- KICTANet - KICTANet

Unsubscribe
by info＠targetmarketingafrica.com 21 Jul '08

21 Jul '08

Hi, Please unsubscribe me from the mailing list. Please put my personal email i.e. fanisanne(a)gmail.com Target Africa, Peponi Road, Westlands. P.O.BOX 18731- 00100 Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: +254 20 2010629 Cell:+254 720 278136

2 1

Forum Agenda - Lets focus
by Harry Hare 21 Jul '08

21 Jul '08

Dear Colleagues, Now that we have democratically identified a facilitator for the forum, can we collectively discuss the agenda of the meeting? This will help in making sure that we achieve what we want to do at the forum. So to begin with, I had floated some issues, so probably we could use the next few days to "panel beat" and come up with a concise programme for the forum. I reproduce the ideas I had floated earlier for you indulgence. Harry +++++++++++++++++ 1. Forum Objectives "Clearly articulate the purpose of the forum and the expected outputs, this is important so that we can have a focussed discussion" 2. Association presentations "Brief presentations by the associations sharing their mandate, governance, objectives, activities, achievements, plans and membership composition" 3. General Discussion "Questions, Answers, Concerns etc raising from the association presentations@ 4. Way forward "General discussion on how associations could collaborate and offer high quality leadership to the sector. Agree on joint activities that have a national appeal that can work as bonding sessions" African eDevelopment Resource Centre eDevelopment House 604 Limuru Road, Old Muthaiga PO Box 49475 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cel +254 725 650044 Land +254 20 3741646/7 <http://www.africanedevelopment.org> www.africanedevelopment.org June/July 2008 Training Opportunities VSAT Feild Eng. 18-20 June Supply Chain Management 24-27 June Fibre Optic Technician 1-4 July Knowledge Management 8-11July Space is limited Book Now! P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

4 4

Spoilt Vote & Business Summit
by Bill Kagai 21 Jul '08

21 Jul '08

On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 10:32 AM, <wainaina.mungai(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >From the list, I would vote for either Florence Etta or Eng. James > Rege, based on previous work. > > Further, I would openly vote against Tabitha Seii. > > Regards, > Wainaina Brian and the electoral commission, Would I be in order in requesting that the above vote be declared 'spoilt' and the voter given an opportunity to vote again??? PS. In the outskirts of the Business Summit at Kampala Serena, I have seen Paul Kukubo and was wondering if there are any other ICT chaps around, we could probably have lunch or a drink in the evening. Bill

5 5

Four Reasons Most Startups Fail...
by saidimu apale 21 Jul '08

21 Jul '08

>From the Harvard Business Review: http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/taylor/2008/07/four_reasons_most_startups_… 1) "make something people want" - "What are people forced to do now because what you plan to do doesn't exist yet?" 2) "be willing to let [your] ideas change" - "the founders of Reddit came ... with a plan to help people order fast food on their cell phones. When everyone agreed it wasn't exactly a killer idea, the desperate search for a new idea led to the launch of their successful company." 3) "Don't worry too much about money" - "... today, unlike back in the mid-90s, you've got the MBAs working for the technologists, rather than the other way around. 4) "be benevolent"... act in the long-term best interests of customers, as opposed to the short-term best interests of [the business] - "people will rally around you" with ideas, improvements, and word-of-mouth marketing If only number 3) was true in Kenya. There's certainly not enough venture cap. flowing, and most certainly it's the technologists working/slaving for the MBAs (and policy wonks). The KICTAnet/Skunkworks divide. Any policy prescriptions to be derived from the summary, especially around number 3) ? Saidi

2 1

Nigeria Oil Prices from NY Times
by Joseph Manthi 21 Jul '08

21 Jul '08

Wana KICTANET: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-nigeria-oil-decay.html LAGOS (Reuters) - With oil prices at record highs, government coffers in the world's eighth biggest oil exporter are swollen to unprecedented levels. Yet the vast majority of Nigeria's 140 million people live in no better conditions than their neighbors in West Africa, the least developed region of the world's poorest continent. The same is true of many of Africa's major oil producers -- including Angola, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Chad -- but Nigeria's sheer size and 2-million-barrel-per-day output make the poverty-wealth contrasts more striking. Nigeria has earned the equivalent in today's terms of nearly $1.2 trillion from oil production over the past four decades, the sort of money that enabled oil-producing Gulf states like Qatar to develop some of the strongest economies in the Arab world. But its four state-owned refineries are not fully operational, largely due to mismanagement and vandalism, its distribution network is chaotic, and it relies heavily on fuel imports, which cost around $4 billion each year. In Lagos, a mega-city of more than 10 million people, the elite sip champagne on exclusive islands -- albeit to the incessant drone of diesel generators -- while the masses live in mainland slums without water or electricity. Ask an average Nigerian on the streets of Lagos how he is and he will likely tell you "things dey hard, but we dey manage" -- it's tough but we're getting by. Healthcare is virtually non-existent, the roads are potholed, unemployment and crime are on the rise, and Nigeria is suffering from spiraling food prices<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/food_prices/…> . "Nigeria is making more money from oil now, but look at the street we are living on," said Efe Oyingbo, pointing to a dirt road where passers-by waddle through muddy waters and motorists try to navigate cavernous, submerged potholes. A mother of two, her frozen food business in the suburb of Okota has virtually collapsed because she cannot afford the high cost of gasoline. The government has frozen the price of fuel but retailers have taken advantage of short supplies to more than double the price of diesel in some parts of Nigeria in the last few months. The number one complaint is a stop-start power supply. Exasperated residents of Lagos call the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) "Never Expect Power Always." Nigeria's generation capacity has plunged to less than 1,000 megawatts from 3,000 MW a year ago, largely due to lack of maintenance at power stations. South Africa, with a third of Nigeria's population, has over 10 times that capacity. Much of Nigeria goes without power for weeks at a time. The crisis has closed hundreds of factories and slashed millions of jobs. Since taking office a year ago, President Umaru Yar'Adua<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/y/umaru_yaradua/…>has been promising to declare a national emergency on power -- during which billions of dollars would be invested in the sector -- most recently saying he will do so this month. A committee he set up to review the sector said last month Nigeria needs $85 billion to meet its domestic power demand, estimated at roughly 20,000 MW. That dwarfs the $10 billion former President Olusegun Obasanjo spent on the sector during his eight-year tenure, an amount which failed to deliver on his pledge to raise capacity to 10,000 MW by the end of 2007. A parliamentary probe showed more than $50 million of that money had been paid to non-existent companies. Yar'Adua has said his country was also looking for ways of bringing private money into infrastructure investment. Nigeria's public health system, education and roads are all in a shambles, largely due to corruption and mismanagement during decades of military rule which ended in 1999. But close to a decade of civilian administration has given Nigerians little to cheer about. "We've seen over the last few years that the military has no monopoly on ineptitude in government," said Antony Goldman, an independent expert on Nigeria. "By normal measures, Lagos does not function. It is not organized chaos, there often seems barely the pretence of organization ... People survive in spite of what government does not because of it," he said. Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola has acknowledged the problems and said the state must spend more than $700 million over the next five years to improve the road network alone. Nine out of 10 Nigerians live on less than $2 a day, their lives blighted by poor infrastructure and a lack of public services resulting from decades of endemic corruption. The cost of rice has climbed dramatically in the past few months, doubling for some varieties. Consumer inflation rose to 9.7 percent in May, fuelled by a sharp rise in food prices. "We don't sell anymore, you can see the freezer is open," Oyingbo said, sitting with two other women in front of her shop, pointing to an empty freezer in the unlit room. "This is what we do now, sit and talk about Nigeria and also pray and hope that God will do a new thing." -- Joseph Manthi CEO MEO Ltd http://www.meoltd.com

1 0

Re: [kictanet] International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development
by David Otwoma 20 Jul '08

20 Jul '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Heeks <richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk> Date: Jul 18, 2008 1:06 AM Subject: International ICT4D Conference 2009: Second Call for Papers To: Richard Heeks <richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk> The 3rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2009) will be held 17-19 April 2009 in Doha, Qatar (http://www.ictd2009.org) This conference will act as a focal point for new scholarship in the field of ICT and international development. Confirmed speakers include a keynote by William H. Gates, Chairman of Microsoft Corporation. We invite submission of conference papers relating to use of ICTs for development according to the following schedule: September 22, 2008 Submissions due January 15, 2009 Final decisions sent out to authors February 20, 2009 Camera-ready papers due April 17-19, 2009 Conference CONFERENCE SUBMISSIONS AND PUBLICATION Only original, unpublished papers in English will be considered, through double-blind review. Word-length limit: 8000 words. Submission must be through the conference website (http://www.ictd2009.org) and authors should follow IEEE formatting, detailed online. All papers will be printed in the conference proceedings, and some will be developed for a journal special issue. If authors would like quick feedback on an outline or abstract (especially to gauge topic appropriateness), they can submit this to the Program Committee no later than August 22nd, using the designated email address: ictd2009.abstracts(a)gmail.com. This is voluntary and is not part of the formal peer review process. Richard Heeks, Rahul Tongia Programme Committee Co-Chairs, ICTD2009 -- Karim A. Kasim ICTD/Community Access Centers Coordinator Telecentre.org Knowledge Sharing and Community Content Facilitator-Middle East and North Africa Tel: (202)578 4840–6 (Ext 251) Fax: (202)578 4847 Mobile :(20)10 170 8474 Cairo, Egypt Work: karim.kasim(a)undp.org, Personal/Consultancy: karimkasim(a)gmail.com Academic: kasim(a)aucegypt.edu, www.undp.org.eg www.ictfund.org.eg

1 0

Fwd: [Skunkworks] NYT Article on Skunkworks, Kenya coders and Google Kenya
by Gakuru, Alex 20 Jul '08

20 Jul '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Erik Hersman <erik(a)zungu.com> Date: Sun, Jul 20, 2008 at 3:55 AM Subject: [Skunkworks] NYT Article on Skunkworks, Kenya coders and Google Kenya To: skunkworks(a)my.co.ke http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/business/worldbusiness/20ping.html Pass it on! "The distinctive digital experience in Nairobi inspires confidence in its youthful community of programmers, bloggers and Web enthusiasts. Over the past year, about 600 people in Nairobi — most under 25 — have coalesced into a group called Skunk Works, sharing ideas and encouraging new businesses. In June, it held an all-day workshop that included sessions on using the Android phone operating system from Google, developing applications for digital maps and creating content for mobile phones." By the way, Wilfred was working on the Ushahidi iPhone app when Gregg talked to him. :) Erik Hersman www.AfriGadget.com www.WhiteAfrican.com www.ushahidi.com _______________________________________________ skunkworks mailing list skunkworks(a)my.co.ke http://ole.kenic.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Blog http://skunkworks-ke.blogspot.com Beta Blog http://blog.my.co.ke

1 0

Expensive Software Systems [Update]
by wesley kiriinya 19 Jul '08

19 Jul '08

Following the previous post about the KPA software system which costs > 200M (about 450M including hardware machines), I found the following interesting: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8717&Item… In summary, the system only uses Internet Explorer (which makes one wonder whether a requirements document was ever created). I can already see your eyes twitching and teeth grinding so I will stop there... And it seems like KRA’s Simba's system is IE only also. I hope this area of ICT is covered in the policy so that Kenyans (whom I believe are very talented) are empowered to take up such projects. Regards. When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. -R. Buckminster Fuller.

1 0

NATIONAL WORKSHOP FOR ICT POLICY REVIEW
by Gakuru, Alex 18 Jul '08

18 Jul '08

Excuse cross post to ke-users, kictanet and skunkworks lists. Kindly plan to attend to further influence ICT policy changes. I Look to forward to attending the meetings myself. Regards, Alex Gakuru ( forwarding on request by Esther Wanjau.) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Esther WANJAU <esther.wanjau(a)information.go.ke> Date: Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 2:50 PM Subject: NATIONAL WORKSHOP FOR ICT POLICY REVIEW To: "gakuru(a)gmail.com" <gakuru(a)gmail.com>, "alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com" <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> My Name is Esther Wanjau. I am the head of ICT in the Ministry of Information and Communications. The PS has requested me to invite all of you to the National ICT Policy Review Workshop on 28th - 29th July 2008 at Hilton Hotel to discuss the EA Harmonized ICT Policy. The PS will use the occasion to briefly present the Kenya ICT Policy Review Framework and invite you to contribute before the drafting begins. Attached is the Invitation Letter. Esther Esther Wanjau Assistant Director/ICT Ministry of Information and Communications Tel: +254 20 251152/250517 Cell: +254 722 867361 email: esther.wanjau(a)information.go.ke

1 0

Final Tally Facilitators - Kenya ICT Stakeholders Forum
by Brian Longwe 18 Jul '08

18 Jul '08

Congratulations to Hon. Eng. James Rege, MP - it is abundantly clear the the general community has a huge amount of confidence in his independence, neutrality, maturity and diplomacy. The final tally reads as follows: 1) Engineer Kariuki - 1 2) Florence Etta - 3 3) Ambassador Tabitha Seii - 1 4) Hon. Eng. James Rege, MP - 15 5) David Otwoma - 5 6) Fred Murunga - 1 Thank you all so very much for taking part in this. We will now proceed to contact them individually in the following order. IF 1) Hon. Eng. James Rege, MP = YES, THEN STOP OR GOTO 2 IF 2) David Otwoma = YES, THEN STOP OR GOTO 3 IF 3) Florence Etta= YES, THEN STOP OR GOTO 4 IF 4) Engineer Kariuki= YES, THEN STOP OR GOTO 5 IF 5) Fred Murungah= YES, THEN STOP OR GOTO 6 IF 6) Ambassador Tabitha Seii = YES, THEN COME BACK TO KICTANET AND ASK AGAIN (As you can see my coding prowess dates back to BASIC on a Commodore 64k or Sinclair 8k - hehehehehe!) Regards, Brian

2 2