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CEO Africa Online dies in boating accident
by Brian Munyao Longwe 27 Oct '08

27 Oct '08

KICTANET extends their condolences to AfricaOnline, friends and family of Mr. John Joseph. Brian --------------------------- http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/484266/-/tlhobo/-/ The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Africa Online has died. John Joseph, who was appointed to the position in March 2007, died in a boating accident on Friday while on holiday in Mombasa. He was 47 years old. Officials of the company declined to reveal more details on the circumstances surrounding Mr Joseph’s death as the family had requested for privacy on the matter. Africa Online is a subsidiary of Telkom South Africa and Mr Joseph was also a director of UUNET Ltd. Reacting to the death, Telkom CEO Reuben September said, “John was an invaluable member of our team, a larger than life character who had been integral to establishing and building the Africa Online brand and developing a portfolio of service offerings across all segments in nine African countries. “We are deeply saddened by his passing and on behalf of the company; I would like to convey my deepest condolences to John’s family and friends, as well as staff at Africa Online.” Before ascending to the CEO position at Africa Online, Mr Joseph had occupied various positions at Telkom since 1995. In 2000, he was tasked with establishing Telkom Wholesale Marketing. “John made a tremendous contribution in realizing Telkom’s ambition to play a leading ICT services provider role on the continent. He will be sorely missed, “said Mr September. A new CEO has not yet been appointed and the management of Telkom is set to appoint his replacement soon, said a statement sent to newsrooms. _______

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No free pass: global financial crisis will impact Africa’s telecoms sector
by alice 24 Oct '08

24 Oct '08

(From Balancing Act) No free pass: global financial crisis will impact Africa’s telecoms sector It’s early days but the conventional wisdom so far has been that Africa will avoid the worst of the backwash from the global financial crisis. Its banks are less over-committed as lenders and its relatively small number of consumers still struggle to find credit. However, as everything is connected globally, Africa is bound to take a hit like every other continent and that hit will impact directly on Africa’s telecom’s sector. Russell Southwood tries to read the tea leaves. Over the last five years about half of the countries on the continent have experienced above average economic growth. This growth amongst the “fast track” economies has fed through directly into wealth levels among the people affected. For example, the middle class in Kenya grew by 3% over the last three years: this is a small percentage of a big number so it affects several million people. The slower moving economies have often been those emerging from civil war so any growth has been a bonus compared to past years. A significant part of the economic growth of the “fast track” African countries has come from the giant emerging economies of China and India buying food and mineral resources. However, if people in developed economies buy less of the consumer goods that have fuelled the growth of China’s economy then it in turn will need less mineral resources from places like Africa. Less demand for mineral resources will mean lower prices for things like oil and copper. The only upside of the latter is that there may be less organised cable vandalism. But if China sneezes, Africa catches a cold. So how does this general economic analysis feed through into Africa’s telecoms sector and what’s it likely to mean for your business?: - If you’re trying to raise funds to invest in Africa, life has got significantly harder. Some of those who were in the process of doing this were talking deals with financial institutions that have now been rescued by the US Government. Sovereign wealth funds (largely from oil-based economies) may be more immune to the liquidity crisis but the fall in the price of oil will cut the scale of these funds over time. Africa’s local stock exchanges may still be good for some fundraising but the scale of funds available is modest alongside the size of past deals. The interesting one to watch is Nigeria where the banks still appear to be anxious to lend and open for business. Also, barring a major financial crisis, the Chinese Government (which has a considerable amount of US dollars) will continue to support its export drive by offering soft loans to Africa’s impoverished state-owned telco incumbents. Perhaps some mobile operators will join them in this queue? - Africa’s mobile opportunities have been seen as a licence to print money and even with proliferating competition, newcomers have been keen to enter the market, paying top dollar. However, it’s noticeable that some of the more opportunistic investors without a background in telecoms have decided to take money and run: for example, Hits Telecom has sold out to France Telecom (see news item below). Nevertheless, they probably passed coming in the other direction Orascom’s new Africa unit, Telecel Globe. The global tides of financial panic wash people in and out: remember Vivendi who quit Africa during the telecoms finance crisis but returned as things got better. The logic of the current global crisis dictates that less available money will mean lower prices and less contenders. But the number of opportunities for new mobile licences or market entry points through acquisition are limited. Therefore Africa will do what it’s always done best up till now and “sell shortage” at a premium. For there are not many places in the world where you can get an above average return on your money within eighteen months to two years and there’s still another 5-10% of the addressable market untouched. And investing in mobile telephony is probably a better bet than giving people 120% mortgages on their houses in the current climate. - Less investment means less money going into African economies means less growth. Again the specifics are that if a mobile operator invests US$200-400 million in a country operation, a large part of that goes into things like employing people, buying local services and advertising. In advertising terms, the mobile operators have been among the top 5 spenders in any country where tracking exists. With potential buyers of mobile services possibly having less money to spend, the competition for the market share they already have will intensify. There will be a lot of soothing talk about the importance of service and new features before price wars set in. The smaller, one-country or small number of country operations will feel this heat hardest and will come up for acquisition or may even go out of business if the heat gets too intense. - The glimmer of hope against this backdrop is that the African consumer (the person with a monthly salary and some disposable income) is largely not in debt to anything like the same level as his or her European or American counterpart. They will not splash out wildly in the current context but they will continue to spend. The poor who have not yet become consumers will continue to scrape by as ever. However, the level of remittances from relatives abroad may drop as they become affected by the downturn in developed economies. Last week South Africa’s Finance Minister Trevor Manuel was telling people not to panic which is usually a prelude to people heading for the lifeboats. However, the worst that appears to be in store is a strong dose of wage inflation. Telkom’s failure to address its overstaffing may seem like a victory for its employees but if wages continue to rise above inflation, it will begin to squeeze the companies already pressured profits. Whatever the political pressures, hard times will demand drastic solutions. - Economic slowdown means that Government will have lower tax revenues and private companies less income. Both will impact on the replacement and purchase cycle for ICT equipment. SAP commented in its Q3 results that results from BRICs (the key grouping of developing countries) were mixed. And whilst Cisco reported a resurgence in emerging markets orders, bookings in Africa were very weak. Money spent on rescuing deserving causes like banks may also turn into money not spent on foreign aid. Since the latter supports a great deal of the ICT purchases by African Governments, this will also create a tightening in the market, particularly for the larger IT multinationals with a presence on the continent. All have put feet on the ground in the promise of business tomorrow and the more timid or financially windswept may pull back. - On a counter-cyclical basis, there are two key factors: the big change in the cost of international fibre capacity with the arrival of new cables and for South Africa, the World Cup in 2010. The first (in Q2,2009) will be a welcome boost as bandwidth prices will fall from US$5-6,000 a meg on the east coast to nearer to US$500-1,000 a meg. This will not be good news for those selling high-priced bandwidth as a way of making a living but will benefit those selling services and applications on top of the network. On the west coast, this fall will happen in Q2, 2010 and will be slightly less dramatic. The World Cup in 2010 will be a welcome boost to growth for South Africa and is allowing it to put in place key infrastructure. The only question is: will it be finished on time? - The hardest part to read is the sheer irrationality of financial markets: the kind of cold sweat fear that's been gripping the markets in the North does not always relate to fundamentals but it may convey itself South. Asia is already anticipating the worst. But this will probably only happen if the global crisis keeps extending and there is a feeling that Government money simply won’t contain the difficulties. Everything hangs on that difficult word confidence. So hang on to your hat because it may get bumpy….

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[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Vint Cerf warns on IPv6 uptake]
by alice 23 Oct '08

23 Oct '08

Vint Cerf warns on IPv6 uptake You have until mid-2010, says Google sage. Mikael Ricknäs, IDG News Service 21 October 2008 The Internet will get support for IPv6, a more secure domain name system and international characters, during the next couple of years, according to Vint Cerf, chief Internet evangelist at Google. "This year and the next year are probably the most significant years for Internet's evolution that I can remember," said Cerf, who was one of the keynote speakers at the Internetdagarna (The Internet Days) conference in Stockholm. The biggest change is the move to IPv6, which will give the Internet a much larger address space and ensure future growth. The current estimate is that the number of IPv4 addresses that can be allocated will be exhausted around the middle of 2010, according to Cerf. "It's slowly entering into the network, but people haven't felt very much pressure up until now to implement it," said Cerf. But the deadline is coming closer, and it's becoming more apparent to many people that it's time to start implementing IPv6 in parallel with IPv4, according to Cerf. Besides its 128-bit address space, IPv6 has other benefits. "One of them is that if the other side says I need to go into encrypted mode you are supposed to comply with that, it's optional in IPv4," said Cerf. There are also some problems, the network management tools are for example not yet as mature the ones for IPv4, according to Cerf. He says the current lack of addresses, and the IPv4 32-bit address space, is his fault. "My only defence is that decision was made in 1977, at a time when it was uncertain if the Internet would work," said Cerf, and adding that a 128-bit address space seemed excessive back then. But IPv6 isn't the only project that will keep the industry busy. The implementation of domain name system security using DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) has also got off the ground. "The idea here is to improve the assurance that when you do a domain name hookup you get back the IP address that was intended, as opposed to something that was modified by a hacker," said Cerf. If the DNSSEC is supposed to improve security on the Internet, the addition of internationalised domain names (the support for non-Latin character sets) is supposed to make it a more global place. Languages such as Arabic, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and so on, will all become a part of the domain name systems vocabulary, according to Cerf. "This is a big change, because for the last 30 years the only thing you could use was Latin characters, and just the letters A though Z, digits 0 to 9 and a hyphen," said Cerf. There is still a lot to be done to make the Internet more useful than it is today. Broadcast and support for multihoming, which can make it convenient for users to have more than one ISP, are two areas where there is room for improvement, according to Cerf. "So we have lots of potential, new designs to add to the Internet to make it more functional and effective than it is today," said Cerf. This article was printed from Techworld : www.techworld.com <http://www.techworld.com/> The UK's infrastructure & network knowledge centre © 2008 : All rights reserved -- Anne-Rachel Inne _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Re: [kictanet] Kenya’s Banks ask for regulation on Mobile Money Transfers
by John Maina 22 Oct '08

22 Oct '08

Lizette and wainaina Banks in this country never invest in innovation. They invest on alot of research but never innovation. Where were they when Safaricom was researching and investing on technology? regulatingg MPESA will be so catastrophic. It should just be policed but not regulated and I believe thaat if at all Bw. Njuguna and PS. Ndemo are going to fall for the tricks of these banks then we are in for intersting times. Banks must invest in innovation and they can easily get to Kenyan universities and sponsors competitions which will bring very much good results. JM ----- Original Message ---- From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> To: j.maina(a)ymail.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 2:26:29 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya’s Banks ask for regulation on Mobile Money Transfers Hey what's up with these Banks who give their customers a real raw deal anyway!! The banks have never done anything for the people other than use them! Now they want to crush the one system that helps and allows the rich and the poor and marginalised to send funds without having to pay the drastic fees the banks charge. Everytime there is something that works for the masses and not just the priviledged there is an uproar to defeat the purpose!! The banks need the competition so they can learn to respect all. People in business in Kenya have for too long ripped off the wanainchi and they will have to learn to respect the consumers. Good on CBK not to agree bring M-Pesa and the like under their ACT. It shouldn't be allowed to operate without rules and regulations of course, to protect peoples money but we should do all possible to help technology take root that can help the people. My opinion entirely! On 10/18/08, alice <alice(a)apc.org> wrote: (From Balancing Act) Kenya's Banks ask for regulation on Mobile Money Transfers The banking fraternity is crying foul over what it described as unfair and increasing competition from money transfer operators. The industry says the operators are enjoying privileges similar to those extended to deposit taking institutions despite not being covered by the same regulatory regime. "Currently, there is no legal framework within which these entities provide their services despite behaving like current account institutions," says John Wanyela, executive director of the Kenya Bankers Association. "If these operators want to join the financial sector, they have to be properly licensed." The bankers are calling on the government to subject the services to prudential regulations "for robust and secure movement of funds across the economy." Under the proposed guideline, the services will have to be supervised by a specialised financial regulatory authority that will oversee their financial soundness and stability. Currently, the two leading mobile phone service providers - Zain and Safaricom - are offering money-transfer services in the country under Sokotele and M-Pesa brands respectively. Like other deposit takers, the bankers association wants the mobile cash transfer operators restricted on how much deposits they can take. To avert undue competition with the banking fraternity, Wanyela says, M-Pesa and Sokotele services have to meet the capitalisation requirement as stipulated in the Banking Act. According to the Act, a deposit taking institution should maintain a minimum capitalisation of Ksh250 million ($3.5 million). This is however expected to double come December next year before hitting Ksh1 billion ($14.2 million) by 2010 after capitalisation requirements were amended in this financial year's budget. The bankers also say the "digital money" has implications for the conduct of monetary policy by the Central Bank of Kenya. To control inflation levels in the country, CBK continuously monitors the amount of money in circulation, mainly in the hands of people and commercial banks. With the monies in circulation, CBK is in a position to maintain a reserve money target and, therefore, intervene to control inflation. Observers say it is this huge amount of money circulating electronically that has defeated CBK in the fight against inflation. Wanyela says it is time the government stepped in to ensure M-Pesa and Sokotele services are regulated before "something goes wrong." Debate has been rife on who should regulate the mobile phone money transfer operators, with some arguing that the CBK should be party to the issuance of guidelines as "part of M-Pesa and Sokotele services fall under the national payments system." Fundamentally, the two mobile operations are guided by the Communications Commission of Kenya. Early last month, CBK said it had no intention of bringing the mobile cash transfer services under the Banking Act. It claimed that treating the money transfer services under the Act may impede competition in sector that is still at its infancy in a country whose majority population has limited access to financial services. Safaricom statistics show that as at the end of the first quarter of this year, more than Ksh3.1 billion ($44.2 million) had been transferred. From its launch in March 2007 till May this year, the service has facilitated the transfer of more than Ksh23.77 billion ($339.5 million). (Source: The East African) For further information on mobile payments in Africa purchase Balancing Act's report "M-Money - Finances, Banking and Payments through mobile phones" _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gmail.com -- Lizette Kraft P.O. Box 18488, 00500 Nairobi, Kenya Cell: 0722-800362

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Fwd: Official Invitation Letter from Chinese Government
by waudo siganga 22 Oct '08

22 Oct '08

This could interest some collegaues, particularly those in BPO On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:15:20 +0800, "AP-SUMMIT " <admin(a)ap-summit.org> sa id: Dear sir or madam, We are honored to extend to you our cordial invitation to: The 2^nd Global Outsourcing Summit (2008) Date: 4^th Dec, 2008-6^th Dec, 2008 Venue: Yuda Palace Hotel, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China Theme: Global Outsourcings Role in Promoting the Prosperity of World Eco nomy Organizers: Asia-Pacific CEO Association (APCEO) Zhengzhou Municipal Peoples Government, P.R. China International Outsourcing Center (IOC) The 4^TH International Cooperation Summit for CEOs ??Provincial Governors and Mayors Special Investment Project: Reconstructing Sichuan with the Help of International Business Community Date: 7^th Dec, 2008-9^th Dec, 2008 Venue: InterContinental Hotel, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China Organizers: Asia-Pacific CEO Association (APCEO) Chengdu Municipal Peoples Government, P.R. China Topics: l Strategic thinking on the variable aspects of the Global econom y l Global industrial Transfer & Innovation throughout World Econom ies l Reconstructing Sichuan with the help of international business community The Municipal Government and People of Zhengzhou Welcome You! The Municipal Government and People of Chengdu Welcome You! Respectfully yours: ZHAO Jiancai, Mayor of Zhengzhou City GE Honglin, Mayor of Chengdu City Organizing Committee of the Global Outsourcing Summit (GOS) Organizing Committee of the International Cooperation Summit for CEOs ?Pr ovincial Governors and Mayors (ICS) NOTE: The governmental support to the attendees: · No participation fee will be charged; · Free hotel accommodation and meals during the conferences; · Complimentary shuttle bus for attendees will run from International Air port to the conference location and the hotels; · Free translation service and match service. ** If for any reason you are unable to come to the summit, we would appre ciate that you extend our invitation to others in your organization who might be able to attend in your stead .** Liaison Person: Barbteana Deng Organizing Committee of ICS & GOS Tel: +86-10-64987220 Fax: +86-10-64973173 Mobile: +86 13381370016 Website: [1]www.ap-summit.org [2]www.ioutsourcing.org/gos/ Address: D1-18 Floor, Sunshine Plaza, No.68, Anli Road, Chaoyang District , Beijing 100101, P.R. China References Visible links 1. http://www.ap-summit.org/ 2. http://www.ioutsourcing.org/gos/ Hidden links: 3. http://www.ioem.org/gos Men trip not not mountains, the stumble on stones - Chinese Proverb

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[Fwd: [i-network Uganda] Wall Street Simplified]
by alice 21 Oct '08

21 Oct '08

a look at the current financial situation with a light touch....from Uganda -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [i-network] Wall Street Simplified Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:14:20 +0300 From: Stephen S. Musoke <smusoke(a)infoma.com> Reply-To: I-Network Uganda <i-network(a)dgroups.org> To: I-Network Uganda <i-network(a)dgroups.org> If you have difficulty understanding the current world financial situation, the following should help... Once upon a time in a village in India, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10. The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts. The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.' The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys. Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere! Welcome to WALL STREET. Stephen The I-Network Dgroup is a platform for ICT Knowledge Sharing:- Dgroups is a joint initiative of Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, ICCO, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS and World Bank:-You are currently subscribed to subst('i-network(a)dgroups.org') as: alice(a)apc.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-i-network-1222184T(a)dgroups.org

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Kenya’s Banks ask for regulation on Mobile Money Transfers
by alice 21 Oct '08

21 Oct '08

(From Balancing Act) Kenya’s Banks ask for regulation on Mobile Money Transfers The banking fraternity is crying foul over what it described as unfair and increasing competition from money transfer operators. The industry says the operators are enjoying privileges similar to those extended to deposit taking institutions despite not being covered by the same regulatory regime. "Currently, there is no legal framework within which these entities provide their services despite behaving like current account institutions," says John Wanyela, executive director of the Kenya Bankers Association. "If these operators want to join the financial sector, they have to be properly licensed." The bankers are calling on the government to subject the services to prudential regulations "for robust and secure movement of funds across the economy." Under the proposed guideline, the services will have to be supervised by a specialised financial regulatory authority that will oversee their financial soundness and stability. Currently, the two leading mobile phone service providers - Zain and Safaricom - are offering money-transfer services in the country under Sokotele and M-Pesa brands respectively. Like other deposit takers, the bankers association wants the mobile cash transfer operators restricted on how much deposits they can take. To avert undue competition with the banking fraternity, Wanyela says, M-Pesa and Sokotele services have to meet the capitalisation requirement as stipulated in the Banking Act. According to the Act, a deposit taking institution should maintain a minimum capitalisation of Ksh250 million ($3.5 million). This is however expected to double come December next year before hitting Ksh1 billion ($14.2 million) by 2010 after capitalisation requirements were amended in this financial year's budget. The bankers also say the "digital money" has implications for the conduct of monetary policy by the Central Bank of Kenya. To control inflation levels in the country, CBK continuously monitors the amount of money in circulation, mainly in the hands of people and commercial banks. With the monies in circulation, CBK is in a position to maintain a reserve money target and, therefore, intervene to control inflation. Observers say it is this huge amount of money circulating electronically that has defeated CBK in the fight against inflation. Wanyela says it is time the government stepped in to ensure M-Pesa and Sokotele services are regulated before "something goes wrong." Debate has been rife on who should regulate the mobile phone money transfer operators, with some arguing that the CBK should be party to the issuance of guidelines as "part of M-Pesa and Sokotele services fall under the national payments system." Fundamentally, the two mobile operations are guided by the Communications Commission of Kenya. Early last month, CBK said it had no intention of bringing the mobile cash transfer services under the Banking Act. It claimed that treating the money transfer services under the Act may impede competition in sector that is still at its infancy in a country whose majority population has limited access to financial services. Safaricom statistics show that as at the end of the first quarter of this year, more than Ksh3.1 billion ($44.2 million) had been transferred. From its launch in March 2007 till May this year, the service has facilitated the transfer of more than Ksh23.77 billion ($339.5 million). (Source: The East African) For further information on mobile payments in Africa purchase Balancing Act’s report “M-Money - Finances, Banking and Payments through mobile phones”

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ICANN Posts Draft Implementation Plan for the Add Grace Period (AGP) Limits Policy
by alice 21 Oct '08

21 Oct '08

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-20oct08-en.htm ICANN Posts Draft Implementation Plan for the Add Grace Period (AGP) Limits Policy ICANN is today opening a public comment period on the draft implementation plan for the AGP Limits Policy. http://www.icann.org/en/tlds/agp-draft-20oct08-en.html This recently approved consensus policy is intended to limit the behavior known as domain tasting through modifications to the AGP. The Policy will affect gTLD Operators (hereinafter referred to as "Operators") and ICANN-accredited registrars (hereinafter referred to as "Registrars") and become effective following appropriate comment and notice periods on the implementation plan. On 26 June 2008, at its meeting in Paris, the ICANN Board resolved http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-26jun08.htm#_Toc76113173 to adopt the GNSO recommendation on domain tasting. Following implementation of the Policy, Operators will be prohibited from making refunds of registration fees to Registrars for AGP deletes that exceed the threshold limits set by the Policy unless an exemption has been granted by an Operator. The limits defined by the Policy are (i) 10% of that Registrar's net new registrations ( calculated as the total number of net adds of one-year through ten-year registrations as defined in Operator Agreements) in that month, or (ii) fifty (50) domain names, whichever is greater. The draft implementation plan details how this Policy will be implemented. Comments on the proposed AGP Limits Policy implementation may be submitted to agp-limits-policy(a)icann.org and will be considered until 20 November 2008 23:59 UTC. Comments may be viewed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/agp-limits-policy/. Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat gnso.secretariat(a)gnso.icann.org http://gnso.icann.org _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Re: [kictanet] What should the Investment Policy Be?
by mwananchi＠hushmail.com 21 Oct '08

21 Oct '08

Walu, That was actually PS Ndemo's proposal in 2007 and it appears to have been part of the proposed ICT bill. It was: What we are saying is that a foreign investor needs time to (get to) know whom he can work with," Ndemo says. "In three years he can do a private placement or in five years do an IPO (initial public offering) or introduce employee option plans, but they must give 30 per cent to locals." It is good that PS Ndemo is sharing details about the foreign investors and what they actually said, contrary to what was reported about the companies not wanting to partner with Kenyans. Lost in this debate is the wide scope of the ICT sector. Some businesses such as BPOs don't tend to be capital intensive projects requiring upwards of greater than US$5 million. BPOs bring in inflows and foreign exchange earnings into the country. The same case with manufacturing through exports even though those tend to be capital intensive. I will return to these two points shortly in regards to the application of FDI policies. Lets visit some of the points raised by PS Ndemo. I believe we are getting closer to tackling some of the real causes of these problems or obstacles. 1. The case where a foreign investor is tied to non-performing locals in Telecom operator licensing more so those conducted through public procurement procedures: The problem can be easily solved by CCK amending its tender specific rules or the law as applicable to: a) Keep the current provision of not changing the nature of the consortium prior to the announcement of the tender outcome. This is to prevent manipulation of the evaluation process by the lead applicant or technical operator who may defect to other consortia in the middle of evaluations after private or political lobbying. b) Change the current provision addressing the post tender results to allow the removal of any equity participant without consequence to the licence when the regulator has satisfied itself that there is a valid case of a failure to contribute capital to meet licence fee requirements. The poison pill however should be that the removal of the technical partner should certainly be fatal to the ability of the consortium to roll out. The lead applicant if its not the technical operator should only be replaced under extreme circumstances. These provisions however should not be abused to engage in unrelated shareholder battles other than those involving the ability to contribute to licence fee payments. c) Allow a consortium to take on additional investors after the tender results and before roll out of the licence following approval by the regulator in cases where the regulator is satisfied that capital constraints are a hindrance to paying for the licence or roll out. d) If all else fails, allow Government intervention as outlined by the PS in early 2007 (can be improved on) except where the technical partner/foreign investor is the cause of the failure through application by the investor to the Government. Other options include the Government taking an equity stake in trust to prevent the collapse of the investment where all else has failed and the investor is short on capital to cover the local component. This would prevent the failures of Reliance and Vtel as the PS mentions. 2. Reform and strengthen the regulator as an institution with a very strong emphasis on financial due diligence during public procurement tenders. Remove any and all loopholes in existing procedures to restore and enhance bidder confidence in the process. In this and other regards the Global Communication and Information Technology Policy Division of the World Bank could be approached to play a key advisory role based on its expertise: http://www.worldbank.org/ict/policy Noted above were references to BPO's and manufacturers. The growth of which has somewhat stagnated if not yet to take off (manufacturing). Given the ICT board's recent initiatives regarding BPOs, shouldn't we give local operators a chance to harness these new opportunities? The use of blanket policy without specificity should be avoided if possible. Take for instance the following varying characteristics of a telecom operator, a BPO and a manufacturing facility: a) The BPO and Manufacturer export goods and services while a Telecom operator more often than not will serve a domestic market solely. b) Telecom projects build significant infrastructure as do Manufacturers. c) All three without exception create local jobs. d) Out of the 3, BPOs and Manufacturing are budding if not yet to bud industries in Kenya. e) Manufacturers and BPOs can primarily be located in EPZs. The policies PS Ndemo referred to were announced in conjunction with the intention to licence a 5th mobile operator within the next 18 months. One might as well have assumed the policy adjustments were being made for a 100% foreign owned operator to enter the mobile telephony market. In which case one would be justified as was the case, to ask who the foreigners were and if they indeed demanded these adjustments to suit their business ambitions including the pre-planning of an upcoming tender. Now that more has been revealed, it is apparent that some exemptions from policy are needed rather than blanket rules and regulations. Below are some additional suggestions: a) Temporarily lift the local component requirement for the first X number of manufacturers to set up shop in the country. However provide additional incentives for including local components both in shareholding and the manufacturing process. Local equity participants need not provide cash as they could provide capital inputs such as land and physical facilities. The government could give free land as an incentive if the manufacturing facility was set up in areas targetted for development for instance. b) Evaluate BPO requests for exemption on a case by case basis after demonstration that the local equity component could not be filled (See PS Ndemo's 2007 proposal as a starting point). A blanket, inflexible policy could have the potential effects of foreign BPO's fleeing from rising costs elsewhere to potentially upstage the efforts of indigenous BPOs as well as the ICT board. This should not be misread to mean that competition is unwelcome. c) Make no changes as pertains to Telco's except as suggested above for tendering procedures. Adopt something similar to PS Ndemo's original suggestion. d) Seek the World Bank's advice as suggested above. This does not mean succumbing to arm twisting rather it means drawing upon the World Bank's experience and expertise in an area where it has advised several Governments facing similar matters: http://www.worldbank.org/ict/policy All in all there should be some key incentives granted for investors who voluntarily include locals in entity equity participation. Peterson On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:59:27 +0000 John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >Plse lets hear more opinions on this issue. I heard one opinion >that in the vent local investors are unable to raise funding, we >could allow the foreing investor get in at 100% ownership on >condition that they offload 20% to local investors within 3- >5years. Is this workable? > >Yet another opinion was that local investors do have the funds - >its just NOT structured i.e. well consolidated and cordinated. I >think this may also be true if the recent Safaricom IPO is >anything to go by. So it looks like we do have the funds for ICT >investments while at the same time we dont! Where is the catch, >bottleneck? How could this be resolved? > >walu. >--- On Fri, 10/17/08, bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> >wrote: > >> From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> >> Subject: What should the Investment Policy Be? >> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> Cc: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" ><kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 11:22 AM >> Dear Listers, >> A number of you have written to me off-list seeking to know >> the >> organizations that have sought excemption from the 20% >> local equity >> partcipation. >> >> These are four of the World's largets call centers and >> two ICT equipment >> manufacturers. They have said very clearly that they do >> not want to go >> through what some of the investors in telecoms sector went >> through or are >> going through. By this they mean local >> "Investors" who fail to raise >> their part of the bargain. We failed thrice to get the SNO >> simply because >> our local investors could not live up to their promises >> (Vtel, Reliance >> etc). This is an annormally in the current policy that >> does not allow the >> investor to seek for another local investor in the event of >> a disagreement >> in the first marriage (Do not read Econet since law is >> never applied >> retrospectively). >> >> Any progressive policy would give a chance to other people >> instead of >> forcing investors to stay in a marriage that does not bear >> fruit. You >> recall in past meeting we have called for such investments >> to seek for >> partnership at the stock exchange. This would mean then >> that the current >> policy is changed to allow that in the event there is a >> disagreement, the >> foreign investor can seek for a nother partner or better go >> to the stock >> market. >> >> My responsibility among others is to ensure that we achieve >> vision 2030 >> objectives as presicribed in the vision. In order to >> achieve the targets, >> especially of getting at least 50,000 youth into BPO sector >> in the next >> three years, we must get these bigies. This is what >> Ireland, India and >> Philipines did. >> >> Regards >> >> >> Ndemo. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > Hey Folks, >> > >> > I have lurked in the background for a while and like >> Wainaina I got a bit >> > lost in the exchanges. But I think one fundamental >> thread in all this - >> > despite the muddy exchanges - is the question of how >> do want to engage >> > with Foreign Investors? JM and others may have a >> point here - despite >> > their strong language. >> > >> > So maybe to bring benefit out of all these, we could >> indulge for a day or >> > two on the Policy we want as far as Foreign Direct >> Investments (FDI) into >> > our ICT industry are concerned. >> > >> > Correct me if am wrong but I believe the Government >> position/policy on >> > this has been that the Foreign investor MUST >> incorporate a local investor >> > at minimum ratio 20%(local) to 80%(foreign) >> ownership/equity. I think the >> > members who feel that this should be changed have >> cases/examples where the >> > local equity/investor failed to come up with their 20% >> capital and so the >> > opportunity for investment disappears. On the other >> hand, other members >> > feel that local investors are abundantly rich and can >> come up with even >> > over 50% of any capital/equity required to invest in >> the industry. >> > >> > I honestly dont know which side is right and which one >> is wrong - but what >> > I do know is that there exists cases where the local >> investors have failed >> > to meet their capital requirements - hence the need to >> review or >> > interrogate whether this policy is detrimental or >> indeed beneficial to our >> > industry. >> > >> > Plse lets have objective comments that are devoid of >> personal attacks and >> > we shall make progress. Otherwise we begin to sound >> like a broken record. >> > >> > walu. >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > --- On Thu, 10/16/08, gachuhi anthony >> <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> > >> >> From: gachuhi anthony >> <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> >> >> Subject: Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal >> aand Vested Interests >> >> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> >> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" >> <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> >> Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008, 8:16 AM >> >> Moderator >> >> Is there a way off having an online poll to know >> where we >> >> stand maybe >> >> from there we may be able to know who is for or >> against the >> >> policies >> >> being discussed. >> >> Then we can give reasons as I don't think this >> a list >> >> to decide who is >> >> more kenyan than the other its about what will >> affect us >> >> all >> >> Tony >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On 10/16/08, Wainaina Mungai >> >> <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: >> >> > Dear all, >> >> > >> >> > What is the desired outcome of this very >> energised >> >> thread? (Select one) >> >> > >> >> > A: That the PS (I&C) announce that >> policies shall >> >> be developed in an >> >> > open, transparent and consultative manner. He >> also >> >> must organise a >> >> > forum to kickstart non-emotive talks by >> mid-November. >> >> > >> >> > B: That PS Ndemo resigns and is replaced with >> a person >> >> of your choice. >> >> > >> >> > C: That the Econet licence, Kencall licence >> and >> >> related MoUs, >> >> > contracts signed by PS (I&C) be >> cancelled. >> >> > >> >> > D: That all stakeholders Govt., KICTANET, >> KIF, CA, etc >> >> organise an >> >> > "ICT Investment" policy forum to be >> held in >> >> Nairobi around mid- >> >> > November 2008. >> >> > >> >> > I hope this shall help us focus on defining >> and >> >> achieving a common >> >> > goal so that we desist from personal attacks >> on >> >> integrity, racial >> >> > profiling and so on... >> >> > >> >> > Good day, >> >> > Wainaina >> >> > >> >> > On 10/16/08, Joseph Manthi >> <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> >> >> wrote: >> >> >> Edith,There are some useful lessons - but >> these >> >> lessons do not include: >> >> >> >> >> >> 1. How to give away your national >> treasures - like >> >> bandwidth - to foreign >> >> >> entities just because they say they can >> not do any >> >> business with local >> >> >> entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a >> fact, you >> >> would never get a >> >> >> license >> >> >> to operate in UAE if this was your >> argument. >> >> Further to this lesson I >> >> >> would >> >> >> like to point to these additional >> countries that >> >> would laugh you out of >> >> >> town >> >> >> if you made that argument - US (some >> businesses >> >> like Airline, Military and >> >> >> Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), >> Radio & >> >> TV), India, Singapore, >> >> >> Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the >> whole of >> >> Middle East, South >> >> >> Africa, >> >> >> Japan (especially Japan) >> >> >> >> >> >> 2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to >> heading there >> >> with its eyes opened. >> >> >> When a man approaches a woman, it would >> be a very >> >> stupid woman, who >> >> >> knowing >> >> >> what a man is capable of, to accept the >> BS that >> >> the man is feeding her. >> >> >> And >> >> >> if she does then she deserves what she >> gets. Kenya >> >> will get what it >> >> >> deserves >> >> >> and very soon. A good example is Russia >> and its >> >> oligarchs - all members of >> >> >> the Forbes Richest. >> >> >> >> >> >> 3. Great leadership is necessary to grow >> a >> >> country. A leadership with >> >> >> intestinal fortitude to say no under >> pressure. Top >> >> to bottom, >> >> >> >> >> >> 4. That the local mwananchi can invest in >> their >> >> own country and manage its >> >> >> growth >> >> >> >> >> >> 5. That a great nation looks upon its >> diaspora to >> >> grow it - a la Israel >> >> >> and >> >> >> India >> >> >> >> >> >> 6. That a great nation does not wait to >> be raped >> >> twice - We seem to be >> >> >> following a process that will guarantee >> our raping >> >> despite how Kenyan some >> >> >> members of this committee think they are. >> Its just >> >> a matter of time before >> >> >> they pick up their bags and leave. I >> really do not >> >> think that as a >> >> >> national >> >> >> planner I should be putting my eggs in >> that >> >> basket. >> >> >> >> >> >> Joe >> >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, >> >> <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: >> >> >> >> >> >>> Anyone has taken the time to >> thoroughly study >> >> the secret behind >> >> >>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E >> in >> >> general). There are some useful >> >> >>> lessons! >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> > >> >> >>> >---- Original Message ---- >> >> >>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >> >> >>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >> >> >>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS >> Ndemo, >> >> ECONET Scandal aand Vested >> >> >>> >Interests >> >> >>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 >> -0700 >> >> (PDT) >> >> >>> > >> >> >>> >>Lizette >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>I think that you have >> racially >> >> inclined your mind. >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>When did KENCALL directors >> become >> >> Kenyans? After getting good >> >> >>> >friends to bribe their way to >> this >> >> country. And let me tell you that >> >> >>> >the money the so called investors >> are >> >> using are Kenyan money not >> >> >>> >money from foreign banks. >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>They have come and borrowed >> from >> >> Kenyan banks. How much does the >> >> >>> >most profitable telecomms >> companies leave >> >> in this country, very small >> >> >>> >amount. We have Telecomms >> companies which >> >> are on their marks. They >> >> >>> >have very inferior systems and >> dont >> >> actually deliver in service but >> >> >>> >make billions and run away with >> the >> >> billions. >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that >> there are >> >> Kenyans who are white, black >> >> >>> >coloured and all but know that I >> am a >> >> mixed race Kenyan and really >> >> >>> >sad when our brotehrs have to >> suffer >> >> because of bad policies from >> >> >>> >people like PS >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>JM >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>----- Original Message ---- >> >> >>> >>From: Lizette Kraft >> >> <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >> >> >>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >> >> >>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy >> Discussions >> >> <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> >> >>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, >> 2008 >> >> 1:52:07 PM >> >> >>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS >> Ndemo, >> >> ECONET Scandal aand Vested >> >> >>> >Interests >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>Just my two pennies worth >> here. >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>Kenya is not an Island that >> it can >> >> survive on its own even through >> >> >>> >local investment. Most times we >> dont have >> >> the funds. I do agree >> >> >>> >though about the Government and >> banks not >> >> supporting local investors >> >> >>> >with loans etc. They must start >> giving >> >> them the opportunity to setup >> >> >>> >local expertise and turn them in >> money >> >> making ventures, if only they >> >> >>> >wouldn't fleece their own >> companies. >> >> Even America, the giant needs >> >> >>> >investors!!! You all have a valid >> point >> >> but use it for the best >> >> >>> >interests of Kenya and its people >> first >> >> and foremost. Not just self >> >> >>> >interest for the few. And by the >> way >> >> Kenyans come in all shapes, >> >> >>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So >> please >> >> don't generalise who is kenyan >> >> >>> >and who is not!!! Kencall >> directors and >> >> owners are Kenyan and not >> >> >>> >outsiders if I understand >> correctly. When >> >> we are taxed whether >> >> >>> >individually or coorporately, the >> money is >> >> used for Kenya and Kenyans >> >> >>> >and not for outsiders who >> invested! >> >> Forcing local partnership in >> >> >>> >foreign owned companies has >> >> >>> >> its negative and positive >> effects. >> >> >>> >>This needs to be look at more >> >> seriously to make it a win-win >> >> >>> >situation. It has been known in >> the past >> >> that foreign investors with >> >> >>> >forced local partnership have >> been >> >> subjected to threats and >> >> >>> >intimidation by the local >> partners when >> >> they wanted more than their >> >> >>> >fare share, (given to them mind >> you). Thus >> >> the weariness o >> >> >>> >>of being forced now. This >> does not >> >> attract any investor. But the >> >> >>> >foreigners should not fleece the >> country >> >> either! >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>Let us have some constructive >> >> critisism without being racially >> >> >>> >inclined. Fight to make things >> right no >> >> matter what but without >> >> >>> >pinpointing nationalities or >> colours of >> >> people. >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina >> >> <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >> >> >>> >>kictanet mailing list >> >> >>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>This message was sent to: >> >> lfkraft(a)gmail.com >> >> >>> >>Unsubscribe or change your >> options at >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gma >il. >> >> >>> >com >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >>-- >> >> >>> >>Lizette Kraft >> >> >>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >> >> >>> >>Nairobi, Kenya >> >> >>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> >>> kictanet mailing list >> >> >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >> >>> >> >> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> >>> >> >> >>> This message was sent to: >> jmanthi(a)gmail.com >> >> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >> >>> >> >> >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmai >l.com >> >> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> >> Joseph Manthi >> >> >> CEO >> >> >> MEO Ltd >> >> >> http://www.meoltd.com >> >> >> >> >> > >> >> > -- >> >> > Sent from my mobile device >> >> > >> >> > Made in Kenya Network >> >> > Apt. B-8, Elite Park >> >> > Ole Odume Road >> >> > P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >> >> > Nairobi. Kenya >> >> > Tel: +254-20-3590451 >> >> > Cel: +254-722-811171 >> >> > Cel: +254-735-370840 >> >> > www.madeinkenya.org >> >> > >> >> > http://www.bungesms.com >> >> > >> >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> >> > kictanet mailing list >> >> > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >> > >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> > >> >> > This message was sent to: >> gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com >> >> > Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >> > >> >> >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/gachuhi.anthon >y%40gmail.com >> >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> kictanet mailing list >> >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> >> >> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >> >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo. >com >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > kictanet mailing list >> > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> > >> > This message was sent to: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke >> > Unsubscribe or change your options at >> > >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jamb >o.co.ke >> > >> > ---------------------------------------------- >> > This message has been scanned for viruses and >> > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is >> > believed to be clean. >> > --------------------------------------------- >> > "easy access to the world" >> > >> > >> >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------- >> This message has been scanned for viruses and >> dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is >> believed to be clean. >> --------------------------------------------- >> "easy access to the world" > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >http://mail.yahoo.com > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: mwananchi(a)hushmail.com >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwananchi%40hu >shmail.com -- Click here to find travel and cruise franchise opportunities. http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4frktsUNAhpwVFG3Jkg5yjygvxZp3xF7JkRFMT…

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Local software now set for exponential growth.:
by Gakuru Alex 19 Oct '08

19 Oct '08

[Business Daily] Experts praise new State guidelines on IT budgets Written by Okuttah Mark October 20, 2008: Government institutions will be required to spend half of their IT budgets in the local market in a move meant to promote software development. ... With the growth of mobile phone industry and the increase of Internet usage in the country, the move could also spur more innovative software on mobile phone applications for education, commerce and health. Information and Communication minister, Samuel Poghisio, says the decision was aimed at boosting the local industry as well as creating job opportunities. Mr Poghisio asked the multinationals in ICT industry to offer special development tools, training, certification and marketing support to local software developers. "The Government is keen on promoting local software development by encouraging a scheme to ensure that at least 50 per cent of Government software procurement is sourced from local developers," said Mr Poghisio. <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10707&Ite…> ---excerpt-- This move closely follows Linux Professional Association of Kenya research that established that approximately 99% of government software was proprietary clearly marking the beginning of public sector software procurement correction alongside, expected Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) benefiting much;) Due salutes to the Minister and Permament Secretary. Sincerely, Alex

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The E Whiteband - ICTs WORKING FOR DEVELOPMENT
by Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro 19 Oct '08

19 Oct '08

THE E WHITE BAND http://www.whiteband.org/Action/join-us The electronic white band (E-White Band) is a virtual white band where you can leave your message to end poverty and inequality ….as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest. Nelson Mandela freedom, democracy, trade justice, equity, accountability, development, human rights for all, ...... nothing worthwhile comes cheap, or easy halving poverty by 2015 is entirely doable if enough people are willing to get involved; no doubt we are the generation that can see an end to poverty, we have helped create the most powerful tools ever, but they are worthless unless they can be effectively applied to address the greatest challenges at the core of the real global development agenda. supporting the global fight against poverty and inequality is about invoking the human spirit, seeking more hands and generating fresh perspectives to fashion a lever long enough to move society to a much better place; comprehensively improving the human condition. “Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world” Archimedes, 220 BC the human family is suffering and greater leveraging can help, STAND UP NOW, TAKE ACTION TODAY! Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro Director, Chair FWG International Young Professionals Foundation constancewalyaro(a)iypf.org www.iypf.org --- On Fri, 17/10/08, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] MAKE ICTs WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT - STAND UP NOW, TAKE ACTION TODAY! To: constance(a)youthaidscoalition.org, "Wainaina Mungai" <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Date: Friday, 17 October, 2008, 9:19 AM > > 1. Tell your MP what you think: send SMS messages to the number 3454 with > the word STAND UP. > United in eradicating poverty! but, won't the SMS action path actually leave poor senders poorer? Regards, Alex On Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 3:10 AM, Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro <constance(a)youthaidscoalition.org> wrote: > > > > > Poverty > affects us all > > > > > > 'Today is the UN's official World Poverty Day. But every day is poverty day > for the two billion people worldwide who have less than two dollars a day to > live on. Of those, just under one billion live on just one dollar a day. In > September 2000, 189 countries pledged to halve the number of those in > poverty by 2015. When we look at the results so far, hope mixes with > despair. Over 100 million children are still unable to go to school. Each > year, 10 million children die before their 5th birthday. 40 million are > living with HIV and AIDS, and 5 million die of it each year.'17th Oct 2004 > Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for International Development > > > > > > Today, nearly half of the world's people live in poverty, 70% are women. > 50,000 people still die daily as a result of extreme poverty, and yet …..we > have the power to change this. www.standagainstpoverty.org > > > > > Last year, 43.7 million people around the world took part in the biggest > global mobilization to end poverty and inequality, and to promote the > Millennium Development Goals. This year, at a time of global financial > crises and food shortages, more than ever we need to ACT together in order > to send an even stronger message to push world leaders for more and better > aid, debt cancellation, education for all, healthcare, trade justice, gender > equality, public accountability and an end to extreme poverty by 2015. > > > > > > As the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty unfolds across the > world we're hoping to mobilize 1% of the global population - over 67 million > people around the world to STAND UP and TAKE ACTION [17th - 19th Oct] > against Poverty for the MDGs. Your actions count! > > > > > > 1. Tell your MP what you think: send SMS messages to the number 3454 with > the word STAND UP. > > > > 2. Attend Global Gatherings: a series of parallel IYPF events held in over > 30 different countries focused on mobilizing and engaging young > professionals in activities and processes that are holding governments and > leaders accountable and contributing to the achievement of the MDGs. > www.iypf.org > > > > 3. Join Virtual Stand Up: log in from October 17th to 19th and interact with > the world on MDGs; build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world. > Facebook IYPF StandUp Global Gathering www.iypf.org > > > > > > > > We have the power and an obligation to make ICTs work for development! > STAND UP NOW, TAKE ACTION TODAY, Make Poverty History! > > > > > > > > Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro > > Director, Chair FWG > > International Young Professionals Foundation > > constancewalyaro(a)iypf.org > > www.iypf.org > > > > > > Wainaina P. Mungai > > Make in Kenya Network > > wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org > > www.madeinkenya.org > > > > > > > > > > StandUp is an initiative of the Make Poverty History and Global Call to > Action Against Poverty (GCAP) campaigns. IYPF is a GCAP Global Mobilization > Partner. www.makepovertyhistory.org > > > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alexgakuru.lists%40gma… > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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AfNOG 2009 ANNOUNCEMENT
by Dorcas Muthoni 19 Oct '08

19 Oct '08

*AfNOG-10 and AfriNIC-10: Meetings 10 - 22 May, 2009* The African Network Operators' Group (AfNOG) and the African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC) are pleased to announce that the 10th AfNOG Meeting and the AfriNIC-10 Meeting would be held in Cairo, Egypt, in May 200 9. *AfNOG 10 & AfriNIC 10 will be our 10th Anniversary in our journey from Cape Town to Cairo!* *About the Entire Event* AfNOG and AfriNIC are jointly organizing a two-week event that includes the AfNOG Workshop on Network Technology (offering advanced training in a week-long hands-on workshop), several full-day Advanced Tutorials, a one-day AfNOG Meeting, and a two-day AfriNIC Meeting. In addition, several side meetings and workshops will be hosted in collaboration with other organizations such as the AAU and ISOC. Additional information about the event may be found at http://www.afnog.org/afnog2009/ and http://www.afrinic.net/meeting/.<http://www.afrinic.net/meeting/> *Timetable* Unix Boot Camp <http://www.ws.afnog.org/afnog2008/unix-intro/index.html> 9 - 10 May 2009 (Saturday - Sunday) AfNOG Workshop <http://www.ws.afnog.org/afnog2008/> 11 - 15 May 2009 (Monday - Friday) AfriNIC IPv6 Workshop <http://www.afrinic.net/training/> 16 – 17 May 2009 (Saturday - Sunday) AfREN Meeting <http://www.aau.org/renu/ws/afren08/progr.htm> 16 – 17 May 2009 (Saturday - Sunday) AfNOG Tutorials <http://www.afnog.org/afnog2008/tutorial/> 17 - 18 May 2008 (Sunday - Monday) AfriNIC LIR Workshop <http://www.afrinic.net/training/> 18 May 2009 (Monday) AfNOG -10 Meeting <http://www.afnog.org/afnog2008/conference/> 19 May 2009 (Tuesday) AfriNIC-10Meeting <http://www.afrinic.net/meeting/afrinic-8/> 20 - 21 May 2009 (Wednesday - Friday) Africa INET Day <http://www.isoc.org/isoc/conferences/inet/08/> 22 May 2009 (Friday) *Venue* Venue for the event will be announced shortly. * * *Hotel & Conferences*** Hotel will be announced shortly * * *About AfNOG* AfNOG (see <http://www.afnog.org/>) <http://www.afnog.org> is a forum for cooperation and the exchange of technical information between operators of Internet-connected networks in Africa. AfNOG has organized an event like this one every year since 2000. *About AfriNIC* AfriNIC (see <http://www.afrinic.net/>) <http://www.afrinic.net> is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), responsible for Internet Number resources Mangement in the Africa region. AfriNIC organizes two Public Policy meetings every year (see < http://www.afrinic.net/meeting/>). *AfNOG Workshop on Network Technology* The AfNOG Workshop on Network Technology aims to offer advanced training to people who are in the process of developing and enhancing an Internet-connected network with regional and international connectivity. The target audience includes senior and mid-level technical staff of commercial Internet service providers (ISPs), academic networks, government networks, or NGO networks. This workshop builds on the experience of previous AfNOG workshops held annually from 2000 to 2008 in nine different African countries, and also the Internet Society's INET workshops, held annually from 1993 to 2000 at eight locations around the world. The workshop's instructors are an international team with many years of experience operating large networks and teaching about network operations. The workshop is divided into four parallel tracks: - SA-E - Unix System Administration (in English), focused on using a Unix-like operating system as a platform for delivery of Internet services. - SS-E - Scalable Internet Services (in English), focused on the design and operation of email, web, and other Internet services, in ways that can scale to handle large numbers of end users. - SI-E - Scalable Network Infrastructure (in English), focused on the design and operation of networks using routers and switches, in ways that can scale to handle large numbers of interconnected sites. - SI-F - Infrastructure Reseaux IP (en francais), similar to track E2, but given in French. Further information and application forms for the workshop are available at <http://www.afnog.org/afnog2009/workshop/> *AfREN Meeting* The Africa Research and Education Networking community will be holding a two-day meeting on 16 - 17 May 2009. The meeting will discuss issues of interest to the NREN community such as coordination on activites in the region, advocacy, bandwidth consortia, regional RENs etc. Additional information about AfREN 2009 will be provided shortly at : < http://www.aau.org/renu/ws/afren09/intro.htm> *AfNOG Tutorials* AfNOG will offer 1 to 2 full-day(s) tutorials on advanced topics. Tutorials take place in a classroom-style environment, and may include a hands-on practical component. Tutorials are non-commercial in nature, and most are technically oriented. They are intended to offer advanced training on technology already deployed or soon to be deployed on networking and related services provisioning for ISP operations. For additional information and the Tutorial schedule see: < http://www.afnog.org/afnog2009/tutorial/> *10th AfNOG Meeting* The 9th AfNOG meeting will be held in Cairo, Egypt, on 19 May 2009. AfNOG conferences provide a forum for the coordination and dissemination of technical information related to backbone/enterprise networking technologies and operational practices. The meetings are informal, with an emphasis on relevance to current and future African backbone engineering practices. The AfNOG 2008 conference in Rabat, Morocco, drew over 179 participants, mainly consisting of network engineering staff from national service providers, and members of the research and education community. For additional information and the Conference schedule see: < http://www.afnog.org/afnog2009/conference/> *AfriNIC-10 Meeting* The AfriNIC-10 meeting will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from 20 21 May 2009. AfriNIC Meetings are open to everyone and provide an excellent opportunity to take part in Internet policy discussions. These policies, which describe how Internet Number Resources should be managed and distributed, are developed by the community. The meeting will include tutorials, presentations, update on the various working groups and the AfriNIC Public Policy Meeting. The two day meeting will be preceeded by a two-day IPv6 training. The meeting will focus on the IPv6 protocol and its deployment, especially in Africa and the issue of the exhaustion of the IPv4 pool of address space. There will be an opportunity to discuss the challenges which our region will be facing with the exhaustion. Further information is available at <http://www.afrinic.net/meeting/>. *ISOC - INET Africa Conference* The Internet Society will be organizing an INET Africa Conference on 22 May 2009 in conjunction with the AfriNIC 10 and AfNOG 10 meetings in Cairo, Egypt. It will discuss about the situation of the Internet Interconnection in Africa, the challenges as well as the solutions, including Internet Exchange Points. The meeting agenda is available at < http://www.isoc.org/isoc/conferences/inet/09/> *Visa Requirements* Citizens of certain countries require visa to enter Egypt. Please check from the Egypt Embassy in your country. *Information on Visa to Egypt: * (source http://www.mfa.gov.eg/MFA_Portal/en-GB/Services/Rules+and+Regulations/) *Egyptian Visa Regulations* Non-Egyptian visitors arriving in Egypt are required to be in possession of a valid passport. Entry visas may be obtained from Egyptian Diplomatic and Consular Missions Abroad or from the Entry Visa Department at the Travel Documents, Immigration and Nationality Administration (TDINA). It is, however, possible for most tourists and visitors to obtain an entry visa at any of the Major Ports of Entry. Please check with the nearest Egyptian Consulate for specific details and regulations relevant to your nationality. *Notes* *There are three types of Egyptian visa:* - Tourist Visa: is usually valid for a period not exceeding three months and granted on either single or multiple entry basis. - Entry Visa: is required for any foreigner arriving in Egypt for purposes other than tourism, e.g. work, study, etc. The possession of a valid Entry Visa is needed to complete the residence procedure in Egypt. - Transit Visa. *Major Ports of Entry to Egypt Airports:* - Cairo International (2 terminals) - Alexandria Nozha - Luxor, Upper Egypt - Aswan, Upper Egypt - Hurghaga, Red Sea - Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai *Health* * * *Airport* Information to be provided shortly.

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Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by John Maina 18 Oct '08

18 Oct '08

Gachui What is this list for? Can we please discuss issues with open heart. One claimed that this list is not the police. Is this list also parliament to discuss bills? Please lets all handle issues openly because if we be discriminative and very rigid then we will be going nowhere JM ----- Original Message ---- From: gachuhi anthony <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> To: j.maina(a)ymail.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:16:22 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests Moderator Is there a way off having an online poll to know where we stand maybe from there we may be able to know who is for or against the policies being discussed. Then we can give reasons as I don't think this a list to decide who is more kenyan than the other its about what will affect us all Tony On 10/16/08, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: > Dear all, > > What is the desired outcome of this very energised thread? (Select one) > > A: That the PS (I&C) announce that policies shall be developed in an > open, transparent and consultative manner. He also must organise a > forum to kickstart non-emotive talks by mid-November. > > B: That PS Ndemo resigns and is replaced with a person of your choice. > > C: That the Econet licence, Kencall licence and related MoUs, > contracts signed by PS (I&C) be cancelled. > > D: That all stakeholders Govt., KICTANET, KIF, CA, etc organise an > "ICT Investment" policy forum to be held in Nairobi around mid- > November 2008. > > I hope this shall help us focus on defining and achieving a common > goal so that we desist from personal attacks on integrity, racial > profiling and so on... > > Good day, > Wainaina > > On 10/16/08, Joseph Manthi <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> Edith,There are some useful lessons - but these lessons do not include: >> >> 1. How to give away your national treasures - like bandwidth - to foreign >> entities just because they say they can not do any business with local >> entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a fact, you would never get a >> license >> to operate in UAE if this was your argument. Further to this lesson I >> would >> like to point to these additional countries that would laugh you out of >> town >> if you made that argument - US (some businesses like Airline, Military and >> Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), Radio & TV), India, Singapore, >> Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the whole of Middle East, South >> Africa, >> Japan (especially Japan) >> >> 2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to heading there with its eyes opened. >> When a man approaches a woman, it would be a very stupid woman, who >> knowing >> what a man is capable of, to accept the BS that the man is feeding her. >> And >> if she does then she deserves what she gets. Kenya will get what it >> deserves >> and very soon. A good example is Russia and its oligarchs - all members of >> the Forbes Richest. >> >> 3. Great leadership is necessary to grow a country. A leadership with >> intestinal fortitude to say no under pressure. Top to bottom, >> >> 4. That the local mwananchi can invest in their own country and manage its >> growth >> >> 5. That a great nation looks upon its diaspora to grow it - a la Israel >> and >> India >> >> 6. That a great nation does not wait to be raped twice - We seem to be >> following a process that will guarantee our raping despite how Kenyan some >> members of this committee think they are. Its just a matter of time before >> they pick up their bags and leave. I really do not think that as a >> national >> planner I should be putting my eggs in that basket. >> >> Joe >> >> On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study the secret behind >>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in general). There are some useful >>> lessons! >>> >>> >>> > >>> >---- Original Message ---- >>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >>> >Interests >>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 (PDT) >>> > >>> >>Lizette >>> >> >>> >>I think that you have racially inclined your mind. >>> >> >>> >>When did KENCALL directors become Kenyans? After getting good >>> >friends to bribe their way to this country. And let me tell you that >>> >the money the so called investors are using are Kenyan money not >>> >money from foreign banks. >>> >> >>> >>They have come and borrowed from Kenyan banks. How much does the >>> >most profitable telecomms companies leave in this country, very small >>> >amount. We have Telecomms companies which are on their marks. They >>> >have very inferior systems and dont actually deliver in service but >>> >make billions and run away with the billions. >>> >> >>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are Kenyans who are white, black >>> >coloured and all but know that I am a mixed race Kenyan and really >>> >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer because of bad policies from >>> >people like PS >>> >> >>> >>JM >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>----- Original Message ---- >>> >>From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:52:07 PM >>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >>> >Interests >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >>> >> >>> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can survive on its own even through >>> >local investment. Most times we dont have the funds. I do agree >>> >though about the Government and banks not supporting local investors >>> >with loans etc. They must start giving them the opportunity to setup >>> >local expertise and turn them in money making ventures, if only they >>> >wouldn't fleece their own companies. Even America, the giant needs >>> >investors!!! You all have a valid point but use it for the best >>> >interests of Kenya and its people first and foremost. Not just self >>> >interest for the few. And by the way Kenyans come in all shapes, >>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please don't generalise who is kenyan >>> >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and owners are Kenyan and not >>> >outsiders if I understand correctly. When we are taxed whether >>> >individually or coorporately, the money is used for Kenya and Kenyans >>> >and not for outsiders who invested! Forcing local partnership in >>> >foreign owned companies has >>> >> its negative and positive effects. >>> >>This needs to be look at more seriously to make it a win-win >>> >situation. It has been known in the past that foreign investors with >>> >forced local partnership have been subjected to threats and >>> >intimidation by the local partners when they wanted more than their >>> >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus the weariness o >>> >>of being forced now. This does not attract any investor. But the >>> >foreigners should not fleece the country either! >>> >> >>> >>Let us have some constructive critisism without being racially >>> >inclined. Fight to make things right no matter what but without >>> >pinpointing nationalities or colours of people. >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>> >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >>> >> >>> >>_______________________________________________ >>> >>kictanet mailing list >>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >> >>> >>This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com >>> >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gmail. >>> >com >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>-- >>> >>Lizette Kraft >>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >>> >>Nairobi, Kenya >>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >>> This message was sent to: jmanthi(a)gmail.com >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmail.com >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Joseph Manthi >> CEO >> MEO Ltd >> http://www.meoltd.com >> > > -- > Sent from my mobile device > > Made in Kenya Network > Apt. B-8, Elite Park > Ole Odume Road > P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 > Nairobi. Kenya > Tel: +254-20-3590451 > Cel: +254-722-811171 > Cel: +254-735-370840 > www.madeinkenya.org > > http://www.bungesms.com > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/gachuhi.anthony%40gmai… > -- Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: j.maina(a)ymail.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/j.maina%40ymail.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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KENYA ICT BOARD ANNOUNCES COMMENCEMENT OF BPO BANDWIDTH CAPACITY SUPPORT
by Lucy Odhiambo 18 Oct '08

18 Oct '08

Dear All, This morning the board held a press conference where our CEO , Paul Kukubo together with our Deputy CEOs, Eunice Kariuki and Victor Kyalo, and BPO operators, announced the commencement of disbursement of capacity support to the BPO industry. This is great news for the industry as it will go a long way to ensure the development and growth of this sub-sector. We have placed a notice to the same effect in today's Standard Newspapers and will place another one in tomorrow's Saturday Nation. The team also briefed the press on the upcoming Silicon Valley Trip and the great impact it will have on the broader ICT industry in terms of capacity and relationship building. We wish our colleagues ,directors and industry players all the best as they leave this weekend for San Jose, California. The press releases and FAQ sheet are herewith for your perusal. Regards, Lucy Gachui-Odhiambo Communications Manager Kenya ICT Board 12th Floor Telposta Towers Koinange Lane PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cell 0737- 839047 Tel: 254-020-2093040 www.ict.go.ke ICT-logo-02.jpg

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Mobile messaging for the masses – an idea whose time has come
by alice 18 Oct '08

18 Oct '08

(From Balancing Act) MobileActive 08: Mobile messaging for the masses – an idea whose time has come Three hundred and eighty people gathered from all over the world in Johannesburg this week to discuss how mobile phones might be used for social and political purposes in developing countries. The organisers and hosts Sangonet had expected 150 people but the topic clearly touched a nerve. The event crackled with the kind of energy that happens when people gather on a topic for the first time. Russell Southwood looks at the issues raised by the event’s subject. At the core of all this energy was a very simple notion. The technology device of choice for the majority of people in developing continents like Africa is the mobile phone. If you want to deliver messages to people or get them to respond then SMS or voice is an obvious route to go down. But mobiles are not just a delivery channel but are fast becoming a media in their own right. National consumer surveys in Balancing Act’s report African Broadcast and Film Markets showed that between 3-9% of respondents in a variety of countries named the mobile as one of the most used daily sources of information. But like the old Hollywood saying, there were only really five stories at MobileActive 08. These were identified by snappy tags like M-health or M-education: indeed, M- almost any development sector you care to think of. Well, there were actually eight areas of M-something: health, education, rural livelihoods (agriculture), governance (political campaigning), disaster warning and women. Mobiles are now being used to: send out bulk mailings to key target groups (nurses); mobilise supporters; poll people and gather data; to provide answers to enquiries; to offer information support for activities; and raise funds. The majority of this activity is based on the 160 characters available in SMS. In other words, it’s an instantaneous, wide angle media but you can’t say that much using it. But you can send several messages to overcome this limitation. However, as one-long time veteran of using technology for development in Africa told me:”Everyone knows how to use it and most people have access to it.” The sheer inventiveness of many of the different services was impressive. For example, I attended a presentation by Zimbabwe’s Kubatana.net who used the call centre functionality of Asterisk to create Freedom Fone. This was designed to counteract the tight control of media in that country by allowing users to phone in and listen to short radio-style programming. In the example aired musician Thomas Mapfumo talked of a campaign of “tough love” towards the Government. The early pioneers of using mobiles for social purposes go back in Africa to the funding of the agricultural pricing service pioneered by Senegal’s Manobi in 1998. But like a lot of new development-based activity, the use of mobiles seems to operate in a memory-free present tense. The early precursors of this activity were those who gathered at the beginning of the millennium to try and use the Internet as way to break out of seemingly intractable development issues: technology would provide a magic pill that opened up new solutions. On the one side you had the wild-eyed (often American) tech enthusiasts and on the other side, the mumbling choir of African policy makers who seemed to want something called the Information Society. And somewhere in between were the development professionals who were trying to make sense of it all. The hopes for technology as a magic solution were dashed upon the rocks of a lack of infrastructure, a consequent shortage of users and the inability of the mumbling choir to remove the policy blockages to achieve the much-mentioned Information Society. The disillusioned and pragmatic headed in a number of different directions. Some of them moved from focusing on the Internet to thinking about how to use mobile phones. People like Peter Armstrong of One World who set up an SMS jobs service in Nairobi’s Kibera were part of this group. Others started campaigning to change both the fundamentals of price and infrastructure. Whilst others, like Geek Corps founder Ethan Zuckerman (who has been a moving force behind encouraging blogging through Global Voices) moved off in new directions. The absence of those promoting the Internet at MobileActive perhaps reflects these changes. The Internet enthusiasts had to break through the standard development response which might be cruelly summarised as: how can you spend money on technology when poor people need _________ ?(insert the word reflecting your own particular work area). For whatever else, this interest in technology did, it began at the edges to challenge long-established funding patterns and the thinking around it. But it also initiated a debate about the efficacy of different types of media. The Internet was compared unfavourably with radio and in time also with mobile phones: something always had to be the answer to everything. But in reality, no-one thing is ever the answer to everything. People make use of a range of media and any process of communicating with them will be “hybrid”: in other words, it will be sent and received using a range of methods. The same righteous position-taking about what approach was morally superior was also present at the conference, best exemplified by a person who seemed to pop up at almost every session I attended and make the point that voice messages were more effective in communicating with the poor than text SMSs. Whilst the position has a useful grain of truth, it rather ignores the many millions of messages sent by the functionally and completely illiterate every month. And as I learned, the presence of SMS writers (who have sprung up alongside letter writers) in places like Pakistan, who charge the illiterate to send messages they compose for them. Unlike the initial world-changing promises for the Internet, those working with mobiles make more modest claims. Cell-Life which works in HIV-AIDS information says that missed appointments at Themba Lethu clinic in Johannesburg among the 9,000 patients using TxtAlert has dropped from 10% to 3%. SocialTxt which uses the 120 unused characters on the “please call me” message to insert calls to action about HIV-AIDS has driven an increase in people calling national helplines. One call centre reported that over two weeks 41% of users had accessed services following a campaign of this sort. These claims are merely illustrative of the various ways in which mobiles can change social circumstances favourably. Others included: using MIXIT to teach basic maths; mobilising protest by using SMS; “dating” agricultural growers with produce buyers using text alerts (TradeNet in Ghana); getting people to speak out against domestic violence (WOUGNET in Uganda); gathering data using Java-apps to create simple menus; weekly farming tips to farmers (CELAC project in Uganda); using a mobile phone on a table for conference calls with farmers; and many, many others. So whilst NGO professionals now make far greater use of PCs and the Internet in their work (according to the Worldwide Worx survey for 2007, 99% of South African NGOs use e-mail), there is a growing acknowledgement that mobile phones can be used effectively for wider communication. As Peter Benjamin of CellLife told me:”There’s a huge demand for information. Very good information already exists (in the HIV-AIDS field) and there are high levels of cell-phone usage. (For most of the people we want to talk to) e-mails and the Internet are from another planet. The mobile is the device in the hands of the majority and it can do interactions.” So if it’s such an obviously good idea, why can’t I name more successful, long-standing projects that have begun to change the fundamentals of communication or the lives of people? On the fingers of one hand, you have the aforementioned jobs service from One World and Safaricom’s M-Pesa service (which was initially funded by DFID through Vodafone) and errrr…that’s it? Readers may wish to write and tell me what a fool I am for forgetting to mention other long-standing projects but I doubt that I will find myself using the fingers of more than two hands. The immediate and seemingly reasonable response is that many of these projects are in their early stages. There did not seem to be a single project I spoke to at the conference that was not a pilot: in other words it will be funded for a year to three years and then may disappear. However, the early pioneers stretch back further and few have found their financial feet or scaled up in such a way that they have made a significant major impact. Indeed one might ask: with so many pilots around, when are we going to see some flying? An uncomfortable circle of circumstances involving what the service is, who might use and how it is funded chases its own tail to no little or no effect. You need scale to demonstrate effect. Scale takes time and money to establish. SMS itself in Africa did not spring out suddenly newly-formed with millions of users, it took time to develop. With certain notable exceptions, donors and foundations are keen to seed but do not take a long view. Impact only comes with scale. A few hundred users is hopeless, a few thousand users is promising, a few hundred thousand users is suggestive and over a million means you’re actually getting somewhere. For complex systems, like agriculture, you need to have “critical mass” across several countries. Faced with the daunting cliff of “scaling-up” or “rolling-out”, some in the development community go squishy and start saying things like cultures are different and things work differently in different places. But whilst this is undoubtedly true, these are what we know technically speaking as “excuses”. Mobile phones and the practice of using them differs from country to country but that hasn’t stopped them rolling out in every country in the world. The same will be true for services on mobile phones and their use as media: ways will be differ but certain things will be the same and the challenge is to make it so useful that people can’t fail to want it. It’s not about technology, it’s about what makes people’s lives easier. The big abstract concept areas of development (like health) may sound important and “do you good” but they have to fit into how people lead their lives and their sense of priorities. For as Mark Davies of TradeNet (who wrestles with the complicated issues affecting farmers) said:”It’s all about understanding the agents of change and that’s anthropology not technology.” People in development all too often think they know what’s good for people and for all the rhetoric about “bottom-up approaches” simply fail to observe what people are saying or doing. To be fair, that listening process is not as simple as it sounds. Gary Marsden of University of Cape Town ran a session that looked at the important relationship between potential users and developers. The design community’s version of “bottom-up” is “user-centred design”: the user becomes part of the design team in a warm, humane Scandinavian version of co-creation after you show them a prototype. The real difficulty faced by developers, according to Marsden, was that the potential users had no familiarity or conceptual framework to make a useful input. To use an analogy, it would be a bit like showing a pre-automobile, horse-rider a car and asking for design input. Why are there no stirrups? One Mexican group simply watched closely the intended users making use of the tools provided and used paper to sketch out what might happen with them. But this observation probably applies better to more complex apps for computers or menu-driven apps for mobiles, not SMS. But even with SMS simple design flaws can upset the process. One application for data collection using SMS involved using the hash key as separators but the hash key was different when the phone was in SMS mode for some users. From my own experience, African users want to be helpful and will often consciously or unconsciously simply mirror back what the project’s initiators want to hear. The conference had a session on “sustainability” which is one version of development-speak for: how will it pay for itself? I was unable to attend this session as I was speaking in another session but having closely grilled two or three people who attended, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of answers that were aired. In truth, there are only three broad, long-term answers and none make very comfortable listening for those who want these projects to succeed. The user pays, the Government pays or as with other media, a sponsor or advertiser pays. There is an interesting sub-set of the user pays which is political issues and the campaigning that goes with them: Greenpeace Argentina can use phone calls to find supporters and ask some of them for funds to pay for this work. If it’s important to you and you want it enough, you’ll find a way of paying for it. The development sector usually assumes that if people are poor, then a service will need to be “free-at-the-point-of-delivery”: it costs money to have the service but it comes out of general taxation. But at one level poor people are not so different from the more well-off. The Orange Foundation ran a scheme in a poor part of Mali’s capital Bamako. Mothers would bring their babies to be weighed and the weights of the babies would be mailed to a paediatrician. He or she checked their progress and if and when weight progress fell below a certain level, advice or medication would be provided. There were 300 subscribers paying US$1.05 a month and by any description this is a health insurance scheme. As with using mobile phones, the poor will pay for what they really value. Therefore one challenge is to produce a service that they really value and large number can afford to pay a small amount for: Safaricom’s M-Pesa has 2.5 million users because it is a service that is really valued by its users. No capacity building workshops were run to help users, they taught themselves based on the service’s marketing information. There will be some services that cannot be commercialised because they are simply a public service: these will either need to be fundraised for or ultimately become part of the budget of Government. For the latter, the justification for spending will be two-fold. It communicates more effectively with a group of people and/or it is more cost effective. So for example, collecting data electronically is challenging but almost certainly quicker and cheaper than its paper and physical collection equivalent. But for African Governments, it implies overhauling a sclerotic and often inert civil service by moving money out of existing ways of doing things into new more effective ways of doing them. In terms of advertising and sponsors, the level of activity needs to be at a critical mass to attract interest. Praekelt Foundation’s use of advertising slogans on Call Me messages can reach 13 million people daily in South Africa. But for only 120 characters, the few thousand dollars they charge per million users seems reasonable. Nevertheless nw advertising media take time to establish themselves. But whatever the challenges and limitations of using mobiles as a media, this one will run and run as all those involved wrestle with different ways to make it work.

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Re: [kictanet] What should the Investment Policy Be?
by John Walubengo 17 Oct '08

17 Oct '08

Plse lets hear more opinions on this issue. I heard one opinion that in the vent local investors are unable to raise funding, we could allow the foreing investor get in at 100% ownership on condition that they offload 20% to local investors within 3-5years. Is this workable? Yet another opinion was that local investors do have the funds - its just NOT structured i.e. well consolidated and cordinated. I think this may also be true if the recent Safaricom IPO is anything to go by. So it looks like we do have the funds for ICT investments while at the same time we dont! Where is the catch, bottleneck? How could this be resolved? walu. --- On Fri, 10/17/08, bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> wrote: > From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> > Subject: What should the Investment Policy Be? > To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Cc: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 11:22 AM > Dear Listers, > A number of you have written to me off-list seeking to know > the > organizations that have sought excemption from the 20% > local equity > partcipation. > > These are four of the World's largets call centers and > two ICT equipment > manufacturers. They have said very clearly that they do > not want to go > through what some of the investors in telecoms sector went > through or are > going through. By this they mean local > "Investors" who fail to raise > their part of the bargain. We failed thrice to get the SNO > simply because > our local investors could not live up to their promises > (Vtel, Reliance > etc). This is an annormally in the current policy that > does not allow the > investor to seek for another local investor in the event of > a disagreement > in the first marriage (Do not read Econet since law is > never applied > retrospectively). > > Any progressive policy would give a chance to other people > instead of > forcing investors to stay in a marriage that does not bear > fruit. You > recall in past meeting we have called for such investments > to seek for > partnership at the stock exchange. This would mean then > that the current > policy is changed to allow that in the event there is a > disagreement, the > foreign investor can seek for a nother partner or better go > to the stock > market. > > My responsibility among others is to ensure that we achieve > vision 2030 > objectives as presicribed in the vision. In order to > achieve the targets, > especially of getting at least 50,000 youth into BPO sector > in the next > three years, we must get these bigies. This is what > Ireland, India and > Philipines did. > > Regards > > > Ndemo. > > > > > > > > Hey Folks, > > > > I have lurked in the background for a while and like > Wainaina I got a bit > > lost in the exchanges. But I think one fundamental > thread in all this - > > despite the muddy exchanges - is the question of how > do want to engage > > with Foreign Investors? JM and others may have a > point here - despite > > their strong language. > > > > So maybe to bring benefit out of all these, we could > indulge for a day or > > two on the Policy we want as far as Foreign Direct > Investments (FDI) into > > our ICT industry are concerned. > > > > Correct me if am wrong but I believe the Government > position/policy on > > this has been that the Foreign investor MUST > incorporate a local investor > > at minimum ratio 20%(local) to 80%(foreign) > ownership/equity. I think the > > members who feel that this should be changed have > cases/examples where the > > local equity/investor failed to come up with their 20% > capital and so the > > opportunity for investment disappears. On the other > hand, other members > > feel that local investors are abundantly rich and can > come up with even > > over 50% of any capital/equity required to invest in > the industry. > > > > I honestly dont know which side is right and which one > is wrong - but what > > I do know is that there exists cases where the local > investors have failed > > to meet their capital requirements - hence the need to > review or > > interrogate whether this policy is detrimental or > indeed beneficial to our > > industry. > > > > Plse lets have objective comments that are devoid of > personal attacks and > > we shall make progress. Otherwise we begin to sound > like a broken record. > > > > walu. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- On Thu, 10/16/08, gachuhi anthony > <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> From: gachuhi anthony > <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> > >> Subject: Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal > aand Vested Interests > >> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > >> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > >> Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008, 8:16 AM > >> Moderator > >> Is there a way off having an online poll to know > where we > >> stand maybe > >> from there we may be able to know who is for or > against the > >> policies > >> being discussed. > >> Then we can give reasons as I don't think this > a list > >> to decide who is > >> more kenyan than the other its about what will > affect us > >> all > >> Tony > >> > >> > >> > >> On 10/16/08, Wainaina Mungai > >> <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: > >> > Dear all, > >> > > >> > What is the desired outcome of this very > energised > >> thread? (Select one) > >> > > >> > A: That the PS (I&C) announce that > policies shall > >> be developed in an > >> > open, transparent and consultative manner. He > also > >> must organise a > >> > forum to kickstart non-emotive talks by > mid-November. > >> > > >> > B: That PS Ndemo resigns and is replaced with > a person > >> of your choice. > >> > > >> > C: That the Econet licence, Kencall licence > and > >> related MoUs, > >> > contracts signed by PS (I&C) be > cancelled. > >> > > >> > D: That all stakeholders Govt., KICTANET, > KIF, CA, etc > >> organise an > >> > "ICT Investment" policy forum to be > held in > >> Nairobi around mid- > >> > November 2008. > >> > > >> > I hope this shall help us focus on defining > and > >> achieving a common > >> > goal so that we desist from personal attacks > on > >> integrity, racial > >> > profiling and so on... > >> > > >> > Good day, > >> > Wainaina > >> > > >> > On 10/16/08, Joseph Manthi > <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> > >> wrote: > >> >> Edith,There are some useful lessons - but > these > >> lessons do not include: > >> >> > >> >> 1. How to give away your national > treasures - like > >> bandwidth - to foreign > >> >> entities just because they say they can > not do any > >> business with local > >> >> entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a > fact, you > >> would never get a > >> >> license > >> >> to operate in UAE if this was your > argument. > >> Further to this lesson I > >> >> would > >> >> like to point to these additional > countries that > >> would laugh you out of > >> >> town > >> >> if you made that argument - US (some > businesses > >> like Airline, Military and > >> >> Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), > Radio & > >> TV), India, Singapore, > >> >> Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the > whole of > >> Middle East, South > >> >> Africa, > >> >> Japan (especially Japan) > >> >> > >> >> 2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to > heading there > >> with its eyes opened. > >> >> When a man approaches a woman, it would > be a very > >> stupid woman, who > >> >> knowing > >> >> what a man is capable of, to accept the > BS that > >> the man is feeding her. > >> >> And > >> >> if she does then she deserves what she > gets. Kenya > >> will get what it > >> >> deserves > >> >> and very soon. A good example is Russia > and its > >> oligarchs - all members of > >> >> the Forbes Richest. > >> >> > >> >> 3. Great leadership is necessary to grow > a > >> country. A leadership with > >> >> intestinal fortitude to say no under > pressure. Top > >> to bottom, > >> >> > >> >> 4. That the local mwananchi can invest in > their > >> own country and manage its > >> >> growth > >> >> > >> >> 5. That a great nation looks upon its > diaspora to > >> grow it - a la Israel > >> >> and > >> >> India > >> >> > >> >> 6. That a great nation does not wait to > be raped > >> twice - We seem to be > >> >> following a process that will guarantee > our raping > >> despite how Kenyan some > >> >> members of this committee think they are. > Its just > >> a matter of time before > >> >> they pick up their bags and leave. I > really do not > >> think that as a > >> >> national > >> >> planner I should be putting my eggs in > that > >> basket. > >> >> > >> >> Joe > >> >> > >> >> On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, > >> <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: > >> >> > >> >>> Anyone has taken the time to > thoroughly study > >> the secret behind > >> >>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E > in > >> general). There are some useful > >> >>> lessons! > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> > > >> >>> >---- Original Message ---- > >> >>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com > >> >>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke > >> >>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS > Ndemo, > >> ECONET Scandal aand Vested > >> >>> >Interests > >> >>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 > -0700 > >> (PDT) > >> >>> > > >> >>> >>Lizette > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>I think that you have > racially > >> inclined your mind. > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>When did KENCALL directors > become > >> Kenyans? After getting good > >> >>> >friends to bribe their way to > this > >> country. And let me tell you that > >> >>> >the money the so called investors > are > >> using are Kenyan money not > >> >>> >money from foreign banks. > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>They have come and borrowed > from > >> Kenyan banks. How much does the > >> >>> >most profitable telecomms > companies leave > >> in this country, very small > >> >>> >amount. We have Telecomms > companies which > >> are on their marks. They > >> >>> >have very inferior systems and > dont > >> actually deliver in service but > >> >>> >make billions and run away with > the > >> billions. > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that > there are > >> Kenyans who are white, black > >> >>> >coloured and all but know that I > am a > >> mixed race Kenyan and really > >> >>> >sad when our brotehrs have to > suffer > >> because of bad policies from > >> >>> >people like PS > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>JM > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>----- Original Message ---- > >> >>> >>From: Lizette Kraft > >> <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> > >> >>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com > >> >>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy > Discussions > >> <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > >> >>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, > 2008 > >> 1:52:07 PM > >> >>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS > Ndemo, > >> ECONET Scandal aand Vested > >> >>> >Interests > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>Just my two pennies worth > here. > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>Kenya is not an Island that > it can > >> survive on its own even through > >> >>> >local investment. Most times we > dont have > >> the funds. I do agree > >> >>> >though about the Government and > banks not > >> supporting local investors > >> >>> >with loans etc. They must start > giving > >> them the opportunity to setup > >> >>> >local expertise and turn them in > money > >> making ventures, if only they > >> >>> >wouldn't fleece their own > companies. > >> Even America, the giant needs > >> >>> >investors!!! You all have a valid > point > >> but use it for the best > >> >>> >interests of Kenya and its people > first > >> and foremost. Not just self > >> >>> >interest for the few. And by the > way > >> Kenyans come in all shapes, > >> >>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So > please > >> don't generalise who is kenyan > >> >>> >and who is not!!! Kencall > directors and > >> owners are Kenyan and not > >> >>> >outsiders if I understand > correctly. When > >> we are taxed whether > >> >>> >individually or coorporately, the > money is > >> used for Kenya and Kenyans > >> >>> >and not for outsiders who > invested! > >> Forcing local partnership in > >> >>> >foreign owned companies has > >> >>> >> its negative and positive > effects. > >> >>> >>This needs to be look at more > >> seriously to make it a win-win > >> >>> >situation. It has been known in > the past > >> that foreign investors with > >> >>> >forced local partnership have > been > >> subjected to threats and > >> >>> >intimidation by the local > partners when > >> they wanted more than their > >> >>> >fare share, (given to them mind > you). Thus > >> the weariness o > >> >>> >>of being forced now. This > does not > >> attract any investor. But the > >> >>> >foreigners should not fleece the > country > >> either! > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>Let us have some constructive > >> critisism without being racially > >> >>> >inclined. Fight to make things > right no > >> matter what but without > >> >>> >pinpointing nationalities or > colours of > >> people. > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina > >> <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: > >> >>> > >> > >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 > >> >>> >> > >> >>> > >> > >>_______________________________________________ > >> >>> >>kictanet mailing list > >> >>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >> >>> > >> > >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>This message was sent to: > >> lfkraft(a)gmail.com > >> >>> >>Unsubscribe or change your > options at > >> >>> > >> > >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gmail. > >> >>> >com > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >>-- > >> >>> >>Lizette Kraft > >> >>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 > >> >>> >>Nairobi, Kenya > >> >>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> >> > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> >>> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> >>> kictanet mailing list > >> >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >> >>> > >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >> >>> > >> >>> This message was sent to: > jmanthi(a)gmail.com > >> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at > >> >>> > >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmail.com > >> >>> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> -- > >> >> Joseph Manthi > >> >> CEO > >> >> MEO Ltd > >> >> http://www.meoltd.com > >> >> > >> > > >> > -- > >> > Sent from my mobile device > >> > > >> > Made in Kenya Network > >> > Apt. B-8, Elite Park > >> > Ole Odume Road > >> > P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 > >> > Nairobi. Kenya > >> > Tel: +254-20-3590451 > >> > Cel: +254-722-811171 > >> > Cel: +254-735-370840 > >> > www.madeinkenya.org > >> > > >> > http://www.bungesms.com > >> > > >> > > _______________________________________________ > >> > kictanet mailing list > >> > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >> > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >> > > >> > This message was sent to: > gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com > >> > Unsubscribe or change your options at > >> > > >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/gachuhi.anthony%40gmai… > >> > > >> > >> -- > >> Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> kictanet mailing list > >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >> > >> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > >> Unsubscribe or change your options at > >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > > believed to be clean. > > --------------------------------------------- > > "easy access to the world" > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > --------------------------------------------- > "easy access to the world" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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Re: [kictanet] What should the Investment Policy Be?
by mwananchi＠hushmail.com 17 Oct '08

17 Oct '08

Walu, Asante for setting the stage for policy discussions on FDI as relates to ICT policy. First and foremost, it is important to offer views as to some of the real causes of local investors failing to meet capital requirements. The points on this need not be belaboured. I believe we are making a scapegoat out of the wrong parties in order to punish other legitimate local investors through arbitrary changes in investment policies. In all the mentioned cases of capital issues, it is quite clear it was the duty of the regulator to conduct due diligence on the bidding consortia financial capacities. Had the regulator conducted this duty, we would not have had bidding entities that were near bankruptcy or in virtual bankruptcy itself sailing past the pre qualification stage and somehow beating industry giants with trillions (not billions) of shillings in turnover complete with their international experience and expertise in operations including in Uganda, Tanzania and tens of other countries, and then failing to pay for licence fees for years as they use the licence as an "asset" to shop for funding to pay for it. It is a rather simple matter to conclude that if one has Ksh 100, in the bank that one cannot afford to write a check for Ksh 10000. This is why we should stop blaming local investors as a group and focus on these repeated failures to conduct due diligence. The insolvency of one such member of a consortium that last bid in the last major tender points to a complete failure in due diligence. Secondly inept and poor tendering procedures have led to credible international investors ditching Kenya. This results in bidding entities that lack the type of financials any major bank would be happy to work with. Why would international bidders who have succeeded across Africa and in our neighbouring countries keep being disqualified on suspect reasons while relatively unknown and untested non performers sail through with high marks only to disappoint? Why should bidders keep spending anywhere from US$500,000 to US$1m or more bidding when its indisputable that they are amongst the best in the world only for novices and unknowns in the industry to score so highly then fail to deliver to Kenyans for years on end? Even if the local investors had healthy financials, by virtue of being co-shareholders with international entities that no bank is eager to touch, they are as good as sunk when it comes to obtaining funding for capital intensive projects. We seem to quickly forget that when investment policy demanded 40% equity holding by local shareholders, it did not deter Vodafone and Vivendi from coming to Kenya with 60% stakes. If the opportunities are there, there will always be takers as long as one is assured of fair play in the process. Confidence once dented is a difficult thing to rebuild. The failure by the regulator to conduct due diligence and failures in tendering process are scaring away the type of international operators whose name recognition alone would be sufficient for local investors to walk into banks and obtain funding for their capital contributions. Take the findings for instance from the then named Public Procurement Complaints Review and Appeals Board in regards to the first SNO tender. "Taking into account the critical failure in evaluation by CCK and also the interference in the tender process and disclosure of information by CCK, we find that the procurement process has been seriously flawed and compromised," the board concluded. or An article in the Sunday Standard, "How Broke Company Won Tender", September 18 2005, citing KACC officials investigating the matter of the 3rd mobile licence tender before investigations were prematurely and suddenly interrupted by certain interests: "Initial investigations by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission into the award of the license in 2003 show that two of the major shareholders in consortium were had financial difficulties at the time of the award. ... With the other partners not being financially stable, the consortium fell short of the minimum financial requirements by well over $80 million." Why is it that KACC is able to see what the regulator apparently did not see or realise? For these and other reasons we cannot continue to solely blame the vast majority of local investors. We must place blame failure on the lack of financial due diligence and failed tendering procedures that instead attract the types of international investors that banks would not feel comfortable dealing with due to their lack of a lengthy track record and weak financials that don't suit capital intensive projects. So let us look at the root causes, not the symptoms and tackle those root causes instead, majority of which lie within our institutions to resolve the problems. Foreigners while welcome to invest in Kenya should not be thought of as the number one solution when the problems that cause local investors problems lie within institutions and policies. That said views on FDI per ICT policies will be forthcoming separately. Peterson On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:37:09 +0000 John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >Hey Folks, > >I have lurked in the background for a while and like Wainaina I >got a bit lost in the exchanges. But I think one fundamental >thread in all this - despite the muddy exchanges - is the question >of how do want to engage with Foreign Investors? JM and others >may have a point here - despite their strong language. > >So maybe to bring benefit out of all these, we could indulge for a >day or two on the Policy we want as far as Foreign Direct >Investments (FDI) into our ICT industry are concerned. > >Correct me if am wrong but I believe the Government >position/policy on this has been that the Foreign investor MUST >incorporate a local investor at minimum ratio 20%(local) to >80%(foreign) ownership/equity. I think the members who feel that >this should be changed have cases/examples where the local >equity/investor failed to come up with their 20% capital and so >the opportunity for investment disappears. On the other hand, >other members feel that local investors are abundantly rich and >can come up with even over 50% of any capital/equity required to >invest in the industry. > >I honestly dont know which side is right and which one is wrong - >but what I do know is that there exists cases where the local >investors have failed to meet their capital requirements - hence >the need to review or interrogate whether this policy is >detrimental or indeed beneficial to our industry. > >Plse lets have objective comments that are devoid of personal >attacks and we shall make progress. Otherwise we begin to sound >like a broken record. > >walu. > > > > > > >--- On Thu, 10/16/08, gachuhi anthony <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> >wrote: > >> From: gachuhi anthony <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> >> Subject: Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >Interests >> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" ><kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008, 8:16 AM >> Moderator >> Is there a way off having an online poll to know where we >> stand maybe >> from there we may be able to know who is for or against the >> policies >> being discussed. >> Then we can give reasons as I don't think this a list >> to decide who is >> more kenyan than the other its about what will affect us >> all >> Tony >> >> >> >> On 10/16/08, Wainaina Mungai >> <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: >> > Dear all, >> > >> > What is the desired outcome of this very energised >> thread? (Select one) >> > >> > A: That the PS (I&C) announce that policies shall >> be developed in an >> > open, transparent and consultative manner. He also >> must organise a >> > forum to kickstart non-emotive talks by mid-November. >> > >> > B: That PS Ndemo resigns and is replaced with a person >> of your choice. >> > >> > C: That the Econet licence, Kencall licence and >> related MoUs, >> > contracts signed by PS (I&C) be cancelled. >> > >> > D: That all stakeholders Govt., KICTANET, KIF, CA, etc >> organise an >> > "ICT Investment" policy forum to be held in >> Nairobi around mid- >> > November 2008. >> > >> > I hope this shall help us focus on defining and >> achieving a common >> > goal so that we desist from personal attacks on >> integrity, racial >> > profiling and so on... >> > >> > Good day, >> > Wainaina >> > >> > On 10/16/08, Joseph Manthi <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> Edith,There are some useful lessons - but these >> lessons do not include: >> >> >> >> 1. How to give away your national treasures - like >> bandwidth - to foreign >> >> entities just because they say they can not do any >> business with local >> >> entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a fact, you >> would never get a >> >> license >> >> to operate in UAE if this was your argument. >> Further to this lesson I >> >> would >> >> like to point to these additional countries that >> would laugh you out of >> >> town >> >> if you made that argument - US (some businesses >> like Airline, Military and >> >> Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), Radio & >> TV), India, Singapore, >> >> Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the whole of >> Middle East, South >> >> Africa, >> >> Japan (especially Japan) >> >> >> >> 2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to heading there >> with its eyes opened. >> >> When a man approaches a woman, it would be a very >> stupid woman, who >> >> knowing >> >> what a man is capable of, to accept the BS that >> the man is feeding her. >> >> And >> >> if she does then she deserves what she gets. Kenya >> will get what it >> >> deserves >> >> and very soon. A good example is Russia and its >> oligarchs - all members of >> >> the Forbes Richest. >> >> >> >> 3. Great leadership is necessary to grow a >> country. A leadership with >> >> intestinal fortitude to say no under pressure. Top >> to bottom, >> >> >> >> 4. That the local mwananchi can invest in their >> own country and manage its >> >> growth >> >> >> >> 5. That a great nation looks upon its diaspora to >> grow it - a la Israel >> >> and >> >> India >> >> >> >> 6. That a great nation does not wait to be raped >> twice - We seem to be >> >> following a process that will guarantee our raping >> despite how Kenyan some >> >> members of this committee think they are. Its just >> a matter of time before >> >> they pick up their bags and leave. I really do not >> think that as a >> >> national >> >> planner I should be putting my eggs in that >> basket. >> >> >> >> Joe >> >> >> >> On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, >> <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: >> >> >> >>> Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study >> the secret behind >> >>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in >> general). There are some useful >> >>> lessons! >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> > >> >>> >---- Original Message ---- >> >>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >> >>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >> >>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, >> ECONET Scandal aand Vested >> >>> >Interests >> >>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 >> (PDT) >> >>> > >> >>> >>Lizette >> >>> >> >> >>> >>I think that you have racially >> inclined your mind. >> >>> >> >> >>> >>When did KENCALL directors become >> Kenyans? After getting good >> >>> >friends to bribe their way to this >> country. And let me tell you that >> >>> >the money the so called investors are >> using are Kenyan money not >> >>> >money from foreign banks. >> >>> >> >> >>> >>They have come and borrowed from >> Kenyan banks. How much does the >> >>> >most profitable telecomms companies leave >> in this country, very small >> >>> >amount. We have Telecomms companies which >> are on their marks. They >> >>> >have very inferior systems and dont >> actually deliver in service but >> >>> >make billions and run away with the >> billions. >> >>> >> >> >>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are >> Kenyans who are white, black >> >>> >coloured and all but know that I am a >> mixed race Kenyan and really >> >>> >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer >> because of bad policies from >> >>> >people like PS >> >>> >> >> >>> >>JM >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >>----- Original Message ---- >> >>> >>From: Lizette Kraft >> <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >> >>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >> >>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions >> <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> >>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 >> 1:52:07 PM >> >>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, >> ECONET Scandal aand Vested >> >>> >Interests >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >> >>> >> >> >>> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can >> survive on its own even through >> >>> >local investment. Most times we dont have >> the funds. I do agree >> >>> >though about the Government and banks not >> supporting local investors >> >>> >with loans etc. They must start giving >> them the opportunity to setup >> >>> >local expertise and turn them in money >> making ventures, if only they >> >>> >wouldn't fleece their own companies. >> Even America, the giant needs >> >>> >investors!!! You all have a valid point >> but use it for the best >> >>> >interests of Kenya and its people first >> and foremost. Not just self >> >>> >interest for the few. And by the way >> Kenyans come in all shapes, >> >>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please >> don't generalise who is kenyan >> >>> >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and >> owners are Kenyan and not >> >>> >outsiders if I understand correctly. When >> we are taxed whether >> >>> >individually or coorporately, the money is >> used for Kenya and Kenyans >> >>> >and not for outsiders who invested! >> Forcing local partnership in >> >>> >foreign owned companies has >> >>> >> its negative and positive effects. >> >>> >>This needs to be look at more >> seriously to make it a win-win >> >>> >situation. It has been known in the past >> that foreign investors with >> >>> >forced local partnership have been >> subjected to threats and >> >>> >intimidation by the local partners when >> they wanted more than their >> >>> >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus >> the weariness o >> >>> >>of being forced now. This does not >> attract any investor. But the >> >>> >foreigners should not fleece the country >> either! >> >>> >> >> >>> >>Let us have some constructive >> critisism without being racially >> >>> >inclined. Fight to make things right no >> matter what but without >> >>> >pinpointing nationalities or colours of >> people. >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina >> <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >> >>> >> >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >>_______________________________________________ >> >>> >>kictanet mailing list >> >>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >>> >> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >>> >> >> >>> >>This message was sent to: >> lfkraft(a)gmail.com >> >>> >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >>> >> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gma >il. >> >>> >com >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >>-- >> >>> >>Lizette Kraft >> >>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >> >>> >>Nairobi, Kenya >> >>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> >>> kictanet mailing list >> >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> >>> >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >>> >> >>> This message was sent to: jmanthi(a)gmail.com >> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >>> >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmai >l.com >> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Joseph Manthi >> >> CEO >> >> MEO Ltd >> >> http://www.meoltd.com >> >> >> > >> > -- >> > Sent from my mobile device >> > >> > Made in Kenya Network >> > Apt. B-8, Elite Park >> > Ole Odume Road >> > P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >> > Nairobi. Kenya >> > Tel: +254-20-3590451 >> > Cel: +254-722-811171 >> > Cel: +254-735-370840 >> > www.madeinkenya.org >> > >> > http://www.bungesms.com >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > kictanet mailing list >> > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> > >> > This message was sent to: gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com >> > Unsubscribe or change your options at >> > >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/gachuhi.anthon >y%40gmail.com >> > >> >> -- >> Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo. >com > > > > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: mwananchi(a)hushmail.com >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwananchi%40hu >shmail.com -- Click here for free information on how to reduce your debt by filing for bankruptcy. http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4elLzQmCONnCaK286MVblIR30PBBcRba4a4pkA…

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by eadera＠idrc.or.ke 17 Oct '08

17 Oct '08

Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study the secret behind Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in general). There are some useful lessons! > > > >---- Original Message ---- >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >Interests >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 (PDT) > >>Lizette >> >>I think that you have racially inclined your mind. >> >>When did KENCALL directors become Kenyans? After getting good >friends to bribe their way to this country. And let me tell you that >the money the so called investors are using are Kenyan money not >money from foreign banks. >> >>They have come and borrowed from Kenyan banks. How much does the >most profitable telecomms companies leave in this country, very small >amount. We have Telecomms companies which are on their marks. They >have very inferior systems and dont actually deliver in service but >make billions and run away with the billions. >> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are Kenyans who are white, black >coloured and all but know that I am a mixed race Kenyan and really >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer because of bad policies from >people like PS >> >>JM >> >> >> >>----- Original Message ---- >>From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:52:07 PM >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >Interests >> >> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can survive on its own even through >local investment. Most times we dont have the funds. I do agree >though about the Government and banks not supporting local investors >with loans etc. They must start giving them the opportunity to setup >local expertise and turn them in money making ventures, if only they >wouldn't fleece their own companies. Even America, the giant needs >investors!!! You all have a valid point but use it for the best >interests of Kenya and its people first and foremost. Not just self >interest for the few. And by the way Kenyans come in all shapes, >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please don't generalise who is kenyan >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and owners are Kenyan and not >outsiders if I understand correctly. When we are taxed whether >individually or coorporately, the money is used for Kenya and Kenyans >and not for outsiders who invested! Forcing local partnership in >foreign owned companies has >> its negative and positive effects. >>This needs to be look at more seriously to make it a win-win >situation. It has been known in the past that foreign investors with >forced local partnership have been subjected to threats and >intimidation by the local partners when they wanted more than their >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus the weariness o >>of being forced now. This does not attract any investor. But the >foreigners should not fleece the country either! >> >>Let us have some constructive critisism without being racially >inclined. Fight to make things right no matter what but without >pinpointing nationalities or colours of people. >> >> >> >> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >> >>_______________________________________________ >>kictanet mailing list >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >>This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gmail. >com >> >> >> >> >>-- >>Lizette Kraft >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >>Nairobi, Kenya >>Cell: 0722-800362 >> >> >>

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MAKE ICTs WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT - STAND UP NOW, TAKE ACTION TODAY!
by Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro 17 Oct '08

17 Oct '08

Poverty affects us all ‘Today is the UN’s official World Poverty Day. But every day is poverty day for the two billion people worldwide who have less than two dollars a day to live on. Of those, just under one billion live on just one dollar a day. In September 2000, 189 countries pledged to halve the number of those in poverty by 2015. When we look at the results so far, hope mixes with despair. Over 100 million children are still unable to go to school. Each year, 10 million children die before their 5th birthday. 40 million are living with HIV and AIDS, and 5 million die of it each year.’17th Oct 2004 Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for International Development Today, nearly half of the world’s people live in poverty, 70% are women. 50,000 people still die daily as a result of extreme poverty, and yet …..we have the power to change this. www.standagainstpoverty.org Last year, 43.7 million people around the world took part in the biggest global mobilization to end poverty and inequality, and to promote the Millennium Development Goals. This year, at a time of global financial crises and food shortages, more than ever we need to ACT together in order to send an even stronger message to push world leaders for more and better aid, debt cancellation, education for all, healthcare, trade justice, gender equality, public accountability and an end to extreme poverty by 2015. As the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty unfolds across the world we’re hoping to mobilize 1% of the global population - over 67 million people around the world to STAND UP and TAKE ACTION [17th - 19th Oct] against Poverty for the MDGs. Your actions count! 1. Tell your MP what you think: send SMS messages to the number 3454 with the word STAND UP. 2. Attend Global Gatherings: a series of parallel IYPF events held in over 30 different countries focused on mobilizing and engaging young professionals in activities and processes that are holding governments and leaders accountable and contributing to the achievement of the MDGs. www.iypf.org 3. Join Virtual Stand Up: log in from October 17th to 19th and interact with the world on MDGs; build a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world. Facebook IYPF StandUp Global Gathering www.iypf.org We have the power and an obligation to make ICTs work for development! STAND UP NOW, TAKE ACTION TODAY, Make Poverty History! Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro Director, Chair FWG International Young Professionals Foundation constancewalyaro(a)iypf.org www.iypf.org Wainaina P. Mungai Make in Kenya Network wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org www.madeinkenya.org StandUp is an initiative of the Make Poverty History and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) campaigns. IYPF is a GCAP Global Mobilization Partner. www.makepovertyhistory.org Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

3 2

Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by eadera＠idrc.or.ke 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Joe, UAE is an example of managed FDI that enhances economic growth while ensuring direct benefits for its local investors and citizens. They create incentives for international investors (and local investors too), but manage it to ensure direct local benefits that is largely skewed to local beneficiaries. In some cases, it's abit extreme (and encourages absentee/ghost investors), but in general ensures locals benefit. what would be helpful here is drawing on FDI research and best practice policies in this area to inform our debate and keep it civil. I believe KICTANET or other parties can support an exercise to quickly collate such knowledge to inform our discourse. I'm sure such body of knowledge exists. Edith > > > >---- Original Message ---- >From: jmanthi(a)gmail.com >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >Interests >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:13:16 -0500 > >>Edith,There are some useful lessons - but these lessons do not >include: >> >>1. How to give away your national treasures - like bandwidth - to >foreign >>entities just because they say they can not do any business with >local >>entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a fact, you would never get a >license >>to operate in UAE if this was your argument. Further to this lesson >I would >>like to point to these additional countries that would laugh you out >of town >>if you made that argument - US (some businesses like Airline, >Military and >>Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), Radio & TV), India, >Singapore, >>Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the whole of Middle East, South >Africa, >>Japan (especially Japan) >> >>2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to heading there with its eyes >opened. >>When a man approaches a woman, it would be a very stupid woman, who >knowing >>what a man is capable of, to accept the BS that the man is feeding >her. And >>if she does then she deserves what she gets. Kenya will get what it >deserves >>and very soon. A good example is Russia and its oligarchs - all >members of >>the Forbes Richest. >> >>3. Great leadership is necessary to grow a country. A leadership >with >>intestinal fortitude to say no under pressure. Top to bottom, >> >>4. That the local mwananchi can invest in their own country and >manage its >>growth >> >>5. That a great nation looks upon its diaspora to grow it - a la >Israel and >>India >> >>6. That a great nation does not wait to be raped twice - We seem to >be >>following a process that will guarantee our raping despite how >Kenyan some >>members of this committee think they are. Its just a matter of time >before >>they pick up their bags and leave. I really do not think that as a >national >>planner I should be putting my eggs in that basket. >> >>Joe >> >>On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study the secret behind >>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in general). There are some >useful >>> lessons! >>> >>> >>> > >>> >---- Original Message ---- >>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand >Vested >>> >Interests >>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 (PDT) >>> > >>> >>Lizette >>> >> >>> >>I think that you have racially inclined your mind. >>> >> >>> >>When did KENCALL directors become Kenyans? After getting good >>> >friends to bribe their way to this country. And let me tell you >that >>> >the money the so called investors are using are Kenyan money not >>> >money from foreign banks. >>> >> >>> >>They have come and borrowed from Kenyan banks. How much does the >>> >most profitable telecomms companies leave in this country, very >small >>> >amount. We have Telecomms companies which are on their marks. >They >>> >have very inferior systems and dont actually deliver in service >but >>> >make billions and run away with the billions. >>> >> >>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are Kenyans who are white, >black >>> >coloured and all but know that I am a mixed race Kenyan and >really >>> >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer because of bad policies from >>> >people like PS >>> >> >>> >>JM >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>----- Original Message ---- >>> >>From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions ><kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:52:07 PM >>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >>> >Interests >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >>> >> >>> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can survive on its own even >through >>> >local investment. Most times we dont have the funds. I do agree >>> >though about the Government and banks not supporting local >investors >>> >with loans etc. They must start giving them the opportunity to >setup >>> >local expertise and turn them in money making ventures, if only >they >>> >wouldn't fleece their own companies. Even America, the giant >needs >>> >investors!!! You all have a valid point but use it for the best >>> >interests of Kenya and its people first and foremost. Not just >self >>> >interest for the few. And by the way Kenyans come in all shapes, >>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please don't generalise who is >kenyan >>> >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and owners are Kenyan and >not >>> >outsiders if I understand correctly. When we are taxed whether >>> >individually or coorporately, the money is used for Kenya and >Kenyans >>> >and not for outsiders who invested! Forcing local partnership in >>> >foreign owned companies has >>> >> its negative and positive effects. >>> >>This needs to be look at more seriously to make it a win-win >>> >situation. It has been known in the past that foreign investors >with >>> >forced local partnership have been subjected to threats and >>> >intimidation by the local partners when they wanted more than >their >>> >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus the weariness o >>> >>of being forced now. This does not attract any investor. But the >>> >foreigners should not fleece the country either! >>> >> >>> >>Let us have some constructive critisism without being racially >>> >inclined. Fight to make things right no matter what but without >>> >pinpointing nationalities or colours of people. >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>> >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >>> >> >>> >>_______________________________________________ >>> >>kictanet mailing list >>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >> >>> >>This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com >>> >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gmail >. >>> >com >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>-- >>> >>Lizette Kraft >>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >>> >>Nairobi, Kenya >>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >>> This message was sent to: jmanthi(a)gmail.com >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmail. >com >>> >> >> >> >>-- >>Joseph Manthi >>CEO >>MEO Ltd >>http://www.meoltd.com >>

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by John Maina 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Nick Do you want coffee because I have said I am mixed race or ndugu you want to be honest? JM ----- Original Message ---- From: "nnesbitt(a)kencall.com" <nnesbitt(a)kencall.com> To: John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com>; kictanet-bounces+nnesbitt=kencall.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 1:14:41 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests John, John, John If you would like to meet a family that embodies what it means to be Kenyan, let's have a coffee sometime and I will introduce you to a few generations of my family... Come get to know me. Karibu. Nik Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 To: <nnesbitt(a)kencall.com> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: nnesbitt(a)kencall.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/nnesbitt%40kencall.com

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by John Maina 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Edith One of the lessons is not locking outt locals. Its infact involving the locals like nobody has ever imagine JM ----- Original Message ---- From: "eadera(a)idrc.or.ke" <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> To: j.maina(a)ymail.com; eadera(a)idrc.or.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 12:55:30 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study the secret behind Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in general). There are some useful lessons! > > > >---- Original Message ---- >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >Interests >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 (PDT) > >>Lizette >> >>I think that you have racially inclined your mind. >> >>When did KENCALL directors become Kenyans? After getting good >friends to bribe their way to this country. And let me tell you that >the money the so called investors are using are Kenyan money not >money from foreign banks. >> >>They have come and borrowed from Kenyan banks. How much does the >most profitable telecomms companies leave in this country, very small >amount. We have Telecomms companies which are on their marks. They >have very inferior systems and dont actually deliver in service but >make billions and run away with the billions. >> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are Kenyans who are white, black >coloured and all but know that I am a mixed race Kenyan and really >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer because of bad policies from >people like PS >> >>JM >> >> >> >>----- Original Message ---- >>From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:52:07 PM >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested >Interests >> >> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can survive on its own even through >local investment. Most times we dont have the funds. I do agree >though about the Government and banks not supporting local investors >with loans etc. They must start giving them the opportunity to setup >local expertise and turn them in money making ventures, if only they >wouldn't fleece their own companies. Even America, the giant needs >investors!!! You all have a valid point but use it for the best >interests of Kenya and its people first and foremost. Not just self >interest for the few. And by the way Kenyans come in all shapes, >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please don't generalise who is kenyan >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and owners are Kenyan and not >outsiders if I understand correctly. When we are taxed whether >individually or coorporately, the money is used for Kenya and Kenyans >and not for outsiders who invested! Forcing local partnership in >foreign owned companies has >> its negative and positive effects. >>This needs to be look at more seriously to make it a win-win >situation. It has been known in the past that foreign investors with >forced local partnership have been subjected to threats and >intimidation by the local partners when they wanted more than their >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus the weariness o >>of being forced now. This does not attract any investor. But the >foreigners should not fleece the country either! >> >>Let us have some constructive critisism without being racially >inclined. Fight to make things right no matter what but without >pinpointing nationalities or colours of people. >> >> >> >> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >> >>_______________________________________________ >>kictanet mailing list >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >>This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gmail. >com >> >> >> >> >>-- >>Lizette Kraft >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >>Nairobi, Kenya >>Cell: 0722-800362 >> >> >>

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Kenya opens door to foreign telecoms investors - From Ugandan
by mwananchi＠hushmail.com 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

JM, Only those who dislike other Kenyans would try to propagate such as part of an attempt to make your points of accountability and transparency irrelevant. We have seen some of their true colours come out through their actions. It is important that these matters come to the surface, they cannot be wishfully drowned. Ndugu yesterday there was an article about the problems PS Ndemo and others are ignoring while rushing to bring in foreigners. If they cannot see these as the signs of a larger juggernaut of what ails us in progressing to indigenous equity and wealth generation then it is time perhaps they accepted that policy making in the interests of Kenyans needs to be in more capable hands. We call on PS Ndemo to work with his counterparts in government to correct these problems ailing Kenyans before rushing to embrace foreigners as a "solution". Peterson Banks giving youth a raw deal Published on 15/10/2008 Politicians and the Government have failed to address the youth agenda. It seems like when the sun starts shinning on our politicians or when they get what they want, the youth are shoved aside. For a long time now, the youth agenda has not been addressed, with youth forced to fend for themselves. Critical issues affecting them are never addressed. Last year’s effort by the Government to introduce the youth fund was noble, but it got hijacked by profit hungry banks. The banks’ stringent measures and loan qualification requirements were unfriendly and discouraging. Why did the Government set up a youth fund without strict rules to govern it? http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?&id=1143997024&catid=17&a=1 On Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:58:14 +0000 John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >Peterson > >And I think these people mistake me with someone in the diaspora. >I live and work in Kenya and purely live on my own business which >has passed alot and been featured as one of the most innovative >businesses around. > >So Alex, guess which one it is and tell me about yours > >JM > > > >----- Original Message ---- >From: "mwananchi(a)hushmail.com" <mwananchi(a)hushmail.com> >To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions ><kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 4:10:41 PM >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya opens door to foreign telecoms >investors - From Ugandan > >Gichuru, > >Prior to asking your question you doubted whether Kenyans engaged >in holding a public servant to transparently account, actually >worked, actually resided in Kenya, actually contributed to >economic >growth and were only complainants incapable of creating effective >change. In doing so, I believe you answered your own question >before you had a chance to ask it. One can only conclude that your > >call for stories is not sincere. > >Promoting veiled stereotypes, while suggesting that Kenyans who >live in Kenya cannot stand up for their rights, will not detract >non-elitist Kenyans from ensuring that public servants accountably > >engage in service delivery to the Kenyan people. The suggestion >that people are layabouts who wake up one day and raise an issue >that does not affect them in anyway should be consigned to the >proper dustbin. Thank you. > >Peterson > >On Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:17:05 +0000 gichuru(a)gmail.com wrote: >>I keep asking myself , how much change can you effect by >>complaining >>and criticizing the ones who are actually working? How many of >you >>criticizing the PS and other government initiative are in Kenya >>contributing to the economic growth? How many have tried running >a >>business in this country in the last 10 years and can testify to >>growth? >> >>I am not saying more cant be done, but appreciate what has been >>done..... But if you really have something to say a burning >desire >>to >>share, dont talk about the KLM story, KQ Story, we already know >>about >>them, lets hear about your story.. what are you doing or have you >>done? Lets judge for ourselves if you can deliver given a >>chance.... >> >> >> >>On 10/14/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>> Kenyans and other Africans, >>> >>> Yes, I agree. We have the money. But we need to organize to >stop >>> the hemorrhage of our resources. This is our moment to make our > >>voices >>> heard about our countries' economic sovereignty. What many of >>our >>> leaders are doing giving away our tangible and intangible >assets >>> is treasonous and inexcusable. >>> >>> In Uganda, my country, the president, his family and their >>lackeys >>> have turned themselves into a veritable mafia of commission >>agents >>> carrying water for all sorts of foreign interests. They >proclaim >>from >>> the rooftops how indigenous Ugandans are too poor and dumb to >>own and >>> manage businesses. Yet, there is plenty of evidence to the >>contrary. >>> Some of that evidence points to how foreigners, including South > >>Asians >>> who arrive in the country with only the shirts on their backs, >>are >>> provided with multi-million dollar loans/grants to finance pet >>> enterprises. Ugandans can only dream of such largesse. >>Understandably, >>> many of those foreign "investors" take the money -- pausing >only >>long >>> enough to wreck the business -- and run. A good example is >>Tristar, a >>> textile firm that government set up as a showcase of a >>successful >>> Africa Growth Opportunity Act inspired business, was handd on a > >>silver >>> platter to a pair of Sri Lankan briefcase businessmen with a >>$2.5 >>> million loan from the state-owned Uganda Development bank. >Their >>only >>> qualification was that they were "Indian", a nationality that >>Museveni >>> equates with a natural entrepreneurship. >>> >>> In addition to the free business and loan, the conmen were >>> vigorously and publicly supported by the President's office in >>> exploiting an all-female workforce (including sexually), >>recruited >>> deliberately from rural Uganda and kept in apartheid-era like >>hostels, >>> ostensibly because they would be too docile to rebel against >>their poor >>> working conditions. A parliamentary investigation was sparked >>when the >>> "Agoa girls," as the workers were patronizingly called, >>organized and >>> downed their tools. That's when the sordid details of the sorry > >>venture >>> emerged. >>> >>> The adage that "if you want to look for traitors, start at the >>> top" is all too true for our countries. With leaders such as >>these (and >>> silent lambs as us), is it any wonder that nearly every race >>holds us >>> in contempt and reaps fortunes out of our losses! >>> >>> Vukoni >>> >>> >>> -------- Original Message -------- >>> Subject: [DigAfrica] Re: [africa-oped] Fwd: Re: [picta-kenya] >>Re: Kenya >>> opens door to foreign telecoms investors >>> >>> - Show quoted text - >>> From: "Robert Alai" <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> >>> Date: Mon, October 13, 2008 10:34 am >>> To: digafrica(a)yahoogroups.com, picta-kenya(a)yahoogroups.com >>> >>> >>> - Show quoted text - >>> >>> Matunda >>> >>> Kenyans have the money. >>> >>> France >>> Telekoms came to Kenya and bought Telkom Kenya but is being >>supported >>> by the Kenyan government. It doesnt have money upto now. >>> >>> Kencall >>> and all these foreigners claiming that Kenyans have no money >>came and >>> borrowed in Kenyan banks. Tell me which foreigners brought >their >>own >>> money. Including Safaricom which went to the NSE and put up a >>bond. >>> >>> Lets >>> not be cheated. Matunda, me and you and all people in Dig >Afrika >>and >>> PICTA wont have the opportunity to set up our ICT companies if >>Dr Ndemo >>> is allowed to go ahead. We must insist on local partnership and > >>its not >>> something we should be begging for. We must insist on it >>> >>> Regards >>> Alai >>> >>> - Show quoted text - >>> On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 5:34 PM, nmatunda <matunda(a)hotmail.com> > >>wrote: >>> >>> - Show quoted text - >>> >>> --- In picta-kenya(a)yahoogroups.com, "Mike Theuri" >><mi.ke.the.u.r.i@...> >>> wrote: >>> >>> >>> Matunda, >>> >>> I concur with your views and completely agree with the way the >>> Canadian banking industry has weathered the financial storm. >>During a >>> brief visit to Canada I noted that there were 5 major Canadian >>banks >>> and one major international institution (Europe's largest >>institution >>> by way of assets) operating in Canada. According to the WEF: >>"Canada >>> has the world's soundest banking system, according to a more >>recent >>> report released by the World Economic Forum. Canada's banks >>received a >>> score of 6.8 out of possible seven, ahead of the banks of five >>other >>> countries which received a score of 6.7 per cent." We are now >>seeing >>> the US rushing to regulate the banking sector and even going as > >>far as >>> taking ownership stakes in both US and foreign banks because >>Americans >>> interest and not that of foreigners is at stake. There are >>lessons to >>> be learned from this about the consequences of unplanned >>deregulation >>> ie ownership, operational etc in sectors key to the economy. >>> >>> That said we must closely focus on the issue of Kenya and the >>PS' >>> plan to invite foreigners with no conditions on local >ownership. >>My >>> original posting on this issue covered a number of varied >>issues, >>> it appears the discussion has taken on a life of its own after >>it was >>> shared on other forums and has morphed into a protracted battle > >>between >>> pro-PS types engaged in a concerted effort to silence the issue > >>and >>> individuals who despite their rather harsh and tough ways of >>getting >>> the point across raise valid points that are apparently >>unpalatable for >>> some. >>> >>> On Saturday, I received a message from an individual whom I >>shall >>> not name who has gotten rather cosy with the PS of late >>suggesting that >>> certain parties were out to reignite conflict in the nation >>through the >>> revelation of the PS' plan and the resulting debates on lists >>and that >>> I should play a participatory role in "helping them" squelch >the >>> "dissent". I responded saying that the individual was digging >in >>the >>> wrong place as there were no hidden dimensions to the issue >>other than >>> the policies mentioned and that Kenyans should be free to hold >>> individuals in public office to account without interference or >>> intimidation. It was disappointing to read such a message >hinged >>> with hints to unsavoury moments in our recent history coming >>from an >>> individual who once strongly stood for freedom of expression >and >>the >>> right to information. If other individuals have seen it fit to >>raise >>> the issues outside of Picta it is indeed within their rights as > >>Kenyans. >>> >>> Unfortunately the answer to Matunda's question is that there is >>> nobody standing up for Kenyans interests on this issue, we only > >>read in >>> the media about plans to gazette following alleged >consultations >>with >>> foreign stakeholders. There is hardly ever any justification >>made and >>> when it is sought, the PS has repeatedly used isolated but not >>> precedent setting incidents such as the one I mentioned. We all > >>recall >>> the Ksh 100m tax payer funded trip the Finance Minister and the > >>PS >>> amongst other made to the western hemisphere to court Diaspora >>> investors in 2007, only to display high handedness and refusal >>to >>> answer legitimate questions seeking assurances about the >ability >>of the >>> Diaspora to invest in our own country. >>> >>> As a writer observed: >>> http://www.kenyaimagine.com/Economy/Kenya-Finance-Minister- >>courts-investors-abroad.html >>> "Next was the matter of investment, especially that of Kenyans >>> abroad. However much investment opportunities are paraded, >>investors, >>> whether Kenyan or foreign, always have the same questions about > >>the >>> local environment with regard to; bureaucratic bottlenecks, >>regulatory >>> climate, corruption, and insecurity" >>> >>> When such questions were brought up the delegation brushed them >>> aside and refused to answer them. Today, we read about Ndemo >>appearing >>> to disregard the interests of Kenyans through his proposed >>policies and >>> calling for increased foreign participation in the Kenyan >>economy. This >>> is simply wrong, why is Ndemo rushing to make conditions better > >>for >>> foreigners but not exhibiting the same level of effort for >>Kenyans to >>> have a larger stake in the economy? >>> >>> Ndemo should instead be taking on the issues his delegation >>> brushed aside when questioned by would be Kenyan investors. The > >>PS >>> should put his country (Kenya) and its citizens first and that >>means >>> working for the common interests of Kenyans. Any Kenyan who >asks >>the PS >>> or the Government to justify and explain its position on >>> such contentious proposals should be given the opportunity to >>express >>> their views, not condemned and counter attacked as seems to be >>the case >>> now on a discussion list serving industry interests. Kenyans >>should not >>> stand by idly as non-progressive proposals are quietly drafted >>and made >>> binding to Kenyans without the process being open to critique >>and >>> public input. >>> >>> Mike >>> On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 7:14 AM, nmatunda >>> >><http://../../../../post?postID=Nwl_acszxFkN4z3b2uNtU8XlfkXWMi8l7F >o >>VzSnzRChXPvqnkZb6vcvKEzgqRf67GjelW9IqJOAw> >>> wrote: >>> >>> Mike, >>> >>> I am with you 200% on this. >>> >>> Every country must always act in its self-interest; this move >by >>> the PS is deplorable and not in line with long term Kenyan >>interests, >>> especially in as a lucrative area as ICT. >>> >>> In my books, we invite foreigners for such things as (a) >>financing >>> (which by the way Kenyans have shown can be raised locally), >(b) >>> operations and management experience & knowledge transfer, (c) >>> relationships that we can leverage through any such joint >>ventures, >>> etc. Joint ventures can also cushion enterprises from predatory >>> illegalities, especially given our weak legal dispute >resolution >>> structures! Of the latter, remember when heads of state >>corporations >>> used to queue up with money bags to state house to prop up the >>Moi >>> excesses! Or when companies could be shaken down for political >>> donations at a whim! >>> >>> For me, a good (not ideal!) joint venture is one of the kind >>that >>> Kenya Airways went into with KLM, when KA had been run down by >>> politically connected individuals. KLM brought in management >and >>> operations experience, facilitated KA's access to markets and >>routes >>> that KA otherwise couldn't easily access and in the process the > >>KA >>> brand rose, as did profits and more! The investment has paid >>well for >>> Kenyans and KLM; a win-win. >>> >>> There is a lesson to be learnt from the current American >>financial >>> crisis with respect to experiences in Canada. This country has >>been >>> under pressure to deregulate its financial services sector for >>the >>> longest time. Banks have argued that they needed mergers to >>allow them >>> to compete globally; and that they needed global partners that >>would >>> help them grow and extend their reach. >>> >>> Canadian government have constantly refused mergers or the kind > >>of >>> deregulation the industry sought! Their argument: the interest >>of the >>> common person whose priority banks should be. >>> >>> Guess what? In the present crisis, Canada has come >substantially >>> well ahead of the US and others. And for what reason: they >stood >>> against unfettered deregulaion! and they stood up for the >>interest of >>> Canadians. >>> >>> I ask all yee this question: who is standing for the interest >of >>Kenyans in >>> this open invitation to exploitation? >>> >>> Dr Ndemo needs to be stopped, I am afraid! >>> >>> Unedited. >>> >>> Matunda Nyanchama >>> >>> >>> >> >> >>-- >> >>Warm Regards >>-------------------------------------- >>Sam Gichuru >>CVO >> >>Register .COM, .co.ke, .NET, .ORG, .INFO and .BIZ domain names >for >>FREE. unlimited email addresses. Business Webhosting and Internet >>Marketing services for only Kshs. 1,000 a month. >> >>Ideas Africa Limited - The Web Design and Hosting Company >>Tel : 020-221199, 230663 - Cell: 0722-730565 >>Web: www.ideasafrica.com >> >>_______________________________________________ >>kictanet mailing list >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >>This message was sent to: mwananchi(a)hushmail.com >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwananchi%40h >u >>shmail.com > >-- >Save hundreds on an Unsecured Loan - Click here. >http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4d88tmB31ffQ6YfI4lx9Rf7NLWb1ug >iNn2azUFjLf1hzBS4K/ > > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: j.maina(a)ymail.com >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/j.maina%40ymai >l.com -- Click for air conditioner info, reduce energy costs, affordable prices. http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4dbgvjVFZ4bUCR6fShDMdauKf7s28Z7Xm4oEAC…

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Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by mwananchi＠hushmail.com 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Tony, Your suggestion is good, however should a few hundred people make a binding decision on a matter as critical as this one when it affects millions of Kenyans? The issues at hand require wide consultation, some are so serious they might have to be destined for parliament where its a matter affecting ALL Kenyans and what's on the table seems to be working more for foreigners than Kenyans. The ball ultimately is in the PS' court for his to take immediate action and start considering the views of the wider public. I'm with you on the latter point. Peterson On Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:16:22 +0000 gachuhi anthony <gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Moderator >Is there a way off having an online poll to know where we stand >maybe >from there we may be able to know who is for or against the >policies >being discussed. >Then we can give reasons as I don't think this a list to decide >who is >more kenyan than the other its about what will affect us all >Tony > > > >On 10/16/08, Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> wrote: >> Dear all, >> >> What is the desired outcome of this very energised thread? >(Select one) >> >> A: That the PS (I&C) announce that policies shall be developed >in an >> open, transparent and consultative manner. He also must organise >a >> forum to kickstart non-emotive talks by mid-November. >> >> B: That PS Ndemo resigns and is replaced with a person of your >choice. >> >> C: That the Econet licence, Kencall licence and related MoUs, >> contracts signed by PS (I&C) be cancelled. >> >> D: That all stakeholders Govt., KICTANET, KIF, CA, etc organise >an >> "ICT Investment" policy forum to be held in Nairobi around mid- >> November 2008. >> >> I hope this shall help us focus on defining and achieving a >common >> goal so that we desist from personal attacks on integrity, >racial >> profiling and so on... >> >> Good day, >> Wainaina >> >> On 10/16/08, Joseph Manthi <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> Edith,There are some useful lessons - but these lessons do not >include: >>> >>> 1. How to give away your national treasures - like bandwidth - >to foreign >>> entities just because they say they can not do any business >with local >>> entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a fact, you would never >get a >>> license >>> to operate in UAE if this was your argument. Further to this >lesson I >>> would >>> like to point to these additional countries that would laugh >you out of >>> town >>> if you made that argument - US (some businesses like Airline, >Military and >>> Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), Radio & TV), India, >Singapore, >>> Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the whole of Middle East, >South >>> Africa, >>> Japan (especially Japan) >>> >>> 2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to heading there with its >eyes opened. >>> When a man approaches a woman, it would be a very stupid woman, >who >>> knowing >>> what a man is capable of, to accept the BS that the man is >feeding her. >>> And >>> if she does then she deserves what she gets. Kenya will get >what it >>> deserves >>> and very soon. A good example is Russia and its oligarchs - all >members of >>> the Forbes Richest. >>> >>> 3. Great leadership is necessary to grow a country. A >leadership with >>> intestinal fortitude to say no under pressure. Top to bottom, >>> >>> 4. That the local mwananchi can invest in their own country and >manage its >>> growth >>> >>> 5. That a great nation looks upon its diaspora to grow it - a >la Israel >>> and >>> India >>> >>> 6. That a great nation does not wait to be raped twice - We >seem to be >>> following a process that will guarantee our raping despite how >Kenyan some >>> members of this committee think they are. Its just a matter of >time before >>> they pick up their bags and leave. I really do not think that >as a >>> national >>> planner I should be putting my eggs in that basket. >>> >>> Joe >>> >>> On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study the secret >behind >>>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in general). There are some >useful >>>> lessons! >>>> >>>> >>>> > >>>> >---- Original Message ---- >>>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >>>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand >Vested >>>> >Interests >>>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 (PDT) >>>> > >>>> >>Lizette >>>> >> >>>> >>I think that you have racially inclined your mind. >>>> >> >>>> >>When did KENCALL directors become Kenyans? After getting >good >>>> >friends to bribe their way to this country. And let me tell >you that >>>> >the money the so called investors are using are Kenyan money >not >>>> >money from foreign banks. >>>> >> >>>> >>They have come and borrowed from Kenyan banks. How much does >the >>>> >most profitable telecomms companies leave in this country, >very small >>>> >amount. We have Telecomms companies which are on their marks. >They >>>> >have very inferior systems and dont actually deliver in >service but >>>> >make billions and run away with the billions. >>>> >> >>>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are Kenyans who are white, >black >>>> >coloured and all but know that I am a mixed race Kenyan and >really >>>> >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer because of bad policies >from >>>> >people like PS >>>> >> >>>> >>JM >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >>----- Original Message ---- >>>> >>From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >>>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions ><kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:52:07 PM >>>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand >Vested >>>> >Interests >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >>>> >> >>>> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can survive on its own even >through >>>> >local investment. Most times we dont have the funds. I do >agree >>>> >though about the Government and banks not supporting local >investors >>>> >with loans etc. They must start giving them the opportunity >to setup >>>> >local expertise and turn them in money making ventures, if >only they >>>> >wouldn't fleece their own companies. Even America, the giant >needs >>>> >investors!!! You all have a valid point but use it for the >best >>>> >interests of Kenya and its people first and foremost. Not >just self >>>> >interest for the few. And by the way Kenyans come in all >shapes, >>>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please don't generalise who is >kenyan >>>> >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and owners are Kenyan >and not >>>> >outsiders if I understand correctly. When we are taxed >whether >>>> >individually or coorporately, the money is used for Kenya and >Kenyans >>>> >and not for outsiders who invested! Forcing local >partnership in >>>> >foreign owned companies has >>>> >> its negative and positive effects. >>>> >>This needs to be look at more seriously to make it a win-win >>>> >situation. It has been known in the past that foreign >investors with >>>> >forced local partnership have been subjected to threats and >>>> >intimidation by the local partners when they wanted more than >their >>>> >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus the weariness o >>>> >>of being forced now. This does not attract any investor. But >the >>>> >foreigners should not fleece the country either! >>>> >> >>>> >>Let us have some constructive critisism without being >racially >>>> >inclined. Fight to make things right no matter what but >without >>>> >pinpointing nationalities or colours of people. >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >>>> >> >>>> >>_______________________________________________ >>>> >>kictanet mailing list >>>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> >> >>>> >>This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com >>>> >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gma >il. >>>> >com >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >>-- >>>> >>Lizette Kraft >>>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >>>> >>Nairobi, Kenya >>>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> >>>> This message was sent to: jmanthi(a)gmail.com >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmai >l.com >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Joseph Manthi >>> CEO >>> MEO Ltd >>> http://www.meoltd.com >>> >> >> -- >> Sent from my mobile device >> >> Made in Kenya Network >> Apt. B-8, Elite Park >> Ole Odume Road >> P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >> Nairobi. Kenya >> Tel: +254-20-3590451 >> Cel: +254-722-811171 >> Cel: +254-735-370840 >> www.madeinkenya.org >> >> http://www.bungesms.com >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: gachuhi.anthony(a)gmail.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/gachuhi.anthon >y%40gmail.com >> > >-- >Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: mwananchi(a)hushmail.com >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwananchi%40hu >shmail.com -- Free information on a POS system that meets your needs. 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Re: [kictanet] PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand Vested Interests
by mwananchi＠hushmail.com 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Wainaina, The issues are several but lets not muddy the waters by mixing up separate, distinct and in some of the ones you have listed misinterpreted issues to revert back to what the opponents of accountability and transparency did when they rushed in to silence, resulting in a very energised thread on issues that some feel very strongly about. Naturally some will share the same views as those below and others will disagree: >A: That the PS (I&C) announce that policies shall be developed in >an open, transparent and consultative manner. He also must organise a >forum to kickstart non-emotive talks by mid-November. PS Ndemo so far has defended his proposal and has not yielded an inch. The PS does not appear willing to incorporate alternative views into policy making, and has not indicated the way forward as yet. We thank him for responding however and ask him to remember that he serves the greater Kenyan public not foreign interests and in that light his proposal should be shelved for the sake of public input. Your suggestion is appropriate and the PS could also borrow a leaf from CCK who engage in wide reaching public consultations that invite parties to provide views in writing while also publishing them before policies changes are implemented. On a matter so critical as changes in local ownership reductions to ZERO percent wider public consultations should be held or in the alternate the cabinet and parliament can define this policy on behalf of all Kenyans. As a public servant the PS is duty bound to represent all Kenyans and not selective groups of Kenyans or foreigners (a matter that would run afoul of the law -- Public Officer Ethics Act). >B: That PS Ndemo resigns and is replaced with a person of your >choice. Nobody has clearly called for PS Ndemo's resignation, if Ndemo has received a specific request to do so he should let the public know. The executive arm of government makes appointments to the office of the PS, lets not twist issues of accountability and transparency into matters of partisan politics. We want a better Kenya than that, not a Kenya where one's own is the only acceptable choice regardless of whether one can carry out the job or not. Naturally if public servants feel that they are unable to serve the Kenyan public without favour and not just foreigners and special interests then they should make honourable decisions on whether to continue with that office or not. We are simply asking PS Ndemo to act in the interests of ALL Kenyans and not to do by assumption, to respect and uphold the rule of law so as to help Kenyans fight the rotten culture of impunity and to carry out the duties of his office diligently and to the best of his abilities. Naturally doing so does not grant one a licence to act as one deems fit while forgetting who one works for. >C: That the Econet licence, Kencall licence and related MoUs, >contracts signed by PS (I&C) be cancelled. 1. The Econet licence was cancelled by the Minister for I&C. Econet went to court in an attempt to overturn the decision and failed when the High Court through Justice Ibrahim Mohammed made a final ruling in the matter see HC1640/2004. The Econet licence was cancelled and thus remains cancelled as upheld by a court of law. We must respect our institutions, our laws and the judiciary if we hope to bury the rotten culture of acting with impunity kwenye kaburi la kusahau. 2. Kencall obtained its licence legally. It is not operating under the false pretence of operating on a valid licence that was cancelled. Kencall has helped put Kenya on the BPO map. Opportunities or relaxations in policy available to Kencall should also be availed to Kenyans serious about building our economy. There is no quarrel with Kencall from this quarter on this, there may be in others. To thwart further speculation PS Ndemo should name the foreign characters who have been meeting him in his office under circumstances that would amount to blackmailing a government official into submitting to their demands. 3. The MoUs are the matter of a tribunal appointed by the President. PS Ndemo and the Minister for Energy have not told Kenyans of the extent to which Kenyans were committed to. The MoU should be publicly made available and released. The case of MOUs with foreigners, just shows that the PS and other government officials are putting foreigners ahead of Kenyans. Is PS Ndemo willing to sign an MOU with Kenyans promising to work towards increasing their local ownership percentages in ICT firms? I think not, we should not be accountable to foreigners and fail to be accountable to our fellow citizens. Does the MOU Ndemo sign grant Kenyans preferential access to Libya's ICT sector? Kenyans want to know what is in this MOUs which by all indications to date are lop sided and favour foreigners and their nations. 4. Contracts or agreements signed under false pretences should be cancelled. In any case they are invalid under laws of the land as pertains to cancelled documents by public authority. The matter of an agreement that claimed to settle out of court a case that was already out of court before the sham agreement by way of a FINAL ruling should not be misused to subvert the rule of law and our judiciary. We must put a STOP to the culture of impunity and rampant disregard of the law and judiciary. If a public servant is sacked for upholding the rule of law, let it be so, Kenyans will respect them for standing up for what is right. >D: That all stakeholders Govt., KICTANET, KIF, CA, etc organise an >"ICT Investment" policy forum to be held in Nairobi around mid- >November 2008. > 5. Agreed to in principle, all stakeholders including public and the Diaspora should be formally invited. The policy forum should also involve friends of Kenya who realise the value of having Kenyans having increased ownership in the ICT sector more so fellow Africans who are investing in our economy. However Kenyans must drive the discussion, the PS should come to the forum with an open mind ready to incorporate the views of Kenyans. >I hope this shall help us focus on defining and achieving a common >goal so that we desist from personal attacks on integrity, racial >profiling and so on... Some of us obviously feel very impassioned and disturbed at the sheer nature of PS Ndemo's bulldozed actions. Personal and other attacks will not help us define proper policy, let us respect one another going forward. I have to agree with you on this point and ask the self appointed censors of non-concurring opinion to take note of what their actions exacerbated. Asante. Peterson >Good day, >Wainaina > >On 10/16/08, Joseph Manthi <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> Edith,There are some useful lessons - but these lessons do not >include: >> >> 1. How to give away your national treasures - like bandwidth - >to foreign >> entities just because they say they can not do any business with >local >> entrepreneurs. In fact I know this for a fact, you would never >get a license >> to operate in UAE if this was your argument. Further to this >lesson I would >> like to point to these additional countries that would laugh you >out of town >> if you made that argument - US (some businesses like Airline, >Military and >> Defense, Telecommunications (not ISP), Radio & TV), India, >Singapore, >> Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the whole of Middle East, >South Africa, >> Japan (especially Japan) >> >> 2. How not be conned. Kenya seems to heading there with its eyes >opened. >> When a man approaches a woman, it would be a very stupid woman, >who knowing >> what a man is capable of, to accept the BS that the man is >feeding her. And >> if she does then she deserves what she gets. Kenya will get what >it deserves >> and very soon. A good example is Russia and its oligarchs - all >members of >> the Forbes Richest. >> >> 3. Great leadership is necessary to grow a country. A leadership >with >> intestinal fortitude to say no under pressure. Top to bottom, >> >> 4. That the local mwananchi can invest in their own country and >manage its >> growth >> >> 5. That a great nation looks upon its diaspora to grow it - a la >Israel and >> India >> >> 6. That a great nation does not wait to be raped twice - We seem >to be >> following a process that will guarantee our raping despite how >Kenyan some >> members of this committee think they are. Its just a matter of >time before >> they pick up their bags and leave. I really do not think that as >a national >> planner I should be putting my eggs in that basket. >> >> Joe >> >> On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 PM, <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> Anyone has taken the time to thoroughly study the secret behind >>> Dubai's tremendous growth? (U.A.E in general). There are some >useful >>> lessons! >>> >>> >>> > >>> >---- Original Message ---- >>> >From: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>> >To: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >>> >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand >Vested >>> >Interests >>> >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:03:50 -0700 (PDT) >>> > >>> >>Lizette >>> >> >>> >>I think that you have racially inclined your mind. >>> >> >>> >>When did KENCALL directors become Kenyans? After getting good >>> >friends to bribe their way to this country. And let me tell >you that >>> >the money the so called investors are using are Kenyan money >not >>> >money from foreign banks. >>> >> >>> >>They have come and borrowed from Kenyan banks. How much does >the >>> >most profitable telecomms companies leave in this country, >very small >>> >amount. We have Telecomms companies which are on their marks. >They >>> >have very inferior systems and dont actually deliver in >service but >>> >make billions and run away with the billions. >>> >> >>> >>Dada Lizette, we know that there are Kenyans who are white, >black >>> >coloured and all but know that I am a mixed race Kenyan and >really >>> >sad when our brotehrs have to suffer because of bad policies >from >>> >people like PS >>> >> >>> >>JM >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>----- Original Message ---- >>> >>From: Lizette Kraft <lfkraft(a)gmail.com> >>> >>To: j.maina(a)ymail.com >>> >>Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions ><kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>> >>Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:52:07 PM >>> >>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: PS Ndemo, ECONET Scandal aand >Vested >>> >Interests >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>Just my two pennies worth here. >>> >> >>> >>Kenya is not an Island that it can survive on its own even >through >>> >local investment. Most times we dont have the funds. I do >agree >>> >though about the Government and banks not supporting local >investors >>> >with loans etc. They must start giving them the opportunity to >setup >>> >local expertise and turn them in money making ventures, if >only they >>> >wouldn't fleece their own companies. Even America, the giant >needs >>> >investors!!! You all have a valid point but use it for the >best >>> >interests of Kenya and its people first and foremost. Not just >self >>> >interest for the few. And by the way Kenyans come in all >shapes, >>> >sizes, COLOURS, and creed. So please don't generalise who is >kenyan >>> >and who is not!!! Kencall directors and owners are Kenyan and >not >>> >outsiders if I understand correctly. When we are taxed whether >>> >individually or coorporately, the money is used for Kenya and >Kenyans >>> >and not for outsiders who invested! Forcing local partnership >in >>> >foreign owned companies has >>> >> its negative and positive effects. >>> >>This needs to be look at more seriously to make it a win-win >>> >situation. It has been known in the past that foreign >investors with >>> >forced local partnership have been subjected to threats and >>> >intimidation by the local partners when they wanted more than >their >>> >fare share, (given to them mind you). Thus the weariness o >>> >>of being forced now. This does not attract any investor. But >the >>> >foreigners should not fleece the country either! >>> >> >>> >>Let us have some constructive critisism without being >racially >>> >inclined. Fight to make things right no matter what but >without >>> >pinpointing nationalities or colours of people. >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>On 10/7/08, John Maina <j.maina(a)ymail.com> wrote: >>> >>http://www.wananchiforums.com/showthread.php?p=3150#poest3150 >>> >> >>> >>_______________________________________________ >>> >>kictanet mailing list >>> >>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >> >>> >>This message was sent to: lfkraft(a)gmail.com >>> >>Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> >>http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/lfkraft%40gma >il. >>> >com >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>-- >>> >>Lizette Kraft >>> >>P.O. Box 18488, 00500 >>> >>Nairobi, Kenya >>> >>Cell: 0722-800362 >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >>> This message was sent to: jmanthi(a)gmail.com >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmai >l.com >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Joseph Manthi >> CEO >> MEO Ltd >> http://www.meoltd.com >> > >-- >Sent from my mobile device > >Made in Kenya Network >Apt. B-8, Elite Park >Ole Odume Road >P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 >Nairobi. Kenya >Tel: +254-20-3590451 >Cel: +254-722-811171 >Cel: +254-735-370840 >www.madeinkenya.org > >http://www.bungesms.com > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: mwananchi(a)hushmail.com >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwananchi%40hu >shmail.com -- Click here to find the perfect picture with our powerful photo search features. http://tagline.hushmail.com/fc/Ioyw6h4dI2gfxcy5JhZSrwtoKGNxH89RgFtnknCdDUWY…

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