception that, before the system's introduction, most tender winners had a close relationship with government officials, whereas perhaps 25% fewer do after system introduction. What is not clear is the extent to which this can be attributed to the e-tendering system, or to broader changes in the post-Suharto era. Other benefits are, at present, more a potential than a reality. For example, there is still confusion about the way in which evidence derived from the Web site could be used in a legal context. Thus, there are no actual cases of the system having been used to seek redress against possible wrongdoing in procurement, and so there is as yet no clear way in which this system can be used to move beyond mere reporting to actual accountability and control of the procurement process. Government officials perceive that the system thus far has had no significant impact on levels of corruption. It is still the norm that contractors would find themselves paying 20-40% of the overall tender value to members of the tender committee and, in some cases, to higher-level officials who have oversight of the committee's work. Some of this corruption can be attributed to greed, but much can be attributed to need: the need to recover money paid out to get project budgets agreed in the first place (see below), and the need to supplement low public sector wages. Breaking this cycle of need, and institutionalised processes of corruption set in place during the Suharto era, is not going to be easy. The system ought to make the tendering process easier and quicker for government officials (indeed, this benefit is identified by the Department's own evaluation). However, informal feedback from government officials is not particularly positive. Those procurement officials who have computer expertise feel that the e-tendering system is creating additional work for them, yet for no additional income. They prefer to use their computing skills and what should be their government work time to earn money undertaking unofficial outside consultancy work; they then pay a small amount to more junior government staff to do the tendering data entry for them. Procurement officials without computer expertise, despite their training, feel the e-tendering system is something they do not understand. In both cases the result coupled with general absence of a culture of transparency has meant officials have little to do with the system, getting more junior staff to actually interact with it. This has tended to undermine both the perceived value and usage of the system. Evaluation: Failure or Success? The system won first prize in 2002 in the e-government category of a competition held by the Indonesian magazine "Warta Ekonomi". A formal evaluation of the project has been conducted by the Department of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure. On the technical side, the main concerns arising from the evaluation were access difficulties, particularly caused by ICT infrastructural constraints. On the non-technical side, contractors supported the system but wanted full e-procurement to be introduced. Issues identified by independent evaluations are described above in the Impact section and below in the Challenges section. Overall, the e-tendering system at present can be given the category of partial success/partial failure overall and as largely unsuccessful so far in addressing corruption, though the Department does appear committed to trying to improve the system. One additional concern remains the fact that, by turning the spotlight on tendering, the system may be reducing the attention paid to a major source of corruption: the budgeting process. In order to get local projects agreed for funding, money passes upwards to bribe both executive and legislative officials at first provincial and then national level. That money has then somehow to be recouped at the local level, which may explain the lack of progress to date against corruption in tendering and procurement. Enablers/Critical Success Factors 1. Political support. Although this e-transparency system has met with indifference or resistance from a number of middle-level officials, it has been pushed along by support from a number of key groups senior officials in the Department of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure who needed to show support for the good governance agenda; public groups who lobby for greater transparency; and some fraction of contractors who felt their business opportunities would be enhanced by a more transparent system. 2. ICT awareness. It only needed a small cadre of staff in the Department to be aware of the potential role of ICTs in supporting transparency to help get the ball rolling on this type of e-transparency project. Constraints/Challenges 1. Lack of legal infrastructure. This e-transparency system is limited in a number of ways by legal constraints. The operation of the e-tendering system is constrained by the absence of "cyber-laws" that would recognise the legitimacy of electronic documents and electronic transactions. The transparency aspects of the system are constrained by the lack of freedom of information and transparency laws that could give legal 'teeth' to attempts to use the system to hold government officials to account. 2. Staff resistance. This arises from a variety of causes. Some officials are resentful or fearful about the potential loss of bribe income the system could entail; they tend to manipulate what data goes into the system to their own advantage. Others lack the skills to use the system and so tend to ignore it. Others still are resentful of what they see as an additional workload without any commensurate additional reward; as noted above, they pay juniors to do that work for them. 3. Lack of broader engagement/awareness. Even as it currently stands, the e-tendering system could be used by citizen groups and other NGOs to maintain pressure on government to deliver on infrastructural commitments, and to reduce corruption in the tendering process. NGOs and academic groups could also help spread awareness about the system, and disseminate information drawn from the system. As yet, though, few NGOs or academic groups are engaged or involved with the e-tendering system. Recommendations 1. Involve citizen groups. Although citizens as individuals can play a role in transparency, that role is better taken on by representative groups such as NGOs or academic organisations. Such groups should be involved in both the design and implementation of e-transparency systems if those systems are credibly to affect the accountability of government officials. 2. Don't just focus on technical skills. Lack of technical skills is still an issue for this e-transparency system, both inside and outside government. However, the 'transparency' aspects of the system are more important than that 'e' aspects, and training and change management should thus also focus on introducing more transparent procedures, systems and culture into government. 3. Don't just focus on digital ICTs. Digital ICTs only penetrate so far. To really reach out to a developing country's citizens, e-transparency systems must either a) make use of more pervasive technologies such as radio or television, and/or b) make active use of ICT-owning intermediaries who can then trickle-down information and services by non-ICT means. Further Information http://www.kimpraswil.go.id/publik/proyek/semieproc/index.asp Case Details Case Editor: Richard Heeks. Author Data Sources/Role: Web Site, Documents and Interviews; No Direct Role. Centrality of Transparency: Mixed. Type: Transaction. Audience: External. Content: Contractual. Sector: Economic Services. Outcome: Largely Unsuccessful. Region: South-East Asia. Start Date: 2001. Submission Date: December 2003. The "eGovernment for Development Information Exchange" project is coordinated by the University of Manchester's Institute for Development Policy and Management. The project is funded and managed by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation as part of the UK Department for International Development's "Building Digital Opportunities" programme. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/norton/index.php

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Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] Kenya's state-owned telecoms operator goes mobile
by Mike Theuri 22 Jul '07

22 Jul '07

Telkom is a licenced operator using fixed wireless technology. The key word here is fixed. On the same argument if the 'true mobile' operators want to obtain 3G and 3.5G frequencies the regulator has a duty to ensure that the government is not deprived of much needed revenue by holding a competitive tender or auction for the 3G frequencies which have fetched hundreds of millions of dollars in other African countries. ---------- https://www.ntra.gov.eg/english/News_NewsDetails.asp?PID=36&ID=94 Vodafone Egypt have agreed to pay LE3.34bn (US$584m) + 2.4% of total revenues as a licence fee for 3G spectrum. Vodafone Egypt recently declared an annual turnover of LE6.8bn and revealed that approximately 22% (LE1.5bn) of this will be Free Cash Flow. However, it is not as much as the third player, Etisalat, agreed to pay LE16.7bn (US$2.9bn) for a 2G/3G licence which was equivalent to 3.4% of Egypt GDP. ---------- It is indicative that at least one mobile provider has indicated that it is already using such technology, which per their original GSM license (Annex A) is not catered for. What payment if any has been received by the commission on behalf of the government for these frequencies by the mobile operator and for the issuance of a new 3G licence? I am certain that TKL has met its licence obligations and thus is a bonafide operator, secondly TKL holds a licence that allows it to provide these services nationwide in addition to its basket of licences. If the TKL's competitors want to demand that TKL pay fees for a licence (which it already has) then they should similarly be prepared to pay licence fees after competing in a tender to be able to operate 3G networks. Mike On 7/20/07, Joseph Okech <okechukwu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > I don't think Telkom goes mobile is a problem & its never about > competition, > the problem is with the regulatory infrastructure in place to be honored, > that is if all mobile operators have to pay a mobile license, then all > have > to pay a mobile license without any exceptions. If all mobile service > providers are to pay VAT and exercise duty, then this has to be across the > board. > > rgds, > Okech > > > > On Thursday July 19 2007 21:38:48 Mike Theuri wrote: > > "Competition is healthy. If other people complain, they should know that > > Kenyans > > now have a choice," Telkom Kenya Chief Market Officer Bernard Rubia told > > Reuters > > in an interview. > > > > Rubia says it was "debatable" whether partnering with an outside > investor > > was > > necessary for Telkom to turn a profit. Job cuts that will downsize > Telkom > > to > > > > 4,000 employees from 18,000 by September are already realising savings > of > > 250 > > million shillings ($3.7 million) a month against 1.2 billion in > billings. > > "We should be given a five-year window to prove ourselves," he said, > adding > > shares should be sold to the public in the meantime. > > > > ================ > > > > http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL19935122.html > > > > Kenya's state-owned telecoms operator goes mobile > > Thu 19 Jul 2007, 13:40 GMT > > > > By C. Bryson Hull > > > > NAIROBI, July 19 (Reuters) - State-owned Telkom Kenya is making an > > aggressive > > foray into the east African country's wireless mobile and data markets, > > aiming > > for rebirth as a sleek operator before privatisation due to start later > > this > > > > year. > > > > The loss-making state company, which has a monopoly on landlines, > earlier > > this > > month rolled out the lowest mobile phone tariff in Kenya and stepped up > > advertising to bring in customers to its brand-new wireless network. > > > > That has sparked complaints from the other two mobile operators in > Kenya, > > market > > leader Safaricom and Celtel Kenya, who say the state company has an > unfair > > regulatory advantage. > > > > "Competition is healthy. If other people complain, they should know that > > Kenyans > > now have a choice," Telkom Kenya Chief Market Officer Bernard Rubia told > > Reuters > > in an interview. > > > > "And they will choose based on reliability, consistency and > affordability." > > > > Telkom may seem an unlikely choice -- customers have long complained > that > > inefficiency, corruption and monopoly control of landlines have kept > > Telkom's > > prices high and service poor, but it is now in the middle of a major > > restructuring. > > > > And Kenyans are quick to go for the best deal. It is not uncommon for > > someone to > > have multiple phone lines to take advantage of the cheapest rate or to > > avoid the > > steep expense of calling from one network to the other. > > > > On a trial run since September, the company's mobile subsidiary Telkom > > Wireless > > so far has 150,000 subscribers and is adding an average of 1,000 per > day, > > Rubia > > said. > > > > "Our target is by the end of June next year we will have hit our 1 > million > > mark," he said adding the average customers spends 800 Kenya shillings > > ($11.92) > > a month. > > > > That is dwarfed by the 6.8 million Safaricom has out of an estimated 8-9 > > million > > users in the nation of 36 million people. > > > > > > BANKING ON CDMA > > > > Telkom has rolled out a CDMA network to about 70 percent of the country > to > > compete with Safaricom and Celtel, which operate a GSM network like most > > mobile > > companies in Africa. > > > > Rubia says the choice of CDMA was to lure Kenyan customers who get > > irritated by > > congestion on the GSM networks. > > > > "One of our towers is equivalent to four of theirs in terms of > capacity," > > he > > > > said. > > > > A second benefit is to cash in on its data capabilities, which are > faster > > than > > GSM. By September, Rubia says Telkom will offer EVDO, a mobile broadband > > data > > technology. > > > > But like other Internet data providers in Kenya, they will not be able > to > > use > > the maximum capacity until the country gets a fibre optic connection to > the > > Internet backbone. > > > > Currently it gets it via expensive satellite links that limit bandwidth > and > > market growth. Rubia says he expects at least one of two projects to > give > > Kenya > > a wired link to the outside world to be ready by "the back end of next > > year." > > > > Telkom Wireless customers will be able to access EVDO via mobile > handsets > > and > > also wireless desktop phones. > > > > The latter often serve as Internet links in rural areas where there is > > little or > > no infrastructure -- and where mobile operators say there are still huge > > untapped profits in Africa. > > > > The government wants to sell a 51 percent stake in Telkom to a strategic > > partner, with an eye on an IPO that would eventually sell 30 percent to > the > > public. Proposals are due to be opened by early November. > > > > Rubia says it was "debatable" whether partnering with an outside > investor > > was > > necessary for Telkom to turn a profit. Job cuts that will downsize > Telkom > > to > > > > 4,000 employees from 18,000 by September are already realising savings > of > > 250 > > million shillings ($3.7 million) a month against 1.2 billion in > billings. > > > > "We should be given a five-year window to prove ourselves," he said, > adding > > shares should be sold to the public in the meantime. > > >

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Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] Kenya's state-owned telecoms operator goes mobile
by Mike Theuri 21 Jul '07

21 Jul '07

As much as I would want to, I cannot tell you when or how Telkom paid the license fees, what I can tell you instead is that upon meeting the requisite requirements, one can seek a license from CCK employing the use of various fixed wireless technologies, however unlike Telkom, coverage would be limited as the applicant would not be licensed as a national operator. Additionally Telkom Kenya is duty bound to pay a revenue based annual license fee to CCK for its licenses. In Kenya there are certain licenses available only through the auction process and several others available 'over the counter'. Telkom licenses are mostly 25 year licenses dated from 1999 and renewable for another 15 years after that period. The most accurate answers to your questions can be best obtained from the regulator or in the alternate the Ministry. Other key references would be the Kenya Communications Act of 1998 which set up the legal framework for the establishment of Telkom Kenya. Regards, Mike On 7/21/07, Joseph Okech <okechukwu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Please I beg tell me when Telkom paid the license fees and how the bidding > was > done? Simply because their former MD was appointed into CCK does not give > them the right to ALL telco licenses in the country, every single license > has > to be auctioned or awarded openly with full license fees paid. > > rgds, > Okech > > > > On Saturday July 21 2007 02:45:20 Mike Theuri wrote: > > Telkom is a licenced operator using fixed wireless technology. The key > word > > here is fixed. On the same argument if the 'true mobile' operators want > to > > obtain 3G and 3.5G frequencies the regulator has a duty to ensure that > the > > government is not deprived of much needed revenue by holding a > competitive > > tender or auction for the 3G frequencies which have fetched hundreds of > > millions of dollars in other African countries. > > > > ---------- > > https://www.ntra.gov.eg/english/News_NewsDetails.asp?PID=36&ID=94 > > > > Vodafone Egypt have agreed to pay LE3.34bn (US$584m) + 2.4% of total > > revenues as a licence fee for 3G spectrum. Vodafone Egypt recently > declared > > an annual turnover of LE6.8bn and revealed that approximately 22% ( > LE1.5bn) > > of this will be Free Cash Flow. > > > > However, it is not as much as the third player, Etisalat, agreed to pay > > LE16.7bn (US$2.9bn) for a 2G/3G licence which was equivalent to 3.4% of > > Egypt GDP. > > ---------- > > > > It is indicative that at least one mobile provider has indicated that it > is > > already using such technology, which per their original GSM license > (Annex > > A) is not catered for. What payment if any has been received by the > > commission on behalf of the government for these frequencies by the > mobile > > operator and for the issuance of a new 3G licence? I am certain that TKL > > has met its licence obligations and thus is a bonafide operator, > secondly > > TKL holds a licence that allows it to provide these services nationwide > in > > addition to its basket of licences. If the TKL's competitors want to > demand > > that TKL pay fees for a licence (which it already has) then they should > > similarly be prepared to pay licence fees after competing in a tender to > be > > able to operate 3G networks. > > > > Mike > > > > On 7/20/07, Joseph Okech <okechukwu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > I don't think Telkom goes mobile is a problem & its never about > > > competition, > > > the problem is with the regulatory infrastructure in place to be > honored, > > > that is if all mobile operators have to pay a mobile license, then all > > > have > > > to pay a mobile license without any exceptions. If all mobile service > > > providers are to pay VAT and exercise duty, then this has to be across > > > the board. > > > > > > rgds, > > > Okech > > > > > > On Thursday July 19 2007 21:38:48 Mike Theuri wrote: > > > > "Competition is healthy. If other people complain, they should know > > > > that Kenyans > > > > now have a choice," Telkom Kenya Chief Market Officer Bernard Rubia > > > > told Reuters > > > > in an interview. > > > > > > > > Rubia says it was "debatable" whether partnering with an outside > > > > > > investor > > > > > > > was > > > > necessary for Telkom to turn a profit. Job cuts that will downsize > > > > > > Telkom > > > > > > > to > > > > > > > > 4,000 employees from 18,000 by September are already realising > savings > > > > > > of > > > > > > > 250 > > > > million shillings ($3.7 million) a month against 1.2 billion in > > > > > > billings. > > > > > > > "We should be given a five-year window to prove ourselves," he said, > > > > > > adding > > > > > > > shares should be sold to the public in the meantime. > > > > > > > > ================ > > > > > > > > http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL19935122.html > > > > > > > > Kenya's state-owned telecoms operator goes mobile > > > > Thu 19 Jul 2007, 13:40 GMT > > > > > > > > By C. Bryson Hull > > > > > > > > NAIROBI, July 19 (Reuters) - State-owned Telkom Kenya is making an > > > > aggressive > > > > foray into the east African country's wireless mobile and data > markets, > > > > aiming > > > > for rebirth as a sleek operator before privatisation due to start > later > > > > this > > > > > > > > year. > > > > > > > > The loss-making state company, which has a monopoly on landlines, > > > > > > earlier > > > > > > > this > > > > month rolled out the lowest mobile phone tariff in Kenya and stepped > up > > > > advertising to bring in customers to its brand-new wireless network. > > > > > > > > That has sparked complaints from the other two mobile operators in > > > > > > Kenya, > > > > > > > market > > > > leader Safaricom and Celtel Kenya, who say the state company has an > > > > > > unfair > > > > > > > regulatory advantage. > > > > > > > > "Competition is healthy. If other people complain, they should know > > > > that Kenyans > > > > now have a choice," Telkom Kenya Chief Market Officer Bernard Rubia > > > > told Reuters > > > > in an interview. > > > > > > > > "And they will choose based on reliability, consistency and > > > > > > affordability." > > > > > > > Telkom may seem an unlikely choice -- customers have long complained > > > > > > that > > > > > > > inefficiency, corruption and monopoly control of landlines have kept > > > > Telkom's > > > > prices high and service poor, but it is now in the middle of a major > > > > restructuring. > > > > > > > > And Kenyans are quick to go for the best deal. It is not uncommon > for > > > > someone to > > > > have multiple phone lines to take advantage of the cheapest rate or > to > > > > avoid the > > > > steep expense of calling from one network to the other. > > > > > > > > On a trial run since September, the company's mobile subsidiary > Telkom > > > > Wireless > > > > so far has 150,000 subscribers and is adding an average of 1,000 per > > > > > > day, > > > > > > > Rubia > > > > said. > > > > > > > > "Our target is by the end of June next year we will have hit our 1 > > > > > > million > > > > > > > mark," he said adding the average customers spends 800 Kenya > shillings > > > > ($11.92) > > > > a month. > > > > > > > > That is dwarfed by the 6.8 million Safaricom has out of an estimated > > > > 8-9 million > > > > users in the nation of 36 million people. > > > > > > > > > > > > BANKING ON CDMA > > > > > > > > Telkom has rolled out a CDMA network to about 70 percent of the > country > > > > > > to > > > > > > > compete with Safaricom and Celtel, which operate a GSM network like > > > > most mobile > > > > companies in Africa. > > > > > > > > Rubia says the choice of CDMA was to lure Kenyan customers who get > > > > irritated by > > > > congestion on the GSM networks. > > > > > > > > "One of our towers is equivalent to four of theirs in terms of > > > > > > capacity," > > > > > > > he > > > > > > > > said. > > > > > > > > A second benefit is to cash in on its data capabilities, which are > > > > > > faster > > > > > > > than > > > > GSM. By September, Rubia says Telkom will offer EVDO, a mobile > > > > broadband data > > > > technology. > > > > > > > > But like other Internet data providers in Kenya, they will not be > able > > > > > > to > > > > > > > use > > > > the maximum capacity until the country gets a fibre optic connection > to > > > > > > the > > > > > > > Internet backbone. > > > > > > > > Currently it gets it via expensive satellite links that limit > bandwidth > > > > > > and > > > > > > > market growth. Rubia says he expects at least one of two projects to > > > > > > give > > > > > > > Kenya > > > > a wired link to the outside world to be ready by "the back end of > next > > > > year." > > > > > > > > Telkom Wireless customers will be able to access EVDO via mobile > > > > > > handsets > > > > > > > and > > > > also wireless desktop phones. > > > > > > > > The latter often serve as Internet links in rural areas where there > is > > > > little or > > > > no infrastructure -- and where mobile operators say there are still > > > > huge untapped profits in Africa. > > > > > > > > The government wants to sell a 51 percent stake in Telkom to a > > > > strategic partner, with an eye on an IPO that would eventually sell > 30 > > > > percent to > > > > > > the > > > > > > > public. Proposals are due to be opened by early November. > > > > > > > > Rubia says it was "debatable" whether partnering with an outside > > > > > > investor > > > > > > > was > > > > necessary for Telkom to turn a profit. Job cuts that will downsize > > > > > > Telkom > > > > > > > to > > > > > > > > 4,000 employees from 18,000 by September are already realising > savings > > > > > > of > > > > > > > 250 > > > > million shillings ($3.7 million) a month against 1.2 billion in > > > > > > billings. > > > > > > > "We should be given a five-year window to prove ourselves," he said, > > > > > > adding > > > > > > > shares should be sold to the public in the meantime. > > >

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Re: [kictanet] Fwd: [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...]
by Alex Gakuru 21 Jul '07

21 Jul '07

Further Walubengo, Unlike "political" politicians who regularly complain of being mis-quoted by the media, now telcos intimidate the media, the government will "regulate" the media, consumers love the media for encouraging us that we are not alone in telcos exploitaion. Mexicans are faced by the same problem see attached "Billion Dollar Baby" story. The media respond even to a child's cry but politicians... unless there are votes at stake? The real losers of media gagging by government and corporate intimidation will be consumers. I state that add was totally and properly quoted here http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=363&Itemi… Which is why the ICT Bill must facilitate widespread Community Telcos in the WiFi range to legally reinforce and strengthen this most welcome CCK intervention. It a sure way out of the current high communication costs misery and consumer lock in that affects everybody else except these telcos. Follow the ICT Bill and note anti-media, anti-consumer, anti-expression MPs and "revenge" in December elections. They will know the tariffs pain we suffer as soon as they lose those Parliamentary allowances. ____________________________________________________________________________________Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/

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Re: [kictanet] Fwd: [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...]
by bitange＠jambo.co.ke 21 Jul '07

21 Jul '07

Dear Mr. Theuri, Your allegations: "That foreign entity is again in the news as a mysterious deal has been worked out with the regulator and the government disregarding a court ruling" These are sereous allegations implying irregularity on our part when the facts are that it was prudent to extricate the Government out of the many legal battles by Econet that could potentially cost the Kenyan tax payer an enormous amount. There cannot be a court rulling baring the Government from making prudent decisions. In my view you are mixing issues of Econet vs KNFC and Econet vs CCK. FYI there is no matter in court yet this issue continue to hurt our image as an investment destination. What we dealt with yesterday were two cases instituted by Econet against the Government and the then Minister for Communications. If you read carefully the Times story you are referring to, it has nothing to do with the actions we took. Econet still has to contend with the shareholding issue and meet CCK conditions. Whatever the background of Econet, we must follow the law and it cannot be right that we see that law through your lenses. Have a nice day. Regards Bitange Ndemo. which one can > read about > below. > Walu, > > Actually the story came from the Media Institute and was shared on various > Kenyan > discussion groups and I was only passing it on. I'm not related to Alex > Gakuru but > its likely we may find ourselves working on the same or similar issues or > we > may > even have differing views. > > Some of these corporates have been harassing members of the media. It was > only a > year or two ago where a corporate entity was noted by a Minister for > passing > brown > envelopes in return for favorable stories or wielding influence in such a > way that a journalist > who had exposed the entity's activities was summarily dismissed by his > boss > via sms when > he was away on leave. Fortunately the journalist was vindicated when his > boss got the boot > and he was reinstated. > > That foreign entity is again in the news as a mysterious deal has been > worked out with > the regulator and the government disregarding a court ruling which one can > read about > below. It was the ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world"

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Vodafone Greece:Death muddies Greek spy probe
by Alex Gakuru 21 Jul '07

21 Jul '07

[In case you missed it last year, below illustrates Privacy dangers underscoring the need for Legal and Privacy Protection to consumers--read everyone! Dr. Ndemo at least assure us the government is safe] "Death muddies Greek spy probe" <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4838552.stm> [BBC] By Richard Galpin BBC News, Athens A senior aide to the Greek prime minister is expected to be the next person to testify before a parliamentary committee investigating what is believed to be the worst espionage scandal in the country's history. Last month, the government admitted that the mobile phones of the prime minister, the most senior members of the cabinet and top security officials had all been tapped in 2004 - the year Athens hosted the Olympic Games. The committee in Athens has been questioning executives from two of the world's leading mobile phone companies, Vodafone and Ericsson, about the scandal. But attention is also increasingly focusing on the alleged suicide of a senior Vodafone manager just after the phone-tapping operation was discovered on the Vodafone network last year. In a serene but cramped graveyard in the western suburbs of Athens, lies the body of Costas Tsalikidis, a network manager for Vodafone Greece. He is buried with other members of his family. But his gravestone shows he died aged just 38. He was found hanged in his apartment on the morning of 9 March last year. The next day, the head of Vodafone Greece walked into the office of one of the prime minister's top aides to inform the government that its phones had been bugged for at least eight months. The official verdict was that Mr Tsalikidis had committed suicide. Suspicions In a statement issued last month, just after the story about the phone-tapping operation first broke, Vodafone categorically denied there was any connection between his death and the scandal. "Any attempt to connect these two is, to say the least, irrelevant," it said. But his family believe his death is suspicious and are calling for his body to be exhumed so a second post-mortem can be carried out by one of the world's leading forensic pathologists, Dr Michael Baden of the United States. "They believe they will find new evidence," says the family lawyer, Themis Sofos. Dr Sofos adds that other parts of the original investigation were weak. "No one went to the house of Costas, no one took photos and to see the circumstances of his death... no one took fingerprints." Official inquiry Mr Tsalikidis' family recently took matters into their own hands, filing a lawsuit against "persons unknown" for complicity in his murder or suicide. They allege that even if he was not murdered, he may have faced threats which left him with no choice but to take his own life. Meanwhile, their lawyer has been handing evidence to a prosecutor in Athens, who is now carrying out an official inquiry into the death of Mr Tsalikidis. The prosecutor is expected to announce his conclusion within the next few weeks. Family and friends of Costas Tsalikidis believe there are strong indications he was the person who first discovered that highly sophisticated software had been secretly inserted into the Vodafone network in 2004, enabling at least 100 phone lines to be constantly tapped. "The end of January or early February (2005) I think is the time Costas had access or took knowledge of the interception system and he (re)searched about its function and origin," says lawyer Themis Sofos. "He was not the kind of man to keep secret about something. He would not have co-operated with criminals or criminal acts." Text messages According to Dr Sofos, Mr Tsalikidis told his fiancee at this time that it was a "matter of life and death" that he leave his job. The lawyer also says they have looked at text messages he received on his mobile from colleagues in early February 2005, including one which apparently urges him to keep working and offers him support. But there is another theory about Costas Tsalikidis: that he was allegedly the person who actually inserted the software setting up the phone-tapping operation. "It is possible," says Themis Sofos. "I cannot exclude anything." The theory is put forward by John Brady Kiesling a former American diplomat who worked at the US embassy in Athens until resigning in 2003 over the US-led invasion of Iraq. He is convinced American intelligence agents were behind the whole bugging operation and he says it is possible they used Mr Tsalikidis to install the software. "I believe he committed suicide to protect his professional honour," says Mr Kiesling. As for why the Americans would tap the phones of the political and security elite of a country regarded as an ally, Mr Kiesling says there is a simple answer. Trust He argues American intelligence agencies would not have trusted the Greeks with the massive security operation surrounding the Athens Olympics in August 2004 set up to counter any potential terrorist threat. "They believe you cannot trust foreigners, that foreigners are incompetent and of dubious trustworthiness," he says. "You owe it to yourself if you have the capability, to have an independent ear listening to them and I think that is what this was." This might also explain why the Greek government kept silent about the scandal for almost a year from March 2005 when it was informed about it, until last month when it finally held a news conference detailing what had happened. The news conference took place shortly after a Greek newspaper had broken the story. Despite repeated requests, no-one from the government was willing to give an interview to the BBC about the scandal. The US embassy also refused to comment and the Vodafone Greece press office would only refer us to statements on its website. ---ends--- ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/

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Fwd: [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...]
by Mike Theuri 21 Jul '07

21 Jul '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: The Media Institute <mediainst(a)wananchi.com> Date: Jul 18, 2007 2:12 PM Subject: [africa-oped] [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...] To: africa-oped(a)yahoogroups.com ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...] From: "Editor" <info(a)eastafricapress.com <info%40eastafricapress.com>> Date: Wed, July 18, 2007 7:02 pm To: kodi(a)kodibarth.com <kodi%40kodibarth.com> ---------------------------------------------------------- We thought you might want to read this... Safaricom intimidating media ahead of IPO http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?sp=81 Also: The price the Aga Khan paid to have NTV back on air http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?sp=85 What Monitor journalist Andrew Mwenda thinks about the Aga Khan and The Monitor http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?s=63 Dar newspaper infuriates government with defense expose http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?s=66 Special Report: Who owns the media in East Africa? http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?sp=88 And many more on the state of East African media and freedom of expression. ___________________ The Media Institute PO Box 46356 00100 Nairobi Kenya Tel: +254 20 253 372 Fax: +254 20 252 373 Cell: +254 720 103 693 Director: +254 722 517 540 ———————— "If I had the choice of knowing the truth or searching for the truth, I'd take the search." — Walker Percy, Writer __._,_.___ Messages in this topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/message/24804;_ylc=X3oDMTM2ZnA0dm…> (1) Reply (via web post) <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJxa3FxczNwBF9TAzk…>| Start a new topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbTd1N2llBF9TAzk…> Messages<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZ2s0YTI1BF9…>| Files<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/files;_ylc=X3oDMTJmamZvbXMwBF9TAz…>| Photos<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/photos;_ylc=X3oDMTJlMWkzb2ZjBF9TA…>| Links<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/links;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdGQ4MTJqBF9TAz…>| Calendar<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/calendar;_ylc=X3oDMTJkYnFnZ280BF9…> 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. - [image: Yahoo! Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkNDhqbmMxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzc4N…> Change settings via the Web<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbW1sOXRmBF9TAzk…>(Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest<[email protected]?subject=Email+Delivery:+Digest>| Switch format to Traditional<[email protected]?subject=Change+Delivery+Format:+Traditional> Visit Your Group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped;_ylc=X3oDMTJkcDg1NjkyBF9TAzk3MzU5…>| Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>| Unsubscribe <africa-oped-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com?subject=> Recent Activity - 1 New Members<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/members;_ylc=X3oDMTJmczJmdmtwBF9T…> Visit Your Group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcXJ2ZjhjBF9TAzk3MzU5…> SPONSORED LINKS - African<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjZWFiNmlrBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzEEZ…> - African american christian dating<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjMXAxNDFnBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzIEZ…> - African american christian dating single<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjaHAwNjNkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzMEZ…> - African american christian single<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjc2pva2MwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzQEZ…> - African safari<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjNzV1b2pzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzUEZ…> Yahoo! Music Check Who's Next<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jej1j0e/M=493064.10729670.11333360.8674578/D=…> Discover new bands before anyone else Y! Messenger Group get-together<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jovcf3c/M=493064.10729668.11333359.8674578/D=…> Host a free online conference on IM. Yahoo! Mail You're invited!<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jj6vslp/M=493064.10729665.11333356.8674578/D=…> Try the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta . __,_._,___

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Re: [kictanet] Fwd: [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...]
by Mike Theuri 20 Jul '07

20 Jul '07

Dear Bwana Ndemo, Thank you for your and the Ministry's attention to the issue. I hope that it will be resolved soon. A free and responsible media is important to ensure that Kenyans are kept informed and aware of matters affecting the nation. Regards, Mike Theuri On 7/19/07, bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> wrote: > > Dear Mr. Theuri, > Thank you for your concern. The Ministry had already taken up this matter > and hopefully we shall have it sorted out. > > > Regards > > > Bitange Ndemo. > > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > From: The Media Institute <mediainst(a)wananchi.com> > > Date: Jul 18, 2007 2:12 PM > > Subject: [africa-oped] [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...] > > To: africa-oped(a)yahoogroups.com > > > > > > > > ---------------------------- Original Message > ---------------------------- > > Subject: [Fwd: Safaricom intimidating media...] > > From: "Editor" <info(a)eastafricapress.com <info%40eastafricapress.com>> > > Date: Wed, July 18, 2007 7:02 pm > > To: kodi(a)kodibarth.com <kodi%40kodibarth.com> > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > > > We thought you might want to read this... > > > > Safaricom intimidating media ahead of IPO > > http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?sp=81 > > > > Also: > > > > The price the Aga Khan paid to have NTV back on air > > http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?sp=85 > > > > What Monitor journalist Andrew Mwenda thinks about the Aga Khan and The > > Monitor > > http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?s=63 > > > > Dar newspaper infuriates government with defense expose > > http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?s=66 > > > > Special Report: > > Who owns the media in East Africa? > > http://eastafricapress.net/f.php?sp=88 > > > > And many more on the state of East African media and freedom of > > expression. > > > > ___________________ > > The Media Institute > > PO Box 46356 > > 00100 Nairobi > > Kenya > > Tel: +254 20 253 372 > > Fax: +254 20 252 373 > > Cell: +254 720 103 693 > > Director: +254 722 517 540 > > ———————— > > > > "If I had the choice of knowing the truth or searching for the truth, > I'd > > take the search." — Walker Percy, Writer > > > > __._,_.___ Messages in this topic > > < > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/message/24804;_ylc=X3oDMTM2ZnA0dm… > > > > (1) Reply (via web post) > > < > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJxa3FxczNwBF9TAzk… > >| > > Start a new topic > > < > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbTd1N2llBF9TAzk… > > > > Messages< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZ2s0YTI1BF9… > >| > > Files< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/files;_ylc=X3oDMTJmamZvbXMwBF9TAz… > >| > > Photos< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/photos;_ylc=X3oDMTJlMWkzb2ZjBF9TA… > >| > > Links< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/links;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdGQ4MTJqBF9TAz… > >| > > Calendar< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/calendar;_ylc=X3oDMTJkYnFnZ280BF9… > > > > 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. > > - > > [image: Yahoo! > > Groups]< > http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkNDhqbmMxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzc4N… > > > > Change settings via the > > Web< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbW1sOXRmBF9TAzk… > >(Yahoo! > > ID required) > > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily > > Digest<[email protected]?subject=Email+Delivery:+Digest > >| > > Switch > > format to > > Traditional< > [email protected]?subject=Change+Delivery+Format:+Traditional > > > > Visit Your Group > > < > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped;_ylc=X3oDMTJkcDg1NjkyBF9TAzk3MzU5… > >| > > Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>| > > Unsubscribe > > <africa-oped-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com?subject=> > > Recent Activity > > > > - 1 > > New > > Members< > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped/members;_ylc=X3oDMTJmczJmdmtwBF9T… > > > > > > Visit Your Group > > < > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africa-oped;_ylc=X3oDMTJlcXJ2ZjhjBF9TAzk3MzU5… > > > > SPONSORED LINKS > > > > - > > African< > http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjZWFiNmlrBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzEEZ… > > > > - African american christian > > dating< > http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjMXAxNDFnBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzIEZ… > > > > - African american christian dating > > single< > http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjaHAwNjNkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzMEZ… > > > > - African american christian > > single< > http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjc2pva2MwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzQEZ… > > > > - African > > safari< > http://groups.yahoo.com/gads;_ylc=X3oDMTJjNzV1b2pzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BF9wAzUEZ… > > > > > > Yahoo! Music > > > > Check Who's > > Next< > http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jej1j0e/M=493064.10729670.11333360.8674578/D=… > > > > > > Discover new bands > > > > before anyone else > > Y! Messenger > > > > Group > > get-together< > http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jovcf3c/M=493064.10729668.11333359.8674578/D=… > > > > > > Host a free online > > > > conference on IM. > > Yahoo! Mail > > > > You're > > invited!< > http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12jj6vslp/M=493064.10729665.11333356.8674578/D=… > > > > > > Try the all-new > > > > Yahoo! Mail Beta > > . > > > > __,_._,___ > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > > believed to be clean. > > --------------------------------------------- > > "easy access to the world" > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > --------------------------------------------- > "easy access to the world" > >

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Cable Watch
by Alex Gakuru 20 Jul '07

20 Jul '07

[Business Daily] "Battle for optic fibre cable tender starts next week Written by Okuttah Mark 20-July-2007 "The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the telecoms sector regulator that is managing the process.." "The East Africa Marine system (TEAMS) is a joint venture of the Kenya government and the government of the United Arab Emirates." "The $110 million project is owned by Kenya government has formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) TEAMs Limited through Telkom Kenya Limited, which has a 40 per cent stake while UEA government holds a 20 per cent stake through a telecom company known as Etisalat. The remaining 40 per cent shares have been reserved for private investors in East Africa. Standard Chartered Bank, the lead financial arranger, is working on the modalities of bringing private investors on board." "The team is composed of experts from the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney Generals Office and the Ministry of Information." <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2028&Item…> ____________________________________________________________________________________ Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/

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NSE Real-Time Data
by Bill Kagai 20 Jul '07

20 Jul '07

Just to inform you that we are now authorised to stream NSE real-time trading data. Beta tests going on here; http://www.mediacorpafrica.com/live/ If you click on the [+] sign next to the listed stock you should get the bids/asks and settled trades on both the normal and prompt boards. -- -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Nairobi Stock Exchange [NSE] - Authorised Information Vendor Suite B2 Tetu Apartments StateHouse Avenue P. O. Box 20311-00200 Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke --

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Kenya's state-owned telecoms operator goes mobile
by Mike Theuri 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

"Competition is healthy. If other people complain, they should know that Kenyans now have a choice," Telkom Kenya Chief Market Officer Bernard Rubia told Reuters in an interview. Rubia says it was "debatable" whether partnering with an outside investor was necessary for Telkom to turn a profit. Job cuts that will downsize Telkom to 4,000 employees from 18,000 by September are already realising savings of 250 million shillings ($3.7 million) a month against 1.2 billion in billings. "We should be given a five-year window to prove ourselves," he said, adding shares should be sold to the public in the meantime. ================ http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL19935122.html Kenya's state-owned telecoms operator goes mobile Thu 19 Jul 2007, 13:40 GMT By C. Bryson Hull NAIROBI, July 19 (Reuters) - State-owned Telkom Kenya is making an aggressive foray into the east African country's wireless mobile and data markets, aiming for rebirth as a sleek operator before privatisation due to start later this year. The loss-making state company, which has a monopoly on landlines, earlier this month rolled out the lowest mobile phone tariff in Kenya and stepped up advertising to bring in customers to its brand-new wireless network. That has sparked complaints from the other two mobile operators in Kenya, market leader Safaricom and Celtel Kenya, who say the state company has an unfair regulatory advantage. "Competition is healthy. If other people complain, they should know that Kenyans now have a choice," Telkom Kenya Chief Market Officer Bernard Rubia told Reuters in an interview. "And they will choose based on reliability, consistency and affordability." Telkom may seem an unlikely choice -- customers have long complained that inefficiency, corruption and monopoly control of landlines have kept Telkom's prices high and service poor, but it is now in the middle of a major restructuring. And Kenyans are quick to go for the best deal. It is not uncommon for someone to have multiple phone lines to take advantage of the cheapest rate or to avoid the steep expense of calling from one network to the other. On a trial run since September, the company's mobile subsidiary Telkom Wireless so far has 150,000 subscribers and is adding an average of 1,000 per day, Rubia said. "Our target is by the end of June next year we will have hit our 1 million mark," he said adding the average customers spends 800 Kenya shillings ($11.92) a month. That is dwarfed by the 6.8 million Safaricom has out of an estimated 8-9 million users in the nation of 36 million people. BANKING ON CDMA Telkom has rolled out a CDMA network to about 70 percent of the country to compete with Safaricom and Celtel, which operate a GSM network like most mobile companies in Africa. Rubia says the choice of CDMA was to lure Kenyan customers who get irritated by congestion on the GSM networks. "One of our towers is equivalent to four of theirs in terms of capacity," he said. A second benefit is to cash in on its data capabilities, which are faster than GSM. By September, Rubia says Telkom will offer EVDO, a mobile broadband data technology. But like other Internet data providers in Kenya, they will not be able to use the maximum capacity until the country gets a fibre optic connection to the Internet backbone. Currently it gets it via expensive satellite links that limit bandwidth and market growth. Rubia says he expects at least one of two projects to give Kenya a wired link to the outside world to be ready by "the back end of next year." Telkom Wireless customers will be able to access EVDO via mobile handsets and also wireless desktop phones. The latter often serve as Internet links in rural areas where there is little or no infrastructure -- and where mobile operators say there are still huge untapped profits in Africa. The government wants to sell a 51 percent stake in Telkom to a strategic partner, with an eye on an IPO that would eventually sell 30 percent to the public. Proposals are due to be opened by early November. Rubia says it was "debatable" whether partnering with an outside investor was necessary for Telkom to turn a profit. Job cuts that will downsize Telkom to 4,000 employees from 18,000 by September are already realising savings of 250 million shillings ($3.7 million) a month against 1.2 billion in billings. "We should be given a five-year window to prove ourselves," he said, adding shares should be sold to the public in the meantime.

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Useful information on your response to earthquakes
by Fatma Bashir 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

You may find this useful. <<TRIANGLE OF LIFE.doc>> ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world"

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forum today
by Rebecca Wanjiku 19 Jul '07

19 Jul '07

KICTANet monthly forum takes place today at the Jacaranda at 3pm please plan to attend, see you then, regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search.

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prog.
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

just to remind you of the meeting this thursday at 3pm, jacaranda will be discussing and collecting views on the KCA bill, to fwd just before the second reading, please plan to attend, here is the program on the issues to be discussed, KICTANet MONTHLY FORUM THURSDAY July 19th , 2007 PROGRAMME TIME ACTIVITY 3.00- 3.15pm introduction 3.15-3.45pm consumer issues- Alex Gakuru 3:45-3.50pm Q&A 3.50-4.20pm technical aspects- Michuki Mwangi 4.20-4.25pm Q&A 4.25- 4.50pm legal aspects- Nyokabi Kanyua 4.50- 5:15pm Q&A 5.15 pm Tea GUESTS LEAVE AT THEIR PLEASURE 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.

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Fwd: [isoc-ny] NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND
by Alex Gakuru 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

My motivation/FYI --- Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:22:02 +0300 > From: "Alex Gakuru" <gakuru(a)gmail.com> > To: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > Subject: Fwd: [isoc-ny] NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE > INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: WWWhatsup <joly(a)punkcast.com> > Date: Jul 17, 2007 10:57 PM > Subject: [isoc-ny] NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE > INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND > To: isoc-ny(a)yahoogroups.com, discuss(a)isoc-ny.org > > > > NEW YORK MUST ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT IN BROADBAND > [SOURCE: The Buffalo News, AUTHOR: Mitchell L. Moss, > New York University] > [Commentary] The Internet has emerged into an > essential and ubiquitous > part of life. Yet, in New York, communications > companies are still > being regulated by laws written in another era. > While other states > have adopted policies that spur investment and > expansion of their > broadband infrastructure, New York has yet to face > the future. It's > time for New York to move ahead or its economy will > lag. Albany can > help by fostering private investment in a > next-generation broadband. A > fully operational broadband network is worth > hundreds of millions of > dollars a year to the state's economy. That > translates into more jobs, > better schools, a cleaner environment through > telecommuting and > improved communications for law enforcement and > first responders. It's > time that legislators and policymakers act in > concert with > communications companies to accelerate deployment of > high-speed > broadband technology. Anything less will drive New > Yorkers from the > information highway to the service road. > http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/118524.html > > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > WWWhatsup NYC > http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > http://isoc-ny.org > "The Internet is for Everyone!" -- Vint Cerf > ---------------------------------------------- > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/isoc-ny/ > > <*> Your email settings: > Individual Email | Traditional > > <*> To change settings online go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/isoc-ny/join > (Yahoo! ID required) > > <*> To change settings via email: > mailto:[email protected] > mailto:[email protected] > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email > to: > isoc-ny-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > -- > website: http://www.billowsbpo.co.ke/ > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC

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is stakeholder forum necessary?
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

Stakeholder forum is ok, but does it work? At Safari park hotel, many stakeholders gathered to give their views. From Safaricom, Celtel to the consumer association, they all had something to say about the KCA bill. ICJ described the bill as unprecedented and the PS Bitange Ndemo assured participants that their views would be incorporated. But if the past process is anything to go by, is there any assurance that the views will be taken on board. Stakeholders wanted an expansion of the constituencies expected to be consulted, and an assurance that the views would be considered no one seemed to answer the question categorically, it was only said that the views would be compiled and forwarded. Others wanted the bill to protect them from any perceived crime because they are carriers while others wanted the bill to conform to other established principles in the commonwealth. It was a productive forum. Those with contentions about the wording of the clauses were also encouraged to help by bringing in the clauses worded in their favourable way. But is this a chance for people to meet, take the tea and lunch or is it going to bear any fruits. I guess the fruits will be manifested by the inclusion of substantial contributions from the cross section of constituencies. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection.

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Re: [kictanet] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petition.........
by Mike Theuri 18 Jul '07

18 Jul '07

Kyai, If Telkom Kenya is a 'junk corporation', why is there an uproar over its new services by its competitors? What do they have to fear? How has Telkom Kenya managed to sign over 70,000 subscribers for its new fixed wireless service if it has indeed gone to the dogs ? Shouldn't sleeping dogs be left where they lie? Why wake a sleeping dog if TKL couldn't hope to compete against these titans that mint millions of dollars from Kenyans? Surely we didn't expend billions of taxpayer funds so that we could hand taxpayer owned corporations to foreign entities on silver platters, or did we? TKL did not make profits for reasons attributed to fraud, pilferage of funds, gross mismanagement and the list that could go on and on. Do you have an argument supporting or endorsing the non prosecution of these actions as well as the negation of the need to attempt to recover and return these funds to where they rightfully belong? Can we at least locate where the missing Ksh 7bn is before we rush to sell this corporation? An extra 7bn or more in TKL's balance sheet would certainly up the price that ought to be offered. ----- *Daily Nation * *Friday, March 30, 2007 * *Page 38 * *Business * Financial figures for Telkom Kenya do not add up for the year ending June 30, 2005, the Controller and Auditor General has said. More than Sh7 billion has not be accounted for, said Ms P.N. Komora in a report tabled in Parliament yesterday. According to her, the accuracy of bank balances amounting to Sh58 million could not be verified. It was also not possible to verify how overdraft balances of Sh73 million, letters of credit and bills of acceptances amounting to Sh432 million have been accounted for in the absence of adequate records and documentation.[...] -------- We know why there is no infrastructure on the ground, but could we focus on what TKL is doing currently in determining TKL's potential ? The reason there is no infrastructure on the ground is the aforementioned reasons in addition to a bloated workforce. That workforce has recently been trimmed down at considerable tax payer expense, TKL is making strides in turning around and additional tax payer funds have been provided for in the budget for this purpose. Is it too much to ask that TKL be given an opportunity given the recent progressive strides? Wouldn't TKL be more valuable if it were allowed to accumulate the gains of its new strategies and technologies? " In short, the private sector's sweat, speed and effort (and the tax payer) are required to keep the institution alive " Well said and rather accurate, indeed if these are the parties responsible for keeping TKL alive, shouldn't they have the preferential shot at gaining ownership of TKL ? Jaindi Kisero recently wrote in an editorial: -- "As it prepares for privatisation, Telkom Kenya will gobble billions of the tax payers money. Under the budget of the ministry of finance is an allocation of massive Sh 15 billion for Telkoms' tax arrears and Sh 2 billion for preparing the parastatal for privatisation." -- It is ridiculous that Ksh 17bn or US$ 255m will be pumped into TKL at tax payer expense only for foreigners (including a pariah foreign government) to walk in and buy the corporation for a song with taxpayers getting minimal shareholding in the corporation while bearing the burden of debt offloaded on them for generations to come. The belief that taxpayers will be alleviated of the misery of dragging an iron ball is a fallacy. Instead of the new foreign investors dragging the iron ball, the average Kenyan will be paying for generations to come to ensure that a foreign entity reaps a quick profit in the shortest amount of time possible at tax payer expense. It is only equitable that those condemned to dragging the iron ball have the opportunity to have something to show for their tax burden. You cited results of the past 30 years, but didn't in fairness mention what TKL is doing today. --- The national operators' new service, known as Telkom Wireless, will be launched using a CDMA 2000 platform purchased from Chinese company Huawei at a cost of US$22.6 million. The new investment is in a fibre and microwave backbone and has been rolled out across the country. --- How could a brand new national fibre and microwave backbone be worthless or junk? This is in addition to several other infrastructure investments including a $50m fiber optic cable between Nairobi and Mombasa. You may have misunderstood the point on national security. For illustrative purposes, the next time Kenya has a serious diplomatic dispute with Libya (and it has in the past), Libya, if handed TKL on a silver platter, could potentially add pressure to the situation by disabling key telecommunication services which would have an adverse impact on the nation's national security. There are several issues of national security, that cannot be simply expounded on in a concise message but which are the basis world wide for limiting foreign ownership of national telephony entities. There are many types of investors, there are long term investors who are in for the long haul. A short term investor for instance in Kenya Airways would have been very disappointed if they were looking for a quick gain at the time. TKL needs long term investors. Naturally such investors would be informed through a prospectus prior to an IPO. Anyone who jumps into an IPO without reading a prospectus is basically leaving all to chance and market hype. Nobody disputes the fact that TKL's services are far from excellent let alone satisfactory. At least that is something all can agree on. Neither is anyone against the fact that TKL needs to be privatised or turned around, we just want it done correctly, equitably and transparently, the issues at hand just to reiterate are: - TKL should be privatised using a model that allows maximum equity participation by the average Kenyan. The KQ model was cited purely to illustrate possible percentages that are equitable to all parties with a stake in the process. - TKL should be sold at price that reflects an accurate and up to date independent valuation. The government should disclose without further delay the valuation it has arrived at of TKL and how it was arrived at. This is not a private asset for sale but rather a public asset so there is no need to have this shrouded in secrecy. - Judicial action to rectify the pilferage of TKL's coffers needs to be undertaken. This might be wishful thinking considering no major prosecution of corruption cases in the country has taken place to date. - Which independent parties with the requisite expertise and experience are advising the government on this transaction? - Has the government considered a BOT arrangement ie Build - Operate - Transfer ? This would ensure that the investor gets a return on investment but ultimately TKL remains Kenyan owned in the long run ? These processes including the Safaricom IPO should not be rushed purely on the sole basis that an election is looming in the coming months. Mike PS You cited the following examples to name a few which on checking the facts turned out to mismatch the situation they were cited for : ===== Alitalia - A public notification was announced on January 2007. The buyer must acquire at least 30.1% of Alitalia, must guarantee the airline's 18,000 jobs, domestic routes, and the Italian identity of the Alitalia brand, according to the tender document published on the Treasury Web site. Italy has invited bids for at least 30.1% of Alitalia's shares, to be submitted by Jan. 29, 2007. [It is not evident that Alitalia is being sold for a song, neither is a controlling percentage being sold either, it is premature to make a comparison where a process has not concluded ] Telkom SA - Telkom is a semi-privatised, 39% state-owned company. Government sold 30 per cent of Telkom to a US-Malaysian consortium. As part of the service agreement, government required Telkom to roll out 1,9 million new phones to disadvantaged areas. In the three years since then, the price of local calls, which the poor use, has risen by 35 per cent in real terms, while international calls (used by businesses and the rich) have fallen by 40 per cent in real terms. The local call increases have led to disconnections that have almost matched the roll out of new lines. After accounting for disconnections, the reality is that there was a bigger roll out of new lines before Telkom was privatised than after. South Africa privatized it's state utility Telkom by selling a 30% stake to a consortium from the United States and Malaysia for $1.261 billion. [It is not evident that Telekom SA was sold for a song, neither is a significant percentage being sold either to single investor, in addition it underwent a successful IPO that allowed the general public a stake in the company even then the average South African did not benefit in regards to better access to services] Kenya Railways - Kenya Railways was not sold, rather it was concessioned, why don't we concession TKL if service provision and development of the infrastructure is the main objective ? Eurotunnel - Privatisation did not save Eurotunnel from going virtually bankrupt. Amtrak - Has never been privatised. Amtrak is a quasi-governmental agency; all of its preferred stock is owned by the federal government. The members of its board of directors are appointed by the President of the United States, and are subject to confirmation by the United States Senate. Some common stock is held by the private railroads that transferred their passenger service to Amtrak in 1971. Though Amtrak stock does not pay dividends and is not routinely traded, a small number of private investors have purchased Amtrak stock from its original owners. The United States obviously recognizes the national interest in the ownership of this critical service. ==== On 7/17/07, Kyai Mullei <mullei(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Mike - some good points. > > I have a few comments on the issues of national security as a reason why > Telkom shouldn't be sold for pennies. Frankly, I find the argument slightly > myopic. As you reiterated, Telkom Kenya (like most parastatals including > national banks) are technically insolvent. These are dead corporations that > depend on sutained periodic government (tax payer) bailouts to continue > providing sub standard and expensive services. > > The current situation is that (thirty years on) there is no infrastructure > on the ground to speak of. 98% of the country is not covered by our > 'national' provider. A few digital exchanges in the Nairobi and Mombasa > environs just doesn't cut it. And we all know that the only reason Telkom > Kenya has any cash to roll out any of these new services is through bank > loans the collateral of which are govt. shares in Safaricom. In short, the > private sector's sweat, speed and effort (and the tax payer) are required to > keep the institution alive. > > In my view, the faster we sell these insutitutions off, the cheaper it > will be for us in the long run. I would hope that any Kenyan investor > willing to buy Telkom Kenya shares would be doing it purely on speculation > grounds - in the hope that the liscences etc. could be sold to a serious > provider for more money in the future (In fact, this is exactly what the > foreign investors are doing). The privatization of Telkom Kenya and Kenya > Airways cannot be compared. The latter had working planes and landing rights > that could be turned profit-making. For the average Kenyan investor, Telkom > Kenya has nothing worth buying. > > > The world over, the notion that national firms - telecommunications, > aviation, etc. (relics of the 70s when economists and national > planners wrongly thought centralized economies were key for development) - > are key to national security, and therefore should belong to the public, has > been turned on its head. Just look at Alitalia, Vargas, SA Telkom, Amtrack, > Kenya Railways, Eurotunnel. All considered critical to national > security, all of which are nothing more loss-making iron balls dragged along > by the exchequers (taxpayers) in their respective countries. > > I can't see how an institution that is a consistent drain on the exchequer > would be critical to national security. Lets admit it. If sound > communication provision is critical to national security, mobile providers > have given me that - more extensively (see safaricom/celtel network > coverage) and faster (in the last 6 years) and cheaper (the wireless rates i > pay while high do not come close to the price of repeated bailouts in my > name) than the Telkom Kenya has ever been able to. > > If someone else has the money and patience to by the piece of telephony > junk in my back yard and turn it into something, please do so fast, and i'll > sell it for exactly what its worth...pennies. The longer I wait, the less my > junk will be worth. In the meantime, i'll save my money to invest in more > sound privatizations the future - perhaps the Safaricom IPO. > > Regards > > Kyai > >

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forum reminder
by Rebecca Wanjiku 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

just to remind you of the monthly forum reminder.. this thursday at Jacaranda at 3pm topic will be contributions on the KCA bill, Alex Gakuru, Michuki Mwangi and Nyokabi Kanyua from ICJ will be there to share with up, please plan to attend, regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!

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Diasporan Investors Team Up to Buy Ghana Telecom
by Mike Theuri 17 Jul '07

17 Jul '07

It is noteworthy to see the GoK rush to sell a controlling stake in Telkom Kenya to foreigners while indigenous Ghanians battle to secure a stake in Ghana Telecom: http://allafrica.com/stories/200707161541.html Diasporan Investors Team Up to Buy GT Public Agenda (Accra) NEWS 16 July 2007 Posted to the web 16 July 2007 Accra A Ghanaian Diaspora professional group, called the Ghana Leadership Union (GLU) has announced plans to pool resources to buy a controlling stake in one of the country's biggest assets, Ghana Telecom. GLU, a non-partisan NGO with membership based in the U.S.A, U.K., the E.U., Australia and Asia, says Ghanaian professionals based aboard have been shut out of the process of participating in the investment and management of divested State Owned Enterprises for too long; hence the decision to join the race for GT. In furtherance of that, GLU has created a novel investment framework to attract financial and human capital to formally express interest in the acquisition of a controlling stake in Ghana Telecom Ltd. In a statement copied to Public Agenda, the President of GLU, Dr. Kwaku A. Danso, stated, "the founders of our nation Ghana did not use taxpayers' funds to set up State-owned enterprises (SOEs) only to be sold to foreigners, or to insiders of the government who use proxies to buy these SoE's and leave the real stakeholders with the debts. This practice must be stopped, by any means necessary". The statement said the GLU members are seasoned professionals with more than 20 years of telecommunications and information systems management and will bring investment capital in excess of US$500M to this venture. This unprecedented investment approach facilitated by the GLU will also enable the participation of accredited investors within Ghana and abroad with as little as $1,000 per unit. Asked about the investment strategy, the initiative's lead promoter in the UK, lawyer George Asomaning responded, "It is our intention to ensure that as much of the actual investment received gets channeled into the infrastructural development of Ghana Telecom, so as to position the company to deliver on its promise and to return a sizeable profit for the shareholders, the citizens of Ghana". Nifa Bankroh, the organizer of the "Lets buy Ghana Telecom" initiative stated, "If Ghanaians do not get involved in the acquisition, ownership and management of significant state owned enterprises that are being divested, the likelihood of Ghanaian nationals being able to control the factors that affect their economic future will be marginal at best, and probably negligible. Many Ghanaian businessmen and professional groups are of the opinion that conditions imposed by so-called development partners or financiers, opening Ghana's markets to so-called globalization, has not proven economically beneficial over the last three decades. Professor Mintzberg of Canada has described globalization with respect to development as "a sham". Whilst foreign investors and competition are necessary and welcome tools in Ghana, this global inequity, coupled with a comparative lack of openness and transparency has led to an unequal playing field in the world of business dealings and negotiations. The result is the massive brain drain, high accumulated debt burden, and high unemployment and underemployment in Ghana, which call for new development strategies. Commenting on the sale of state-owned enterprises and the ongoing telecoms divestiture process, Michel Bowman-Amuah, an ICT entrepreneur resident in the United States,Stated that; "there are certain strategic national assets that must be safeguarded and placed above the drive for investment capital and chief among those is our national information and communications infrastructure. There has to be more regulatory oversight into corporate takeovers, mergers or acquisitions of these strategic national assets, if we are to maintain our sovereignty and protect our security interests". Industry watchers say, Ghana's wireless phone networks are dominated by foreign- owned and controlled entities that were granted these franchises at a fraction of prevailing market rates, creating a very lopsided playing field which places the fixed network carriers at a significant competitive disadvantage. Recently, the largest operator (by subscriber base), Spacefon™ /Scancom™ was acquired in a multi-billion dollar transaction by Areeba™, another foreign concern without as much as public hearings into the process and we the general public are yet to be briefed about the details or benefits that the citizens of Ghana have realized in this sale. The above transaction has been clouded by a shareholder proxy battle between the Lebanese operators of Scancom™ and the Ghanaian founder of Spacefon™, who was allegedly forced out with political support of the previous administration. Though the matter is pending in the courts, the government administration and regulatory agency, the National Communication Agency (NCA), has been eerily silent on the matter which begs the question about what investment protections exist for indigenous investors within Ghana's corporate regulatory system. Also recently, the Government of Ghana settled a shareholder dispute with the former minority shareholder in Ghana Telecom, Telecom Malaysia, who had purchased the rights to increase their shareholding to a controlling stake, but were unceremoniously expelled when the current administration assumed power in 2001. This dispute has shaken foreign investor confidence in the long term viability of the divestiture process and its stability. Investors need to be certain that their multi million dollar investments are secure regardless of ruling regime. It must be noted that a Ghanaian-owned and controlled investor group is no different and would require that specific safeguards are in place to protect the interests of their shareholders. It is envisioned that this investment framework created by the GLU shall be reused by other industry sector professionals as other State owned enterprises are divested by the Government of Ghana in the near future. "It is our intent to safeguard the national interest by facilitating the participation of Ghanaians everywhere in the Nation-building process." Mama Brenya Twumasi, a legal scholar and interested investor with many years of stock ownership experience writing from San Antonio, Texas, warned that "our nation cannot continue to ignore the views of the people, and that in essence, governmental transparency and accountability is a must in all present and future dealings if we, as a Nation State, wish to beviewed as credible by our allies and other Sovereign States." It is the general agreement of most Ghanaians surveyed on the issue that Ghana has too many skilled, experienced and competent Ghanaian professionals, educated as part of the initial plan of Ghana's first President, who are willing and able to own and manage our strategic assets. It is therefore unconscionable to simply stand by while foreign corporate raiders are ushered in on the red carpet and given the keys to our National treasure troves.

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why amend instead of a new Act??
by Rebecca Wanjiku 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

Am sure people are expecting a convoluted reason as to why the AG decided amend KCA (98) instead of coming up with a brand new Act. Well, dont wait for a huge explanation, its simple- the AG just thought it was easier to amend instead of coming up with a new Act that may be changed or be altered by insertion of new issues including typing errors. At least that is what we were told at the stakeholders meeting. For George Kegoro, ICJ-K head, the present bill is terribly confusing for lawyers and parliamentarians. Kegoro felt that it would have been procedurally easier in terms of practice to bring a brand new statute (through an original Act). He added that the government can be accused of lack of good faith in this case because it could have been done better. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

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at the stakeholder workshop
by Rebecca Wanjiku 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

faced with growing criticism, the ministry of information and communication is meeting stakeholders at Safaripark hotel to get their views on the proposed bill. here are some highlights of the bill.... a general overview of what ICJ elaborated. One, as drafted the Bill seeks to converge all sectors of communication (broadcasting, telecommunications and information technologies/internet) under one regulatory body i.e. the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and thus, purportedly, streamline the licensing procedures and management of frequency spectrum, through numerous fundamental amendments to an existing principal Act and other incidental laws. At a glance, this style of law making is clumsy, without precedent in Kenya and indeed the whole Commonwealth. It is the form of law making process that will most likely convolute issues and end up with bad law. Would it not have been tidier to come up with a new law that retains all the required provisions and repeals the existing law? Since the principal Act, the Kenya Communications Act, 1998, is merely a skeletal legislation that only establishes the CCK, provides for licensing and regulation of telecommunications services, radio communications and postal Services, it is difficult to comprehend the wisdom of using it as the building block towards a law that will incorporate all aspects of broadcasting and information technology. Again whether having a converged regulatory regime is the most ideal situation or having separate regulatory frameworks for the various communication sectors is to be preferred is a big question and one not easy to resolve without elaborate and structured consultations with all stakeholders and consumers of information i.e. the general population. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase.

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Re: [kictanet] [SPAM] [Skunkworks] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign petition.........
by Mike Theuri 16 Jul '07

16 Jul '07

Jean, I appreciate your response. I would hope that more Kenyans would participate in constructive debates over matters of national importance particularly those that affect them and future generations of Kenyans. It does not take rocket science to figuratively determine why TKL which in the past charged some of the highest tariffs in the world has not made a profit. To date no one has been prosecuted and ultimately convicted for pilfering public funds generated by this very viable corporation. TKL represents a classic example of gross mismanagement, attempts to turn around the corporation have encountered several avoidable obstacles and the status quo has remained. In contrast other publicly owned corporations such as KCB have been turned around and turned into very profitable entities without being sold to alien companies while transitioning to minimal governmental ownership and ensuring maximum equity participation by the Kenyan public. One must wonder if this cheap sale is intended to clean the slate of the years of pilferage and mismanagement while conducting a well though out public relations exercise to show that the current administration is engaged in doing something "good for the country" as opposed to doing something good for foreigners. TKL has turned around a corner and has revamped its infrastructure at great expense. Several exchanges have been upgraded and digitized and so has its domestic digital network. It has retrenched the unnecessary and redundant workers who were a drag on its ability to be profitable (again paid for by the Kenyan taxpayer). Just when TKL is on its home stretch to launching several new and revolutionary services, there is a sudden and urgent need to dispose of it to foreigners or combat it by companies that have been making millions of dollars from Kenyans (read foreign companies). Can these companies explain how they may have acquired 3G frequencies from the regulator without paying a cent when similar frequencies have been sold in other African countries for hundreds of millions of dollars? Can the Exchequer let the Kenyan public know the amount that it received from the companies that are now complaining about TKL's new services in return for this finite 3G public resource that should not be handed out for free ? When were licenses for 3G technology publicly tendered for in Kenya ? Is it a good thing for Kenya that the exchequer be deprived of much needed revenue? If TKL is not viable why are these competitors complaining? Indeed it was patriotism that was the foundation of my comments but not the single one driving factor. The government is by the people for the people. The people here happen to be Kenyan taxpayers and voters. What is unpatriotic or misguided about asking for accountability as to why a corporation that is publicly owned is being sold for pennies on the dollar ? or asking that prosecutions be undertaken for those guilty of the prior pilferage of public funds from the same corporation? There is nothing absolutely misguided about questioning why the government appears to have disregarded national security and the public's interest in attempting to sell TKL. I'm certain that if the decision to sell TKL under the current status quo to foreigners were put to a public referendum, that it would be soundly defeated. Below is an article that sums up the concerns of many Kenyans who have come to know about the illusionary effect of corporations that are Kenyan by name but foreign in all other aspects. Contrary to what many belief, Kenya's wealth is in the hands of foreigners and the attempt to sell TKL is another step in the same direction. The best that could happen would be to follow the KQ model of privitisation which some are advocating and which has ensured that the ordinary Kenyan has an opportunity to benefit, no matter how small from the millions of dollars in profits generated in profits and without forgetting to correct the harm cause by those guilty of the pilferage of public funds and revenue. The government's intentions may be noble but those in Government must not forget that they are in the government for and on behalf of Kenyans who have entrusted them with the public's wealth. Thus Kenyans must come first before foreigners, after all it is their country and their corporation that is at stake. Mike http://www.eastandard.net/archives/sunday/hm_news/news.php?articleid=18216 Kenya's wealth in foreign hands By Kamau Ngotho The bulk of Kenya's wealth is in foreign hands, according to statistics obtained exclusively by The Sunday Standard. If Kenya were a cake to be shared out, Kenyans would only lay claim to 31 per cent of the country's total wealth. The rest would go to foreigners. Agriculture, tourism and banking, which combined bring in the country's largest earnings, are in foreign hands. Last year, tea, tourism, flowers and coffee earned the country Sh140 billion, nearly half of the annual national budget. Of this money, only 31 per cent ended up in the country — as tax and real earnings to the nationals. And shareholding in the richest 20 companies that trade at the Nairobi Stock Exchange is foreign. The skewed distribution of wealth between foreigners and Kenyans puts paid to all efforts since independence to hand control of the country to its citizens. Tea growing, which earned the country Sh43.5 billion last year, is concentrated in the hands of six leading agricultural companies whose shareholding is largely foreign. Up to 78 per cent of earnings from tea went, therefore, to foreigners — leaving the balance for Kenyans. The Big Six in the tea sector are Unilever Tea Kenya, Kakuzi Ltd, Williamson Tea Company, Kapchorua Tea, Limuru Tea Company and Sasini Coffee and Tea. The British-owned Brooke Bond Group holds 43.1 million shares of the total 48.8 million shares issued in Univeler Tea Kenya. The same group owns 54 per cent of the total 3.9 million shares issued in Limuru Tea Company. In Kakuzi Ltd, foreigners have a total shareholding of 68.3 per cent of the total 19.6 million shares issued. They hold the shares through Bordure Ltd and Lintak Investment Ltd, with 35.1 and 33.2 per cent shareholding, respectively. Britain's Williamson family has a controlling majority shareholding in both Williamson Tea and Kapchorua Tea companies. In Williamson Tea, it holds 67.2per cent of the total 8.8 million shares issued through their company, Ngong Tea Holding PLC. In Kapchorua tea, they hold 40 per cent of the 3.9 million shares issued. Sasini Tea and Coffee Ltd is 87.3 per cent owned by business magnate Naushad Merali, a Kenyan. Merali's companies hold his shares in these businesses: Legend Investments Ltd (51.7 per cent), East African Batteries (18.7 per cent), Yana Towers (15.9 per cent) and Swan Estates (1.04 per cent). The reinvigorated tourism sector, which earned Sh42 billion last year, is also foreign-owned. And just as the Sh43.5 billion earnings from tea sector ended up in foreign pockets, so did the Sh42 billion that came from tourism. Tourism earnings went into three directions: Hotels, airlines, and travel/booking agents, in that order. Of Kenya's 290,000-plus tourist hotel bed spaces, foreign hoteliers own 74.3 per cent of it. Tour flights to Kenya are entirely in the hands of foreign airlines. It is all the more foreign-dominated in the traditional tourist peak periods of Easter and Christmas, when there are no scheduled flights to Kenya's tourist hub of Mombasa. During the two seasons, tourists arrive in Mombasa in chartered jets arranged by European tour operators. Foreign companies stationed in European and American capitals also entirely control hotel bookings and transfers. Where internal travel is concerned, foreigners too, dominate by owning 7 of the 11 leading local tour travel firms. At the end of the day, tourism in Kenya remains a foreigners' enclave with indigenous Kenyans left to scratch the surface on petty trades like selling curios and prostitution. After years of lobbying, last year the European Union set aside Sh250 million to economically empower indigenous Kenyans to get a fair share of the lucrative industry. Seven projects were targeted to tilt the balance in a programme called Tourism Diversification and Empowerment Project. But a spokesman at the Nairobi EU office said the money is yet to be released as project proposals submitted are still under evaluation. The only hotel chain listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange is the TPS Serena. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development holds the company's majority shareholding through its company, TPS Holdings Limited. Horticulture, which earned Kenya Sh28.2 billion last year, is the country's third largest foreign exchange earner. It, too, is a foreigners' affair. Indigenous Kenyans mainly come in as casual labourers on the flower farms. Of the 44 certified companies dealing with horticulture products, 26 are foreign-owned. But an even bigger irony is that the leading 10 players in the industry — all foreign-owned — bag 83 per cent of the total income from the sector. Flower farming (floriculture) is the key plank in Kenya's agriculture sector. Seventy six per cent of Kenya's total flower production is concentrated in foreign-owned flowers farms around the Naivasha area. The big three are Homegrown, Sulmac and Oserian. Late last year, Kenya overtook Israel and Columbia as leading exporters of cut flowers. But you would not know that from the world's leading flower auctions in Amsterdam and London. Why? Foreign flower exporters in Kenya have registered their companies abroad — mainly in Amsterdam — and sell flowers they have grown in Kenya under a foreign label. In that case, while flowers from a local company are sold in Amsterdam as flowers from Kenya, Dutch companies growing their flowers in Naivasha sell theirs as flowers from Holland. The consequence of it is that flowers owned by Dutch companies receive preferential treatment at the auction, including exemption from the strict EU- imposed export rules. Flower auctions in Amsterdam and London account for 65 and 25 per cent of Kenya flower sales respectively. Of the approximate 60,000 tonnes of flowers exported from Kenya last year, 37,000 tonnes were sold in Amsterdam and London auctions as flowers from Holland. The statistics can make it look like the entire flower industry in Kenya is one big conspiracy against indigenous people. Foreign air charters, the only ones used in flower transport, charge the highest rates in Nairobi. Freight charges on flowers from Kenya are twice those in the capitals of Kenya's nearest competitors Israel, Columbia and Costa Rica. There are also 40 to 45 per cent higher than in Egypt and South Africa, Kenya's two biggest competitors on the continent. At $400 a day, inspection and storage charges at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport are the highest in the world. So is the freight charge of $1.85-$2.2 per stem. Flowers sold in Kenya's name are inspected stem by stem at the JKIA at the cost of 12 Euro cents a stem. Those grown in Kenya but marketed by overseas- accredited companies are only inspected in bulk. On average, it costs upwards of $1 million to set up a typical flower farm on a half acre spread , which in turn brings in a $50,000 a year. Kenya's fourth leading export earner, coffee, is equally depressing on the ownership scale. The majority of small-scale coffee growers in Kenya sell coffee raw from the farm, earning less than 10 per cent of what the finished end product earns in foreign markets and in a foreign label. Though touted as an agricultural country, the other large-scale agricultural activities in Kenya are also foreign-owned. Rea-Vipingo Plantations, which deals mainly in sisal and dairy farming is 77 per cent owned by the Robinson family of England. They hold the shares through REA Holdings PLC, Unibuckle Holdings Ltd and REA Trading Ltd. Del Monte, world famous for pineapple products, is entirely a French affair and sells its products with the label "Made-in-France". The question of who owns Kenya's wealth sticks out like a sore thumb in the banking sector. The leading two banks with a combined market share of 71.4per cent are Barclays Bank of Kenya and the Standard Chartered. They are foreign-owned. Barclays Bank plc of London owns 68 per cent stake in Barclays Bank of Kenya. Standard Bank Africa, a London outfit, in turn owns 81 per cent shareholding in Standard Chartered Bank. To avoid domination by foreign banks, Nigeria and South Africa enacted laws on percentages of shareholding a foreign bank could own. Foreign ownership is also the same cord that runs through key blue chip companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. At the East African Breweries, British-owned Guinness plc holds 63.5 per cent of the total equity, leaving Kenyans to scramble for the rest. Guinness shares are held in the names of Diageo Kenya Ltd and Diageo Netherlands B.V. In the Nation Media Group, the Aga Khan holds 28.2 million shares of the 35.6 million shares issued. The Aga Khan's shares are held in the names of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and Amin Nanji Juma. In Kenya Airways, Dutch company, KLM, holds 40.6 per cent equity. In Total Kenya Ltd, French companies Total Outre-mer and Elf Oil Kenya Ltd, own 77 per cent of the total shareholding, while in BAT Kenya Ltd, Molensteegh Investment BV of London, holds 68 per cent of the total shareholding. The question of who owns Kenya's wealth generated a national debate in 1968 when the National Council of Churches of Kenya published a paper entitled: "Who Owns Kenya's Industry?" In the paper, the late Anglican Bishop, the Rev Henry Okullu, regretted that five years into independence, "the compass needle had not moved in the direction of indigenous ownership of Kenya's wealth." Thirty-seven years later, the Rev Okullu would turn in his grave to note that the needle has drifted even further away. On 7/11/07, Jean-Antoine BORD <ja_bord(a)yahoo.fr > wrote: > > Hi, > > > > With due respect, I am not convinced that you asked all the good > questions. > > > > To what I have heard so far, Telekom has succeeded neither commercially > nor technically in the few past years. A significant part of its > infrastructure is considered obsolete if not out of order. I heard many > times that the service was quite poor and that one should wait several years > to get a land line. Telkom seems to have given up long ago its leadership in > Kenya to cell phone operator and successful ISP like Access Kenya, KDN, etc. > So, in a certain way, because of possible debts or potential expenses which > do not appear in the asset sheet, the valuation of Telkom might be less than > its licences. > > > > When you consider the status of Telecom national historical operators in > other countries, you should first ask the government why Telekom Kenya has > so poorly achieved in the last 5 years. > > > > When a company decide to go for an IPO (particularly when this is a > government-owned company), the non-professional investors should have a > minimum insurance that the price is fair and the company is sustainable. > Here is a second question. > > > > Another issue is the transparency of the process. In many countries, > private companies backed by Venture Capital Funds ran in parallel an IPO and > a trade sale. For instance, Kelkoo, Skype, etc, have been acquired > respectively by Yahoo and eBay instead of going public, because it was more > interesting for the existing shareholders. So, an IPO is not always the best > way (many companies experienced a crash of their stock a short time after > their IPO; investors who could sell some stock where considered as thieves). > > > > > Last but not least, the service level in Kenya is still poor and to turn > Telkom Kenya into a company leading the progress of this industry (instead > of trying to slow down the competition) would probably have a better impact > on the economy (and what you call Telkom's shareholders) than the loss > inducted by the sale of 40% at a price you consider too low. > > > > Finally, Kenyan Government has demonstrated with the Safaricom deal (and > probably many others) that it is able to defend the best interest of all > Kenyans, so that one should not consider it is guilty without an equitable > judgement. > > > > I could have developed some more arguments, concerning the role paid by > Safaricom, Celtel (which are partially owned by foreigners) and many other > foreign owned companies which create wealth in Kenya, concerning > protectionism and its consequences, etc. > > > > In conclusion, the mail written by Mike seems biased by a misplaced > patriotism and many issues have not been considered. > > > > With Kind Regards, > > > > Jean > > > ------------------------------ > > *De :* skunkworks-bounces(a)my.co.ke [mailto: skunkworks-bounces(a)my.co.ke] *De > **la part de *Dorcas Muthoni > *Envoyé :* 10 July 2007 20:21 > *À : *skunkworks(a)my.co.ke > *Objet :* [SPAM] [Skunkworks] Telkom Kenya is not this cheap sign > petition......... > > > > http://www.petitionspot.com/signature/TELKOMKENYA > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >

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