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Fourth Undersea Cable cut in Middle East as Egypt Rules out damage by ships
by brian 04 Feb '08

04 Feb '08

Oh my, this is beginning to look rather serious. Is there any doubt now that there are some strange forces at work? Brian ----------------------------- Via: AFP: Ships are not responsible for damaging undersea internet cables in the Mediterranean, Egypt’s Government says. Two cables were damaged earlier this week in the Mediterranean sea and another off the coast of Dubai, causing widespread disruption to internet and international telephone services in Egypt, Gulf Arab states and South Asia. A fourth cable linking Qatar to the United Arab Emirates was damaged on Sunday causing yet more disruptions, telecommunication provider Qtel said. Egypt’s transport ministry said footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged. “The ministry’s maritime transport committee reviewed footage covering the period of 12 hours before and 12 hours after the cables were cut and no ships sailed the area,” a statement said. “The area is also marked on maps as a no-go zone and it is therefore ruled out that the damage to the cables was caused by ships.” Earlier reports said that the damage had been caused by ships that had been diverted off their usual route because of bad weather. A repair ship is expected to begin work to fix the two Mediterranean cables on Tuesday.

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Kenya ICT Board launches Public Panels (1 attachment)
by Al Kags 04 Feb '08

04 Feb '08

The Kenya ICT Board yesterday launched the ICT Public Panels, which are special stakeholder forums that are designed to enable the private sector to collaborate with the government through the board to develop Kenya's ICT agenda. Speaking at the Kenya ICT Federation's "State of the Industry" luncheon, the CEO of the Kenya ICT Board, Mr. Paul Kukubo flanked by his two deputy CEOs, Mr. Victor Kyalo (Infrastructure and Programmes) and Ms. Eunice M. Kariuki (Marketing), presented the board's overall strategy, which is now being finalised. [Download it here: http://tinyurl.com/3cvmfo] They invited the wider ICT industry to participate in the validation of the board's strategy, which was presented as well as to contribute to the development of the ICT agenda through the Public Panels. "We feel that the work that we do can only really be productive if we adopt a policy of inclusion and ensure that we carry everyone along," said Paul Kukubo in his presentation. "We want to urge the public through the industry sector groups to participate as keenly in our work." Essentially the Public Panels will be co-convened by industry sector groups, such as the Kenya ICT Federation, the Kenya Business Process Outsourcing and Contact Centre Society (KBPOCC) and others and the board will facilitate their working sessions. The anticipated output of the panels includes policy recommendations, white papers, position papers and actual draft project proposals. The Chairman of the Kenya ICT Federation congratulated the board on the presentation of the strategy saying that it was clear that quite a lot of work had gone into its development. He said that it was a breath of fresh air to see the depth and breadth with which the board was working. "Clearly we are in good hands." DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION: http://tinyurl.com/3cvmfo ALT DOWLOAD PRESENTATION: http://tinyurl.com/25rnqo

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Third Undersea Cable Cut - conspiracy or not?
by brian 03 Feb '08

03 Feb '08

There are some blogs around the Internet that speculate about these cable cuts. One pretty plausible claim is that the launch of the Iranian Oil Bourse which was planned for this week might be the cause for such a scale of interference as the bourse would have negatively impacted the US dollar. -------- Iran Oil Bourse to deal blow to dollar Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:45:41 The long-awaited Iranian Oil Bourse, a place for trading oil, petrochemicals and gas in various non-dollar currencies, will soon open. Iran’s Finance Minister Davoud Danesh-Jafari told reporters the bourse will be inaugurated during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (February 1-11) at the latest. “All preparations have been made to launch the bourse; it will open during the Ten-Day Dawn (the ceremonies marking the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran),” he said. The Minister had earlier stated that the Oil Bourse is located on the Persian Gulf island of Kish. Some expert opinions hold inauguration of the bourse cold significantly devalue the greenback. --------- Could this be why the 3rd cable cut has effectively removed the Middle East from the internet? ---------- Via: CNN: An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days. Dubai has been hit hard by an Internet outage apparently caused by a cut undersea cable. Ships have been dispatched to repair two undersea cables damaged on Wednesday off Egypt. FLAG Telecom, which owns one of the cables, said repairs were expected to be completed by February 12. France Telecom, part owner of the other cable, said it was uncertain when repairs on it would be repaired. Stephan Beckert, an analyst with TeleGeography, a research company that consults on global Internet issues, said the cables off Egypt were likely damaged by ships’ anchors. The loss of the two Mediterranean cables — FLAG Telecom’s FLAG Europe-Asia cable and SeaMeWe-4, a cable owned by a consortium of more than a dozen telecommunications companies — has snarled Internet and phone traffic from Egypt to India. Officials said Friday it was unclear what caused the damage to FLAG’s FALCON cable about 50 kilometers off Dubai. A repair ship was en route, FLAG said. Eric Schoonover, a senior analyst with TeleGeography, said the FALCON cable is designed on a “ring system,” taking it on a circuit around the Persian Gulf and enabling traffic to be more easily routed around damage. Schoonover said the two cables damaged Wednesday collectively account for as much as three-quarters of the international communications between Europe and the Middle East, so their loss had a much bigger effect.

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Blogger of Mass Destruction - huh(?)
by brian 03 Feb '08

03 Feb '08

The stakes in the information economy are very high. Even moreso the interests of a sovereign state. A country like the USA takes this so seriously that they conducted the following as a test of their preparedness. Interesting amongst some of the simulations are scenarios where they test their ability to "control" the release of information to the public by the media.... It is good to think about Kenya's preparedness in this context. Brian --------------- Bloggers of Mass Destruction February 2nd, 2008 Via: Daily Herald: It’s the government’s idea of a really bad day: Washington’s Metro trains shut down. Seaport computers in New York go dark. Bloggers reveal locations of railcars with hazardous materials. Airport control towers are disrupted in Philadelphia and Chicago. Overseas, a mysterious liquid is found on London’s subway. And that’s just for starters. Those incidents were among dozens of detailed, mock disasters confronting officials rapid-fire in the U.S. government’s biggest-ever “Cyber Storm” war game, according to hundreds of pages of heavily censored files obtained by The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department ran the exercise to test the nation’s hacker defenses, with help from the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department, CIA, National Security Agency and others. The laundry list of fictional catastrophes — which include hundreds of people on “No Fly” lists suddenly arriving at airport ticket counters — is significant because it suggests what kind of real-world trouble keeps people in the White House awake at night. Imagined villains include hackers, bloggers and even reporters. After mock electronic attacks overwhelmed computers at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an unspecified “major news network” airing reports about the attackers refused to reveal its sources to the government. Other simulated reporters were duped into spreading “believable but misleading” information that worsened fallout by confusing the public and financial markets, according to the government’s files. The $3 million, invitation-only war game simulated what the U.S. described as plausible attacks over five days in February 2006 against the technology industry, transportation lines and energy utilities by anti-globalization hackers. The government is organizing another multimillion-dollar war game, Cyber Storm 2, to take place in early March.

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NOKIA E61i for Sale - Ksh 25, 000 with all accessories and Boxes intact
by Robert Alai 03 Feb '08

03 Feb '08

You all know Nokia E61 – it's been among the most popular Nokia smartphones ever since it was presented. Its fans have always been divided over it not having a camera. Taking that into account Nokia decided to release an updated version of the handset marked with "i". Besides a camera, the new model features a number of small modifications, or otherwise upgrades, which would again reinstate it as a top-notch smartphone messenger. Now join us on our GSMArena journey which would try to answer a good deal of questions for you… and for us, for that matter. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i official pictures* Key features: - Rich connectivity options - UMTS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, Infrared - Outstanding battery life - 2 megapixel camera - Messenger form factor with a full QWERTY keyboard - Really large 2.8" TFT display - Solid, metallic body - Symbian OS 9.1 S60 3rd Edition UI - microSD memory card slot Main disadvantages: - Hefty weight - No HSDPA support - No secondary camera for video calls - S60 UI doesn't come with Feature Pack 1 Right from the start the Nokia E61 was a successful model that made itself a nice group of dedicated fans. Not having a camera was obviously not a big deal for those guys. Even now in workplaces where information confidentiality is strictly guarded, cameraphones are simply not allowed. The business messenger market though realized that office workers and businessmen need an all-in-one tool that would allow them to work efficiently during the day and to have fun or just relax in the evenings and weekend. So essentially it has come to this that purely business handsets are gradually being equipped with more and more extra features such as a music player, a video player, a camera, etc. The market niche for such devices is fiercely competitive and it seems that our new Nokia has plunged into the deep with some other serious swimmers such as Palm Treo, Blackberry Pearl, Motorola Q, HTC S620, Sony Ericsson M600, Samsung i320, iMate JAQ plus several HP IPAQ products. And if you look at the details, the Nokia E61i is even functionally identical to Nokia E70. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i and Nokia E70: functionally identical but so much different* When we started to review the new Nokia E61i we came up with a couple of key questions that had to be answered in order for this review to be complete and those are: - Is the camera positioning the E61i into another device category? - Is it worth exchanging your vanilla Nokia E61 for it? In the same time the review had to cover all the aspects that we cover in all other reviews – meaning that we should go over all the features of the smartphone in detail. So for those of you that are into smartphones for a long time now and wouldn't want to go through all of this, here is our low down on exactly how the Nokia E61i differs from the vanilla E61. The E61i is thinner than the E61 by a small margin but is 11 cc smaller. The E61i has a better build quality over the E61 and possesses a rather stable and solid body. The keyboard has definitely got a few updates – first, the navigation joystick is replaced with a D-pad, which is a great choice by the way. Then there are two new shortcut keys – the Phonebook and My Own key. The My Own key is a customizable shortcut key that you can use for starting an application of your choice. The keys of the QWERTY keyboard have gotten just a notch smaller, but the space between them has increased. Furthermore their tactile feedback is far better on E61i than on the E61. As a result the ergonomics of the QWERTY keyboard have greatly increased. Software-wise the E61i didn't stay long enough in development so that it can get the Feature Pack 1, that's now available for the S60 user interface. So obviously we would be waiting for other devices to try it on. Nevertheless, the E61i comes with several preinstalled applications that were not available in E61 – the WLAN Wizard, the Search application and the Team Suite. The WLAN wizard is a Wi-Fi network scanner, Search is a global search engine for your handset contents and finally, the Team suite is a more specific application that allows for creating so-called "teams" in order to make mass communication with your colleagues easier. Having those applications is not a big deal, though, as they can be downloaded to your E61, too. The E61i also has newer and more user-friendly Internet calling settings and finally, let's not forget – the new messenger comes with a 2 megapixel camera that can always come in handy for making snapshots of people and places. So what are the answers to the two questions we had, you might ask. Well, for that, our friends, you'll have to bear with us to this review's very end. As far as retail package is concerned, the box contents you should expect are the Nokia HS-5 headset and a data cable. Nothing more to please the eye – but hey, the E-series handsets are all about business. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i retail box contents* Enter the Dragon Being an updated version of the Nokia E61, the Nokia E61i has pretty much the same design as its predecessor. The dimensions are identical too - the Nokia E61i measures 117 x 70 x 13.9 mm and weighs 150 g. You all know Nokia E61 – it's been among the most popular Nokia smartphones ever since it was presented. Its fans have always been divided over it not having a camera. Taking that into account Nokia decided to release an updated version of the handset marked with "i". We are more than pleased with the construction quality of the E61i. The handset didn't produce any creaks during our test, and furthermore it didn't look like those are likely to show up even after months of use. As we already said the body construction and the way parts fit together is something that has improved over E61. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i all over* Well going over the phone you couldn't help but notice the LED in the upper left corner of the front panel. It is in fact an ambient light detector which is used for power optimization. It detects the available ambient light and thus controls whether backlighting or display brightness should be adjusted. It also serves the double purpose of an event light alerting you of different event – a feature that is totally customizable. Next to the LED/sensor, right in the dead center, is the in-call speaker grill. Due to the really wide form factor, it takes some time to get used to position your ear right on the speaker. Unaccustomed to it, during our tests we often tended to go left or right. Next to it is the On/Off key – it's made of white rubber that somehow doesn't follow the metallic design of the handset. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i top part: LED/light sensor and On/Off key* The QWERTY keypad is probably the most exciting thing about a handset with that form factor. It is the single thing that can make or break the pleasure of using the device to its full potential. As you would see later on in the review, the Nokia E61i keyboard manages to impress with a great usability. One can easily notice that there are several design updates over the E61 – all for the better, we might add. You might have noticed that the keyboard of our test unit is in fact not a QWERTY one, but instead a QWERTZ one. The simple reason for that is that it is the German version of E61i – fully localized with the added special characters. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i keyboard: design has changed* The left side of the device features a dual volume key and the voice key. A single press allows you to start an immediate recording of a voice note for example. A longer press takes you to the voice dial/voice command interface. The voice key is pretty well recessed so it isn't probable that you would press it accidentally in your pocket – a flaw that Nokia E61 had. Beside those keys is the loudspeaker grill – the sound it produces is nice – clear and loud. The loudspeaker position is well-thought of, as the sound doesn't get muffled when you put down the handset on its back, as is the case with most current mobile phones. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Left side view: voice key, volume key, loudspeaker* The bottom part of the device features the charger port, the Pop port for connecting the data cable and the headset, as well as the Infrared port. The charger port of the E61i can fit only the latest types of Nokia chargers – the ones with a thinner jack. Unlike N-series handsets the E61i doesn't come with a charger adaptor included which would allow for using the older types of chargers with it. Strangely enough, although we had that type of adapter we couldn't charge the E61i with an older charger. It seems that with this model Nokia has left behind the backwards compatibility we were used to see. The right and top sides of the handset don't accommodate any control elements. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Bottom side view • Right side view • Top side view* When you turn the phone over, you would see that its back is pretty bare. The only element that really catches your eye is the 2 megapixel camera lens. The lens is protected by a silver circular ring. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Nokia E61i back • camera lens* The most of the back is taken by the fully metallic battery cover. Removing it is done with a slide – much like inserting it back on. Note that we say "inserting" – the cover has to be inserted into tracks which allow it to slide all the way to the top. Now it isn't the most comfortable solution we've seen but it surely is among the most secure ones. When you remove the back cover the large Nokia BP-4L Li-Polymer battery is revealed. It has a capacity of the impressive 1500 mAh and is manufacturer-rated to be able to sustain the handset with power for up to 400 h in standby, and for up to 9 h of talk time in GSM-only networks. Our test showed that when used moderately in a UMTS network the E61i was able to offer the impressive six full days with a single charging – and that being the first one for the battery. When we say moderately we mean that the E61i almost never left our office and for those six days we did a total of around 35 minutes of talking, 1 hour of Bluetoothing, 30 minutes of WLAN web browsing, 2 hours of listening to music, 40 minutes of playing video, taking several dozens of pictures, and a lot of fiddling with the phone. So just to sum up for you – it is a nice mark for Nokia's latest messenger smartphone. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> *Removing the back panel • memory card slot • 1500 mAh battery • SIM card bed* Although being rather wide, the Nokia E61i feels pretty much comfortable when held in hand. If you try to work with it single-handedly and if you are dexterous enough to hold it in your right hand and to navigate with your thumb, you mind find that the left soft keys are a bit too far for you to press accurately. If you have bigger hands, that surely wouldn't pose any problem. The smartphone leaves an impression of a thin, stable and user-friendly handset – although a side jog dial would have come in handy. [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#> [image: Nokia E61i] <http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e61i-review-142.php#>

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Central Bank Website down? Which one is next?
by Odhiambo Washington 02 Feb '08

02 Feb '08

Trying to access the Central Bank website at 12:55pm... http://www.centralbank.go.ke/ Error: "Not enough storage is available to complete this operation." I am wondering if they have run out of disk space. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Oh My God! They killed init! You Bastards!" --from a /. post

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Alari's Fundraiser
by Harry Hare 02 Feb '08

02 Feb '08

Dear Colleagues, I have information that friends and well wishers are convening at Tanager Restaurant (Kaunda Street---I think) in the city centre on Thursday 31st January from 6:00pm. Should you need further information please contact Henry Ochieng on 0725 777708. Kindest Regards Harry African eDevelopment Resource Centre 3rd Floor, Nelleon Place Raphta Road, Westlands PO Box 49475 00100 Nairobi, Kenya Cel +254 725 650044 Land +254 20 4453445 www.africanedevelopment.org *********************************************************** February 2008 Capacity Building Opportunities VSAT Field Engineering: 5-8 Records Management: 13-15 Fiber Optics: 26-29 Book Now, Limited spaces available

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Safaricom Down
by Robert Alai 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

Hello I have problems Accessing www.safaricom.com. Can someone help. Also I need a webdesigner good in PHP/Joomla and Graphics. Robert

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Day 4 of 5:- Quantifying the Impact of the Post-election Violence
by John Walubengo 01 Feb '08

01 Feb '08

Morning all, Here's part of what I could quickly gather as the possible short-term interventions from some of the posts. 1. Encourage balanced reporting by Media and avoid glorifying destructions, killings 2. Consider Filtering hate mails, messages, websites 3. Corporates going the extra mile (e.g mobile operator becoming banks to ensure service provision...) 4. Ensuring that basic Operator service is maintained particularly in the current environment 5.Create portals that provide linkages between the needy and their potential donors Feel free to add more. But today I invite you to attempt to quantify the loss this chaos continue to wreck on our organisations. What do you think is the the toll per day in terms of lost business opportunity, man-hours, equipment, etc? only 1 day on this theme because tomorrow we finish of this discussion. walu. Quantify the Impact of Post-election violence on ICT organisations (1day) -What is the toll per day in terms of lost business opportunity, man-hours, equipment, etc l Ensure balanced reporting by Media Filtering hate mails, messages, websites Corporates going the extra mile becoming banks Ensuring that Operator service continue Create portals that provide linkages between the needy and the donors Avoid glorifying destructions ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Fibre Cut disrupts 70% Internet in India & Egypt
by brian 31 Jan '08

31 Jan '08

As we prepare to light up TEAMS we had better be thinking about redundancy ...... Brian ---------------------------------- Cut Fiber: Internet Services in India and Egypt Disrupted January 30th, 2008 Via: Reuters: A breakdown in an international undersea cable network badly disrupted Internet links to India and Egypt on Wednesday. Egypt’s Telecommunications Ministry said a communications cable in the Mediterranean was cut, disrupting 70 percent of the country’s Internet network. The ministry said in a statement it was not known how the cable was cut but that services would probably take several days to return to normal. India reported serious disruptions to its services and one Indian Internet service provider linked the problem to the Egyptian outage. “There has been a cable cut on several cable systems in Alexandria, Egypt which has impacted internet connectivity in India,” Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), an internet service provider, said in a statement. VSNL said its service had been “largely restored” by diverting to another cable. India said it had lost more than half of its capacity. “There has been a 50 to 60 percent cut in bandwidth,” Rajesh Chharia, president of the Internet Service Providers’ Association of India, told Reuters. He told the Headlines Today news channel that a “degraded” service would be activated by Wednesday night, but full restoration will take 10 to 15 days. Chharia said companies, including some of India’s many outsourcing businesses, had been affected.

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Chronicle of Fiber Cuts
by brian 31 Jan '08

31 Jan '08

This website provides a scary analysis of the recent fiber cuts as well as a chronicle of past incidents. http://www.dailywireless.org/2008/01/30/oceanic-fiber-cut/ It is becoming clearer that the international submarine fiber game can get very dirty. Our own efforts here in Kenya to get TEAMS going have been plagued with sabotage attempts from 'competing' cable projects....... Brian

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Fwd: Firms Plan Private Placements - Business Daily
by Bill Kagai 31 Jan '08

31 Jan '08

--------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Stock Detective <stock.detective(a)mediacorp.co.ke> Date: Jan 31, 2008 7:42 AM Subject: Firms Plan Private Placements - Business Daily To: MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5597&Item… Firms Plan Private Placements Written by Emmanuel Were BUSINESS DAILY January 31, 2008: Resolution Health and MediaCorp plan to sell a stake of their shares to private investors within the year. The private placements will follow closely those of CIC Insurance and SPS, which were to be concluded last year but have been extended to accommodate the interests of investors. The insurance firm will file the placement at the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) having concluded the initial stages of the placement. "We are at a conceptual stage and we will obviously follow CMA requirements," said Peter Nduati, CEO, Resolution Health. Last week, the markets regulator issued a notice reminding companies wanting to raise money from the public to seek its approval. Resolution Health has, however, established investment groups and their members as the target market for the placement, taking a cue from CIC which was selling its share exclusively to co-operative societies and their members. Investment clubs in the country have recently been organised into a credible lobby through the Kenya Association of Investment Groups (KAIG) which now has 30 investment groups and five corporates. Mediacorp, one of the licensed Nairobi Stock Exchange data vendors, shall offer a 20 per cent stake worth Sh20 million, with the minimum amount of application standing at Sh500, 000. It hopes to raise the funds by the end of February 2008. "The funds will enable us set up an agency for stock broking services through a licence acquired from Faida Investment Bank," said Bildad Kagai, CEO, Media Corp limited. The stock broking agency, to be known as, MediaCorp Capital, will offer services in trading of equities and bonds initially to subscribers for its data vending services. It will also have its eyes on the regional market in anticipation of the formation of the East African Stock Exchange by opening four sub regional offices in Mombasa, Kampala, Kigali and Dar-es-Salaam. "We hope to become the leader of financial and stock information in East Africa," said Mr Kagai. In the case of Resolution Health, a Medical Insurance Provider (MIP), it needs to raise it core capital in line with the proposal by the Finance minister in his 2007/08 budget who proposed to increase the paid up capital of General Insurance from Sh100 million to Sh300 million. Resolution Health is looking for a maximum of 50 new share holders willing to part with Sh10 million each, taking its paid up capital to Sh610 million through the private placement. The increase in the capital will come at a time when according to the CEO, Mr Nduati, Resolution Health plans to convert to an insurance company by the end of this year as well as making a foray into the Ugandan market. The Medical Insurance Provider (MIP) whose insurance covers includes paternity, HIV and dental covers has been in the Kenyan market for the past six years. On the other hand MediaCorp began its operations in June 2006 offering subscribers access to the Nairobi Stock Exchange real time trading data via the Internet with a current subscription base of 600 subscribers. Investment groups need to broaden their portfolio to cover risks arising from uncertain times like the ones being experienced in the country presently, said KAIG chairperson Patrick Kariuki. "All investments have different levels of risk but if you hide from risk you hide from returns. Diversity helps reduce exposure to specific risks," he said during a seminar hosted by the two companies for KAIG members. Returns from the equities market have fallen sharply amid the violence set off by the outcome of the presidential election a month ago. Investors in the hard currency market, especially those who had backed the shilling to depreciate, have been the main beneficieries of the prevailing situation. http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5597&Item… -- -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Nairobi Stock Exchange [NSE] - Authorised Information Vendor Suite B2 Tetu Apartments StateHouse Avenue P. O. Box 20311-00200 Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete URL. www.mediacorpafrica.com

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Day 1 of 5 - Challenges Posed by Post-Election Violence on ICT Organisations
by John Walubengo 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Greetings all, As mentioned last friday, we need to engage positively around the current crisis stalking our country. One suggested method was that we share experiences, impacts and how we are coping with the challenges occassioned. The overal aim is to enable members to learn from each other while emphasising the impact the crises continues to have on ICT organisations. Today is Day 1 and from the program below. We have 2days to share the challenges posed by the Post Election Violence on ICT organisations. I know quite abit is already shared in the press but no harm done if a brief re-run on our list for the benefit of those who may have missed out. So feel free to speak as (Telco) Operators, Consumers,ICT Service Providers(BPO,ISPs,etc) Media, Academia or all of the above ;-) walu. ~~~~~~~~Full Program~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~Objectives~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Share the Challenges posed by the Post-election Violence on ICT organisations Share current interventions employed to overcome these Challenges Quantify the Impact of Post-election violence on ICT organisations Way forward and conclusions Deliverables. eWorkshop Report containing the deliberations, consensus and action points arising from the online discussions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Methodology~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Online discussion will be structured along 4 themes, to be discussed across the 5days as follows. Share the Challenges posed by the Post-election Violence on ICT organisations (2days) -Economical, Social, Technical Challenges. Share current interventions employed to overcome these Challenges (1day) -What short-term tactics are you using to work around the challenges -What are your long-term options with regard to the challenges Quantify the Impact of Post-election violence on ICT organisations (1day) -What is the toll per day in terms of lost business opportunity, man-hours, equipment, etc l Way Forward and Conclusions -1day. -what are the lessons learnt? -what can the ICT community do to accelerate 'back-to-normal' situation ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

8 15

Day 3 of 5:-Possible Interventions to overcome the Challenges
by John Walubengo 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Thanx all, it does seem we are getting somewhere in this discussion (even without the worthy services of K. Annaan ;-) Anyway, very interesting and captivating experience from both M Joseph (Safaricom) and Gilda (BPO/ISP). Ofcourse with Edith (IDRC) picking off a tangent from MJoseph contribution that treads the murky area between censorship and freedom. I would imagine that requires a whole new discussion on its own later... Bill (Mediacorp), Alex (Consumers) and Mike E.(Symphony)comments prepare us better for todays discussion. The idea of HR Counseling within organisations is a to me a frank and bold step towards admitting that theres a problem and it is being addressed. The idea of mobile broadcast SMS reminding citizens of their liability in wanton destruction of property is timely. I would add, that probably the TV broadcast should adopt a name and shame approach to this destruction. Methinks at times they broadcast this images with an angle of 'celebrating' the killings and destructions :-0( Anyway, the floor is open your contributions. 1 day only on possible interventions. But feel free to contribute on previous post (just keep correct Subject lines). walu. Share current interventions employed to overcome these Challenges (1day) -What short-term tactics are you using to work around the challenges -What are your long-term options with regard to the challenges ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

2 1

Small Medium Entreprise Symposium in March.
by Jose' 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Kimathi Information Centre P.O BOX 57741-00200 Nairobi Contact People: Carthy Atieno carthy.atieno(a)kimathiinformationcentre.com Jose Njuki-Imwe jose.njuki(a)kimathiinformationcentre.com FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE Kimathi information Centre in its quarterly year calendar holds symposiums for Small Medium Enterprises that involve networking and exposing entrepreneurs to possible business partners, mentors and loan granters. Last year we brought in up to 187 Small Medium Enterprises with much emphasis on the youth fund. This year our focus is directed to emerging entrepreneurs with the theme; Emerging People, Emerging markets, Emerging technologies. We anticipate bringing about 300 registered Small medium Enterprises, in which 50 businesses will be exhibiting their products. They in return will have an opportunity to network with fellow entrepreneurs by forming new partnerships, getting new businesses and basically enjoying the moment. Small Medium Enterprises have a challenge in keeping track. This is due to high constraints on raising proper capital and lacking mentors to guide them through the process. It with this concern that we introduce a Mentoring Clinic Tent during the one day symposium in which we shall see Professional Jornalists, Lawyers, Bankers, Telecommunication engineers and Entrepreneurs come on board to take part in this Nobel initiative. With this situation in mind, we are asking professionals to get in touch with the event organizers and be part of the mentoring tent team in which we shall give certificates to the list of professionals. We crown the day by listening to the Key note speakers from Kenya Youth Business Trust whose mandate is to give loans to viable SMEs at a reasonable rate. The symposium date will be on the Saturday, 22nd March 2008 at the kenya assemblies Of God-Bahati Estate.(Nairobi) For more information, please contact: José- 0728878744 ngunjirijnr(a)gmail.com Carthy-0724940237 atienocarthy(a)gmail.com --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

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Weak Mobile Phone Signals
by Alex Gakuru 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

A mobile phone signals are very weak around the Upper Hill/Community area. As a result, for example, forced to step out of their offices subscribers at one building parking in that area constantly pace up-and down whenever they receive or have to make calls. Could the network providers check their signal strengths or explain. Or perhaps CCK should send their signal monitoring equipment to ensure service quality is constantly maintained? Are there other areas experiencing this problem? Regards, ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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REMINDER
by nancy bosire 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Dear Members and Partners, This is to remind you of tomorrows KIF and Kenya ICT Board luncheon at Nairobi Safari Club from 12.30pm to 2.30 pm. Charges are Ksh.2,000 for Members and Ksh.3,000 for Non-members. see you there. -- Sincerely yours, Secretariat Manager Kenya ICT Federation Tel: 020 4440102 Mobile: 0721907995 secretariat(a)kif.or.ke, info(a)kif.or.ke http://www.kif.or.ke Mahatma Gandhi once said:- First they ignore you, Then they laugh at you, Then they fight you, AND THEN YOU WIN!!!

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Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed byPost-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations
by Edith Adera 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Michael and Walu, Indeed the mood is dampened! Two points: *to Michael - I bought a scratch card this morning that gave me less money than printed on the card! What's happening? * Both of you have raised interesting issues that need further discussions - effects of the ban vs possible censorship of content by Safaricom as indicated by Michael. In a situation of media ban the only "live" coverage is informal networks and under these circumstances sms' come in very handy, so people are able to move "live" news quickly to family, relatives and friends. It worries me to hear Michael taut censorship of sms content. It raises many issues: - is there infringement of personal rights in reading people's sms content to determine which is suitable to censor? - who makes this decision? - should we feel exposed? In addition to discussing these issues, I strongly feel we need to do something practical to support those suffering..... kind regards Edith At / À 14:09 29/01/2008, Michael Joseph wrote / a écrit: >I think we are all trying to deal with the crisis which seems to grow >every day with no-one seemingly concerned enough to stop it. > >With regard to the scratch card prices, the problem was, and is still to >some extent, the disruption of our supply lines due to the violence and >the closing of the banking network for more than 10 days. In a, mostly, >informal economy, the impact of lengthy bank closures has a significant >impact on the economy and is even outlawed in some countries. The >problem is that stocks are kept to a minimum due to cash flow and >security problems. So if there is a minor blip this does lead to >significant shortages. We are looking, as are others, for alternative >solutions to deal with this problem. > >At one point we became a bank and collected billions of shillings in >cash (and stored them in our vaults) from dealers in order to get the >supply process going. > >Fortunately we never experienced severe disruption to our network except >for some areas in Western (where else) due to the inability to get >diesel fuel to some key sites. But the threat was always there. > >The other threat worth mentioning is the ever increasing hostile hate >SMSs which were circulating after the elections and continue to >circulate. We are introducing a filtering system which will hopefully >stop some of them, but we must realize that the communications networks >are vital in times of unrest and if we are forced to close down some >elements to stop these hate messages, the impact could be felt even more >widely and may even introduce panic. We must guard our freedom but we >must also act responsibly to protect that freedom. I know I am preaching >to the choir, and may even encourage some debate, but it is a fine line >in these critical times. > >Regards, > >Michael > >CEO >Safaricom Limited > > >-----Original Message----- >From: kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >[mailto:kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] >On Behalf Of John Walubengo >Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:45 AM >To: Michael Joseph >Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed >byPost-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations > >mmhh, looks like very few contributions. I understand the >dampened mood. But really, we have to talk. Unless you >guys want us to bring Koffi Anaan here to make us share... > >Anyway, Thanx Alex, Bill, and Brian for your contributions >so far. I was just thinking at a national level...the >impact so far. >1. Mobile Operators (earlier in the fracas I bought a >scratch card worth 250sh for 500sh, black market rates) >2. BPO projects (whats happening at Kencall and others?) >3. ICT Board (with World Bank threatening to hold back >funds, what happens to the Infrastructure projects that >were to provide Bandwidth to BPOs and Academia?) >4. Media (how are you coping with the live transmission >ban?) >6. ISPs, ASPs, Cybercafes (any impacts) >7. Our members in the region UG, RW (any impacts?) > >Plse talk, we have only four more days to go. It is >refreshing to talk about this things. It is part of the >healing process. > >walu. > >--- Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Ok, I was silent because Brain Longwe had earlier > > asked that the list be what it was meant to be. Since > > that position has changed, I want to start with > > "funny" joke. We have a saying in this regard. > > > > Have you been one of those who have tried or struggled > > to guess the tribe of the person sending emails to > > mailing lists? Please own up:) Last week we considered > > assessing the psychological consequences the crisis > > was having on consumers with regard to email and blogs > > posts. > > > > It turned out that some tried to "align" their views > > on e-mail senders whom they perceived (or imagined?) > > to be of the same or "friendly" tribes. Our > > conclusion, listers were not tribal, yet the stress, > > politics and media had forced them to seek tribal > > alignments. We were happy to discover that. > > > > Next we discussed tensions at workplace Telkom Kenya > > being our sample. We learnt how badly it had divided > > staff there. We overheard employee conversations! We > > wished companies would hold extra parties to lessen > > tensions at work. I have just noticed a ke-users > > lister has posted a very positive message. Their HR > > department today held an organisation-wide > > counselling session. That was excellent. All companies > > should start similar initiatives. Thanks Saidimu! > > > > > > Terrible for us because when we engaging Telcos and > > ISPs we never ask for okuyu, jang or kale etc tariffs > > or quality of service standards. Our engagement covers > > coast to lake, Turkana to Namanga, Garissa to Busia. > > > > At such moments, Information and Communications > > Consumer protection is more than ever necessary. We > > are battling rights of the people know on one hand, on > > the other we are urging responsibility to accompany > > freedom of expression, fighting against ban on live > > broadcasts also aware of the dangers of misuse, > > against sms sniffing very aware of misinformation > > dangers. > > > > We noted and appreciated the media's own intervention > > early and responsibility but also appreciate the role > > of government to protect everyone. > > > > This thread is on the challenges hence I stop there > > for now to hear others' lest I be accused of > > monopolising on opinion. I will be back;) > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Alex > > > > > > --- John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > >________________________________________________________________________ >____________ > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > > > > > >________________________________________________________________________ >____________ >Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. >http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: mjoseph(a)safaricom.co.ke >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mjoseph%40safaricom >.co.ke >The information in this email and any attachments is confidential and may >be legally privileged. It is intended only for the use of the named addressee. >Emails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity cannot be >guaranteed. Safaricom Limited does not accept legal responsibility for the >contents of this email if the same is found to have been altered or >manipulated. >The contents and opinions expressed in this email are solely those of the >author and do not necessarily represent those of Safaricom Limited. >Safaricom Limited disclaims any liability to the fullest extent >permissible by law for any consequences that may arise from the contents >of this email including but not limited to personal opinions, malicious >and/or defamatory information and data/codes that may compromise or damage >the integrity of the recipient's information technology systems. >If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender and >immediately delete this email from your system. > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eadera%40idrc.or.ke -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

5 4

Alari fundraiser
by Rebecca Wanjiku 30 Jan '08

30 Jan '08

Hi Just to let you know Alari Alare's fundraiser will be held tomorrow (Thursday) 6pm at Tanager bar and restaurant. Funeral arrangements will be availed during the fundraising. Please come or send your donations. I am sure Alari touched you in one way or another. -- Regards, Becky ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed byPost-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations
by Michael Joseph 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

Re the scratch card - It is very unusual for that to happen. I would like to have more details about the card if you still have it. On sms we will not be censoring or reading any messages but propose to have a filter that could block messages that contain unacceptable words. Nothing has been decided but the new smsc has this option. We are committed to responsible marketing and this includes setting up systems to block pornography etc. We know this raises important issues and we will consult before deciding anything. Michael Joseph CEO Safaricom Limited BlackBerry powered by Safaricom ----- Original Message ----- From: Edith Adera <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> To: Michael Joseph Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Tue Jan 29 15:04:41 2008 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed byPost-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations Michael and Walu, Indeed the mood is dampened! Two points: *to Michael - I bought a scratch card this morning that gave me less money than printed on the card! What's happening? * Both of you have raised interesting issues that need further discussions - effects of the ban vs possible censorship of content by Safaricom as indicated by Michael. In a situation of media ban the only "live" coverage is informal networks and under these circumstances sms' come in very handy, so people are able to move "live" news quickly to family, relatives and friends. It worries me to hear Michael taut censorship of sms content. It raises many issues: - is there infringement of personal rights in reading people's sms content to determine which is suitable to censor? - who makes this decision? - should we feel exposed? In addition to discussing these issues, I strongly feel we need to do something practical to support those suffering..... kind regards Edith At / À 14:09 29/01/2008, Michael Joseph wrote / a écrit: >I think we are all trying to deal with the crisis which seems to grow >every day with no-one seemingly concerned enough to stop it. > >With regard to the scratch card prices, the problem was, and is still to >some extent, the disruption of our supply lines due to the violence and >the closing of the banking network for more than 10 days. In a, mostly, >informal economy, the impact of lengthy bank closures has a significant >impact on the economy and is even outlawed in some countries. The >problem is that stocks are kept to a minimum due to cash flow and >security problems. So if there is a minor blip this does lead to >significant shortages. We are looking, as are others, for alternative >solutions to deal with this problem. > >At one point we became a bank and collected billions of shillings in >cash (and stored them in our vaults) from dealers in order to get the >supply process going. > >Fortunately we never experienced severe disruption to our network except >for some areas in Western (where else) due to the inability to get >diesel fuel to some key sites. But the threat was always there. > >The other threat worth mentioning is the ever increasing hostile hate >SMSs which were circulating after the elections and continue to >circulate. We are introducing a filtering system which will hopefully >stop some of them, but we must realize that the communications networks >are vital in times of unrest and if we are forced to close down some >elements to stop these hate messages, the impact could be felt even more >widely and may even introduce panic. We must guard our freedom but we >must also act responsibly to protect that freedom. I know I am preaching >to the choir, and may even encourage some debate, but it is a fine line >in these critical times. > >Regards, > >Michael > >CEO >Safaricom Limited > > >-----Original Message----- >From: kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >[mailto:kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] >On Behalf Of John Walubengo >Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:45 AM >To: Michael Joseph >Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions >Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed >byPost-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations > >mmhh, looks like very few contributions. I understand the >dampened mood. But really, we have to talk. Unless you >guys want us to bring Koffi Anaan here to make us share... > >Anyway, Thanx Alex, Bill, and Brian for your contributions >so far. I was just thinking at a national level...the >impact so far. >1. Mobile Operators (earlier in the fracas I bought a >scratch card worth 250sh for 500sh, black market rates) >2. BPO projects (whats happening at Kencall and others?) >3. ICT Board (with World Bank threatening to hold back >funds, what happens to the Infrastructure projects that >were to provide Bandwidth to BPOs and Academia?) >4. Media (how are you coping with the live transmission >ban?) >6. ISPs, ASPs, Cybercafes (any impacts) >7. Our members in the region UG, RW (any impacts?) > >Plse talk, we have only four more days to go. It is >refreshing to talk about this things. It is part of the >healing process. > >walu. > >--- Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Ok, I was silent because Brain Longwe had earlier > > asked that the list be what it was meant to be. Since > > that position has changed, I want to start with > > "funny" joke. We have a saying in this regard. > > > > Have you been one of those who have tried or struggled > > to guess the tribe of the person sending emails to > > mailing lists? Please own up:) Last week we considered > > assessing the psychological consequences the crisis > > was having on consumers with regard to email and blogs > > posts. > > > > It turned out that some tried to "align" their views > > on e-mail senders whom they perceived (or imagined?) > > to be of the same or "friendly" tribes. Our > > conclusion, listers were not tribal, yet the stress, > > politics and media had forced them to seek tribal > > alignments. We were happy to discover that. > > > > Next we discussed tensions at workplace Telkom Kenya > > being our sample. We learnt how badly it had divided > > staff there. We overheard employee conversations! We > > wished companies would hold extra parties to lessen > > tensions at work. I have just noticed a ke-users > > lister has posted a very positive message. Their HR > > department today held an organisation-wide > > counselling session. That was excellent. All companies > > should start similar initiatives. Thanks Saidimu! > > > > > > Terrible for us because when we engaging Telcos and > > ISPs we never ask for okuyu, jang or kale etc tariffs > > or quality of service standards. Our engagement covers > > coast to lake, Turkana to Namanga, Garissa to Busia. > > > > At such moments, Information and Communications > > Consumer protection is more than ever necessary. We > > are battling rights of the people know on one hand, on > > the other we are urging responsibility to accompany > > freedom of expression, fighting against ban on live > > broadcasts also aware of the dangers of misuse, > > against sms sniffing very aware of misinformation > > dangers. > > > > We noted and appreciated the media's own intervention > > early and responsibility but also appreciate the role > > of government to protect everyone. > > > > This thread is on the challenges hence I stop there > > for now to hear others' lest I be accused of > > monopolising on opinion. I will be back;) > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Alex > > > > > > --- John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > >________________________________________________________________________ >____________ > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > > > > > >________________________________________________________________________ >____________ >Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. >http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: mjoseph(a)safaricom.co.ke >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mjoseph%40safaricom >.co.ke >The information in this email and any attachments is confidential and may >be legally privileged. It is intended only for the use of the named addressee. >Emails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity cannot be >guaranteed. Safaricom Limited does not accept legal responsibility for the >contents of this email if the same is found to have been altered or >manipulated. >The contents and opinions expressed in this email are solely those of the >author and do not necessarily represent those of Safaricom Limited. >Safaricom Limited disclaims any liability to the fullest extent >permissible by law for any consequences that may arise from the contents >of this email including but not limited to personal opinions, malicious >and/or defamatory information and data/codes that may compromise or damage >the integrity of the recipient's information technology systems. >If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender and >immediately delete this email from your system. > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eadera%40idrc.or.ke -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. The information in this email and any attachments is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the use of the named addressee. Emails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity cannot be guaranteed. Safaricom Limited does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this email if the same is found to have been altered or manipulated. The contents and opinions expressed in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Safaricom Limited. Safaricom Limited disclaims any liability to the fullest extent permissible by law for any consequences that may arise from the contents of this email including but not limited to personal opinions, malicious and/or defamatory information and data/codes that may compromise or damage the integrity of the recipient's information technology systems. If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender and immediately delete this email from your system.

1 0

Tribute to Alare
by Paul Kukubo 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

A couple of days ago, the ICT community - indeed, Kenya - woke up to the shocking news that one of our own, Alari Alare had passed on. Members of the ICT community will particularly feel the loss of this great man, who was more than a journalist. Many of us especially those of us who have worked in Public Service will fondly remember the terse messages that he would send us saying that the public needed to know what we are doing. He constantly reminded of our responsibility not only to perform but also to inform the public of our work. As the board busies itself crystallising many years of thoughts and ideas from the wider ICT fraternity into concrete action plans in the form of ICT strategic plan, (which is now being finalised) I am very saddened that he has passed on. He input would have been very useful in validating our thinking. When I met members of the ICT Journalists team in December, we spoke about the need to carry along all Kenyans in what we did at the board. I am sure the other members of the ICT Journalists fraternity will maintain the pace. Alari went often well beyond the call duty to find out and demystify for Kenyans what ICT was about and clarify its place in their lives in simple language. I cannot forget the number of interviews when I heard him sardonically commend us for making a good pubic statement, and then ask, "Could you now translate that into normal-speak?" We shall miss Alari Alare. We shall miss his passion and commitment to the cause of ICT. We shall in steadfastly rededicate ourselves to our work and passions in ICT; try to remember what he stood for and what he taught us in the short time we had him: "if people understand what you are on about, people will jump on board." The Kenya ICT Board, on behalf of the ICT Fraternity, wishes to convey its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues, of our friend, Alari Alare and wish him, God's speed. Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Celtel Kenya

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Alari Alare Passes on...
by John Walubengo 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

Just read in today's East African standard (offline edition) that one of our KICTANet members and ICT journalist Alari passed on over the weekend. Some road accident along Mombasa Road. I ask that you observe a miniutes silence in memory of his contribution to the ICT community both online and offline. May God rest his soul in peace. walu. Becky (fellow journalist), plse keep the community uptodate on anything they may do to assist or join his family in this time of mourning. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

8 8

Freedom of Information Training Programme
by Alex Gakuru 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

Colleagues; All conflicts , including World Wars, come to an end some day. Therefore, our unfortunate ongoings will end sometime for some reasons one way or the other. I beg your pardon and allow me to briefly divert to a related but a major post-crisis issue. A peaceful future is guaranteed in our society when we "seek to empower the people with the economic, political and social structures that will prevent them from becoming pawns in a system that sees them as numbers, commodities and reservoirs of cheap labour, and violence when needed." Business Daily, 25 January 2008, 'The next movement after embers die out' Freedom of Information is the avenue to lasting peace and fairness for sustained prosperity. The systems for implementation of access to information held by public entities is greatly boosted by modern communication media and instruments (or ICTs). I suppose Reclaiming the future and our national aspirations by engaging ICTs forms the foundation of kictanet? The FOI-net coalition appreciates last year's firm confirmation by Information PS of government support to the enactment of the Freedom of Information law by the parliament. We look to kictanet to support it from policy to operationalisation. Information benefits will be tremendous to all citizens, the media, and businesses alike as they will better plan their economic and social activities from informed vantage points. For example, feelings of being "left-out" of official procurement, sharing of national cake, region development will be minimal if not eliminated. Corruption will be least where such information is readily available to all citizens. Towards building this information society, find below information on upcoming FOI training. There's little time left and sincerely hope the public officials onlist will pass on this information also to legislators and any other persons interested. ----- Training programme being carried out by Public Administration International on the 31st of March to the 4th of April in the U.K. The training is on Freedom of Information: achieving open and transparent government and the following are the programmes objectives: 1. to explore the purpose and key elements of FOI legislation 2. review infrastructure required to implement the legislation successfully 3. identify benefits and risks 4. confront challenges in achieving and maintaining compliance with the legislation 5. develop action plans to take forward initiatives in this area 6. discuss the effectiveness of the legislation from the perspective of the citizen and the media. For more information visit www.public-admin.co.uk ( Please Note: they have other training programmes for those interested.) ----ends---

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Challenges posed by Post-election violence
by godera＠skyweb.co.ke 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

John, Let me take this moment to contribute on this very important topic. I happen to wear two hats- an ISP and Call Centre. Saying that we have been affected would be an understatement. I would really not say the situation "is getting out of hand" as Kabenn has said below, it got out of hand weeks ago! Like many other businesses in the ICT sector, the ISPs have not been spared. The unrest in various parts of the country has necessitated the shut-down of several businesses such as cyber cafes and even offices that use the Internet. Revenues flow from such areas have scaled down quite substantially. The outsourcing industry has taken a big hit, especially those of us serving international clients. Some have lost contracts, some have seen suspension of work being sent to Kenya and others have simply lost golden opportunities to run their pilot tests with potential clients who are being very cautious (and we cannot blame them)to send their work to Kenya having seen the news coverage on CNN, BBC and other television stations. It has taken some of us the last 2 and a half years to generate an interest in Kenya as an off-shore outsourcing destination. Just one month ago, this year showed promising growth in the industry. Today we are seeing a totally different scenario unless all this negative headline-making chaos stops. And even then, it may take time. That is just I must admit it feels pretty discouraging seeing all our great efforts going down the drain at this rapid rate. Gilda Odera Managing Director Skyweb Technologies Ltd & Skyweb-Evans Ltd Tel:254-20-2711446/2711760 Fax:254-20-2713934 URL:www.skyweb.co.ke/www.skywebevans.co.ke Quoting kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke: > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed by Post-ElectionViolence on > ICT Organisations (Bernard Mwenda) > 2. Re: Alari Alare Passes on... (Eric Osiakwan) > 3. Alari's Fundraiser (Harry Hare) > 4. Re: Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed byPost-ElectionViolence on > ICT Organisations (Michael Joseph) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:46:37 +0300 > From: Bernard Mwenda <bmwenda(a)iwayafrica.com> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed by > Post-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations > To: John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Message-ID: > <8F5B649086B43845822600B44C6AC6C201347AA41693(a)mail1.IWAY.LOCAL> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > John, > > I know for a fact that our distributors (ISPs) in kenya have recorded very > low sales for this time of the year compared to previous years. We have also > had some accounts which have been deactivated, mostly from the hospitality > industry. Hotels are the worst hit right now and such we expect very little > business from this sector. I guess we have to live with the situation as is > or alternatively do something about it. > > I think it is time Kenyan professionals from all walks came out and did > something about this. This situation is now getting out of hand. > > Kabenn. > > ________________________________________ > From: kictanet-bounces+bmwenda=iwayafrica.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > [kictanet-bounces+bmwenda=iwayafrica.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of > John Walubengo [jwalu(a)yahoo.com] > Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 9:45 AM > To: Bernard Mwenda > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 5 - Challenges Posed by > Post-ElectionViolence on ICT Organisations > > mmhh, looks like very few contributions. I understand the > dampened mood. But really, we have to talk. Unless you > guys want us to bring Koffi Anaan here to make us share... > > Anyway, Thanx Alex, Bill, and Brian for your contributions > so far. I was just thinking at a national level...the > impact so far. > 1. Mobile Operators (earlier in the fracas I bought a > scratch card worth 250sh for 500sh, black market rates) > 2. BPO projects (whats happening at Kencall and others?) > 3. ICT Board (with World Bank threatening to hold back > funds, what happens to the Infrastructure projects that > were to provide Bandwidth to BPOs and Academia?) > 4. Media (how are you coping with the live transmission > ban?) > 6. ISPs, ASPs, Cybercafes (any impacts) > 7. Our members in the region UG, RW (any impacts?) > > Plse talk, we have only four more days to go. It is > refreshing to talk about this things. It is part of the > healing process. > > walu. > > --- Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Ok, I was silent because Brain Longwe had earlier > > asked that the list be what it was meant to be. Since > > that position has changed, I want to start with > > "funny" joke. We have a saying in this regard. > > > > Have you been one of those who have tried or struggled > > to guess the tribe of the person sending emails to > > mailing lists? Please own up:) Last week we considered > > assessing the psychological consequences the crisis > > was having on consumers with regard to email and blogs > > posts. > > > > It turned out that some tried to "align" their views > > on e-mail senders whom they perceived (or imagined?) > > to be of the same or "friendly" tribes. Our > > conclusion, listers were not tribal, yet the stress, > > politics and media had forced them to seek tribal > > alignments. We were happy to discover that. > > > > Next we discussed tensions at workplace Telkom Kenya > > being our sample. We learnt how badly it had divided > > staff there. We overheard employee conversations! We > > wished companies would hold extra parties to lessen > > tensions at work. I have just noticed a ke-users > > lister has posted a very positive message. Their HR > > department today held an organisation-wide > > counselling session. That was excellent. All companies > > should start similar initiatives. Thanks Saidimu! > > > > > > Terrible for us because when we engaging Telcos and > > ISPs we never ask for okuyu, jang or kale etc tariffs > > or quality of service standards. Our engagement covers > > coast to lake, Turkana to Namanga, Garissa to Busia. > > > > At such moments, Information and Communications > > Consumer protection is more than ever necessary. We > > are battling rights of the people know on one hand, on > > the other we are urging responsibility to accompany > > freedom of expression, fighting against ban on live > > broadcasts also aware of the dangers of misuse, > > against sms sniffing very aware of misinformation > > dangers. > > > > We noted and appreciated the media's own intervention > > early and responsibility but also appreciate the role > > of government to protect everyone. > > > > This thread is on the challenges hence I stop there > > for now to hear others' lest I be accused of > > monopolising on opinion. I will be back;) > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Alex > > > > > > --- John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________________________________________ _____ > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > > > > > > _______________________________________________________________________________ _____ > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: bmwenda(a)iwayafrica.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bmwenda%40iwayafrica.c… > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:38:07 +0300 > From: Eric Osiakwan <eric(a)afrispa.org> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Alari Alare Passes on... > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Message-ID: <BD0C2FE0-3B36-4E2C-A7C3-73AEAECD2888(a)afrispa.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > He left a MARK in TIME and posterity would forever uphold his being > and work.... > > Rest in absolute peace, Brother Alari. > > Eric here > > > On 28 Jan 2008, at 08:28, John Walubengo wrote: > > > Just read in today's East African standard (offline > > edition) that one of our KICTANet members and ICT > > journalist Alari passed on over the weekend. Some road > > accident along Mombasa Road. I ask that you observe a > > miniutes silence in memory of his contribution to the ICT > > community both online and offline. > > > > May God rest his soul in peace. > > > > walu. > > Becky (fellow journalist), plse keep the community uptodate > > on anything they may do to assist or join his family in > > this time of mourning. > > > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > ______________ > > Be a better friend, newshound, and > > know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http:// > > mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: eric(a)afrispa.org > > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ > > mailman/options/kictanet/eric%40afrispa.org > > > > Eric M.K Osiakwan > Executive Secretary > AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) > Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 > Fax: + 233.21.258811 > Cell: + 233.244.386792 > Handle: eosiakwan > Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North > Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North > Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ > Slang: "Tomorrow Now" > > > > >

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Re: [kictanet] Karuaphobia
by James Kagwe 29 Jan '08

29 Jan '08

All, Probably we should close the list temporarily until the political temperatures cool down otherwise if we continue like this we may loose a very important tool that have been quite informative and educative. Rgds, James Kagwe -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=kippra.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=kippra.or.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Edith Adera Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 12:54 PM To: James Kagwe Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Karuaphobia KICTANET List Manager. If this list is not discussing ICT issues, I think it should be closed or order restored. regards At / À 12:32 25/01/2008, Odhiambo Washington wrote / a écrit: >On Jan 25, 2008 11:17 AM, Dorcas Muthoni <dmuthoni(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Robert, > > > > Please DO NOT use derogatory language against Hon. Martha Karua. > > > > She a sign of women leadership which is characteristically lacking in this > > country. > > > > Could you please apologize to the women of this country. Men have > > significantly failed us in leadership in this country and we cannot afford > > to have anyone undermining women of resolve. > > > > -- > > Muthoni > > >What was so derogatory about what Bobby said? If there was anything, >then I believe it wasn't intentional. Prepending "phobia" to names in >Kenya has never been derogatory though. It's sort of a culture that >has taken roots in Kenya when there are political inclinations >associated with an individual. >Now, that, to me, is not derogatory. > > >-- >Best regards, >Odhiambo WASHINGTON, >Nairobi,KE >+254733744121/+254722743223 >_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > >"Oh My God! They killed init! You Bastards!" > --from a /. post > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: eadera(a)idrc.or.ke >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eadera%40idrc.or.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jkagwe(a)kippra.or.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkagwe%40kippra.or.ke

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