- KICTANet - KICTANet

monthly forum on july 19th
by Rebecca Wanjiku 12 Jul '07

12 Jul '07

KICTANet will be holding the monthly forum next thursday july 19th the theme will be the contribution to KCA bill, the contributions will be expected to be presented to the PS before the second reading which is expected to be between 23 and 27th july, please plan to attend and fwd your contributions, which will constitute "KICTANet version" see you then... regards 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.

1 0

Fw: Re: [kictanet] KENYA �S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISA TION SYSTEMS
by Wainaina Mungai 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

--- Wainaina Mungai Made in Kenya Network P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 Nairobi. Kenya. Tel: +254-20-780669 Cell: + 254-722-811171 http://www.madeinkenya.org/ > -------Original Message------- > From: Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] KENYA S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISA TION SYSTEMS > Sent: 11 Jul '07 08:48 > > Dear Dr. Ndemo > > Thanks for the optimistic view and kudos to Treasury for the pilot project. The industry however still believe your Ministry has not done enough to develop a clear framework on e-money and e-commerce. For instance, the government has significant influence in several banks in which Treasury and InfoComm may drive the case for government motivated change. Preferential support for such banks that will be first-movers in setting-up the necessary systems would be justified by the benefits to Kenyans. > > So far, the banks use their fear of fraud to explain lack of action. The market for such services has grown enough to justify investment in related security solutions. Apart from security and privacy concerns, the lack of clear guidelines on e-commerce in Kenya seems to trigger cost concerns that a revamped law can address. The cheaper it is for the providers to set-up, the better it may be for the consumers in say, Mandera, to transact. As Vodafone stated, there is need to optimise the M-transactions through better policy & regulation. > > Below are some of the points that Vodafone made in their report: > > - the amount allowed to be transferred on phones is usually too small to make economic sense > - money laundering rules need to be adapted to local conditions > - providers of mobile phone financial services need to have some level of access to clearing systems > - the customer data held by mobile operators could, for example, offer an alternative to existing forms of regulation to counter money laundering > - guarantee the inter-operability of M-transactions to ensure that both providers and clients reap the benefits of synergy > - existing structure of retail banking regulation and financial supervision could impose high fixed costs and significant compliance problems > > We believe your Ministry can make it much easier for the private sector to innovate. > > --- > Wainaina Mungai > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] KENYA S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISA TION SYSTEMS > > Sent: 11 Jul '07 06:47 > > > > Dear Lucy/Alice, > > Treasury is piloting electronic payment system in three Ministries. It is > > not the Government that should tell Banks and other investors to develop a > > payment gateway. The Government is fulfilling its role by by providing > > the policy and regulatory environment. This is the very reason why you > > should paticipate in Monday's meeting at Safari Park. > > > > Safaricom is doing a great job trail blazing in e-momey. In one of the > > conferences this year I asked Bankers to embrace technology before it is > > too late for them. Perharps when they wake up they will all be > > Mpesharing. > > > > Regards > > > > > > Bitange Ndemo. > > > > > > > > > > > Alice, > > > > > > The ICT community is ready with the technology for payment gateways, but I > > > dont see any movement on the Kenya Banking Law that needs to be revised to > > > enable this to become a reality. > > > > > > Perhaps Bw. Ndemo can have a word with his counter-part in finace so they > > > get ontop of this issue. I would hate for TEAMS/eSSAY/Flag etc to become > > > realities and find us as a country not ready to take full advantage, who > > > knows perhaps the East African Integration will happen at about the same > > > time, and we need to be ready to take advantage of a new 120+ million > > > customers(and a whole lot more if Rwanda joins). > > > > > > So its just not the tourism industry that has a stake in this, we do too, > > > question is how to get organized into a lobby group to make this a > > > reality. > > > > > > LK > > > > > > > > > > > >> KENYAS ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISATION > > >> SYSTEMS > > >> _____________________________________________________________________ > > >> > > >> The Kenyan Government is putting its country forward as a place that is > > >> open for business. It is moving to privatise both Telkom Kenya and > > >> divest itself of Safaricom. It has moved with considerable speed to put > > >> in place its own fibre project TEAMS. But parts of the private sector > > >> are having difficulty keeping up with the idea of Kenya having an open, > > >> modern economy. > > >> > > >> Although there are a couple of new entrants in the countrys banking > > >> sector, it is largely dominated by international banks whose managements > > >> defer to head office on innovation. This is going to cause the country a > > >> problem if it wants to continue to remain competitive. It needs to be > > >> able to offer its visitors the ability to pay for flights, hotels and > > >> safaris online. If you book a Kenyan hotel, you still cannot pay online > > >> for the booking. > > >> > > >> Sadly things have only moved on a little since Kenya Airways launched > > >> its very successful online payment system using a South African bank. > > >> Although many banks can issue credit cards, only a limited number can > > >> authorise transactions and they have not shown any interest in setting > > >> up the back-end payment authorisation systems required for onl > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > 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: wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org > > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wainaina%40madeinkenya… > > >

1 0

Of monkeys and loaded guns
by Rebecca Wanjiku 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

The last one week has been preoccupied with talk of the media bill (Media Council bill) and the implications it has on the media. i will therefore not dwell on the details about monkeys and loaded guns because the slogan-loaded tirades were traded in public. Beyond the media bill, there is the KCA (98) amendment bill which went through first reading last week. But what are we hearing? Its all about the media and cross ownership. The grievances the media has and how the government wants to regulate or gag it. What about other aspects of ICT? Is the media council bill wholly wrong? How comes the KCA is not receiving as much attention as it should? Is there anything good in KCA that can be preserved or worked on? What about the voice of ICT stakeholders who may have a divergent opinion. The media prides itself as the agenda setter and gate keeper in the society; they say that whatever is written or aired is the wish of the people, that thats all that you want to read. But is it the case? The next stop for the media is the high court, challenging the government on the bill. They have consulted a law firm to file the suit. But is the KCA all about media? What is your take? Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all the tools to get online.

8 15

KENYA’S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISATION SYSTEMS
by alice 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

KENYA’S ECONOMY HELD BACK BY LACK OF ONLINE PAYMENT AUTHORISATION SYSTEMS _____________________________________________________________________ The Kenyan Government is putting its country forward as a place that is open for business. It is moving to privatise both Telkom Kenya and divest itself of Safaricom. It has moved with considerable speed to put in place its own fibre project TEAMS. But parts of the private sector are having difficulty keeping up with the idea of Kenya having an open, modern economy. Although there are a couple of new entrants in the country’s banking sector, it is largely dominated by international banks whose managements defer to head office on innovation. This is going to cause the country a problem if it wants to continue to remain competitive. It needs to be able to offer its visitors the ability to pay for flights, hotels and safaris online. If you book a Kenyan hotel, you still cannot pay online for the booking. Sadly things have only moved on a little since Kenya Airways launched its very successful online payment system using a South African bank. Although many banks can issue credit cards, only a limited number can authorise transactions and they have not shown any interest in setting up the “back-end” payment authorisation systems required for online transactions. Speaking at last week’s e-tourism conference in Mombasa, Kenya’s Tourist Trust Fund CEO Dr Dan Kagagi said that the industry and Government were lobbying the banking sector to allow online payments. Whereas once the credit card companies were the obstacle, the point of “no change” has moved to being the banks. According to Kagagi: "Already a number of credit card companies are willing to work with us to ensure that online payments become a reality." Tourism and Wildlife Assistant minister, Raphael Muriungi, speaking at the same conference urged the industry to utilise online technologies:"We are all learning of the rapid and unprecedented changes that ICT is creating in global tourism and have realised if all players fail to embrace the web and new technologies then we stand to lose our ability to communicate and do business in a changing market," he said. Perhaps his comments should have been directed at the banking sector that are now proving to be the obstacle to change. The banks fear fraud but this seems a rather lame excuse as in the first instance most of the potential buyers will be tourists coming from developed countries where fraud rates are considerably lower. Close to 70 per cent of travellers regard the Internet as their primary and in many cases only source of information on tourism. About 100 million travellers now use the web to book holidays and travel thus making it vital for Kenyan tourism to be visible on the Internet. Kenya undoubtedly competes with South Africa for visitors, particularly in the wildlife safari sector, and there is no difficulty booking and paying online for a wide range of products in South Africa. Despite being repositories of citizens’ money, the banks have been remarkably slow to react to the signs that there is an emergent middle class. It is projected that by June 2007 there will be around 100,000 credit card users. It sounds small but it is considerably more than in many other African countries. In addition, there are more than 1 million debit cards that can only be used if the card holder has cash in his or her own account. Surely the latter can provide a fairly low-risk way of introducing online payment for Kenyan citizens. When TEAMS and the other international fibre connections arrive at Mombasa, the price of international bandwidth will go down. This should be one of the building blocks for creating new services and applications that users can begin to start to use. Another building block must surely be the ability to authorise online transactions and Kenya’s banking sector needs to wake up to the changes that are happening in the country. However, this is not purely a Kenyan problem as there are other countries on the continent like Ghana where a similar lack of online payment authorisation is holding back the development of local global businesses. ____________________________________________________________________ From Balancing Act

3 2

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

10 Jul '07

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

1 0

Moses Geneology
by Alex Gakuru 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

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

2 2

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

09 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

09 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

09 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

09 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

09 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

09 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

08 Jul '07

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

1 0

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

08 Jul '07

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

1 0

Fwd: Kenya Communications Bill (ICT Bill)
by Alex Gakuru 06 Jul '07

06 Jul '07

To: The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications Teleposta Towers Nairobi Re: Invitation to one day meeting at Safari Park Hotel on 16th July 2007; stakeholder and consumer reactions Dear Dr. Bitange Ndemo, I confirm attendance representing the ICT Consumer Consumers Association of Kenya and if allowed make a short presentation. Our consumer welfare society's vision is "enlightened consumer enjoying high quality and best priced ICT Services". By participating we foresee an opportunity to strengthen and enhance consumer protection along National ICT Policy provisions. Clause 9.6 Role of Consumers and Users Consumers and users will be expected to participate in ensuring: (a) Universal Access and afforadbility of ICT services (b) Quality of service is maintained (c) Continued review of Government policy in accordance with technological and consumer trends We appreciate this opportunity to play our meaningful role in Kenya's liberalised, self-regulatory industry environment. Sincerely, Alex Gakuru Chairman, ICT Consumers Association of Kenya --- bitange(a)jambo.co.ke wrote: > Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 09:15:13 +0300 (EAT) > From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > Subject: [kictanet] Kenya Communications Bill (ICT > Bill) > CC: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > To: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > > Dear All, > The Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill (to be > ammended to amended as > "Information and Communication Bill") went through > the first reading on > Wednesday 4th July 2007 (Media gave it a blackout). > As I promised, we > shall have one last meeting to incorporate things we > may have left out in > our earlier engagements. We shall therefore have a > one day meeting at > Safari Park Hotel on 16th July 2007 to get > stakeholder and consumer > reactions. I have also invited members of the > Energy and Communications > Committee of Parliament. Please confirm your > attendance via > info(a)information.go.ke. Your presence will be > highly appreciated. > > Wishing you a great day. > > > Regards > > > Bitange Ndemo. > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > 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: alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with Yahoo! FareChase. http://farechase.yahoo.com/

3 4

workshop on KCA bill
by Rebecca Wanjiku 06 Jul '07

06 Jul '07

KICTANet is organising a workshop to discuss the KCA bill which went through first reading last week, buried under the huge debate surrounding the media bill, KCA may go through un noticed. industry stakeholders should voice their concerns before committee stage so that changes can be incorporated it may be a ploy to push the KCA under the radar and engage every one in the media debate, then before you know it, KCA is law..... if you have any issues to raise, please share them, regards 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.

1 0

parliament to incorporate changes at comm. stage
by Rebecca Wanjiku 06 Jul '07

06 Jul '07

threatened with a lawsuit and with legislators making all the noises, the government yesterday pledged to incorporate changes to the media bill at committee stage. there was a live debate on whether the bill is meant to gag the media or not. it seems that with some pressure, something can be done regards Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more.

1 0

Just Google....
by John Walubengo 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

I always have this (addictive?) habit of googling my name...I have to keep monitoring my digital reputation. So here is what I found out about myself after googling. http://www.diplomacy.edu/ig/Activities/display.asp?Topic=JWalubengo%20IGF%2… or http://www.diplomacy.edu/IG/ Not bad so far. I met a friend who once told me she googled her name and discovered she was listed on a "lonely hearts" website, complete with her snap and CV and yet she could not recall being lonely :(. So make sure u google your name tonite... walu. nb: Mucheru, u will owe me a big one for this free commercial :). ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mobileweb/onesearch?refer=1ONXIC

2 1

Looking for web designers/content managers
by Carole K 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

Hello All, This discussion forum is very lively. Keep it up guys. Afew months ago i knew very little about ICT but now I am well informed. Thank you Alex Gakuru and team. My name is Carole Kimutai, I am a journalist - writer/editor. I was the former editor of Sokoni magazine (MSK) and Petroleum Insight Magazine (PIEA). I am currently writing for various publications in Kenya and abroad - http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/410/16/15854.html I am looking for web designers or people who can manage content electronically. Kindly get in touch with me on this address or call me on 0722 560 241. PS: Anyone with news items/articles or story ideas please share it with me Nice evening! CK On 7/5/07, Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Bravo! - what a delightful deed saving us envisaged set-up headaches. > > Please convey very special thanks to Google. > > On 7/5/07, mucheru(a)wananchi.com <mucheru(a)wananchi.com> wrote: > > > > Hi Alex, > > > > You may not be aware, but Google is setting up shop and we already > provide > > free hosting services for anyone with a domain. This means not only can > > you get a free website hosted, but that you can also add mail for all > > users, branded under your domain etc .... Many people in Kenya are > already > > using the service. > > > > We intend to peer at the KIXP this means the quality of service will be > > great and you don't have to pay for International bandwidth! We are > local! > > > > Try it out and see > > > > http://www.google.com/a or http://www.google.co.ke/a - even better, here > > you will see the wealth of services we provide. > > > > Sorry to shamelessly plug Google here - The service is free so maybe am > > allowed. > > > > Sorry guys > > > > Joe Mucheru > > > > > > > Nothing frustrates small business than "simple" > > > websites design and hosting services. Turning to ISPs > > > they are told hosting are "valueadd services" only > > > offer "bundled" with other products. Many thus never > > > go online. > > > > > > Who is interested in partnering on "community > > > servers"? If we get a sufficient number we could > > > approach e.g. WB TCIP/RCIP, etc. give business case > > > maybe get a share of those ears-boggling billions > > > flying about in the media to setup server warehouse. > > > Michuki Mwangi shareholder No. 2, Walu 3? > > > > > > Could write a tight business case,other takers?(Before > > > moderator *bans* me for starting a local,non-Barb > > > hosting business online...). Unless we sort this out, > > > looks like they may never. > > > > > > > > > --- Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: > > > > > >> > > >> > > >> mucheru(a)wananchi.com wrote: > > >> > Walu/Alex, > > >> > > > >> > I the issue is not with CCK. They contracted local > > >> providers to provide > > >> > services here are the results .... I think the > > >> regulator did the right > > >> > thing. > > >> > > > >> > > >> And its worth noting that CCK is not the only > > >> victim, i could point to > > >> quite a number of other sites that face similar > > >> predicaments which boils > > >> down to cost of hosting. > > >> > > >> For there to be a shift in preference there are two > > >> things that need to > > >> happen > > >> > > >> 1) Affordable collocation/data center facilities > > >> need to be built ASAP. > > >> 2) International fiber. > > >> > > >> There are good 'signs' on point 2, however more > > >> could be done on point > > >> 1. After all land along Mombasa road is still within > > >> reach of most. > > >> > > >> > > >> Walu - your pension may tripple as a result :) > > >> > > >> Regards, > > >> > > >> -- > > >> Michuki Mwangi > > >> KENIC > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> 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 > > > > > -- > website: http://www.billowsbpo.co.ke/ > _______________________________________________ > ke-internetusers mailing list > ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers > >

1 0

[Fwd: [DigAfrica] Access Kenya buys Internet firm]
by alice 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

Access Kenya buys Internet firm Story by NATION Reporter and REUTERS Publication Date: 7/5/2007 AccessKenya Group yesterday announced the acquisition of a broadband leased line Internet Service Provider, Todays Online, subject to approval from the Monopolies Commission. Todays Online's acquisition, marks a significant step for the company which listed at the Nairobi Stock Exchange early last month. The Managing Director of the Group, Mr Jonathan Somen, said that the purchase clearly showed the market that the company was keen to invest funds raised from the IPO. "Unlike many previous IPOs, AccessKenya Group went public to raise capital to fund our expansion, and we had specifically told the market that making acquisitions would be an important part of our strategy," commented Jonathan Somen, Managing Director of the Group. Milton Njanja, Managing Director of Today's Online commented further: " Following discussions with AccessKenya, the Board of Todays felt that the interests of our customers would be best served by transferring their connections to AccessKenya's network, giving them access to better speeds and higher value for money." As part of the transaction, Todays' Online, will work with AccessKenya to migrate the customers onto the AccessKenya Group's network. Todays' Online will also continue to sell internet services for AccessKenya for at least the next nine months as agents. The exact value of the transaction consisted of an initial undisclosed fee and a future payment based on the successful migration of the customer base to AccessKenya's network. In the financial markets, the Kenya shilling weakened against the US dollar in the week, dragged down by dollar demand from corporates and bank players squaring their positions, dealers said. The local unit traded at Sh66.70/80 to the dollar, compared with last Wednesday's close of Sh66.20/30. "There was a lot of dollar demand towards the end of last month as, which seems to have spilled over to this week. This made the shilling to lose almost 40 cents," said Jeremiah Kendagor, head of foreign exchange at the Kenya Commercial Bank. "Basically it was from corporates and there was also squaring off by interbank players," he added. <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?> __,_._,___

1 0

FOIA- the most important law for openness and transparency in government.
by Alex Gakuru 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

[Business Daily] "Treasury opens lid on secrecy in military purchase contracts" Written by Steve Mbogo 05-July-2007: The Kenya military machine will undergo a radical shake-up that will see the the veil of secrecy lifted on its multi-million shilling procurement deals, that have sometimes been labelled as classified. Officials at the Treasury told the Business Daily that discussions are going on with the military to work out how the latter can increase its level of accountability in its defence procurement to the public. In the more strategic procurement that could legitimately be classified as official secrets, the Treasury seems to favour a plan where a Parliamentary committee would have an oversight role without compromising national security. For many years the Kenya military, the Police and the intelligence services have been bogged down by single-sourced secret purchases that have often turned into shaddy deals between politicians, high ranking government officials and briefcase contractors.... ...Mr Mwaimu Mati, the head of Mars Group Kenya, said security related procurement should not be left to the absolute discretion of the military or the Executive. We have elected MPs who can be trusted with the responsibility of scrutinizing security procurement and budgets. This conforms to our Constitution which requires that the security forces be subject to civilian control, said Mati. It is unlikely that exposing procurement of security items to public scrutiny will compromise national security, in view of the massive information brought to the public domain by the internet. http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1794&Item… --------- [WIRED] Bittersweet Sunshine: Four Decades of FOIA Wins and Losses Ryan Singel, 04 July 2007 U.S. government documents used to be considered secret unless individual agencies decided to release them. But on July 4, 1966, that presumption was inverted when the Freedom of Information Act was signed into law, declaring that in a government of, by and for the people, government records must be released to the public upon request, unless those records meet a handful of defined exemptions. Over the last four decades, FOIA (pronounced "foy-ya") has become one of the most important laws creating openness and transparency in government. It's a key tool for journalists and nonprofit groups investigating the workings of the federal government. It has been used to reveal the FBI's Vietnam-era surveillance of American dissidents, CIA drug experiments on American citizens, and government inspectors turning a blind eye to the sale of contaminated meat, among many other things. But as a just-released report from the National Security Archive showed, bureaucracies still resist the law's openness imperative. They will ignore requests, take decades to process them or redact embarrassing information. A bill that would penalize agencies for foot-dragging was set to be voted on earlier this year by the full Senate, but was stalled by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), who put a secret hold on the bill. There will be no progress until he removes the hold. Despite these obstacles, persistent reporters and public-interest organizations have been able to crack the veil of secrecy that bureaucrats and politicians use to hide their motivations and machinations. In honor of the law's 41st birthday, Wired News presents five of the best technology-focused FOIA wins and five that are still outstanding. Top Five Technology and Civil Liberties Sunshine Requests [1.] Carnivore Documents: In the 1990s, the FBI developed software, dubbed Carnivore, that was installed at internet service providers[ISPs] to track what targeted individuals did online. Though the FBI claimed Carnivore was not an untargeted dragnet, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, pried documents loose from the FBI showing the software was capable of capturing all traffic across a server, and that the software was not as accurate in practice as the FBI claimed. Little is known about successors to Carnivore, but ISPs have been configuring their networks to make them surveillance-friendly. [2.]Airline Data Dumps and No-Fly Lists: EPIC filed a file cabinet full of sunshine requests to learn more about terrorist watch lists and post-9/11 airline data dumps to the government. Highlights included proof that Northwest Airlines turned over data to the government despite public statements to the contrary. Also revealed were no-fly-list mismatches, including a long-running screwup that snagged one of the nation's most high-profile nuns, who was only cleared for flying after her boss called presidential adviser Karl Rove. [3.]Mercury Contamination in Fish: Successive sunshine requests by environmental activists revealed that certain fish, including popular canned albacore tuna, contained higher levels of mercury than the government had previously acknowledged. While canned tuna was never put on the list of fish that pregnant women should avoid, the data has proved important in an ongoing debate about the risks of eating seafood. [4.] Domestic Military Spy Databases: The American Civil Liberties Union successfully uncovered a Department of Defense database, dubbed Talon, that was supposed to include reports on terrorist threats to military bases in the United States. Instead, the secret database soon became filled with reports on legitimate antiwar protesters whose activities were protected under the First Amendment. The program was shuttered following the ensuing publicity, but the full extent of the spying is unknown since the Pentagon deleted many of the records before an audit was complete. [5.] Encryption Wars: Though it may seem like ancient history to some, civil liberties groups spent much of the 1990s fighting the government over encryption, which had previously been used almost exclusively by secret government agencies and the military. The government claimed that any public use of encryption, including such now-commonplace standards used to secure online purchases and banking, needed to have a backdoor for law enforcement. FOIA requests revealed that the government knew its proposals were flawed. It also showed the government intended to use requirements that digital telephone switches must be wiretap-friendly as a way to force encryption products to have backdoors. The government eventually lost "the war," and encryption now helps lock down internet e-mail, online purchases and commercial DVDs, though few use encrypted e-mail. Five Unanswered Technology and Civil Liberties FOIA Requests [1.] Warrantless Wiretapping Documents: A wide array of media and activist groups are attempting to get information on the government's warrant-free spying on Americans' phone and e-mail communications. So far, none have succeeded, though a Senate committee has just subpoenaed the Bush administration for some of the sought-after documents. [2.] Automated Targeting System: For years, the Department of Homeland Security has been assigning threat levels to individual foreigners and citizens alike as they enter and leave the country. However, little is known about the algorithms or data used. So far, Homeland Security has failed to release documents in response to open-government requests. [3.] Total Information Awareness Program: Nearly four years ago, Wired News filed a request for documents about the testing and privacy protections of a program intended to sift through a massive database of Americans' private lives in order to find terrorists. Instead of filling the request, Darpa, the Pentagon's advanced research arm, looked into this reporter's prior stories and questioned his motives. [4.] Patriot Act Abuse Documents and Telecom Contracts: In March, an internal Justice Department report found the FBI had massively misused a key Patriot Act power that allows investigators to get financial and communication records on anyone relevant to an investigation without getting a judge's approval. The FBI also inked secret contracts with three large telecommunications companies to speed up the process. A judge recently ruled that the agency will begin releasing 2,500 pages a month starting July 5 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. [5.] FBI's Investigative Data Warehouse: Post-9/11, the FBI created a massive search engine that indexes a bunch of different bureau databases, including investigative files and phone records obtained through the above Patriot Act abuse. Little is known of the technology, which a representative compared to Google's, or the scope of the databases searched. Wired News and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have each filed sunshine requests. http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/07/sunshinelawat40 -- ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396546091

1 0

FW: {EuroAfrica-ICT} - Awareness workshops, Kenya and Ghana, July / Last chance to register
by Harry Hare 04 Jul '07

04 Jul '07

Thought this would interest some of you. Kindest regards Harry _____ From: EuroAfrica-ICT workshops [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2007 3:27 PM To: EU-Africa S&T Cooperation Subject: {EuroAfrica-ICT} - Awareness workshops, Kenya and Ghana, July / Last chance to register Dear colleagues, As you probably already know, the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative is organising its third and fourth awareness workshops respectively in Ghana and Kenya in July in order to promote and facilitate the involvement of sub-Saharan African organisations in the ICT field within the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development of the European Commission. By attending one of these workshops you will: :: Learn about the European Commission (EC) research funding programme in the ICT field (FP7) :: Learn about the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative: objectives and activities :: Be able to present your ideas of EU-Africa S&T cooperation projects in the ICT field :: Be able to introduce yourself: your organisation, your expertise, your experience :: Network with EC representatives, the EuroAfrica-ICT team and the most advanced local organisations active in the ICT field Accra, Ghana :: Date: July 20 & 21 :: Venue: Coconut Grove Regency Hotel :: Location: Accra, Ghana :: Organiser: PIWA (Panos Institute West Africa), Senegal :: Supported by: the African Network Operators Group (AFNOG), Ghana / Busy Internet, Ghana Nairobi, Kenya :: Date: July 26 & 27 :: Venue: Hilton Hotel :: Location: Nairobi, Kenya :: Organiser: The Meraka Institute of the CSIR, South Africa :: Supported by: the African eDevelopment Resource Centre (AeRC), Kenya / the ST-EAP consortium members: the African Academy of Sciences (AAS, Kenya) and the CSIR (South Africa) If you have not registered yet, register asap through <http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops.html>. Important notice Participants in the workshop can submit Expression of Interest (EoI) or Proposal Ideas (PI). Templates are available at <http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops.html>. :: EoI in Euro-Africa S&T cooperation on ICTs: if your presentation is selected by the organisers you will have the opportunity to present to the workshop audience your expertise and experience in the field (in the perspective of being selected by a Euro-Africa consortium) :: PI: if your presentation is selected you will have the opportunity to present to the audience the idea you have in mind in terms of proposal project to be submitted to the EC. :: Deadline to submit EoI and PI: July 10 To be noted :: Given time constraints and the limited number of seats, we warmly thank you in advance to register before July 10 :: Admission to the workshops is free but pre-registrations are compulsory :: Accommodation and travel expenses are the responsibility of the participants Do not hesitate to disseminate this information to your colleagues/contacts. We are looking forward to meeting you soon, With very best regards, The EuroAfrica-ICT Team <awareness_workshops(a)EuroAfrica-ICT.org> <http://www.EuroAfrica-ICT.org> --- START (also called the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative) is a project supported by the European Commission through its IST programme. The project is implemented by a consortium led by Sigma Consultants, specialised - through its Orionis division - in support services devoted to S&T international cooperation in the ICT field. The consortium includes two key African institutes specialising in the ICT field, the Meraka Institute of the CSIR (South Africa) and the Panos Institute West Africa (Senegal). This email was brought to you as we felt its content would be of interest to you. However, if you would prefer not to receive such information, please reply to this email with "remove" as a subject and we will take care to cease communication immediately. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

1 0

more on the cable
by Rebecca Wanjiku 04 Jul '07

04 Jul '07

Private sector begins mapping for seabed cable Lesley Stones http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/technology.aspx?ID=BD4A503649 WHILE progress on a government-backed undersea cable to boost Africa's bandwidth remains embroiled in political bickering, private investors constructing a rival cable have begun mapping out the ocean bed ready to start installation. Work has begun on the Seacom cable connecting SA to Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya. It will then be linked to global networks in India, the Middle East and Europe. The marine surveying is being carried out by Tyco Telecommunications, a pioneer in undersea communications technology that has designed and installed more than 80 undersea systems. Tyco's survey vessel, the Fugro Gauss, arrived in Durban on June 17 and was due to set off yesterday to begin assessing the 13000km route along the east coast of Africa. The $300m project is being led by Herakles Telecom, but its vice- president, Brian Herlihy, has declined to identify other private investors backing the venture. "The arrival of the Fugro Gauss in the Durban harbour to start the marine survey, which precedes the construction of the Seacom cable, is a reassurance to the African communities which we serve of our commitment to construction deadlines," said Herlihy. Seacom's fibreoptic link is due to go live early in 2009 and promises cheap, high-capacity bandwidth for national carriers, broadcasters, and education and research networks. "East and South African user demand for international bandwidth, whether for business, institution or individual use, has greatly surpassed the existing supply," said Herlihy. "Seacom, as an international submarine cable system, will provide significant supply at affordable prices. "The system will deliver infrastructure support for the growth of the information and communication technology sector, in particular business process outsourcing, call centres, pharmaceutical research industries and education networks." The Indian Ocean's African seabed is the only one in the world without a fibreoptic cable, forcing Africa to rely heavily on expensive satellite links and to route calls between neighbouring countries via Europe. Earlier this year, Associated Press quoted Herlihy as saying: "We think that the high price of satellite communication is creating an artificially low demand market and, because of that, we think there is pent-up demand." Less progress has been made with the East African Submarine System (Eassy), a 9900km fibreoptic line supposed to link SA to Sudan. Last week, Parliament ratified the broadband protocol of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), effectively imposing political power over the Eassy project, even though the $300m cable is being funded by the private sector. The Democratic Alliance voted against ratification, with spokeswoman Dene Smuts opposing the move to hijack Eassy and fold it into the Nepad initiative. This will give the government representatives a golden share and veto rights. The Eassy project has been held up since 2002 by wrangling over its funding and ownership, and by political intervention to make sure its bandwidth is not kept artificially expensive by the telecom operators investing in it. -- Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell.

1 0

Questions??
by Alex Gakuru 03 Jul '07

03 Jul '07

[Huh! More deals when Kenyans have the money to pay twice the value of Telkom's 14 billion worth. Logic would have expected they be given the first option to buy Telkom, sack political appointees that have run it down and return excellent profits using cheap mobile CDMA than Safaricom subsidiary. BTW: How does Safaricom take billions to its ghost shareholders? Curious deals coming at election years, Who knows maybe they privatised the government a long time ago? Perhaps also to expect more bizzareness on "Rural Connectivity" because it sounds "government caring"?] ---- [Business Daily] "BT emerges frontrunner in race to buy Telkom" 03-July-2007: Written by Michael Omondi People close to the matter told the Business Daily that senior officials from BT and Libyan investors on Friday met top Treasury and Ministry of Communication officials to work out the deals finer details. Treasury estimates the stake to be worth Sh5.6 billion meaning that Telkom Kenya is now valued at Sh14 billion. <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1749&Item…> ----- "Success of KenGen IPO boost to capital markets" By KARIUKI NDUNGU The Ken-Gen initial public offering (IPO) has been oversubscribed by more than Sh18.2 billion, the government said last week. The IPO, which has ignited Kenyas capital markets, will somewhat disappoint thousands of investors who will have their money refunded. The government was expecting to raise Sh7.8 billion, but Kenyans proved that they had what it takes to raise equity and offered the government more than what it bargained for. ...... The response to the IPO was overwhelming, attracting an estimated 280,000 applications representing more than Sh2 billion shares worth an estimated Sh26 billion as per the data processed to date.... http://www.timesnews.co.ke/02may06/business/buns2.html Where is Parliamentary select Committee on telecommunications? Please do not wait to "investigate" years later when it is already too late? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545469

1 0

Lighter bread now 150 per cent of pre-NARC prices
by Alex Gakuru 02 Jul '07

02 Jul '07

Jeez! It's worse that I thought about bread. "Price of bread goes up as its weight falls" <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=3&ne…> Making one ask why "The State will in addition use Sh70 million to spur the growth of business processing and outsourcing (BPO) and another Sh140 million to set up an ICT advisory board." This Board is twice as important at the work that will be done (by the usual suspects?) <http://www.eastandard.net/archives/index.php?mnu=details&id=1143970432&cati…> Internet cost will not drop much even after the cable connect Kenya. Private interest will ensure high prices remain. Brace yourselves for expensive internet for the next 20 years (lifespan of fibre cable) Despite Kimunya's 600 billion annual budget, government cannot afford TEAMS US$ 100 million (shs 7 billion) and they are looking for private investors under "PPP". GoK can/should construct the whole cable and ask CCK to determine "Open Access" tariffs to save 20-year price Kenyans will pay to these private entities. It does not add up! But you see, Kimunya can afford a paltry 1 billion to the project 1 billion to the youth and 2 billion to women? (with UN's, total package for women 7 billion and thanks all now men also want an equal 5 billion to maintain gender parity) TEAMS could end up "the long cable lie" and costly to future commissions of inquiry. Have I provoked why consumer protection threatens National(s) interests? Rattling mean anti-consumer protection "over-dogs" is serious business deserving innovative advocacy. Haki Kenya kuna matata mingi. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

1 0