- KICTANet - KICTANet

Fwd: Fortune500 Projection - Kenya
by Bill Kagai 07 Jan '08

07 Jan '08

*Kenya's stability in the balance*The country's economy could lose hard-won ground if political tensions aren't resolved quickly. By Alex Halperin http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/index.html Nairobi, Kenya (Fortune) -- After doubts over the accuracy of presidential election results in Kenya sparked riots and disrupted transportation, analysts say the country's economy can recover - provided there is a swift political resolution to the crisis. Incumbent president Mwai Kibaki beat opposition candidate Raila Odinga in the Dec. 27 election. However, observers have criticized abnormalities in the vote-count process and both sides have launched accusations of rigging. Since Kibaki returned to the State House, hundreds have died as violent protests destroyed homes and livelihoods, while diplomats from Africa, Europe and the United States have pushed for a resolution. The business community hopes to see the country go back to work and resume its strong economic growth, five percent annually during Kibaki's five-year tenure. But the election and ensuing violence have tarnished Kenya's reputation as a stable haven nestled between flashpoints like Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. "Kenya has been doing well for a nation that doesn't have much in the way of resources," says Mark Bellamy, a former U.S. Ambassador to the country and a senior resident fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. However, it will be "difficult for the country to rebound" if the ruling party rejects calls for a negotiated settlement, after widely cited problems with the vote counting. Razia Khan, head of Africa research for the London-based bank Standard Chartered, says she still sees a good future for the Kenyan economy, especially since it has become a crucial to growth in neighbors like Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya watchers, she says, have seized on hopeful signs like Attorney General Amos Wako calling for an investigation of the election results. Standard Chartered estimates Kenya's 2007 GDP growth at 6.7percent. Roadblocks to growth With slogans like "You know him," President Kibaki based his reelection bid around continuing the country's economic growth, although many Kenyans remain in the starkest poverty. Throughout the campaign, opposition candidate Raila Odinga, who named his son Fidel after the Cuban dictator, perpetually reassured the business community of his suitability. More than a week after the election, the biggest obstacle to getting the economy back on track remains transportation. Kenya's status as a regional power depends on the goods and fuel it sends to neighboring nations. Its port at Mombasa is the largest in East Africa. Over the last week, fuel shortages have hit provincial Kenyan cities and Uganda as roadblocks manned by armed gangs have made overland travel far more dangerous. A peaceful settlement in Nairobi won't necessarily bring an immediate end to the makeshift roadblocks and truck drivers will remain easy targets for harassment and beatings. Randy Fleitman, an economic official at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, says even big American firms like Coca-Cola and Del Monte are reporting problems transporting goods and workers. But low mobility is "the killer for the small firms, the Kenyan firms." Like many African countries, Kenya has shown impressive growth in recent years and, compared with its neighbors, it boasts strong infrastructure and foreign investment. It owes much of its growth to consumer spending and developing industries internally, an entrepreneurial advantage over countries like Angola and Zambia where finite resources like oil and copper are the economic drivers. Economies based on such commodities have downsides like environmentally taxing extraction methods and are susceptible to shifts in commodity prices. Kenya has become a leading exporter of cut flowers to Europe. Northwest of Nairobi in the Rift Valley, immense greenhouses and company housing line the road leading to the popular resort of Lake Naivasha. There are other reasons to remain optimistic. The country is well established as the region's manufacturing hub. A large and well-educated English-speaking population makes Kenya a potential market for call centers, should the IT infrastructure improve. Tourists crowd its magnificent beaches and wildlife reserves, and so far there have not been reports of rioters targeting tourists or damage to tourist facilities. However, a group representing large British tour operators has suspended outbound trips until at least Jan. 7. It's a symbolic blow to this vital sector. If Kenya is believed to be unsafe, visitors may instead visit neighboring Tanzania, which offers similar attractions. Kenya also has a large multinational presence. Shell (RDSA<http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=RDSA&source=story_quote_link>) has 131 gas stations here. And Barclays ( BCS<http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BCS&source=story_quote_link>) is one of several international banks with a large retailing operation. Neither company would discuss how the riots have affected their operations. In 2006 a General Motors (GM<http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=GM&source=story_quote_link>, Fortune 500<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/snapshots/563.html?s…>) venture built 1,755 Isuzu trucks and busses at a Nairobi plant. Still it's easy to exaggerate Kenya's wealth. A 2001 estimate put unemployment at 40 percent and per capita annual GDP is around $1,200. Nairobi has a modern and clean downtown, but it's only fifteen minutes by packed minibus to the filthy slum of Kibera, where perhaps 1 million people live. One of the largest shantytowns in Africa, many residents have limited or no access to electricity and clean water. As a center of opposition support, much of Kibera has gone up in flames since the election. Many rural areas of the country don't present as squalid a picture as the rivers of trash in Kibera but offer even less opportunity to find work. Keeping money in Kenya On Jan. 2, the first trading day after the election, the Nairobi Stock Exchange lost about 5 percent of its total market cap to close around $12.3 billion (less than Starbucks). But with plenty of traders sitting home, trading was light and analysts say the drop doesn't necessarily represent market sentiment. Trading was suspended Thursday amid fears for employee safety. In response to the crisis, Standard & Poor's downgraded Kenya's currency rating. At the end of 2007, investors here were anticipating two big deals. KenGen, the leading utility, planned to raise $1 billion to fund increasing electric capacity. The largest telecom, Safaricom, which is partly owned by British giant Vodafone (VOD<http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=VOD&source=story_quote_link>), expects to sell a stake in an IPO that could be the largest ever in East Africa. Whether these deals go through should be a good measure of investor confidence. Fleitman of the U.S. Embassy says Kenya's relative prosperity and status as a center for foreigners and finance stems from its wonderful climate and the perception of political stability. Kick out one of those assets and the country could be in for a slide. "They need to fix this thing quickly," he says. -- -- 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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A Compelling Case A Compelling Case For A Government of National Unity (GNU)
by Alex Gakuru 06 Jan '08

06 Jan '08

Instead of sitting back and conducting paralysis analysis, an innovative group is now offering "A Compelling Case For A Government of National Unity (GNU)". Yes! I have confirmed the document authenticity from one of the undersigned who said to me "The initial healing stage requires the protagonists coming together and GNU looks like a very good vehicle" They are quite candid. If no action is taken urgently, the following would become the consequences: 1.The country will degenerate into unprecedented chaos. The consultant mentioned above who has worked with many third world countries that went through similar experiences, is of the view that Kenya is ripe for this type of disintegration. 2.Many of us, including the very leaders who are refusing to take up action, if not dead or if they will not have run away, will be lining up with other refugees for daily allowances. 3.We shall lose all the gains we have achieved to date and go down in history as another fallen African republic. I first saw the attached draft yesterday at the blog site: http://kumekucha.blogspot.com/2008/01/compelling-case-for-government-of.html You have their permission to circulate their draft proposal. An it is very encouraging that various citizens-led initiatives are underway. Utengamano and Vita Zishindwe! Amani Ishinde! Regards, Alex

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Milestone Agreement Reached Between ICANN, and F Root Server Operator, Internet Systems Consortium]
by alice 06 Jan '08

06 Jan '08

http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-04jan08.htm "First-of-its-kind agreement recognizes mutual responsibilities, supports enhanced Internet stability" The management of root name servers have always been a dark spot of Internet governance. Nobody knows about it and nobody cares (there have been a few papers by Karl Auerbach and that's all). Incredible as it may seems, a function which is so essential for the DNS (and therefore for the vast majority of Internet uses) have always been done without any sort of formal agreement. Nobody knows why Verisign manages two name servers and Neustar zero, what could be done if a root name server operator provides a bad service, how root name servers could be added, retired or changed. In practice, the set of root name servers is now cast in stone. Some persons believe it is better that way and that the service is better done by the present volunteers than by a mono-governemental bureaucracy (ICANN) or a multi-governemental one (ITU). So, this move is important. As ICANN says, it is indeed the first formalization of the relationship between ICANN and a root name server operator. I see what ICANN obtains. I'm very unsure about the gains for ISC. Was it a necessary condition to obtain the announcement of ISC IPv6 addresses in the root-servers.net zone? (http://lists.oarci.net/pipermail/dns-operations/2007-December/002192.html) ____________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: governance-unsubscribe(a)lists.cpsr.org For all list information and functions, see: http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance

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Political Parties Please Remove Posters
by Alex Gakuru 05 Jan '08

05 Jan '08

I humbly request all political parties to remove these no longer relevant campaign bill boards and posters. Not only are they now overtaken by events but their continued presence varyingly provoke angry feelings to different, disappointed citizens otherwise regaining their sense of security, peace, and tolerance like it was before the elections. Thank you. ICT Consumers Association of Kenya

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[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Invitation for Statements of Interest and Suggestions for Candidates - ICANN NOMCOM reminder]
by alice 04 Jan '08

04 Jan '08

Invitation for Statements of Interest and Suggestions for Candidates Posted 14 December 2007 This document is a comprehensive description of all of the information needed for the process of volunteering to serve in the governing bodies of ICANN in forthcoming terms. It contains information for potential candidates, for people wishing to suggest candidates, and for the submission of statements of interest, and provides links to other information on the ICANN website regarding the Nominating Committee (Nom Com) process. The call for candidates is now posted. Statements of Interest should be received before 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC), and the selection of final appointees will be announced in mid September 2008. Completed Statements of Interest should be sent to nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org>. If you would like to volunteer and be considered as a candidate, click here <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#F> to read more about the process and to nominate yourself. If you want to suggest someone for one of the positions click here <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#H>. Send all comments/questions to: nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org>. For more information about the Nom Com, see http://nomcom.icann.org/. Nom Com encourages redistribution of this Invitation for Statements of Interest and Suggestions for Candidates provided it is transmitted in its entirety, without any changes. Nom Com encourages translation of this Invitation and grants permission to distribute a translation provided that (1) any distributed translation includes the full text of the Invitation in English in its entirety and without any changes and (2) a copy of the translation and the identity and contact information for the translator are sent to Nom Com at nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org>. . Contents *A. ICANN, the organization <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#A> * *B. Important Opportunities to Contribute to this Global public private partnership <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#B> * *C. Characteristics and High Qualifications Sought via the Nom Com Process <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#C> * *D. Criteria, Core Values and Timing for Positions to be Filled by Nom Com <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#D> * *E. Position Roles, Eligibility Factors, and Time Commitments <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#E> * *F. Choosing to be a Candidate <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#F> * *G. Nom Com Process and Background <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#G> * *H. How to suggest a candidate for consideration <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#H> * *I. Statement of Interest ICANN Nominating Committee 2008 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#I> * *A. ICANN, the organization * The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a California public benefit, non-profit corporation that serves as a major technical coordination body for the Internet. Created in 1998 by a joint initiative of the Internet's business, technical, academic, and user communities, ICANN has been gradually assuming the responsibility for a set of technical functions previously performed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and other groups. ICANN's mission is "to coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet's systems of unique identifiers, and in particular to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems. In particular, ICANN: 1. Coordinates the allocation and assignment of the three sets of unique identifiers for the Internet, which are: 1. Domain names (forming a system referred to as "DNS"); 2. Internet protocol ("IP") addresses and autonomous system ("AS") numbers; and 3. Protocol port and parameter numbers. 2. Coordinates the operation and evolution of the DNS root name server system. 3. Coordinates policy development reasonably and appropriately related to these technical functions." http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#I ICANN is dedicated to preserving the operational stability of the Internet; to promoting competition; to achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and to developing policy appropriate to its mission through bottom-up consensus-based processes. ICANN accomplishes its work through various entities such as the Board of Directors; the three supporting organisations GNSO, ccNSO and ASO; and the At Large Advisory Committee. *B. Important Opportunities to Contribute to this Global Enterprise * The ICANN Nominating Committee (Nom Com) invites the participation of the Internet community in its ongoing process for selection of well qualified, accomplished individuals to serve in four sets of leadership positions within ICANN. The following seats are to be filled in the 2008 Nom Com process: * Board of Directors (2 seats) * Generic Names Supporting Organization Council (GNSO) (1 seat) * At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) (2 seats, Europe and North American regions) * Country Code Names Support Organization Council (ccNSO) (1 seat) Those selected by Nom Com will work with accomplished colleagues from around the globe to address Internet's technical coordination problems and related policy development challenges within diverse functional, cultural, and geographic dimensions. They will make an important public service contribution and gain useful experience and perspective. Placing the broad public interest ahead of any particular interests, they will help ensure the stability and security of the Internet ICANN holds public meetings three times a year in locations around the world. These meetings constitute an essential part of ICANN's global consensus-development and outreach efforts; all Nom Com appointees are expected to travel and participate in ICANN meetings. However, these meetings are only part of the responsibilities of the appointees. Much of the work of the ICANN Board, GNSO Council, ALAC, and ccNSO Council is done via e-mail and teleconference meetings of the respective groups. Those who hold these positions serve without compensation but can receive travel expense reimbursement where authorized and where resources have been allocated within the ICANN budget. The whole Internet community benefits from the voluntary commitment and efforts of the many individuals who serve in the organization. ICANN respects and appreciates this generous contribution of time, energy and effort. The appointees of the Nom Com will join the numerous other hard working volunteers who help to further ICANN's policy activities. We invite both (1) suggestions of persons who should be considered for these positions and (2) Statements of Interest from persons wishing to be considered for them. The Nom Com looks upon all Statements of Interest equally. For full consideration suggestions should be submitted promptly and Statements of Interest should be received no later than 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC) . *C. Qualifications Sought in the Nom Com Process * Nom Com seeks women and men who have demonstrated the maturity, experience, knowledge, and skills to handle the tasks and make the judgments involved in fulfilling these important leadership roles. Nom Com seeks persons of the highest integrity and capability with experience and talents for problem solving, policy development, and decision-making involving diverse perspectives regarding how best to accomplish the mission and responsibilities of ICANN. Those selected in the Nom Com process will also be expected to place the public interest of the global Internet ahead of any particular interests. In Nom Com's selections, such qualifications are more significant than is deep involvement in technical aspects of the Internet. The Nom Com Selected Nominees are expected to be knowledgeable, or committed to becoming knowledgeable, about the environment in which ICANN operates and the technical functions for which it is responsible, but strong technical knowledge of the Internet is not the determining factor in the Nom Com selections. ICANN also has complementary selection processes, based in the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, which are designed to ensure that the needed technical expertise and knowledge of constituencies is present in the ICANN leadership bodies. Together, Nom Com and these complementary selection processes yield, in the aggregate, the full range of skills and experience needed for the organization. Nom Com will apply the criteria and terms of eligibility defined in the ICANN Bylaws to develop a pool of qualified candidates (See Section D). In selecting from this candidate pool, Nom Com will also take into account additional considerations related to the specific roles to be filled and will support implementation of ICANN's Core Values, including its commitment to seek and support broad functional, geographic, and cultural diversity of the Internet at all levels of policy development and decision-making. Nom Com recognizes that the term cultural diversity is multifaceted, including gender, ethnic, religious, and other forms of diversity. Nom Com encourages wide participation in this process, and is grateful for the valuable input it will receive from those who nominate themselves or others for the positions available. *D. Criteria, Core Values, and Timing for Positions to be Filled by Nom Com * Criteria Nom Com will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors contained in the ICANN Bylaws for all four sets of positions it will fill. These Criteria are: 1. Accomplished persons of integrity, objectivity, and intelligence, with reputations for sound judgment and open minds, and a demonstrated capacity for thoughtful group decision-making; 2. Persons with an understanding of ICANN's mission and the potential impact of ICANN decisions on the global Internet community, and committed to the success of ICANN; 3. Persons who will produce the broadest cultural and geographic diversity on the Board consistent with meeting the other criteria set forth in this Section; 4. Persons who, in the aggregate, have personal familiarity with the operation of gTLD registries and registrars; with ccTLD registries; with IP address registries; with Internet technical standards and protocols; with policy-development procedures, legal traditions, and the public interest; and with the broad range of business, individual, academic, and non-commercial users of the Internet; 5. Persons who are willing to serve as volunteers, without compensation other than the reimbursement of certain expenses; and 6. Persons who are able to work and communicate in written and spoken English. Nom Com welcomes and encourages participation from all members of the global Internet community. Although Candidates should be able to both work and communicate well in English, there is no requirement that English be the candidate's first language. Core Values In making its selections, Nom Com will look for persons who can help implement ICANN's Core Values, stated in its Bylaws: "In performing its mission, the following core values should guide the decisions and actions of ICANN: 1. Preserving and enhancing the operational stability, reliability, security, and global interoperability of the Internet. 2. Respecting the creativity, innovation, and flow of information made possible by the Internet by limiting ICANN's activities to those matters within ICANN's mission requiring or significantly benefiting from global coordination. 3. To the extent feasible and appropriate, delegating coordination functions to or recognizing the policy role of other responsible entities that reflect the interests of affected parties. 4. Seeking and supporting broad, informed participation reflecting the functional, geographic, and cultural diversity of the Internet at all levels of policy development and decision-making. 5. Where feasible and appropriate, depending on market mechanisms to promote and sustain a competitive environment. 6. Introducing and promoting competition in the registration of domain names where practicable and beneficial in the public interest. 7. Employing open and transparent policy development mechanisms that (i) promote well-informed decisions based on expert advice, and (ii) ensure that those entities most affected can assist in the policy development process. 8. Making decisions by applying documented policies neutrally and objectively, with integrity and fairness. 9. Acting with a speed that is responsive to the needs of the Internet while, as part of the decision-making process, obtaining informed input from those entities most affected. 10. Remaining accountable to the Internet community through mechanisms that enhance ICANN's effectiveness. 11. While remaining rooted in the private sector, recognizing that governments and public authorities are responsible for public policy and duly taking into account governments' or public authorities' recommendations. These core values are deliberately expressed in very general terms, so that they may provide useful and relevant guidance in the broadest possible range of circumstances. Because they are not narrowly prescriptive, the specific way in which they apply, individually and collectively, to each new situation will necessarily depend on many factors that cannot be fully anticipated or enumerated; and because they are statements of principle rather than practice, situations will inevitably arise in which perfect fidelity to all eleven core values simultaneously is not possible. Any ICANN body making a recommendation or decision shall exercise its judgment to determine which core values are most relevant and how they apply to the specific circumstances of the case at hand, and to determine, if necessary, an appropriate and defensible balance among competing values." Timing By 29 June 2008, the NomCom expects to make its final selections for individuals to serve the Terms that are associated with the following positions: * ICANN Board of Directors (2 seats, 3 year terms) * Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council Member (1 seat, 2 year term) * At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) Members (2 seats, 2 year terms) * Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Council Member (1 seat, 3 year term) As provided in the ICANN Bylaws, the starting date for terms for these positions is the end of ICANN's 2008 Annual General Meeting to be held in the Africa region (location to be confirmed), from 2-7 November 2008. The ending date is the conclusion of a specific later ICANN Annual Meeting, depending on the length of term applicable. *E. Position Roles, Eligibility Factors, and Time Commitments * Position: Board of Directors (http://www.icann.org/general/board.html <http://www.icann.org/general/board.html>) Number of Seats: 2 Start of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2008 End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2011 ICANN's Directors, as a group, are responsible for exercising the powers of ICANN, controlling its property, and conducting or directing its business and affairs, except as otherwise provided in the ICANN Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws. Directors serve as individuals who have the duty to act in what they reasonably believe are the best interests of ICANN and not as representatives of the entity that selected them, their employers, or any other organizations or constituencies. Directors are expected to support the ICANN mission and the implementation of ICANN's Core Values. The Nominating Committee will use the Selection Criteria for Directors, set forth in the Bylaws, for these positions. ICANN Directors shall receive no compensation for their services as Directors. The Board may, however, authorize the reimbursement of actual and necessary reasonable expenses incurred by Directors performing their duties as Directors. [Bylaws Article VI, Section 22, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-22] Board Eligibility Factors 1. No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity is eligible for selection by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee. [Bylaws, Article VII, Section 8, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8>] 2. Nominating Committee shall seek to ensure that the ICANN Board is composed of members who in the aggregate display diversity in geography, culture, skills, experience, and perspective, by applying the criteria set forth above in this document. [Bylaws, Article VI, Section 2(2), see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-2.2 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-2.2>] 3. At no time shall the Nominating Committee select a Director to fill any vacancy or expired term whose selection would cause the total number of Directors (not including the President) who are citizens of countries in any one Geographic Region to exceed five; and the Nominating Committee shall ensure through its selections that at all times the Board includes at least one Director who is a citizen of a country in each ICANN Geographic Region. [Bylaws, Article VI, Section 2(2), see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-2.2] 4. No official of a national government or a multinational entity established by treaty or other agreement between national governments may serve as a Director. [Bylaws, Article VI, Section 4(1), see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-4.1] 5. No person who serves in any capacity (including as a liaison) on any Supporting Organization Council shall simultaneously serve as a Director or liaison to the Board. [Bylaws, Article VI, Section 4(2), see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-4.2 ] 6. Term limits: No ICANN Directors appointed by the Nom Com whose terms expire at the ICANN General Meeting of 2008 have exceeded the three term limit as defined in the Bylaws. The current composition of the Board of Directors is available here http://www.icann.org/general/board.html Time Commitment and Working Practice The basic responsibilities of an ICANN Director require a minimum commitment of time which when averaged out over the year is roughly equivalent to 20-24 hours each week. This includes participation in three ICANN meetings/year, two Board retreats/year and work on Board Committees. The time spent in these basic responsibilities is typically clustered around Board meetings and monthly teleconferences, but there is a constant flow of information requiring attention on a near daily basis. Directors are expected to attend three ICANN meetings per year and depending on the location and including travel time and preparation this could be a commitment of up to ten (10) days per meeting. In addition the board occasionally holds shorter face-to-face meetings such as retreats. Directors spend additional time in connection with their work on Board Committees, a commitment that varies in relation to the number of Committees on which they serve, the scope of the Committee's responsibilities, and their role as Chair or Member of the Committee. *Position: GNSO Council* Number of Seats: 1 Start of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2008 End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2010 The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is a policy-development body responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains. The GNSO consists of various Constituencies representing defined groups of stakeholders and a GNSO Council, responsible for managing the policy development and administrative processes of the GNSO. The GNSO Constituencies choose the majority of the Council members; Nominating Committee chooses three Council members with staggered terms. The GNSO also includes a liaison from the ALAC and the Governmental Advisory Committee. Liaison activities from the ASO and ccNSO are under development. GNSO Council Members receive no compensation for their services as GNSO Council Members. ICANN provides administrative and operational support necessary for the GNSO to carry out its responsibilities through the GNSO Secretariat. ICANN also provides staff support for policy development. As stated in the ICANN Bylaws, such support shall not include an obligation for ICANN to fund travel expenses incurred by GNSO participants for travel to any meeting of the GNSO or for any other purpose. However, ICANN has customarily furnished travel expenses for Nominating Committee appointed Council members to ICANN meetings. This custom is planned to continue, but is subject to the Bylaw statement. [Bylaws Article X, Section 4, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X-4] Nominating Committee will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors (see above) in choosing Selected Nominees for the GNSO Council. GNSO Council members are expected to support the ICANN mission and the implementation of ICANN's Core Values. *Role of the Nom Com Appointee* As discussed above the majority of the councillors are appointed by the constituencies and represent those constituencies in the council. Nom Com appointees, on the other hand, are not the representatives of any specific group, though they may choose to represent the interests of groups that are not currently represented in council. Most importantly Nom Com appointees should be people chosen, often from outside the GNSO constituencies and sometime from outside ICANN, who bring a fresh perspective into the council and who accept the responsibility to do their best to support ICANN in its mission and core values. Appointees should be people who can help the GNSO council to perform its duties; sometimes this may involve filling gaps in the skill set, at other times it may involve addressing a diversity or other demographic balance or may involve bringing a necessary perspective into the council that is not already present. Generally an appointee needs to fulfil several of these needs at the same time. The Nominating Committee will also take into account the following eligibility factors and additional considerations. *GNSO Council Eligibility Factors* No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity is eligible for selection by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee. [Bylaws, Article VII, Section 8, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8>] No more than one officer, director, or employee of any particular corporation or other organization (including its subsidiaries and affiliates) shall serve on the GNSO Council at any given time. [Bylaws, Article X, Section 3(5), see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X-3.5] Additional Considerations For the GNSO Council position, specific experience related to the scope of the GNSO's work with the Domain Name System would be advantageous. The current composition of the GNSO Council is available here http://gnso.icann.org/council/members.shtml The Bylaws do not state a limit on the number of terms GNSO Council members may serve, although it is possible that term limits may be considered in future. *Time Commitment* The basic responsibilities of a GNSO Council member involve a minimum of 20 hours per month on Council related activities, with those chairing or participating in committees or task forces spending up to 60 hours a month or more. Depending on work load, for example during the weeks before the 3 face to face meeting, this can sometimes escalate to as much as 20 hours per week or more. The commitment for the 3 face to face meetings generally run about 7 days with council members having sometimes extensive responsibilities on most days. For those involved in Task forces or Working Groups, there may occasionally be additional face to face interim meetings Task force members and councilors are not compensated for either time or teleconference costs though ICANN makes toll free numbers available whenever practical. *Additional GNSO criteria:* There are various criteria that should be considered when judging GNSO candidates. The first set of criteria are general and should be present in anyone appointed to the GNSO Council, while the second set of criteria reflect a diversity of skills that may be necessary. Depending on the composition of the sitting council, these skill based criteria will vary from year to year. Criteria that are considered especially important for the 2008 appointment are marked with (2008). *Baseline Criteria for anyone selected as a nomcom appointee:* * Demonstrated experience working effectively in collaborative environments involving diverse interests. * Ability to chair, or otherwise assist, a multi-stakeholder group in reaching consensus * Basic knowledge of DNS systems and industry structure - registries, registrars. The goal is not to find technical DNS experts, but a minimal understanding of the DNS is needed to effectively function on the Council. For example appointees should understand something along the lines of "do you know what happens in the DNS when you send an email, or access a webpage". This requires an understanding of the general process of name resolution without requiring a precise technical description. *Variable Criteria that are useful to the GNSO* Part of the role of Nom Com appointees is to fill in gaps in the skill set of the Council. Some, but not all, of the skills that are highly useful in the process of GNSO Council work are listed below. The gap skills will vary year by year. Criteria that are especially important for the 2008 selection are marked with (2008) * Knowledge of o International Law (2008) o Competition law o Anti-trust law o Public interest o Consumer rights o Human rights o Economics especially market analysis (2008) * Intergovernmental expertise (2008) * Understanding of the special needs of financial services businesses * IDN expertise (2008) * DNS security expertise (2008) * Setting up of dispute and objection processes * Enforcement procedures and processes * Application software development - e.g multi-lingual support * Online collaborative work and consensus building technologies - wiki's etc * Statistics and survey analysis * Project management and document control processes Additionally consideration may be given to Nom Com appointees who can help with the geographical or gender balance on the council as needed, as long as other necessary attributes and skills are also present. *Position: ccNSO Council* Number of Seats: 1 Start of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2008 End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2011 The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) is a policy-development body which is responsible for developing and recommending to the Board global policies relating to country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), nurturing consensus across the ccNSO's community, including the name-related activities of ccTLDs; and coordinating with other ICANN Supporting Organizations, committees, and constituencies under ICANN. In addition to the above core responsibilities, the ccNSO may also engage in other activities authorized by its members, including: seeking to develop voluntary best practices for ccTLD managers, assisting in skills building within the global community of ccTLD managers, and enhancing operational and technical cooperation among ccTLD managers. The ccNSO consists of ccTLD managers that have agreed in writing to be members of the ccNSO, and a ccNSO Council responsible for managing the policy-development process of the ccNSO. Some ccNSO Council members are chosen by the ccNSO members within each of ICANN's Geographic Regions; Nominating Committee chooses three members with staggered terms. ccNSO Council members receive no compensation for their services as ccNSO Council Members. Upon request of the ccNSO Council, ICANN shall provide administrative and operational support necessary for the ccNSO to carry out its responsibilities. As stated in the ICANN Bylaws, such support shall not include an obligation for ICANN to fund travel expenses incurred by ccNSO participants for travel to any meeting of the ccNSO or for any other purpose. However, ICANN has customarily furnished travel expenses for Nominating Committee appointed Council members to ICANN meetings. This custom is planned to continue, but is subject to the Bylaw statement. [Bylaws Article IX, Section 7, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#IX-7] Nominating Committee will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors in choosing Selected Nominees for the ccNSO Council. CCNSO Council members are expected to support the ICANN mission and the implementation of the ICANN Core Values. Nominating Committee will also take into account the following eligibility factors and additional considerations. *ccNSO Eligibility Factors* 1. No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity is eligible for selection by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee. [Bylaws, Article VII, Section 8, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8>] *Additional Considerations* For the ccNSO Council positions, while no specific considerations are reflected in the Bylaws, experience or knowledge of ccTLDs and issues of importance to the global Internet, would be advantageous. Additionally, familiarity with the global environment in which ICANN operates and perspectives not otherwise reflected in the ccTLD community would be advantageous. Experience in international organizations and in developing new organizations is likewise valuable for these positions. *Time Commitment* An average ccNSO Council member would spend at least 12 hours per month on Council related activities, with those chairing committees or task forces spending at least 30 hours a month. (The commitment involves a minimum of 6 hours per month based on an average of 1.5 two-hour teleconferences (or physical meetings) per month plus about two hours of preparation for each meeting for reading task force reports and potentially discussing with the community. Participation in committees of the council and/or task forces could easily double that minimum time commitment.) The Nom Com had some discussion about what "basic of knowledge of DNS" meant and it was something along the lines of "do you know what happens in the DNS when you send an email, or access a webpage". This is not a precise technical description, but an understanding of concepts of resolution. *Position: At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)* Number of Seats: 2 1 (Europe) 1 (North America) Start of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2008 End of Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2010 (for a definition of ICANN's geographic regions see http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm) The role of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) is to finalize the establishment of a mechanism for individual user participation in ICANN, through the accreditation of user organizations as At-Large Structures (ALS) and the creation of Regional At Large Organizations (RALOs). The ALAC also performs a role to consider and provide advice on the activities of ICANN, insofar as they relate to the interests of individual Internet users. Individual users may be consumers, non-for-profit or profit or business users but the key term is that they are 'individuals'. ALAC Committee members, like the members of ICANN's other Advisory Committees, receive no compensation for their services as a member of a committee. The Board may, however, authorize the reimbursement of the actual and necessary expenses incurred by Advisory Committee members performing their duties as Advisory Committee members. [Bylaws Article XI, Section 6, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#XI-6] Nominating Committee will use the Criteria for Selection of ICANN Directors (see above) in choosing Selected Nominees for ALAC. ALAC members are expected to support the ICANN mission and the implementation of the ICANN Core Values. Nominating Committee will also take into account the following eligibility factors and additional considerations. *ALAC Eligibility Factors* 1. No person who serves on the Nominating Committee in any capacity is eligible for selection by any means to any position on the Board or any other ICANN body having one or more membership positions that the Nominating Committee is responsible for filling, until the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting that coincides with, or is after, the conclusion of that person's service on the Nominating Committee. [Bylaws, Article VII, Section 8, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8 <http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VII-8>] 2. The five members of the ALAC selected by the Nominating Committee shall include one citizen of a country within each of the five Geographic Regions (Europe; Asia/Australia/Pacific; Latin America/Caribbean Islands; Africa; and North America) established according to Bylaws Article VI, Section 5, see http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#VI-5. Only Citizens of the European and North American regions as defined in ICANN's definition of geographic regions http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm <http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm> are eligible for ALAC vacancies in 2008. *Additional Considerations* For the ALAC positions, experience and skills that bear on gathering, understanding, and communicating the interests of individual users would be advantageous. Perspectives not otherwise reflected in the existing ALAC membership would be advantageous. Nominating Committee's selections for ALAC are intended to diversify the skill and experience sets of the ALAC, including in such areas as group decision-making. Current composition of the ALAC is available at http://www.icann.org/committees/alac/ The Bylaws do not state a limit on the number of terms ALAC members may serve. *Time Commitment* The basic responsibilities of a member of the ALAC is approximately 18 hours each month. This includes participating in online (e-mail) discussions, commenting on/contributing to documents/proposed actions (drafted in English), participating in monthly ALAC telephone conferences (in English), and meeting with/making presentations to, local and regional organizations. ALAC members serving as liaisons to other Supporting Organizations and to the Board can expect to spend more than this basic 18 hours per month. ICANN has traditionally reimbursed expenses incurred by ALAC members for attending ICANN meetings. The Nom Com had some discussion about what "basic of knowledge of DNS" meant and it was something along the lines of "do you know what happens in the DNS when you send an email, or access a webpage". This is not a precise technical description, but an understanding of concepts of resolution. *F. Choosing to be a Candidate * Choosing Among the Positions You may apply for any of the available positions set out in the Statement of Interest for which you are eligible and in which you would be willing to serve. You may apply for up to four positions; however, you are encouraged to read and consider carefully the background materials on each position prior to filling out the Statement of Interest form below. Liability/Indemnification ICANN Directors, GNSO Council members, ALAC members and ccNSO Council members enjoy several types of protection from liability for their activities in service to ICANN. These may be summarized as follows: (a) Indemnification by ICANN. Under its bylaws, ICANN indemnifies members of ICANN bodies against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements, and other amounts that actually and reasonably arise in a proceeding because those persons are acting or have acted as agents of ICANN. There are various conditions to this indemnity, including that the indemnified person's acts were in good faith and done in a manner reasonably believed to be in ICANN's best interests and not criminal. [Bylaws Article XIV] (b) Insurance. ICANN carries insurance covering liabilities (including defense expenses) that ICANN and its Directors, volunteers, and committee members may incur by reason of acts or omissions solely in their capacities as Directors, volunteers, and committee members acting on behalf of ICANN. The insurance policy includes deductibles, exclusions, and conditions that are ordinary in a liability policy covering directors, officers, and volunteers of a non-profit corporation. (c) Statutory Immunity. United States federal law and California law contain provisions shielding volunteers to non-profit organizations (such as ICANN) from liabilities for their volunteer work, with some conditions. The U.S. Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 protects volunteers (i.e. those serving without compensation) to non-profit organizations from liability for harm caused by their acts and omissions while acting within the scope of their responsibilities in the organization and not in a willful, criminal, grossly negligent, reckless, etc. manner. [42 United States Code Â§Â§14501-14505] California law provides similar liability protections to volunteer directors. [California Corporations Code Â§5239] Although there are various conditions and limits on each type of protection, in the aggregate these protections provide significant protection to ICANN volunteers acting in good faith and in the scope of their responsibilities to ICANN. *G. Nom Com Process and Background * Process Central to the Nominating Committee's process are the Statements of Interest received from individuals who agree to be considered for service in any of the positions. A person who has submitted a complete Statement of Interest is considered a Candidate for selection by the Nom Com. Nom Com will begin its review of Candidate information contained in the completed Statement of Interest shortly after it is received and confirmed to have all the required information. If the Statement of Interest is missing required information the individual will not be considered a Candidate for selection by the Nom Com. The Nom Com will evaluate Candidates in a fair and consistent manner, considering the Statement of Interest, references, interviews as needed, consultations, and third-party information sources. While doing so, it will adhere to its Code of Ethics, which includes procedures regarding Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest. To ensure open and frank communication with the Nom Com, we have paid particular attention in our procedures to safeguarding confidentiality. Specifically, under our procedures all Nom Com members will safeguard all internal Nom Com communications concerning candidates and treat them as strictly private, confidential, and for the use of the immediate committee members and Nom Com staff only, without exception. Nom Com members will not disclose outside of the committee the identities of Candidates under consideration by the Nom Com, nor any discussions about them, unless both the Candidate and the Nom Com as a whole have given explicit authorization to disclose the information. Nor will Nom Com disclose the identity of those who suggested candidates or whether a specific candidate has been suggested. For more information about the procedures Nom Com members follow regarding security and confidentiality of information, please refer to the Code of Ethics agreed by all members and the Nom Com's Procedures. Note that because Nom Com will need to check references and consult selected third-party sources on a confidential basis before making its final selections, those wishing to be considered as Candidates are required to confirm this understanding of the confidentiality arrangements when they submit a Statement of Interest. When Nom Com has completed its selections, it will publish the identities of the Selected Nominees. Statistical information, such as the size and nature of the candidate pool, will be published at the close of the process. No other personally identifiable information will be publicized or retained after the selection process has been completed. It should be noted that this Nominating Committee process differs from an election, although the goal is the same: to elicit the Internet community's participation in a thoughtful process leading to the selection of very well-qualified individuals to fulfill the specific roles of their positions. Nom Com's selections are final; no further approval or ratification will take place. While considerable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this Invitation, the Nom Com reserves the right to make additions and corrections. If any changes are made, they will be posted on the Nom Com webpage (http://nomcom.icann.org <http://nomcom.icann.org/>). The full Invitation is listed here. The webpage, including announcements and answers to frequently asked questions, will be updated as the committee's work progresses. Background Nom Com operates independently from the ICANN Board, the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees. The functional and geographic diversity and independence of Nom Com members enables and encourages it to select persons who are not beholden to any particular interests and are capable of representing the broader view of the Internet community. Nom Com members act only on behalf of the interests of the global Internet community and within the scope of the ICANN Mission and the responsibilities assigned to Nom Com by the ICANN Bylaws. Nom Com seeks widespread participation, through submission of suggestions for candidates and Statements of Interest, to find the talent and experience needed for these roles, to inform Nom Com's decisions, and to generate the confidence and respect of the community for those whom Nom Com selects. Further information about Nom Com's origin, role, responsibilities, procedures, composition, and biographical information about its members have been placed on the Nom Com webpage. *H. How to suggest and encourage someone to become a candidate * To enhance the Candidate pool from which Nom Com will choose Selected Nominees, we encourage you to suggest the name(s) of individuals whom we should invite to complete the Statement of Interest. Please note, however, that volunteering for positions is strongly encouraged: a suggestion is not compulsory in the Nom Com process. To submit the name of someone you would like to suggest as a candidate, please send an e-mail to nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org> that includes the following information: (a) Name of person you wish to suggest as a candidate (b) Position/s person is suggested for _____GNSO _____ccNSO _____ALAC _____Board (c) E-mail address of person you wish to suggest (d) Your name (e) Your e-mail address Would you like the person you suggested to know that you suggested their name to Nom Com? Y/N (f) Optional: please describe the qualities you think the person you are suggesting would bring to ICANN. Nom Com will acknowledge your suggestion and will provide the person(s) you have suggested with the Statement of Interest Form and Instructions. We ask you to inform those whom you suggest as candidates that you have submitted their names to Nom Com. Early submission of suggestions will be appreciated. Names of people you wish to suggest as candidates should be received by Nom Com no later than 1 April 2008. Nom Com reserves the right to consider suggestions received after 1 April 2008, but makes no commitment to do so. Nom Com will contact by e-mail all those for whom it receives such suggestions to request their submission of a Statement of Interest (see below), but Nom Com will only consider and select individuals who have submitted a completed Statement of Interest. Statements of Interest must be received by the Nom Com no later 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC) for full consideration. Nom Com can only consider electronic submissions via e-mail. Completed Statements of Interest should be sent in plain text to nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org>. A suggestion is not required in the Nom Com process, self-nominations are encouraged. Note also that endorsements by organizations or groups and lists of signatories are not appropriate for this Nominating Committee process, and they will not influence the Nom Com's selections. The Nom Com's procedures for Confidential Treatment of Statements of Interest call for confidential treatment of the identities of Candidates and the Nom Com's discussions about the Candidates. The Nom Com does not disclose externally whether individual candidates have been suggested or who suggested them, and advises that you maintain the confidentiality of your suggestion since the person you named to us may not wish his/her candidacy to be disclosed. You are encouraged to review the instructions and form for submission of Statements of Interest, and to note the more detailed explanation of confidentiality in the Nom Com process. Send suggestions by e-mail to: nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org> *I. Statement of Interest ICANN Nominating Committee 2008 * _Introduction_ Any individual who wishes to be considered for selection by the Nominating Committee (Nom Com) will need to complete an ICANN Nom Com Statement of Interest (SOI) (see below), in full, and return it to the Nom Com. Nom Com will only consider electronic submissions via e-mail. To be considered by the Nom Com, the SOI must be received no later than 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC). Send your completed SOI to nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org>. It is in your best interest to submit your SOI soon so that Nom Com can follow up with the people you ask to provide references for you, or with you if we have questions. The Nom Com's procedures call for confidential treatment of the identities of Candidates and the Nom Com's discussions about the Candidates. In performing its function, however, the Nom Com will consult Candidates' references and may seek further information about Candidates as well as conduct third-party reference checks on a confidential basis. In addition, due diligence of Selected Nominees will be undertaken by a professional company experienced in such work. Once selections are final, the Nom Com will make only the identities of the Selected Nominees public. The SOI asks you for various authorisations and consent. The Nom Com relies heavily on the information you provide in the SOI, and the information given by the people you ask to be your references. The primary sources of information about you and your qualifications for appointment are your SOI and the names of references that you provide. We might contact you again for more information or clarification and you are welcome to send questions to the committee at any time. The committee might contact you in late May or early June to arrange a telephone interview during the last weekend in June 2008. Be thoughtful about the information you provide to help the Nom Com learn as much about you as possible. Choose your references carefully so they provide a broad view of your experiences and abilities. You must ask the people you select as references before submitting their names to the Nom Com; they should know they have been asked to provide a reference and its purpose. Spam, mail filters and other problems are making it increasingly difficult for the Nom Com to contact your references; *you must ensure that your references expect to be contacted by us*. Please read the "Leadership Positions <http://nomcom.icann.org/positions-2008.html>", " ICANN Conflicts of Interest Policy <http://www.icann.org/committees/coi/coi-policy-04mar99.htm>" and "Nominating Committee Procedures <http://nomcom.icann.org/procedures-2008.html>" documents carefully before completing this SOI. These documents can all be retrieved using links in the Nom Com's webpage: http://nomcom.icann.org/ We also strongly recommend that you read and understand ICANN's mission and core values as defined by the organization's bylaws: http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#I To help you answer the questions we have provided a Notes sheet at the end of this document. Please refer to the Notes whenever the form tells you to. Please delete the notes section before submitting your SOI. If you were a candidate in 2007 or earlier, you must resubmit a new SOI to become a candidate in 2008. _Timeline_ The Nom Com will begin accepting SOIs on 15 December 2007. All SOIs should be returned by 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC). Selected nominees will be announced at least 45 days before ICANN's 2008 Annual General Meeting to be held in the Africa region (location to be confirmed), on 2-7 November 2008. Candidates who are not appointed will also be advised of the decision in approximately this same time frame. The time between 15 April 2008 and the announcement of Selected Nominees will be used to collect references, evaluate information about all candidates, and conduct any due diligence (see question E.1 below.) If your circumstances change during this period please write to the Nom Com at the following email address explaining these changes nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org>. Terms for all positions begin at the end of the 2008 ICANN Annual General Meeting on 7 November 2008. Selected Nominees will be invited to attend this meeting. For full consideration of your SOI please: * Complete in full the SOI below, answering all questions (question C.4. is optional) using English, and without electronically attaching any other documents; * Provide your responses to the SOI categories in order, immediately following the heading for that category; * Provide the meaning of any acronyms used to reference an organization or activity, and state the purpose of the organization or activity; * Limit your responses to approximately 3,500 words (in total) and focus your responses carefully in terms of the nature of the position(s) for which you wish to be considered to give the Nom Com a clear picture of your candidacy; At its option, the Nom Com may or may not review material that you reference by URL links in your response. Please make your response sufficient to stand alone if necessary, without reliance on linked resources. To receive full consideration statements should be received before 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC). The selected nominees will be announced before 2 October 2007. You must answer all questions below, except question C.4 which is optional. *Pleased delete* the descriptive material above from the substance of the SOI below before submitting your SOI electronically. Thank you. -------------------------------cut here---------------------------------- *ICANN Nominating Committee Statement of Interest Form, 2008 * Please complete this form and return in Rich Text Format (RTF), Microsoft Word document (.doc) or plain text (ASCII). URLs may be helpful, but understand that we may not be able to view linked material. Please send the completed form by email to nomcom2008(a)icann.org <mailto:nomcom2008@icann.org> by 15 April 2008 (23:59 UTC). Nominating Committee Statement of Interest Form, 2008 <http://nomcom.icann.org/soi-2008.doc> [.DOC, 52K] Nominating Committee Statement of Interest Form, 2008 <http://nomcom.icann.org/soi-2008.rtf> [.RTF, 58K] Nominating Committee Statement of Interest Form, 2008 <http://nomcom.icann.org/soi-2008.txt> [.TXT, 14K] *SECTION A. Identifying and Contact Information* Please refer to Note 1 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note1> *(A.1)* Your name: first name, FAMILY NAME (in capital letters). *(A.2) *Position(s) for which you would like to be considered. If you would like to be considered for more than one position, please state so, categorizing each position with numbers, in your order of priority (i.e. 1 is your highest priority. Please refer to Note 2 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note2> ICANN Board ___ GNSO Council ___ ccNSO Council ___ Interim ALAC ___ *(A.3) *Male/Female? *(A.4) *Your e-mail address. *(A.5)* Your telephone number(s). Please include country and city/area codes and indicate your preferred contact number. *(A.6)* Your country of citizenship. If you hold multiple citizenships please state all. *(A.7)* Your country of residence. *(A.8)* How did you hear about the ICANN Nominating Committee? We would like to know how you heard about the Nom Com process and opportunity to become a candidate. *SECTION B. Education and Professional Background * *(B.1)* Provide details of your current job, title, employer or affiliation. Please refer to Note 3 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note3> *(B.2)* Describe your educational background and past professional positions. Please refer to Note 4 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note4> *(B.3)* Describe any current and past volunteer positions, roles and accomplishments. We are particularly interested in board or similar directorship and committee experience. *(B.4)* If you have a personal web page, you may wish to provide a link to it here: *SECTION C. Internet Involvement and Interest in ICANN* Please refer to Note 5 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note5> This section asks questions that will tell us specifically about your candidacy, how your experience makes you suitable for the position(s) you would like to be considered for, the qualities you will bring to ICANN and how you will help ICANN over the coming years. Although detailed knowledge and involvement in ICANN is not a prerequisite, the following questions will help put your experience with ICANN and the Internet into perspective. *(C.1)* Describe how you meet the criteria for each of the ICANN leadership positions you are applying for. Please refer to Note 6 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note6> *(C.2)* Describe current and past involvement in, contributions to, and leadership roles in activities and organizations involved in the development and operation of the Internet, its naming and addressing infrastructure and/or its security and stability. Please refer to Note 7 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note7> *(C.3)* Provide a statement about what you would contribute in your desired leadership position(s) to ICANN and its mission. Please refer to Note 8 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note8> *(C.4)* Is there any additional information you would like to submit that would be helpful to the Nom Com in making its decision? If so, please summarize it here: *SECTION D. References* This section asks for additional information about your candidacy, the names of people who you would like to provide references, and information indicating you agree to due diligence and any other checks ICANN may carry out. *(D.1)* Conflicts of interest with ICANN. Please indicate clearly if you have any areas of actual potential conflicts with ICANN. Actual and potential conflicts of interest will not necessarily be disqualifying. Please refer to Note 9 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note9> *(D.2)* All positions are voluntary and require a significant commitment of time and energy. Please read carefully the description of the time commitment required in the "Leadership Positions" document. Is your schedule of activities compatible with a significant allocation of time to contribute to the positions that you are looking for? Please indicate Yes or No: [ ] YES [ ] NO *(D.3)* Please provide the names of no less than 3 and no more than 4 people who can provide a reference for your candidacy. Nom Com will send a copy of your SOI to each of the people you name as a reference. Please provide the person's name, e-mail address, telephone number, professional position, and a brief description of your relationship with them. Please *ask the person* before including their name as a reference and inform them that you have submitted this SOI. Please refer to Note 10 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note10> 1. Name: Email: Telephone: Relationship: 2. Name: Email: Telephone: Relationship: 3. Name: Email: Telephone: Relationship: 4. Name: Email: Telephone: Relationship: *SECTION E. Consent and Authorisation* Please refer to Note 11 <http://nomcom.icann.org/invitation-2008.html#note11> *(E.1)* Under the Nom Com's procedures, your candidacy will be treated as confidential unless you give the Nom Com your permission to disclose it or unless the Nom Com is consulting your references and conducting third-party reference checks from selected sources on a confidential basis. Third party checks may also be required as part of a due diligence process necessary before we can accept candidates for leadership positions in ICANN. Once selections are made, the Nom Com will make the identities of only the Selected Nominees public. Although the Nom Com will take reasonable steps to ensure that its confidentiality procedures are followed, Candidates and Selected Nominees shall have no claims against ICANN, the Nom Com, or affiliated persons in the event information is disclosed despite our adherence to these procedures. You also authorize the Nom Com to consult with your references, to investigate other information publicly available about you, and to conduct additional third-party reference checks. You will not be entitled to review or access any of the information received, obtained, generated, or considered by the Nom Com regarding any Candidate or Selected Nominee, or any of the Nom Com's discussions or deliberations regarding any Candidate or Selected Nominees. Candidates and Selected Nominees have no right to challenge or seek review of the Nom Com's selections. Please indicate that you understand this statement (E.1) and agree to become a candidate under the conditions described above. Please indicate Yes or No: [ ] YES, I understand this statement and agree to these conditions [ ] NO, I do not agree to these conditions *(E.2)* Interim vacancies in 2009 If you are NOT selected this year for any of the preferences indicated in (A.2) above, would you permit the Chair of this year's Nom Com to retain your name (based on the same preferences) and transfer your SOI to the Chair of the 2009 Nom Com for possible consideration in the event that a mid-year vacancy occurs in 2009? Please indicate Yes or No: [ ] YES [ ] NO This option may be exercised only in the event that a mid-term vacancy occurs and does not mean you will be included in the pool of candidates for regular term positions next year. To be considered by the 2009 Nom Com for a regular vacancy you would need to apply again. The Nom Com values your interest in being a candidate for the positions it is charged to fill. We expect and rely upon your integrity in presenting your qualifications and experience. We appreciate your significant effort in completing this SOI. *Please delete* the notes below from the substance of the SOI above before submitting your SOI electronically. Thank you. -------------------------------cut here---------------------------------- Please delete this and the following material before submitting your completed SOI by e-mail to the Nominating Committee. *NOTE Form: Statement of Interest ICANN Nominating Committee 2008 * Please use these Notes to help you answer the questions in the SOI. You should read these notes carefully before answering. _NOTE 1_. Section A. Identifying Information. Section A asks for information about your personal background, the type of information typically provided in a CV or resume; however, please do not attach your CV to this statement. _NOTE 2 _. Preferred positions. ALAC vacancies in 2008 are for citizens of countries from the European and North American ICANN regions, see http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm <http://www.icann.org/montreal/geo-regions-topic.htm> for a description of ICANN's geographic regions. If you are not from one of these regions, please do not apply for an ALAC position this year, but do check for vacancies next year. _NOTE 3 _. Information about employment. Please provide your current job title and name of your employer. If self-employed, mention your area of work. Briefly describe your current job and your duties. _NOTE 4 _. Education and professional background. Summarize your educational background, such as degrees achieved and the university(s) where you studied, and the three most recent places of employment and positions held. _NOTE 5 _. Section C. Internet Involvement and Interest in ICANN The purpose of the questions in Section C is to help us understand the skills and experience you would bring to ICANN, how you would help ICANN achieve its mission, and how you meet the criteria for the leadership positions the Nom Com will fill. Please refer to the "Leadership Positions" document for details of these criteria. The Nom Com needs to understand why you are the right person for the position(s) you wish to apply for. Please be bold in telling the committee about yourself and your ideas. _NOTE 6 _. Satisfying eligibility and other selection criteria. See "Leadership Positions" document for eligibility criteria and other selection factors. Describe how your work and other experience helps you meet the criteria for the position(s) you are applying for. You may wish to describe how your previous experience is relevant to your candidacy. _NOTE 7 _. Familiarity with the Internet, its naming and addressing infrastructure and issues related to its security and stability, and other Internet technical functions coordinated by ICANN. The Nom Com would like to know about your familiarity with the Internet's naming and addressing infrastructure, the domain name system and other Internet technical functions coordinated by ICANN, both in technical and policy matters. Please describe any involvement with the operation of ccTLD, gTLD registries or registrars, IP address registries, or relevant DNS technical or policy development process, including Internet technical protocols and standards. Your answer should include details of any involvement with ICANN, its policy development processes including its creation and evolution, supporting organizations and councils. Your answer may overlap with your response to question C.1. _NOTE 8 _. Contribution to ICANN and its mission. Please state clearly how you see yourself contributing to ICANN and its mission (ICANN's mission is defined in the Bylaws http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#I) Please highlight your personal skills and experience that would be beneficial to the organization. You should mention specific past or current contributions in fields such as international relations, technical leadership, managerial skills, languages, etc., as well as goals for your contribution in the desired position. _NOTE 9 _. Conflicts of Interest. Please refer to the ICANN Conflicts of Interest policy http://www.icann.org/committees/coi/coi-policy-04mar99.htm . This document is aimed at conflicts for ICANN Directors and Officers, but should provide guidance for all ICANN leadership positions. If you have had any relationship with an ICANN accredited registry or registrar (other than registering a domain name) or any organization that has been in dispute with ICANN, please describe that relationship here. Conflicts of interest are not necessarily disqualifying, since we anticipate that many experienced people may have such relationships. _NOTE 10_. Selecting references. *You must ask* the people you select as for their agreement to do so before submitting their names to the Nom Com. They should know they will be asked by the Nom Com to provide a reference and should understand the purpose of the reference and Nom Com process. You may wish to provide them with your SOI (this completed form) so that they can respond knowledgeably to our request for information. We recommend that you choose your references carefully so the Nom Com has a broad view of your experiences and abilities. * Current Nom Com members must not be included as references. See the Nom Com home page http://nomcom.icann.org/#members * Current ICANN staff must not be included as references. See: http://www.icann.org/general/staff.html. The Nom Com will not consult as a reference anyone who is also a candidate under consideration for the same position, but because of our confidentiality commitment, NomCom will be unable to advise candidates about another person's presence in the candidate pool. Your candidacy will not be adversely affected by such a collision should it occur. _NOTE 11_. Due diligence and third party references. ICANN will employ a professional firm to conduct due diligence on selected nominees. Due diligence will be confidential and conducted according to global industry standards. In some circumstances the Nom Com may ask a third party for additional reference information under a condition of confidentiality. If there is any person or persons you would like us not to contact for any third party checks, please let us know in your SOI. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This file last modified 14-Dec-2007 © 2007 Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers -- Anne-Rachel Inne _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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[Fwd: Pambazuka News 334: It is the Kenya people who have lost the election]
by alice 04 Jan '08

04 Jan '08

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Pambazuka News 334: It is the Kenya people who have lost the election Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 22:45:15 +0000 From: Firoze Manji <fmanji(a)mac.com> To: pambazuka-news(a)pambazuka.gn.apc.org PAMBAZUKA NEWS 334: IT IS THE KENYA PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THE ELECTION The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 With nearly 500 contributors and an estimated 500,000 readers Pambazuka News is the authoritative pan African electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa providing cutting edge commentary and in-depth analysis on politics and current affairs, development, human rights, refugees, gender issues and culture in Africa. To view online, go to http://www.pambazuka.org/ To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE – please visit, http://www.pambazuka.org/ en/subscribe.php CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Comment and analysis, 3. Letters, 4. African Union Monitor Support the struggle for social justice in Africa. Give generously! Donate at: http://www.pambazuka.org/en/donate.php /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Features IT IS THE KENYAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THE ELECTION Firoze Manji Kenya is entering a protracted crisis. No one really knows who actually won the presidential elections. Given the overwhelming number of parliamentary seats won by the ODM adn the dismissal of some 20 former ministers who lost their seats, it seems likely that the presidential results probably followed suit. But it is no longer really a matter of who won or lost. For one thing is certain: it is the Kenyan people who have lost in these elections. That the elections results were rigged – of that there is little doubt. The hasty inauguration, the blanket banning on the broadcast media, the dispersal of security forces to deal with expected protests – all these have given the post election period the flavour of a coup d’etat. What was not expected was the speed with which the whole thing would unravel. The declaration of the members of the Electoral Commission that the results were indeed rigged only added to the growing realisation that a coup had indeed taken place. People across the country took to the streets to protest and were met with disproportionate use of force by the police and GSU. Emotions ran high. And there is evidence that politicians from all sides used the occasion to instigate violent attacks against their opponents constituencies. There have been rapes, forced circumcision and forced female genital mutilation. The western media has been quick to describe these as ‘ethnic clashes’ – but then they appear only to be able to see tribes whenever there are conflicts in Africa. What is ignored by them is that the security forces have been responsible for the majority of killings. What we have in Kenya is a political crisis that could, descend into civil war if the political crisis is not resolved soon. And therein lies the problem. There is no coherent political direction from the ODM. First Raila Odinga declares he’s the ‘people’s president’ (shades of Blair’s ‘people’s princess’ speech – the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce, some might say – and says he is going to arrange to be inaugurated. What happened? Then he says that he is not willing to meet with Kibaki, then says he will meet provided there is an international mediator. He says he will form his own government, and then takes that no further. Then he calls for a million person march into Nairobi, and when faced with a banning order and massive police attacks, backs down and calls for another demonstration the following day. But what is this demonstration seeking to achieve? Such events are usually a means of showing the size of popular support: but ODM has already demonstrated its popular support in the stolen elections. There are no coherent political demands for this event that would bring the support of the many who, though they may not have voted for ODM, would feel that they would nevertheless want to express their support. There is no real strategy for enabling PNU’s own political base to be won over. The election results were rigged, sure. But the failure to demand that an independent judicial inquiry be established to investigate only leads to suspicions that even the ODM were not keen to have the results investigated. It is now probably too late to conduct a satisfactory investigation since original records may have been tampered with – which might explain the Attorney General’s sudden willingness announced today to allow the ECK records to be inspected without recourse to use of the courts. The mass demonstrations could have been used to call for such an investigation and to protest against the media ban imposed by Kibaki and to challenge constitutionality of the ban. Instead, it served no purpose other than what some see as an infantile response to the theft of the elections. Why has there been no public appeal to the armed forces and police – whose families have no doubt suffered in the violent upheavals – to refuse to fire on citizens, or to defend and protect citizens from the violence that has been unleashe?. Kibaki can retain power only through the use of force – and so long as the armed forces and the police remain loyal, he will be able to retain his hold on power. ODM has failed to challenge the existing government by encouraging all sections of society to create a viable alternative to the present government. But the real tragedy of Kenya is that the political conflict is not about alternative political programmes that could address the long standing grievances of the majority over landlessness, low wages, unemployment, lack of shelter, inadequate incomes, homelessness, etc. It is not about such heady aspirations. No, it boils down to a fight over who has access to the honey pot that is the state. For those in control of the state machinery are free to fill their pockets. So the battle lines are reduced to which group of people are going to be chosen to fill their pockets – and citizens are left to decide perhaps that a few crumbs might fall off the table in their direction. And the electorate – the mass of citizens who have borne the brunt of the recent violence and decades of prolonged disenfranchisement from accessing the fruits of independence – are reduced to being just being fodder for the pigs fighting over the trough. The Kibaki regime seems unlikely to concede any space – for to do so would confirm the suspicions of election theft. And the longer that the current impasse continues, the more likely it is that people will seek to vent their anger and frustration in senseless violence – energy that could so easily be turned towards organising to building a new world. So what is going to be the way forward? Will there be an independent inquiry into the election results? Into the violence that has taken place? Will the contending parties agree to the formation of an interim government that would oversee the re-run of the elections? Whatever happens, the present crisis has demonstrated that there is a serious lack of any formations that can articulate a coherent political programme for social transformation. Politics will remain forever about who gets access to the trough so long as there is no alternative. This issue of Pambazuka News is dedicated to those who have paid with their lives in this period of crisis. * Firoze Manji is co-editor of Pambazuka News and executive director of Fahamu. * Please send comments to editor(a)pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org ****** DRAMA OF THE POPULAR STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY IN KENYA Horace Campbell National elections were held in Kenya on December 27, 2007; the results of the Presidential election were announced three days later. Within minutes of the announcement that Mwai Kibaki had emerged as the winner, there were spontaneous acts of opposition to the government in all parts of the country. The opposition was especially intense among the jobless youths who had voted overwhelmingly for change. A ruling clique that had stolen billions of dollars in a period of five years had stolen the elections. This was the verdict of the poor. However, this verdict was obscured by ethnic alienation and the constant refrain by local and foreign intellectuals that the crisis and killings emanated from deep ‘tribal’ hostilities. This tribal narrative was intensified after the burning and killings of innocent civilians in a church, in Eldoret, in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. But while these killings had all of the hallmarks of the genocidal violence of Rwanda and Burundi, more importantly, they heightened the need for Kenyan society to step back from the brink of all out war. Violence and killings provided a feedback loop that threatened to engulf even the political leaders of the society. This analysis argues that the calls for peace and reconciliation by the political and religious leaders will remain hollow until there are efforts to break from the recursive processes of looting, extra judicial killings, rape and violation of women, and general low respect for African lives. This short commentary on the elections and the aftermath seeks to introduce a unified emancipatory approach: liberating humanity from the mechanical, competitive, and individualistic constraints of western philosophy, and re-unifying Kenyans with each other, the Earth, and spirituality. This analysis draws from fractal theory and seeks to place Africans as human beings at the center of the analysis. Fractal theory is founded on aspects of the African knowledge system and breaks the old tribal narratives that refer to Africans as sub humans needing Civilization, Christianity and Commerce. Those who condemn the post-election violence in Kenya have failed to condemn the traditions of killings and economic terrorism in Kenya. It should be stated clearly that using African women as guinea pigs for western pharmaceuticals is just as outrageous as burning innocent women and children in churches. Rape and violation of women, and exploitation of the poor and of jobless youth have been overlooked by the commentators who focus on one component of the matrix of exploitation in Kenya -- ethnicity. In tandem with much of the current discourse on fractal theory, this commentary is addressed to progressive intellectuals from Kenya and calls for a revolutionary paradigmatic transformation- one that is intrinsic to African knowledge systems and can be witnessed in practice in the everyday activities of African life. Revolutionary transformations are necessary to break from the processes that have been unleashed in Kenya and East Africa since British colonialism and the British Gulag. This break requires revolutionary ideas in Kenya, along with revolutionary leaders and new forms of political organization. Thus far, neo-liberal capitalism and neo-liberal democratic organizations, along with the focus on party organization have created leaders who organize for political power. These leaders are not even concerned about forming lasting political parties. Far more profound transformations are required in Kenya, beyond the winning of elections. However, until new ideas and new leaders emerge, the current struggles will serve to educate the poor on the limitations of the old politics and ethnic alliances that privilege sections of the Kenyan capitalist class. The analysis is presented as a drama of three acts. The first act was played out in the form of the election campaign. The second act involved the drama after the announcement of the results and the violent reactions from all sections of the society. The third act of this drama continues to unfold with the call for a fractal analysis that will place revolutionary transformation as the central question on the political agenda in Kenya and East Africa. Act One – The Struggles over the election and the campaign for the Presidency. The Scene: Kenya had been the epi- center of imperial domination in East Africa from the period of British colonialism. Caroline Elkins in the book, Britain’s Gulag, has documented for posterity the extreme violence and murders bequeathed to the Kenyan political culture by the British government. At independence in December 1963, Britain handed over power to people who, in essence, agreed to act as junior partners with British capitalism in Eastern and Central Africa. This partnership included an acceptance by the ruling class in Kenya of the western European forms of land ownership that stated that Africans had to be modernized from their “tribal” and “backward” ways. For forty years, Kenya was presented as a success story where a parasitic middle class and a thriving Nairobi Stock Exchange (composed of foreign capital) sought to prove that capitalism could take root in Africa. Act 1 Scene Two of this drama took the form of a campaign for the tenth Parliament of Kenya. The drama of the struggle for change in Kenya was played out before the world in the form of an electoral struggle that gripped the society for many months. At the end of Scene Two one of the principal props of this drama – the local media - reported that the results were like a “blood bath.” The headline screamed “ energized voters sweep out Vice President, Cabinet Ministers and seasoned politicians as wind of change blows across the country.” But the newspapers were not yet aware of the implications of using language like “blood bath” in their headlines. Every one awaited the final results of the news of who would be President. The results were being delayed while the votes were being cooked. As news of the parliamentary routing of the incumbent President and his allies in the Party of National Unity (PNU) splashed on the streets, on the screens and on text messages while the principal actors and actresses of the drama, the people of Kenya, sought spontaneous actions to ensure that they were not silenced by the power brokers who had placed themselves at the head of the movement for change. These central actors and actresses (wananchi) had enthusiastically participated in the election campaign articulating their demand for peace, reconstruction and transformation of Kenyan society. By the time of the third scene of this drama, those from the den of thieves around the incumbent Mwai Kibaki sought to silence the media. In order for this scene to be played out without an audience, international observers and the media (both national and international) were ejected from Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) election center at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The Chairperson of the ECK went to a small room and announced the results of the elections naming Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the election. Three days later, the same chairperson of the ECK said in the media that he was not sure if Kibaki won the elections. Earlier in the drama Raila Odinga’s team of regional barons and aspiring capitalists argued that the true results of the elections showed that Raila Odinga had been chosen by the majority of the main players to be the leading man on the Kenyan stage. How was it possible for his Movement to win over one hundred seats in the Parliament (when Kibaki’s den of thieves had won less than thirty parliamentary seats) and still lose the Presidency? Local and foreign observers cried foul. The elections had been rigged. Ballot boxes had been stuffed. Results were being announced that did not correspond to the votes from the constituencies. The integrity of the process was flawed. These voices were soon drowned out by the might and power of those with strategic control over the military and media sections of the performance. Neo-liberal politics include rigging, so that the international observers used ‘measured’ language of “irregularities,” “anomalies” and “weighty issues” to conceal the reality of outright theft. Raila Odinga termed the process a “civilian coup.” But international capital became confused, because, after all the precedent of election rigging in Florida,U.S.A in 2000 had given the green light to electoral fraud internationally. The Swearing in of President Kibaki Act One Scene Three of this drama was performed within the guarded confines of State House where parastatal executives, mostly defeated cabinet members and a small section of the media were invited. In this scene, Mwai Kibaki was sworn in as the Third President of the Republic of Kenya. The stage and setting of this scene was markedly different from the previous swearing in at the Uhuru Park (in Nairobi) where an enthusiastic audience had cheered on the President on December 30, 2002. The 2007 swearing in scene had to be played out without the audience because the principal actors and actresses did not endorse this new act. Minutes after the announcement of the victory of Kibaki, there were spontaneous demonstrations all over the country, especially the urban areas. Popular outrage at the theft of the elections brought violence and the killings of innocent civilians in Kakamega, Kisumu, Mombassa, Nairobi, Nakuru and other centers. The police killed innocent demonstrators as the foreign media portrayed the demonstrations in ethnic terms. The gendered, class and ethnic dimensions of the opposition to Kibaki began to be played out in the poor communities that were called slums, but the media focused on one dimension, the ethnic alienation of the poor and exploited. Hundreds of dead brought home the reality that the elections and vote counting were simply one site of struggle in the quest to break the old politics of exploitation and dehumanization in Kenya. However, because so much of the old politics of exploitation had been masked by the politicization of ethnicity, poor members of the Kikuyu nationality were targeted in some communities, with the killings in Eldoret bringing home the long traditions of ethnic cleaning that had been going on in this region during the Moi regime. The same media neglected to report that poor Kalenjin also torched the home of former President Arap Moi. Would there be a break from this recursive process of killing of the poor? Odinga and members of the Pentagon condemned the killings of members of a particular ethnic group but the anger was too deep for the youths to listen. Unfortunately, the ODM did not have structures to properly mobilize the youths away from looting. Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic Movement In order to avert the possible war that could emanate from this new act of the drama there was the need for fresh if not revolutionary ideas to harness the pent up energies of the people for change. The radicalization of Kenyan politics had merged with the anti- globalization forces internationally to the point where in 2007 Kenya hosted the World Social Forum. The radical demands of the Bamako appeal of the Africa Social Forum (for profound social, economic and gender transformations in Africa) could not be carried forward by the old Non Governmental Organization elements allied with international NGO’s from Western Europe. What the World Social Forum had demonstrated was the reality that new revolutionary ideas with new revolutionary forms of organization were needed to realize the goals and aspirations and appeal of the Africa social forum. Raila Odinga and his group of regional ethnic barons had tapped into the radical sentiments of the youth all across the ethnic divisions. Calling his team, the Pentagon, Odinga mobilized the popular discourses about youth, women and disabled to speak about ‘poverty eradication’ and “corruption.” Absent from the platform of the Orange Democratic Movement was a clear program for reconstruction and transformation. Raila Odinga had been a major political actor on the Kenyan stage for four decades. He had participated in every major political party and formation since his father, Odinga Odinga had emerged as the opponent of the Kenyan form of neo-colonialism. The 2007 elections exposed the reality that there were no real political parties in Kenya. Leaders on all sides were not interested in building a lasting movement for change. They were interested in parties as electoral vehicles to capture state power. There were more than 300 parties registered in Kenya and over 117 participated in the elections in December 2007. Local and international writers who earlier had been voices for the poor enthusiastically supported the enactment of the first scene of the drama (the election and voting). Some of these writers moaned and groaned that the script had been changed when those who controlled the state machinery unleashed violence against the poor. In order to unleash state violence against the poor, the Minister of Internal Affairs banned the broadcast of live images. The state also toyed with the idea of banning SMS messaging in Kenya. But Kenyans simply tuned in to the international media to confirm what they knew, that the recursive processes of killings and revenge were spiraling out of control. Without enacting an official state of emergency (in the fear of further hurting the tourist industry) the majority of poor Kenyans lived under curfew-like conditions as the military, the police, and General Service Units were deployed all over the country and new forms of censorship were implemented. The political leadership that stole the elections had to be careful with the use of the police, military and the intelligence services in so far as the divisions within the security forces challenged the authority of those who stole the elections. Raila Odinga sought to tap into this division of the coercive forces by calling a demonstration of a million Kenyans to oppose the stolen election results. The International media and international capital The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and other cultural voices of imperial power were from the outset one of the props of this drama. The British were particularly active because the interests of British capitalism were very much an important part of narrative of the drama. During Act 1 scenes two and three, this foreign prop had been condemning the “irregularities’” and “anomalies” of the drama and carried the press statements of the International Observers of the European Union and the Commonwealth. The head of the European Union observer mission issued a statement declaring that, “the Presidential poll lacks credibility and an independent audit should be instituted to rectify things.” This clear statement led the US government to reverse its earlier recognition of Mwai Kibaki as the winner of the Presidential elections. There had been concern in Washington over the future of Kenya in so far as the US authorities sought to mobilize Kenyans in the war against terrorism. During the period of Kibaki, Kenyan citizens were shipped out of the country to be tried as terrorists under the US policy of kidnapping, called rendition. The ODM signed a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic community during the election campaign and members of the ODM condemned the rendering of Kenyan citizens by the government. It was argued that if these citizens acted contrary to Kenyan law, they should be tried under Kenyan law. The propaganda war had been virulent and since Raila Odinga held the moral and political high ground, sections of the international media began to retreat from endorsement of the electoral coup. However, the occupation of the moral high ground was shaky. Would the government and opposition be more concerned with the lives of the poor than with political power? In the face of the absence of resolute moral leadership to condemn these killings, the international media had a field day portraying the struggles for democracy in Kenya as primitive “tribal” violence. Act Two – Stalemate and brinkmanship in politics Raila Odinga and his team called the Pentagon had entered the drama seeking to play on the terms of those who had seized power from the time of colonialism. The very naming of his team as the ‘Pentagon’ had shown an insensitivity to the international revulsion against military symbols. The five leaders of the Pentagon were, (i) Vice Presidential running mate M Mudavadi, (ii) Charity Ngilu, (iii) William Ruto, (iv) Bilal Najib and (v) Joseph Nyagah. These regional ethnic barons had emerged from multiple political formations and many had family and business linkages with capitalists inside and outside of the government. During the campaign these regional leaders had campaigned on a pledge to devolve power from central government. The poor believed this would bring power closer to the village and communities so that health care facilities, water supply systems, road and pathways in the villages, education, sanitation and other services could be delivered so that the conditions of exploitation are ameliorated. These localized services were interpreted by various local communities as job creation avenues for the jobless youths. For the regional barons, the devolution debate was carried out to ensure easier access to the treasury. The word ‘majimbo’ re- emerged in the political vocabulary of Kenya to reignite the memory of the alliance between the ‘home guards’ and settlers at the dawn of independence. Youths all across Kenya had transcended the ethnic identification and wanted real change in the quality of life in the society. Entering the drama without a real party and without a real organ to bring the majority of the actors and actresses to the center of the drama, it was easy for the team around Mwai Kibaki to stall so that the spontaneous anger would peter out. Would the Orange Democratic Revolution learn the lessons of popular power in the streets of the Ukraine Orange Revolution and shake the old power with new bases of alternative power? This provided the setting for the central aspect of the drama, the stand off between the forces of orange and the forces of the defeated power. Kibaki came across as an imprisoned leader, surrounded by politicians and financiers who argued that Kibaki must enter any negotiation from a position of strength. Odinga countered that negotiations could only begin when Kibaki accepted that the elections had been stolen. The hardening of positions ratcheted up the tensions in the country as regionally countries such as Uganda, Rwanda and the Southern Sudan began to feel the effects of the shutdown of the transportation system in Kenya. Mwai Kibaki and the neo-liberal regime in Kenya Mwai Kibaki had been associated with the ruling class in Kenya for over fifty years. Starting his career as a representative of Shell Oil Company in Kampala, Uganda, Kibaki moved from an academic position at Makerere University to the top echelons of the independent government of Kenya after independence. In the book, The Reds and the Blacks, William Atwood, then-US ambassador, had identified Kibaki as one of the steady ‘reformers” who would guarantee the interests of foreign capital. Kibaki emerged as a stable force in the ruling circles serving both Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi as Minister of Finance. It was under the leadership of Kenyatta and Moi that the forms of theft by the ruling elements in Kenya were refined. Extra judicial killings and accidental deaths of prominent trade union leaders and politicians were papered over by the foreign press that labeled Kenya a ‘stable’ democracy. Arap Moi and international capital. After the death of Kenyatta in 1978, Daniel Arap Moi moved decisively to cement an alliance of foreign capitalists and local political careerists to loot the society and spread divisions and ethnic hatred among the poor and oppressed. British capitalism had been the dominant force in Kenya with British companies such as Unilever, Finlays, GSK, Vodafone, Barclays and Standard Bank becoming leading names on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Britain had made a deal with the independence leaders and awarded a small sum to enhance this new class of African yeoman farmers to join the British settlers in the exploitation of Kenya and indeed, East Africa. Molo, in the Rift Valley (one of the constituencies at the center of the row over the rigged elections), represented one of the places where Kikuyu settlers had been relocated after independence. Moi during his Presidency remained at the center of the alliance between British capitalists, Asian capitalists and Kikuyu entrepreneurs from Central Province. By the time of the electoral defeat of Moi in December 2002, the Moi family and cronies in the ruling party, Kenya African National Union (KANU) had become junior capitalists in the game of exploitation. It was under the leadership of Moi that imperialism used Kenya as a base to subvert African independence. A report commissioned by the Kibaki administration, (called the Kroll Report), had named Moi and his sons as billionaires with assets in banks in Britain, Switzerland, South Africa, Namibia, the Cayman Islands and Brunei. The 110-page report by the international risk consultancy Kroll alleged that relatives and associates of former President Moi siphoned off more than £1bn of government money. This documentation placed the Mois on a par with Africa's other great politicians-cum-looters such as Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and Nigeria's Sani Abacha. The Kroll report of the levels of theft when presented to the Kibaki government was never acted on. The alliance between Moi and Kibaki forces became clearer during the election campaign when Moi and his sons fiercely campaigned for the re –election of President Kibaki. The sons of Moi were decisively defeated in the elections. The documentation of the level of theft by Moi was exposed before the public in what to became known as the Goldenberg scandal. This scandal brought to the fore the alliance between Moi, KANU and Asian capitalists in Kenya. These capitalists had looted the country with such impunity that Kamlesh Mdami Pattni (an Asian capitalist named in the Goldenberg scandal) took over one party Kenda to contest the 2007 elections. Prior to the 1992 multi-party struggles, Kibaki had sought to distance himself from this group of capitalists. These were the capitalists involved in settler agriculture, manufacturing, transport, services, old forms of banking, insurance, real estate, construction and engineering and the health and education sectors. These capitalists from inside and outside the political arena provided cover for looters all across Eastern Africa. In the Kenyan economy money from oil in the Sudan (especially Southern Sudan), commercial interests in Somalia, gold and diamond dealers from Rwanda, Burundi and the Eastern Congo circulated with the resources from the exploited Kenyan working poor so that in the past ten years there has been a growth of the Kenyan economy. Felicia Kabunga, wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICRT) for crimes of genocide in Rwanda was the kind of looter and money spinner who found safe haven among the money launderers in Kenya. Kibaki and the rise of new capitalists. Although Mwai Kbaki had campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket in 2002, his tenure as President of Kenya was marked by an explosion of new schemes for accumulation. The rise of the telecommunications, information technology and banking sectors boomed with new enterprises such as Equity Bank and a number of communications companies (Safaricom, Flashcom, Telecom etc) rivaling the old capitalists. The floating of new shares n the form on an Initial Public Offer (IPO) for the Company, Safarcom, became a central question in the election campaign in so far as those who got access to the shares at the time of the issuing of the IPO became instant millionaires. The Kibaki government was in the main dominated by elements who formed a company called MEGA (a regrouping of the old Gema Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association), and through Transcentury Corporation had elevated themselves to be the among the leading capitalists in Kenya. This group presented a program called Vision 2030 where Kenya would become the leading capitalist country in Africa, becoming the Singapore of Africa. Control of the governmental apparatus was crucial for Vision 2030. Space does not allow for an elaboration of the individuals of this capitalist clique and their place in the interpenetrating directorates of the Nairobi Stock Exchange. What is significant is that the names of the capitalists and politicians of Trancentury figured in the scandal of corruption that rocked the government of Mai Kibaki. This was termed the Anglo-leasing scandal which involved awarding huge government contracts to bogus companies. One insider, John Githongo, exposed the scandal and repaired to Britain. No money from the Anglo leasing scandal had been recovered before the elections and although European and US governments made noises about corruption there were no moves to repatriate the stolen wealth back to Kenya. These scandals were very much a part of the election campaign. Three of the four ministers who resigned after the Anglo Leasing scandal was exposed had been reinstated by Kibaki. These ministers along with twenty other ministers lost their parliamentary seats in the December 2007 elections. The poor of Kenya had used the ballot to send a message to the capitalists in Kenya but those who stole billions of dollars from the Kenyan Treasury were not above stealing an election. The real test in Kenyan politics was whether the team called the Pentagon was serious about changing the political culture of theft, looting and storing billions of dollars in foreign banks. The people of Kenya had voted for change. Was the Orange Democratic Movement a movement for change or a movement for political power? This was the outstanding question as the cast and the writers got ready for Act three of the drama of the struggle for democracy. Act 3. A Revolutionary situation without revolutionary ideas and real revolutionaries. Because the drama is being played out it is not possible to make a presentation of the last act of this drama. This is the act where the peoples of Kenya are torn between two traditions. These are the traditions of the freedom fighters for independence and the traditions of violence, looting and the low respect for African life. The youths of Kenya have been brought up in the period of the aftermath of the end of apartheid and the defeat of Mobutism. These youths have risen above the politicization of ethnicity and along with progressive women want to end the rape and violation of women. These youths have been heard to say that Kenya is in the midst of a liberation war. While the consciousness of the youth may be high with the thought of a long term struggle, there are very few revolutionary leaders and a poverty of revolutionary ideas in Kenya. If anything, the poorer youths are being mobilized into counter-revolutionary violence where poor and oppressed people burn and kill each other. This was the lesson of the killings, burning and massacre in the Rift Valley. Counter-revolutionary violence of the Rwanda genocidal form lay just below the surface and the same politicians who gave refuge to genocidaires from Rwanda are not above fomenting genocidal violence among the poor. The media images of marauding youths with pangas provide the necessary imagery to represent to the world another version of African savagery. This same media will not prominently carry the news that poor peasants from the home area of Danieal Arap Moi burnt his house to the ground. The prospect of real class warfare in Kenya frightens both the government and the opposition so there is a delicate effort to manage the crisis so that the forms of capital accumulation can return to the business pages rather than the front pages. Raila Odinga and the Orange Democratic movement are now caught between the aspirations of the regional capitalists of the ‘Pentagon’ and the demand for real change across Kenya. The post election mayhem is a clear demonstration that the ODM did not sufficiently engage their followers on new ideas transcending ethnicity and patriarchy. This demand for democratic change in Kenya will require new forms of organization beyond electoral politics and new ideas about the value of African lives. This requires a break with the European ideation systems that promote capitalism as democracy and genocide as progress. * Horace Campbell is Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University * Please send comments to editor(a)pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org ****** KIBAKI MUST BACK DOWN Victoria Brittain Desmond Tutu was absolutely right to fly into Kenya and throw his moral authority behind efforts to resolve the dramatic crisis that other outsiders are misjudging so badly. British foreign secretary David Miliband, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, secretary general of the Commonwealth Don McKinnon and President John Kufuor of Ghana, president of the African Union (AU), all missed the chance to denounce the rapid swearing-in of a man who did not win the presidential election. This lit the touchpaper for the appalling violence of the last few days. All of these powerful people knew from the European and other observers on the ground how grotesque and open was the ballot rigging which allowed Mwai Kibaki to claim victory. The parliamentary elections in which President Kibaki's party was trounced, getting a mere one third of the seats obtained by Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), and with 20 cabinet ministers losing their seats, underlined the true balance of democratic forces in the country. Tutu knows mass anger as a response to political humiliation. Kenyans in the street will listen to him as South Africans did, and still do when he speaks fearlessly to the powerful at home as well as abroad. Perhaps Kibaki, who has rebuffed the overtures from the AU and insists that Kenya's problem is an internal one, will meet the Archbishop. If so, he will hear hard truths, but also, perhaps, a face-saving way to step back from the folly encouraged by his close advisers who dared not face his defeat and the political reckoning that would come with it. It is a myth that Kenya has been a haven of stability in East Africa for decades, just as it was a myth that Ivory Coast was in the west - until it exploded. Kenya has been a key strategic ally for the west since independence, and the kleptocratic and repressive governments of Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki have been supported unconditionally for that reason. Since the launch of the "war on terror" in late 2001, the importance of Kenya to the Americans has increased even further. The west chose not to see a country where more than half the population of 31 million live on $2 a day, where unemployment is rising, landlessness is chronic and increasing. The tourist paradise for European holidaymakers had become a bitter, lawless and cynical place for its own citizens. Raila Odinga made a political alliance with Kibaki in 2002, calculating that together they could attack corruption, bring down an elite which had been above the law for too long, and give ordinary Kenyans the modest prosperity that had eluded too many of them since independence. (Kibaki too had been in the wilderness during the Moi years.) But Kibaki was captured by the old elite once he came into power, and since 2005 Odinga has built a new nationalist alliance across the country, which owes as much to his own drive, as to the old magic of his father's name - Oginga Odinga. In the years after independence, when Kenyatta became a key British ally and froze Odinga out, as a socialist, and as a Luo from the poor west of Kenya, Odinga's was the name with which the Kenyan masses most identified. In the 21st century the freeze won't work on the son. The election has to be rerun with a credible independent electoral commission. Odinga's offer of negotiations under international auspices must be accepted by Kibaki. *Victoria Brittain, a former associate foreign editor of the Guardian, is a journalist and a research associate at the London School of Economics. *Please send comments to editor@pambazuka or comment online at http:// www.pambazuka.org ****** NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE! Onyango Oloo No JUSTICE, No PEACE!! Onyango Oloo Dissects The Wrong-Headed "SAVE OUR COUNTRY" Media Blitz During my 18 year sojourn in Ontario and Quebec, I became quite immersed in a wide array of social justice struggles-from Indigenous People’s rights, anti-globalization, working class struggles, anti- apartheid to anti-racist movements. The Canadian anti-racist movement, while different and autonomous from its sister movement south of the 49th Parallel, has been inspired by the African-American led struggles for civil, social, economic, cultural and political rights. Icons like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Ben Chavis, Jesse Jackson Jr., Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Angela Davis, George Jackson, Huey P. Newton are household names in the African-Canadian, Caribbean Canadian and Native Canadian communities. As many of us know, one of the most ubiquitous rallying cries and chants during anti-racist rallies, protests and demonstrations is the slogan, “No Justice, No Peace!” I remember the summer of 1989 being amidst angry protestors around the Queen’s Park subway in Toronto, making our way up the street to the Royal Ontario Museum chanting these and other slogans to vent our ire about a racist exhibition at that Museum which really demeaned continental Africans and people of African descent in general. To some, the phrase, “No Justice, No Peace!” is just another tired slogan, to be grouped with “A People United, Shall Never Be Defeated!” or “An Injury To One Is An Injury to All”. These cynics are of course obtuse, because they do not appreciate the blood, the sacrifice and the torture which infused the historical origins of those chants. The second phrase emanated from the anti- imperialist and anti-fascist struggles of Latin American women and men confronting the US backed dictatorships of Central and South America. The third slogan is from South Africa where the militant workers in that struggle-soaked nation were right at the frontlines of the South African national liberation movement. This morning I want to talk about “No Justice, No Peace!” in the contest of the ongoing social and political turmoil in Kenya. And I am doing it because I have been reeling with DISGUST, recoiling in horror at a new campaign for “Peace” launched primarily by Kenya’s media houses, principally the Nation Media Group, the Standard Group and the folks who run Kiss 100 FM and the Nairobi Star. Now to be fair to people like Julie Gichuru at NTV and the KTN anchors, they appear sincere and earnest enough. It is good intentions all through. At least at the surface level. When you do scratch beneath that surface however, you are confronted with something else- a blatant attempt to restore social control and buttress the class domination of the comprador and petit bourgeoisie in Kenya. Please stay with me if you are temporarily befuddled. Most Kenyans know that the spontaneous anti-government insurrections were sparked off by the decision of the Electoral Commission of Kenya to steal the Presidential vote at the behest of Mwai Kibaki and his PNU cohorts. We also realize that criminals and tribalists have hijacked these protests to loot and plunder and attack members of specific ethnic groups. One would expect that ANYONE interested in a peaceful solution to the crisis in Kenya would begin with where “rain began to beat us” to quote Chinua Achebe for the billionth time. One would further expect that only a transparent restitution of justice would jump start a sustainable peace and national reconciliation process. At a minimum, there would have to be some kind of a public acknowledgment that the flawed Presidential election results must be rectified. That seems to be the consensus in Kenya, and judging by media reports, among the publics of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and many other African countries. The indictment by the EU observer mission would seem to indicate that the capitals of capital have no doubt in their minds that Kibaki stole the elections. Given the above, one would expect that a "peace process" dubbed “Save Our Country” jumpstarted last night by the main Kenyan media houses who were in the forefront of exposing the anomalies and irregularities would pay attention to the question of justice even as strove to put out all the infernos raging across Kenya. What has happened instead? A mealy mouthed editorial piece on peace carried simultaneously across different Nairobi media that insults the collective intelligence of Kenyans. Sample this: “Political leaders on both sides must be told in no uncertain terms that they are currently in great danger of losing their credibility in the eyes of Kenyans and the international community because systemic killing of the innocents sweeping Kenya, destruction of the economy and the spread of disaffection throughout the land. No grievance and no cause is worth the innocent blood of Kenyan children. The orgies of looting, burning, rape and wanton, well- orchestrated blood-letting are undermining the moral basis of the politicians’ cause…” -Excerpt from an editorial jointly run in the Daily Nation and Nairobi Star (Thursday, January 03, 2008) HELLO? Since when did “politicians on both sides” coerce ECK to steal the Presidential vote? The culpability rests solely with President Kibaki. From the fascist diktats of Michuki, Muthaura, Murage and Co. we know that the ODM leadership has NOT had a chance to publicly address their followers and therefore cannot be accused of “orchestrating” or “instigating” anything. Yes, the blood of innocents is flowing freely with mobs setting alight a church full of women and children and targeting innocent wananchi based on their ethnicity and regional origins. But who is talking about the orgy of POLICE and PARA-MILITARY EXTRA- JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS? By yesterday, there were over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BULLET RIDDLED BODIES in the New Nyanza Hospital including corpses of INFANTS. Who shot to death those innocent unarmed civilians? The police have been executing ghetto youth in Kibera, Kawangware and elsewhere. Who employs and commands these killers in uniform? Reports from Kisumu insist that the Kibaki regime may be using crack NRA troops from neighbouring Uganda to slaughter Kenyan citizens. When I first raised this issue online twenty four hours ago, some were quick to dismiss the very possibility. Today the Nyanza Provincial Police Officer is on the defensive, admitting she is aware of these widespread allegations even as she strenuously denies them. In this regard I must state that I was somewhat disappointed by the public statement released yesterday by Kenyan Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. While I commend her for speaking up and appealing to Kibaki to take charge, I am disappointed that what motivated her was not so much the reality that the whole of Kenya is burning but rather that “her people”, the Central Kenyan communities were being targeted. Surely one can make a very strong case that the Luo communities residing in Kisumu, Migori, Homa Bay and elsewhere are being similarly targeted, this time by THE STATE itself. In fact, in the letters to editors page of the Standard there is this letter from a Kisumu resident of South Asian heritage which says, inter alia: “…The recent riots are not Kisumu riots. Even the killings are State- operated to gain political mileage to discredit ODM’s Raila Odinga and his supporters.” -Mahesh R, Kisumu, p.8. Letter, The Standard, Thursday, January 03, 2008 Raila Odinga has publicly stated that he is ready to meet with international mediator and in fact as I write these lines is meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Pentagon House. Earlier this morning Amos Kimunya was interviewed by the BBC and he was quoted as saying that the Kibaki regime does NOT see the need for international mediators because they (PNU) can deal with the matter internally- a claim which is mocked by the ongoing protests. The same Kimunya has accused the international observers as being biased towards ODM after the EU team publicly denounced the anomalies in the tallying of the presidential results. President Kufuor of Ghana, the current AU Chairman was scheduled to be in Kenya today, but the Kibaki regime BLOCKED his coming. Are these guys SERIOUS???! Let us go back to the editorials. This is a passage from the Standard’s: “…Employ a reputable international arbiter, NOT to determine who won the presidential poll, but to work out a road-map that will bring Kenya back from the brink and a mutually acceptable proposition for sharing power…Notwithstanding the inflation of figures in a number of areas, both ODM and PNU garnered 4 million plus votes in the presidential ballot, meaning the country is split right down the middle. The position of President is not vacant. Kibaki was declared President whether or not the presidential ballot was flawed…” -Standard editorial, Thursday, January 03, 2008 It is right in this excerpt that the mask slips to reveal the PNU underbelly of the much ballyhooed “Save Our Country” onslaught. Huh? So we should not “determine who won the presidential poll” eh? How then, dear Standard editors, will we work out a road-map that will bring back Kenya from the brink? Even queasier is the cheesy full page ad by the Concerned Citizens for Peace addressing two men-Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga- to do something. The very content of the ad betrays its elitist, undemocratic character. The 2007 Kenyan civic, parliamentary and presidential polls was a national affair involving MILLIONS of Kenyan citizens. What is happening in Kenya is NOT a PRIVATE FIST FIGHT involving the Othaya and Lang’ata MPs, but rather a NATIONAL CRISIS that has the future of MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS of Kenyan women, children and men at stake. To try and lock out the Kenyan people from an urgent democratic impasse and reduce it to a two man tussle is a grave insult to the Kenyan people. By the way, WHERE is President Kibaki, the apparently “popularly, democratically and fairly elected leader”? >From the look of things right now one would be forgiven if they thought that Major-General Hussein Ali is the acting Head of State with chief government propagandist Dr. Alfred Mutua as his deputy. In the few times I have seen Kibaki he is holed up at State House flanked with senior military officers giving the distinct impression that he is their hostage. It is now approximately 12:15 as I keyboard these lines and reports on the television indicate that there are ongoing skirmishes between the police and pro-ODM youths along Thika Road, Mbagathi Way, Kibera, Eastlands and the City Centre. In other words, there is a minor uprising in Nairobi and not just the capital but also Kakamega, Bungoma, Mombasa, Kisumu and elsewhere. On December 30th I spoke about Kibaki’s Coup. Four days later the presence of police, para-military and military formations underscores my point about the overthrow of democratic rule. What is actually laughable is the phenomenon of a horde of PNU election losers led by Kibaki down to his deputy Awori and FORMER cabinet ministers Tuju, Kombo, Kituyi, Shakombo etc MASQUERADING as a legitimate “government”. Surely, if Kibaki had the mandate that PNU hawks like George Nyamweya claims he has, he should have formed a government by now. He should have by now been addressing his 4.5 million supporters at heavily attended mass rallies by now. Instead, Kibaki skulks stealthily in State House afraid to meet the very Kenyan citizens he claims to lead. Which brings me back to the slogan: “No Justice, No Peace!!” Until we resolve the simple question of who Kenyans actually elected President on December 27, 2007, there WILL BE NO PEACE. In my considered opinion, the SAVE OUR COUNTRY campaign is a slick, dishonest appeal by the pro-Kibaki comprador and petit-bourgeois business elite hoodwinking Kenyans to ACCEPT the fraudulent election results and legitimize criminal PNU’s civilian coup. Why should Kibaki or Raila share power? At the December 27th elections, Kenyans overwhelming voted for a new government: That government is the Orange Democratic Movement led by its flag bearer, Raila Amolo Odinga. Once again I say: NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE! A PEOPLE UNITED, SHALL NEVER BE DEFEATED! AN INJURY TO ONE, IS AN INJURY TO ALL! *Onyango Oloo, a Kenyan political activist and ex political prisoner. *Please send comments to editor(a)pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Comment and analysis CALL FOR URGENT RESOLUTION OF KENYA ELECTORAL CRISIS http://www.petitiononline.com/kenya08/petition.htm We the undersigned call on the ODM and PNU leaders to urgently seek a resolution to the current electoral crisis in the country and restore peace and harmony in the country through leadership. We express our concern at the deteriorating situation in Kenya following what has been widely acknowledged as an impressive election turn-out. We commend the Kenyan people for their dignity and courage but also express our condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and to the many who have been injured in the course of needless violence over the last few days. This is a time for Kenyans to be patient, dignified and to look for solutions that are in the best interest of the majority. We regret the chaos which has caused loss of life, destruction of property and general unrest in the country. The contested outcome has marred the prospects of democracy and peace not only in Kenya but also in Africa. The cloud which hangs over the conclusion of one of the most fiercely-fought elections in Kenya's history is regrettable. We believe that peace should be regained as a matter of urgency so that a free and fair outcome can be reached. We believe that this is not the time for provocative actions, but a time for demonstrating leadership through bringing the contending partners to the table. This crisis can be resolved by the players in disagreement using conciliation and arbitration mechanisms as a matter of urgency to plan a peaceful resolution of the crisis. If necessary, this could be done with the involvement of others such as the African Union and others, such as those who acted as election observers. We urge the contending leaders to act within the spirit of democracy and seek to heal the wounds that have been opened by recent events and to do so in transparent ways. We are aware of the betrayal that many may feel in what they consider to be an electoral injustice. We ask them to engage in the process by seeking explanation and accountability and to be guided by their own sense of civic responsibility. We call on the PNU and ODM leaders to seek conciliation and resolution of the current crisis for the sake of the country. We call for mechanisms for mediation and conciliation to be put in place urgently to give voice to all grievances that have arisen from the present situation in which there can be no winners, only losers. We welcome the mediation processes that have been initiated We call for an immediate ending of violence by the security forces and all other parties. Whilst we recognize that the security forces have a role to play in maintaining peace and order, we condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force by the security forces against unarmed civilians that has been manifest over the last few days. We call for an independent transparent review of the whole electoral process and its outcomes so as to resolve any differences between contesting parties. This should include reviewing the results of the election and all reported irregularities, especially those related to the disparities in the tallying of the final results. We call for a swift formation of an independent and credible Judicial Commission of Enquiry by endorsing the call by the Electoral Commissioners who have called for one. We urge the international community to be patient pending the outcome of such a proposed review process. As it is Kenyans who have to live with the consequences of a Mwai Kibaki or Raila Odinga government, the international community can only follow the recommendations of an independent review before declaring the elections free and fair. We call on those who wish to see a peaceful democratic Kenya, especially in the African Union, to support initiatives that can bring this crisis to a swift conclusion by facilitating dialogue and reconciliation. We are deeply concerned by the gagging of the media, especially as this has only fueled suspicion and encouraged speculation in an already highly volatile situation. Freedom of expression has been one of our greatest democratic prizes won by Kenyans during the last few years and we cannot afford to go backwards. We call for an immediate and unconditional lifting of the reporting ban so as to ensure that Kenyans are able to keep abreast of what is happening. We commend the Kenyan press for the work they have done to keep information flowing. It is precisely in the time of crisis that a free and independent media is essential to ensure a democracy that is based on information not speculation. We urge the international media community to support the Kenyan press during this time and continue promoting the right for a free and independent press especially during such a period. We call on all peace loving people to join us in calling for a swift conclusion to the crisis so that Kenya can return to normality andpeople can continue their lives without fear and anxiety. The petition is now online at http://www.petitiononline.com/kenya08/ petition.html and at the time of going to prese had nearly 800 signatures. Please sign the petition. ****** KENYA’S DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL Mukoma Wa Ngugi On Thursday December 27th 2007, shortly after polling stations were closed, Kenya was hailed as having fulfilled an African dream – to have a free and fair closely contested democratic election. But less than 48 hours later it was clear that the dream of democracy could become a nightmare of ethnic violence. Most of the casualties so far have been the poor and the marginalized – and if things continue as they are, a bitter civil war fought along ethnic lines is certain. To say that what is at stake is the very future of Kenya is not an overstatement. To answer the question of how the promise became a nightmare one must begin with very nature of democracy and how it has been functioning in Africa. The first element to consider is that in the absence of strong democratic institutions (the three pillars of legislature, executive and judiciary), democracies in Africa are relying more and more on the goodwill of politicians: in this case, a nation is only as democratic as its politicians. Added to this, African democracy is in real terms an expression of ethnic tensions. Instead of rolling back tribalism (I use the derisive term deliberately), African democracy serves it. One could say that all democracies have an element of this: in the West it generally goes under the euphemism of voter demographics. When Hilary Clinton is courting the white, black or Latino vote, she is in fact practicing what might, in other circumstances, be called tribal politics. In the Kenyan presidential election, ethnic politics were a key factor in the close election results: the incumbent Mwai Kibaki, a Kikuyu, received very few votes in the Luo areas, while his Luo opponent, Raila Odinga, received only a very small percentage of the Kikuyu vote. In this bitterly contested election where ethnicity was the deciding factor, victory from either side was bound to spill into violence. As a direct result of the above, questions of what true justice means and about the growing divide between haves and have-nots become lost to ethnicity. Raila is a flamboyant millionaire while Kibaki is as elite as you can get in Kenya. Lost in the fires of ethnicity is the simple fact that Kibaki and Raila have much more in common with each other than with their supporters. In this sense those engaged in the violence are, to put it bluntly, proxies in a war between two elite leaders. Another element to consider is the extent to which the landscape of African politics has changed. We need to stop blanket condemnations of African leadership, and acknowledge that it varies and some leaders are better or worse than others. Kibaki, while not a Mandela is not a Moi or a Mobutu, or a Bokassa or an Idi Amin. By the same token the nature of opposition has changed. Since independence and the struggles against neo-colonial governments, opposition has been automatically understood as the legitimate voice of the people. But opposition no longer means the good guys. In many instances the opposition and the sitting government are practically the same as is indeed the case in Kenya. So while Raila is accusing Kibaki of vote- rigging, it could just as easily be Raila trying to rig and short- circuit the democratic process to favor himself. In other words we have no reason to take either of their claims to be true at face- value. In this impasse of two leaders intent on seizing power, respect for the democratic process couldn’t be more important. Toward a solution, Kenyans should realize that something beautiful did happen during this election. Most of the big men of Kenyan politics were voted out of Parliament and hence out of office. Even the sons of former dictator Moi did not win seats in Parliament. There seemed to be a belief that voting was a way of talking back the Kenyan political elite, and that democracy could be made to work for the majority poor. This is the flame that we must not let die. To nurture this flame, a recount of the votes in a transparent manner is necessary. This, no matter what one thinks of Raila or Kibaki, or whether one thinks the elections were fair or not, should be the meeting ground of all those concerned about the future, immediate and long term, of Kenya. If the votes can be recounted in full transparency, this election will not then become the death of Kenyan democracy but rather a test along the way to a democracy with real content – the content of security, equality and justice for Kenya’s majority poor. *Mukoma Wa Ngugi is co-editor of Pambazuka News. A version of this article first appeared at http://blogs.independent.co.uk/openhouse/ 2008/01/kenyas-nightmar.html *Please send comments to editor(a)pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org ****** KENYA ELECTION DOMESTIC OBSERVATION FORUM - PRESS STATEMENT Kenya is bleeding. Kenya is bleeding from a political crisis that has rapidly led to a social and spiritual crisis. We, the Church leaders working together with the leadership of all faiths have been alarmed at the speed and depth this crisis has taken over the last 24 hours. Unless checked, this crisis will plunge Kenya into a complete state of lawlessness, disregard for human rights and the sanctity of life. Three actions could defuse this political crisis. Firstly, the outcome of the recently concluded Presidential and Parliamentary elections requires a quick and comprehensive political resolution. The Church as part of KEDOF endorses KEDOF’s statement – “ in our view, considering the entire process, the 2007 General Elections were credible in as far as the voting and counting process is concerned. The electoral process lost credibility towards the end with regard to the tallying and announcement of presidential results” We have considered the opinion of the Members of the Electoral Commission and international observer groups. In our opinion, the Government, in close consultation with all the parties who fielded Presidential and Parliamentary candidates should immediately establish a credible process for the establishment of an Independent Commission. This Commission will seek the transparent verification of tallies for the concerned constituencies. All parties must start by committing themselves to acting on the outcome verification by the Independent Commission. Secondly, we urge the leaders of the three major political parties to meet and dialogue. Their political leadership at this critical hour is central to saving lives. Over the last 24 hours, we have lost at least five lives every hour, with scores of other men, women and children injured, scared, displaced and vulnerable to attacks by fellow Kenyans. We call upon leaders who contested Parliamentary seats – both those that won and those that lost to jointly and urgently address their constituencies within the next few days. We urge the mass media to continue to support the cause of peace. Thirdly, while we appreciate the efforts of the uniformed forces to stop lawlessness and we acknowledge the challenge that they have to protect all civilians we call upon them to establish corridors of safety. Such corridors of peace are critical for restoring access to food, shelter, crisis centres and other basic needs to which we as a faith community are committed to assist in providing. The ability to communicate during a period of national crisis cannot be gainsaid. While we deplore the use of these media for ethnic hate speech, attempting to block these avenues will be counter-productive. It will block also the flow of information that is required for identifying and reaching people at risk. We consequently call upon the state to lift the ban on live broadcasts. While calling on the Government, political parties and other non- state actors to take these actions, we realise that the future of Kenya is in the hands of the Kenyan people. We therefore call upon all Kenyans to immediately cease the violence that is occurring in our towns, villages and communities. We commit ourselves to monitor and quickly respond to the humanitarian needs of all Kenyans regardless of their religion, ethnicity, gender and political affiliation. God bless Kenya. * Kenya Election Domestic Observation Forum (KEDOF) is a partnership representing Kenyan Civil Society Networks (and faith-based organisations) in establishing a common platform for domestic election observation programme 2007. * * Please send comments to editor(a)pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/ ****** NEWS ROUND-UP ON RECENT EVENTS IN KENYA Izzy Birch This brief list of useful links is provided to help our readers keep up to date. LINKS FROM 3 JANUARY 2008 In this AllAfrica blog Brian Kennedy lists the wide range of those who now question the results of Kenya’s 2007 presidential election, including foreign governments, election monitoring missions, and the Electoral Commission of Kenya itself. He also refers to reports that the Kenyan police, who were deployed to guard the 36,000 polling stations across the country, kept records of the results and that their tally is said to differ from what the ECK announced: http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030150.html The Economist has described the result as a meticulously planned ‘civil coup’, stating that the decision to return Mwai Kibaki to office was made not by the Kenyan people but by a group of hardline Kikuyu leaders. Although the report states that their instinct will now be to use the security services to reverse basic freedoms, ‘it is not clear that Kenya will stand for it’: http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10422157 Amos Wako, Kenya’s Attorney General, has called for an independent and immediate investigation into the disputed presidential election result, acknowledging that it has been widely questioned, including by the Chair of the Electoral Commission of Kenya itself: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp? category_id=1&newsid=113857 The ECK Chair, Samuel Kivuitu, has given details of the inconsistencies in the constituency tallies of the presidential votes, which include altered figures from certain constituencies and the improper submission of documentation: http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030025.html The leader of the Pan-African Movement Observers Mission, Stephen Othieno, also criticised the ECK at a press conference in Kampala. The Mission sent 41 observers to Kenya who were not permitted to observe the process in its entirety – specifically the final tally. Mr Othieno also criticised the limited time made available for verification of the voters’ register prior to polling day, and biased coverage by some media houses: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/604750 ODM leaders have called for an internationally constituted and recognised body to examine the election results, on the grounds that the Electoral Commission of Kenya had failed in its duties and can not be trusted: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp? category_id=2&newsid=113845 The Kenya Human Rights Commission has called on Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who arrived in Kenya on 3 January, to oversee a recount. Professor Makau Mutua, chair of the KHRC, appealed for calm, dialogue and statesmanship from Kenya’s political leaders: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979846&cid=159 The Law Society of Kenya has declared its intention to make a legal challenge to Mwai Kibaki’s re-election. Lawyers and other civil society organisations, including Kituo Cha Sheria, have also called for the immediate resignation of Samuel Kivuitu and the ECK Commissioners: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979876&cid=4 The head of the Commonwealth Observer Group, Dr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, has decided to stay on in Kenya to support mediation efforts. The Group’s departure statement on 2 January noted that ‘delays in the announcement of the results raised questions about the integrity of the final phase of the election process’: http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030533.html http://www.thecommonwealth.org/document/174034/ kenya_elections_2007___departure_statement_by_the.htm A group of business, religious and cultural leaders delivered an open letter to all three presidential candidates, calling for an independent and transparent review of the whole electoral process and its outcomes, as well as personal and collective leadership that delivers a swift conclusion to the crisis in the best interests of the country: Add link Daudi Were writes in his blog of the shocking speed with which Kenya slid into violence. ‘The aim of this post is not to explore the issues around the issues but to highlight that there is a sophisticated and dedicated response to the crisis in our country’: http://www.mentalacrobatics.com/think/ Moody Awori, the Vice-President, appealed for calm and stated that the government was willing to enter into dialogue with the ODM leadership. Raila Odinga reiterated his position that any dialogue must be based on acceptance that the elections were compromised: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp? category_id=1&newsid=113833 Demonstrators who responded to the ODM’s call to attend a rally in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park on 3 January were met with tear gas and water cannon. ODM has now postponed the rally until 8 January. Archbishop Desmond Tutu arrived in Kenya on 3 January to help mediate in the crisis, while plans for the visit of the African Union President John Kafuor have reportedly been cancelled: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7169720.stm The Kenya Red Cross Society estimates (3 January) that at least 100,000 people require immediate assistance in the northern Rift Valley alone. Confirmed country-wide statistics are not yet available. John Holmes, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, emphasised the responsibility of Kenya’s political leaders to protect the lives and livelihoods of innocent people, and deplored the recent increase in gender-based violence: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-7AHNQP? OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=ken Another report from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs describes the situation of displaced people in Kericho and Kisumu, many of whom lack basic supplies of water, food and medicine: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-7AHMGT? OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=ken Newspaper reports from around the East African region illustrate the impact of the crisis in Kenya on its landlocked neighbours. Fuel prices in Uganda have soared due to the shortage of fuel and the actions of speculators; bus fares in Kampala have in some places doubled. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/604747 http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/ Fuel_crisis_is_big_lesson_for_us.shtml http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/ 155_fuel_tankers_on_the_way_to_Uganda_-_govt.shtml Traders in Rwanda are concerned at both the shortage of fuel and the prospect of being unable to restock from the suppliers in Kenya on whom they rely: http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=1398&article=3293 Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper emphasises the inter-dependence of the East African economies and the threat posed by the violence in Kenya to the future stability and prosperity of the East African Community: http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/newz.php?id=2294 LINKS FROM 2 JANUARY Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called on the Kenyan government to abide by its international human rights obligations in responding to demonstrations and to allow journalists to carry out their work freely. She also emphasised the responsibility to use only peaceful means of protest: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx Humanitarian situation: On 2 January AFP reported that 306 people had died in politically related violence since polling day. Although the violence has been countrywide, the area most seriously affected has been Western Kenya. AFP reported the Director of the Kenya Red Cross Society as saying that around 70,000 people had been displaced in the area. Aerial video footage by the KRCS shows hundreds of houses and farms set on fire and roadblocks every 10kms: http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/080102073900.kf169jow.html A report from the Human Rights House Network describes the attack on the church near Eldoret in which at least 35 people were killed. Water and food for those displaced in churches and public buildings are running short, and travel in the area is highly dangerous: http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=6149 Reports from Kenyan religious and humanitarian organisations issued on 2 January state that 15000 people have been displaced in Eldoret, 700 in Kitale, 1000 in Nakuru, 500 in Kakamega, 500 in Kisumu, 200 in Siaya, 50 in Likoni, 6000 in Burnt Forest, 60 in Migori, 5000 in Dandora, and 560 in Mumias. People are taking shelter in schools, churches, mosques, police stations and other public buildings. The Kenya Red Cross, in a bulletin dated 1 January, reported that over 100,000 people had been affected or displaced countrywide, 120 reported dead, and over 1000 confirmed injured: http://www.kenyaredcross.org/highlights.php?newsid=61&subcat=1 The Regional UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) published police figures released on 1 January of 143 people killed across five Provinces (Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, Nairobi, and Coast). It adds that these are confirmed cases and that the real number may be higher. The main obstacle to delivering assistance is the number of roadblocks set up by vigilante groups: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MUMA-7AG3X8?OpenDocument Reliable sources report 30 roadblocks between Eldoret and Nakuru. The Uganda Red Cross reported on 1 January that 550 Kenyans have fled to Uganda, although officials believe that ‘thousands more’ have settled with friends and relatives: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/604566 The Nation reported on 2 January that 16 people had been killed at the Coast, while violent incidents had occurred in Taveta, Diani and Kilifi Town: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp? category_id=1&newsid=113768 Reliable sources report that travel outside Mombasa is currently very difficult due to numerous road blocks. Uganda’s New Vision reports on the killings in Eldoret, and gives a nationwide death toll closer to 300. It refers to tensions in Garissa, North-Eastern Province, emphasising again the widespread nature of the crisis: http://www.newvision.co.ug/PA/8/12/604563 Dr Dan Ojwang, a Kenyan academic based in South Africa, criticises media coverage of the crisis and argues that it has deeper and more complex roots. ‘Let the world know the truth’, he writes, ‘that members of almost all Kenyan ethnic communities are being killed and not just Kikuyu supporters of President Mwai Kibaki’s illegitimate government’. Add url Political situation: A report from the Human Rights House Network on 31 December, based on coverage in the Kenyan press as well as interviews with several human rights defenders in Nairobi, captures the breadth and severity of the political crisis, in terms of the heavy-handed security response, the infringement of media freedoms, and the prospect of an even more powerful presidency: http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=6138 Ken Opalo, a Kenyan blogger, laments the failure of leadership, and calls on both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga to ‘act like the statesmen they claim to be’: http://kenopalo.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/kenya-quickly-degenerating- into-an-african-statistic/ The BBC reported on 2 January the accusations being traded by both sides. Asked if he would urge his supporters to calm down, Raila Odinga reportedly refused to be asked ‘to give the Kenyan people an anaesthetic so that they can be raped’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7167363.stm The preliminary report from the European Union Election Observation Mission detailed discrepancies in the tallied results from certain constituencies. ‘A lack of adequate transparency and security measures in the process of relaying the results from local to national level questioned the integrity of the final results: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979838 The Chair of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Samuel Kivuitu, admitted on 1 January that he announced the results of the presidential election under pressure from some PNU and ODM-Kenya leaders. According to a report in the Standard, he said that ‘We are culprits as a Commission. We have to leave it to an independent group to investigate what actually went wrong’: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979833 Four ECK commissioners on 31 December called for an independent judicial review of the presidential tallies. The Kenya National Commission of Human Rights regretted that the commissioners hadn’t raised their concerns before the result was announced, but expressed its support for an independent review: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143979828&cid=159 Francis Atwoli, the Secretary General of the umbrella workers’ union COTU, is quoted as saying that the crisis is politically instigated and thus can only be solved by political means. In the same press report the government’s spokesman, Alfred Mutua, states that the military has been deployed to various parts of the country ‘to assist in averting a humanitarian crisis’: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp? category_id=1&newsid=113789 The deputy managing director of Safaricom confirmed that the company had received a request from the Ministry of Internal Security to ‘desist from sending or forwarding any SMS that may cause public unrest’, and that this had been forwarded to its subscribers: http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200801020003.html The head of the Commonwealth’s election observer team in Kenya, former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone, has now met all three leaders (Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka). Kenya’s Daily Nation reports that a joint statement may be imminent: http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp? category_id=1&newsid=113785 Muslim, Christian and Hindu leaders at the Coast made a joint appeal to political leaders to restore calm and seek reconciliation, and called for the situation to be resolved through legal channels: http://www.eastandard.net/electionplatform/index.php?id=1143979770 At the international level, the US and British foreign secretaries issued a joint statement on 2 January urging political compromise and noting the responsibility on all sides to maintain the political process: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1199196127097 http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,,2234121,00.html ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Letters ON THE REUTERS LEAD STORY ENTITLED “KIBAKI ACCUSES RIVALS OF ETHNIC CLEANSING” (Mail & Guardian Online 02 January 2008) It is the responsibility of newspapers to report news as they see or hear it. However, I am apprehensive that this kind of equivocal and manipulated news-reporting (in the context of a slow media blockade) will simply buy the regime in Kenya time to launder its image in the midst of a crisis it has deliberately fuelled. The brewing genocide in Kenya has got a long and complicated history. The Kenyan government spin-doctor, Dr Alfred Mutua, has not even begun to scratch on the surface of what is truly going on. Kenya has a long history of internecine violence choreographed by ruling regimes that have always tried to protect their ill-gotten wealth by using ‘tribe’, and even ‘race’ as in the case of the colonial regime, as their alibi. As exiled Kenyan anti-corruption official John Githongo said not too long ago, “corruption always fights back.” Having “vomited all over our shoes” after a corruption binge and having unleashed murder on a scale we have never seen before, they now parade as our protectors. As the late JM Nazareth would have put it, we raia have become “sheep delivered to the fangs of wolves by constituting the wolves the shepherds of the sheep.” There are many in the Kibaki cabinet and others in opposition parties who are known to have muttered what, under the South African constitution, would be termed hate speech. Many of them have worked for the state at points in history when major public figures such as Dr Robert Ouko, Bishop Alexander Kipsang Muge, Pio Gama Pinto, JM Kariuki, Tom Mboya, Dr Odhiambo Mbai and others were killed on the grounds of their political beliefs or ethnic roots. Others kept quiet when state-sponsored militias spread mayhem in Western Kenya in the early 1990s in order to stop the enactment of multi-partyism. I know for a fact a number of public figures in the current mess who violently speared effigies of then exiled Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, in the late 1980s. There are others who sat back, laughed or kept quiet when state thugs were unleashed on Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Prof Wangari Maathai and politician Paul Muite in the early 1990s. Yet others took oaths of ethnic-elite solidarity, sold to the public as a defence of ethnic rights, when massacres and inter-party repression rocked Kenya in the late-1960s. It would be naïve in the extreme to expect that they have all of a sudden developed a conscience. Beware of how many Kenyan politicians will in the coming days make a show of appealing to universal values of liberty, human rights, ad nauseum, when their conduct has been consistently illiberal and complicit in crimes against humanity. Beware especially of the diplomatic ones who will speak in pious Oxfordian tones in order that they may seem less violent than others. Beware of the suave, slick types who could never hurt a fly; they don’t need to for they have snuffed many human lives. As Hannah Arendt discovered when she did research for Eichmann in Jerusalem: The Banality of Evil, her masterful summary of the career and trial of the Nazi operative, mass murderers do not sport horns on their foreheads. They are often very ordinary ‘family men’. Investigate, investigate, investigate! Let the world know the truth that members of almost all Kenyan ethnic communities are being killed and not just Kikuyu supporters of President Mwai Kibaki’s illegitimate government as the news-report insinuates. Government sponsored thugs and mercenaries cut the water and power supply to Kisumu (an opposition stronghold) at a time when a cholera outbreak is clearly imminent. Over 100 people have been killed in Kisumu, many of them shot in the back by paramilitary forces. There have been reports of cholera in greater South Nyanza and this will spread to major urban centres on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria. Massive starvation is also imminent in the face of a ban on fishing (a consequence of the cholera outbreak). All major urban areas and rural settlements in all parts of the country are under severe threat, from Busia to Mombasa, thanks to the purveyors of spreadsheet democracy. A government that consorts with known international criminals cannot presume to lecture Kenyans on human rights. Kenyans at home and in the diaspora have to admit that it is our collective silence in the face of extreme repression at key moments in our history that has led to this crisis. Giving airtime to saber- rattlers, spin-doctors and latter-day Goebbels will not help, but a little investigative journalism just might. The horses of the East African apocalypse may just have been unleashed. The truth must come out. However, our immediate duty now is not to dig in with specific accusations against politicians, but to work out a solution. Only a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and clear rules for power-sharing will help us in the end. Do not fail East Africa, for the region could implode! Sincerely, Dr Dan Ojwang Head, African Literature University of the Witwatersrand ****** RESPONSE TO NGUGI WA THIONG'O'S ANALYSIS OF KENYA Rose Ochwada Anyone who knows Ngugi will appreciate that Ngugi does not consider any other Kenyan a worthy leader unless they are Kikuyu. This article is a veiled attack on ODM and an endorsement of Kibaki leadership (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/45051) What is sad is that Ngugi fails to mention the fact that Kibaki failed to make the promised new constitution a reality, leading to the fallout with many in his cabinet and the consequent creation of the Orange Movement. He also surprisingly fails to condemn the new found reliance of Kibaki on Moi for political survival and what this means to all Kenyans who fought for the second liberation. He cannot bring himself to acknowledge Raila Odinga's fight to demoncracy over the past 30 odd years. He can only praise the role of 'Mau Mau' which we all know was a tribal organisation fighting for return of land to the Kikuyu. If not then can he tell me of a single non-Kikuyu who was a Mau-Mau?? I personaly have nothing against the Kikuyu per se. I only get annoyed at people like Ngugi who use their International fame to fight a tribal cause under the guise of an intellectual discussion. When he talks of economic progress, can he honestly quote an instance where a resident of Mathare or Kibera slums who can testify to a real change in their lives due to the 'economic changes' of the last 5 years? Or is he just quoting the 'infamous' 6% growth that Kimunya and Co keep going on about while stealing from the public through 'Anglo-Leasing? I have never been a fan of Ngugi even in the Moi era, I am less of a fan now with his clear hypocrisy and obviouse tribal agenda. ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 African Union Monitor AU MONITOR WEEKLY ROUNDUP Issue 118, 2007 http://www.aumonitor.org/ This week's AU Monitor brings you updates from the African Union, where Cuban Vice President Estaban Lazo Hernandez recently held discussions with Commissioner Konare. The two leaders agreed to improve political and socioeconomic links between the African Union and Cuba and enhance Cuban solidarity for the development of the African continent. Further, Nadia Ahmadou provides analysis about the African Union's commitment to human right's and governance on the continent, encouraging the commission to match its statements with action by creating " a consolidated and coherent institutional approach to the standards regarding human rights, as contained within its Constitutive Act". A memorandum of understanding between the United Nations' Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and three European countries was signed recently. The new business plan for 2007-2009 will allocate $12 million to numerous gender, trade, and governance activities. In regional news, the South African Development Community (SADC) reflects on 2007 and examines developments and shortcomings of its member states activities while also highlighting the various challenges to regional integration. In peace and security news, the full deployment of peacekeeping troops in the Darfur region has been delayed further still. Of the issues contributing to the delay, amongst the largest is the Sudanese governments' insistence that only African troops be deployed to the region, asking that the UN and other international structures provide control and command support. Lastly, the final communiqué from the 42nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is now available. ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice http://www.fahamu.org © Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. For further details see: http:// www.pambazuka.org/en/about.php Pambazuka news can be viewed online: http://www.pambazuka.org/ RSS Feeds available at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/newsfeed.php Pambazuka News is published with the support of a number of funders, details of which can be obtained at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/ about.php To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE go to: http://pambazuka.gn.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pambazuka-news or send a message to editor(a)pambazuka.org with the word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line as appropriate. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Pambazuka News or Fahamu. ISSN 1753-6839

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How Secure is the ECK data?
by John Walubengo 04 Jan '08

04 Jan '08

Based on the current impasse at ECK, I cant help sharing an article I send to the media 4weeks before the elections and it never got the attention it may have deserved... walu. ~~~~~starts~~~~ How Secure is the ECK data? (Late Nov 2007) Recently, there was the verbal exchange between politicians and the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) about whether or not the Voters Register was being tampered with at ECK, Headquarters Anniversary Towers. Rather than debating on who is lying and who is not, it is better to take a nationalistic and objective view by asking How Secure is the ECK data? The Voters Register and the subsequent Polling Data is, or should be categorised as a critical national resource and must be accorded the appropriate levels of protection from various threats. Any mismanagement of this data would compromise the peaceful existence of the Kenyan state as we know it today. Typical threats facing this data would arise from circumstances that can compromise the Confidentiality, Integrity Availability and Non-Repudability of the ECK data. Data or information is said to be Confidential if it is secured against un-authorised access. Indeed most of the ECK data is by nature public information such as the Voters Register but there must be some data that should be kept confidential since it may be used maliciously if placed in the wrong hands. To what extend has ECK put in place processes and systems to ensure that confidential data remains confidential? The Integrity of data is an aspect of whether the ECK data is secured against illegal changes. In other words, does ECK have systems or controls in place that can prevent, detect and correct un-authorised changes to the Voters Registers or the Polling Data? Are these controls effective and more importantly, are these controls regularly tested? Availability of data refers to its capacity to be delivered where and when it is needed by its stakeholders. You can imagine, if the voting was done, the tallying completed and then ECK was unable to announce the results because of a computer or more commonly hard-disk failure. Speculations arising from the delayed announcement of election results during those critical hours after the elections could make or break this nation irrespective of whether the delay was valid or otherwise. Non-repudability of data refers to the capacity to prove beyond reasonable doubt, the origin of data. Within the context of ECK, this may be important particularly during this year when ECK is adopting modern communication technologies to receive, relay and query their data. Assuming the Returning Officers would be sending in their Polling data via SMS, Internet, Telephone or even Fax are there systems in place to prove that indeed the incoming data is originating from the official and not impersonated sources? In the interest of the public, ECK must take the necessary precautions to protect its information from the above threats. Similarly, ECK must be seen or should demonstrate publicly that they have indeed done due diligence to provide the necessary security with respect to the safety of their data. In developed economies, the laws and regulations require that critical data of national importance must be subjected to regular Information Systems Audits along the same spirit as that of carrying out regular Financial Audits. Despite the lack of compelling legislation to do an Information Systems Audit, ECK can decide to act in the interest of the Public and engage professional Information Systems Auditors to execute an Information Systems Audit on their critical data and related processes. Such an exercise, if it has not already been done, may be the only weapon to silence the reckless politicians who will keep suspecting the integrity of the ECK data to the detriment of this nation. J. Walubengo Mr. Walubengo is a Lecturer at the Kenya College of Communications Technologies (KCCT) and a Board Member, Information Systems Audit & Control Association (ISACA). ~~~ends~~~~ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Freedom is the right of all sentient beings...
by Michael Kipsang Bullut 04 Jan '08

04 Jan '08

Brethren, If I could add my two cents & a penny for your thoughts on this quandary... I'd like to start off by saying of how proud I am of my fellow youth. All of you! Our turnout during the general election was honourable but I beseech us not to give up despite its outcome. We're young, we've much to learn & endure but remember the goodness we saw in one another before the 27th of December. Don't deny one another the freedom to life in the name of supporting an elite who don't give a damn about us. Both Kibaki & Raila don't deserve to govern this country. Kibaki rigged his way into a second term & Raila hasn't asked his supporters to cool down 'coz peace doesn't support his cause & he's hoping the mayhem will give His Excellency a crisis of conscience that'll see him step down thus enabling him ascend to the Presidency. We're all created uniquely & it's with this uniqueness that each of us brings something diffrerent to the national table: *intellect, strength of character, athletic prowess* etc but we're all equal in at least one way, each of us is willing to make the sacrifices a Kenyan needs to make, even the ultimate one. We all possess gifts & abilities that no one else has & let's use them to rebuild our motherland despite the losses we've incurred during the general election & its aftermath however long it'll take 'coz we ain't going anywhere. Don't forget to pray for hope & the restoration of peace. Our beloved Kenya: *"Land of the Free, Home of the Brave..."* Kind regards, Michael. *-- "To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower...hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour..." ~ William Blakeg. --*

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Call from St. Marks Church -Westlands Women Group
by Alex Gakuru 04 Jan '08

04 Jan '08

Dear All, I received an anonymous sms this morning whose message I am happy to share with you, it said: ---- "Concerned women of Kenya are urgently appealing for support to help displaced families who need clothes, water, diapers, personal hygiene, baby formula and feeding bottles, utensils, beddings,crutches, toys. Please support, drop itesm at St. Marks Church, along Waiyaki Way, Westlands Friday Between 10 am - 4 pm. Please forward. Every minute counts!" ---- Thank you Alex

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[Fwd: Sambaza Amani]
by alice 03 Jan '08

03 Jan '08

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Sambaza Amani Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 12:52:39 +0300 (EAT) From: Silverscreen Pictures <ssp(a)silverscreen.co.ke> To: alice(a)apc.org Dear All, What we have witnessed over the last few days infuriates those that cherish peace and would like to practice competitive objective politics. The political posturing over the year has now degenerated to scenes that are akin to ethnic cleansing!!!!!!!. I doubt if the genuine political players had this in their agenda. what do the children have to do with fight for the top????? Honestly as Kenyans we need to rethink our priorities, and have a massive civic and political education put in place to enable us respect THE SANCTITY OF LIFE and the right of everyone to be on the other side of the political divide. Ingolo wa keya Silverscreen Pictures.

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Praying for Your Safety!
by Janet Feldman 03 Jan '08

03 Jan '08

Dear Friends, Just a short note to this list, to say that all of us outside the country are with you in spirit, sending our hopes and prayers for your safety and well-being, and for the restoration of a peaceful approach to the resolution of issues related to the election. Please communicate when you can to let us know you are OK, and in the meantime, know we are thinking of you, and extend to everyone our support, caring, and concern. With blessings and appreciation to and for you all, Janet (Feldman, KAIPPG International, kaippg(a)earthlink.net )

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[Fwd: Re: [civilsociety] Using ICTs to advocate for peace (SAMBAZA AMANI).]
by alice 02 Jan '08

02 Jan '08

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [civilsociety] Using ICTs to advocate for peace (SAMBAZA AMANI). Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 11:24:57 +0300 From: Wainaina Mungai <wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org> To: alice <alice(a)apc.org> CC: mediaeditors(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke, media(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke, civilsociety(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke In the words of a mwananchi interviewed on K24, SAMBAZA AMANI. So in support of Alice, can we build on this SAMBAZA AMANI campaign? Any other takers? move from On 1/1/08, *alice* <alice(a)apc.org <mailto:alice@apc.org>> wrote: Dear all Our dear country has been referred to as "An African exception and role model, a beacon of hope". "We are known for upholding peace, for our our cohesiveness, stability, being a reliable neighbor and our ability to ignore politicians whims" So it is really sad and frustrating to witness the current situation being manipulated and inflamed. And most of all sadness as what these events mean for us the Kenyan people. In a number of countries and situations, communication technologies have been used to advocate for issues including gender equality among others. Perhaps we could use the same to bring Kenyans together. To advocate for peace, to sell Kenya to Kenyans and to remind ourselves that our country has had one of the highest and best profiles in Africa and we cannot afford to throw that away. peaceful 2008 My comments are entirely personal and do not reflect any position of the organisations I am affiliated with. alice _______________________________________________ civilsociety mailing list civilsociety(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:civilsociety@lists.kictanet.or.ke> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/civilsociety <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/civilsociety> This message was sent to: wainaina(a)madeinkenya.org <mailto:wainaina@madeinkenya.org> Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/civilsociety/wainaina%40madeink… -- Made in Kenya Network P. O. Box 72031 - 00200 Nairobi. Kenya Tel: +254-20-780669 Cel: +254-722-811171 www.madeinkenya.org <http://www.madeinkenya.org>

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Vendors go online to enhance data service
by Bill Kagai 02 Jan '08

02 Jan '08

Written by Emmanuel Were *December 24, 2008: * http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5053&Item… >From the comfort of his office, Mr George Njoroge, a stocks agent, follows the "live" proceedings of trading at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), thanks to the data vending services introduced early this year. "I can follow the proceedings of the trading from my office," says Mr Njoroge. Sometimes when the Internet is slow he is forced to visit the NSE auditorium, where the public are updated by the minute via a projector screen. His experience sums up the development of data vending where some gains have been made albeit with several challenges as the service took shape this year. Before its introduction, the public had to wait until the close of trade to obtain the price list. All these developments have been brought about by the resurgence in the stock market evidenced by a series of Initial Public Offers (IPOs). The landmark listing of Safaricom, East Africa's most profitable company, is expected to shift stock market activity into top gear next year. Six data vendors were licensed by the NSE as trading metamorphosed from the open outcry system to the Automated Trading System (ATS). The introduction of the Wide Area Network (WAN) sets it a step away from full integration of online trading. Shareholders in towns such as Embu, Meru, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu can follow live, the trading from the Nairobi Stock Exchange, the epicentre of the stock market. Stockbrokers who opened branches in these towns benefit as well. Not to be left behind also are Kenyans in the diaspora. "The excitement at the beginning was excellent and we managed to get good numbers of subscribers who have sustained our business up to date," says Mr Bildad Kagai, Managing Director, MediaCorp Limited one of the licensed data vendors. Data vendors have to invest a one- off sum of Sh170, 000 (US$ 2,700 at the current exchange rate) payable to the NSE, for a licence. Other costs include an Internet connection costing about Sh50,000 a month while running costs are estimated at about Sh350, 000 bringing total monthly costs to about Sh400, 000. "We have spent a lot of money in the last nine months but with poor returns," said Mr Kagai in an interview, putting the estimated costs in that period at Sh4 million. The cost element was one of the challenges that beset the data vendors in what initially appeared as a quick return avenue. Aly Satchu of Rich Management, another data vendor says: "My greatest challenge as that of drowning out the propaganda and elevating the debate and finally creating a platform for us all to make consistently superior returns." He adds that there is a need to educate the public about investing. In October, this year, there was uproar from some of the retail investors who read mischief as the NSE auditorium was closed for a day in what the exchange authorities attributed to ongoing renovations, only for them to succumb to pressure to reopen it the following day. Many retail investors want live streaming of data and information, few neither understand it nor put it to use. The live data has three main boards: Normal, Prompt and Odd boards. An Investor can tell the number of shares of the listed companies being sold and what is available for sale. Retail investors form the largest base of subscribers to the live data with an annual subscription of Sh6, 000. In an earlier interview, Mr Robert Maoga, CEO of Eight Limited, said there was limited appreciation of data vending services because many investors are still speculative in nature and are yet to grasp the fundamentals. "We've received a better response from the corporates so we're gearing our products toward that market segment," Mr Maoga said. "Responsibility has been left to us to build an acceptable product for the customer," he says. To break the cost barrier, the data vendors have had to be innovative in their approach and maximise and capture a large part of the crowd. "Users of our services have different levels of sophistication and varying investment objectives. Diverse products will add more value to our customers," said Mr Symon Ndirangu , chief executive Information Convergence Technologies, a data vending service provider in an earlier interview. While contending that many people were not aware of data vending services , Mr Ndirangu told the Business Daily that the responses his firm had received from current users had led them to structure new products that suit varying investor objectives and needs. Data vendors, in a bid to lure the retail market have broken down the charges with daily, monthly and yearly subscription. For a low as Sh100, one can have access to some of the data vending sites. The start of the NSE's Wide Area Network comes with a promise of increased online trading as the transactions will now be online. The extension of the trading hours for three extra hours, as trading commences at 09:00 and closes at 15:00hrs during weekdays is likely to bring increased participation. Work on the submarine cables which will enable cheaper and faster Internet connectivity is set to step into top gear next year and come to a conclusion in 2009 hence broadening the clientele base for the vendors as more people get online. Digital villages which are to be set up, by the Ministry of Information and Communication in 2008 will provide an opportunity for the data vendors to provide service. "We expect to make a good profit in the next 12 months now that Kenyans have realised the value of data and information when investing in the Nairobi Stock Exchange," says Mr Kagai. But he adds that this will only be possible if the number of vendors remains at 6 data vendors servicing clients from 18 brokers. "The numbers look workable" says Mr Kagai. -- -- 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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[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Lithium Batteries Banned From Checked Bags]
by alice 02 Jan '08

02 Jan '08

(Apologies for crossposting) Lithium Batteries Banned From Checked Bags http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205206086 The international rule is intended to lessen the risk of lithium battery fires on airplanes. By Elena Malykhina, InformationWeek Dec. 31, 2007 URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205206086 Starting Jan. 1, airline passengers will no longer be allowed to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage, the U.S. Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration warned late last week. Instead, passengers will be required to take loose batteries with them in carry-on baggage, packed in plastic bags. The new regulation, which will go into effect in order to lessen the risk of lithium battery fires, won't apply to lithium batteries that are already installed in electronic devices, such as laptops, cell phones, and cameras. Those can be checked in. Additionally, only two spare rechargeable lithium batteries will be allowed on airplanes per passenger in carry-on bags. The international rule will become U.S. law on Tuesday. "Doing something as simple as keeping a spare battery in its original retail packaging or a plastic zip-lock bag will prevent unintentional short-circuiting and fires," said Krista Edwards, deputy administrator of the PHMSA, in a statement. The administration is treating lithium batteries as hazardous materials since they're known for overheating and catching fire in some conditions. Tests conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration show that aircraft cargo fire suppression systems on airplanes are incapable of containing fires caused by nonrechargeable lithium batteries packaged in bulk quantities. A small fire source is enough to ignite a lithium battery. The outer plastic coating can melt easily and fuse neighboring batteries together to increase the intensity of the fire, according to a June 2004 report published by the Office of Aviation Research. In a situation where a lithium battery ignites in carry-on baggage, flight crews can better monitor the fire since they have access to fire extinguishers. There have been several instances in the past year that have raised red flags about lithium batteries. In October, a resident of Douglasville, Ga., claimed that his Apple iPod nano caught fire in his pocket. The iPod nano uses a lithium ion battery, which packs higher power density than a nickel-based battery. Toshiba in June reported that a Sony lithium battery was responsible for a notebook computer bursting into flames. Since August 2006, Apple, Dell, Lenovo, and Toshiba have recalled lithium batteries used in notebook computers manufactured by Sony. Copyright (c) 2007 CMP Media LLC _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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[Fwd: [At-Large] AAAA records to be added for root servers]
by alice 31 Dec '07

31 Dec '07

On 4 February 2008, IANA will add AAAA records for the IPv6 addresses of the four root servers whose operators have requested it. A technical analysis of inserting IPv6 records into the root has been done by a joint working group of ICANN's Root Server System Advisory Committee and Security and Stability Advisory Committee, a report of which can be found at http://www.icann.org/committees/security/ sac018.pdf. Network operators should take whatever steps they feel appropriate to prepare for the inclusion of AAAA records in response to root queries. More information will be posted to the IANA web site during January. Regards, Barbara Roseman IANA General OperationsManager ICANN _______________________________________________ ALAC mailing list ALAC(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org At-Large Official Site: http://www.alac.icann.org ALAC Independent: http://www.icannalac.org

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An African exception and role model by Jeevan Vasagar, Monday December 31, 2007, , Guardian
by alice 31 Dec '07

31 Dec '07

Why it matters ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *An African exception and role model**Jeevan Vasagar* *Monday December 31, 2007* *Guardian* A few years ago, Kenya's government sponsored a competition to invent a new national dress. Ministers hoped citizens would trade their buttoned-up western suits for the slashed collar and cape of the "Kenyan cloak" and forge a unified national identity in the process. Kenyans, who knew better, rejected the fancy dress en masse, preferring to get on with the more urgent business of putting food on their family's tables. The episode was a reminder of why Kenya is an African exception. In a region awash with trouble, it is an island of stability - its people renowned for pragmatism, cohesiveness and their ability to ignore their rulers' whims. By contrast, neighbouring Sudan recently ended a civil war in the south only to confront a new crisis in Darfur, Uganda has suffered years of conflict at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army and Somalia remains a basket case. Since independence in 1963, Kenya has not been troubled by bloodshed on a comparable scale. Instead, it has acted as an honest broker in peace talks - Sudan's southern peace deal was signed in the lakeside town of Naivasha. It is a base station for aid agencies and a haven for refugees. Kakuma in northern Kenya is one of Africa's biggest refugee camps, home to some 90,000 people. Unlike Zimbabwe, its postcolonial rulers did not turn on the whites. Unlike Uganda, they did not kick out the Asians. Kenya's ethnic diversity has been an unexpected strength. Although the Kikuyu, President Mwai Kibaki's tribe, accounts for a fifth of the population and has traditionally had the loudest voice, no single ethnic group has been strong enough to tyrannise the others. There is plenty of tribal friction, as well as tensions between Christians and the Muslim minority, but this has never brewed the havoc seen elsewhere. In recent years, Kenya has been a political role model. One of former president Daniel arap Moi's few decent deeds was to leave office gracefully after losing the 2002 election. Government sleaze continues, but corruption no longer paralyses the economy as it did under Moi. Public life has opened up. The basement of Nyayo House, in the centre of the capital, Nairobi, no longer houses torture chambers. Unlike many Africans, Kenyans can laugh at their leaders. When the first lady, Lucy Kibaki, stormed into a newspaper office to complain at its coverage, she became a laughing stock as comedians donned drag and a towering frizzy wig to parody her. Kenya's economy is one of Africa's best. Its highlands are blessed with the ideal blend of sunshine and cool altitude for growing tea, coffee and flowers - it's the world's biggest exporter of tea and supplies Britain with many of its Valentine's Day roses. It has a hardworking, educated workforce, many of whom speak good English, thanks in part to its colonial heritage. Mombasa is one of Africa's finest harbours, and Nairobi is an air transport hub for the continent. Transport is crucial here; the country was forged around the British-built railway line snaking from Mombasa to Lake Victoria and Nairobi began as a railway supply depot. The economy is emerging from the paralysis induced by corruption and the lethargic quangos that stifled business under Moi. Privatisation has gathered pace under Kibaki and the country has been touted as an African tiger. But economic growth remains painfully slow and the number living below the poverty line keeps rising. Progress is critical. Nairobi is still one of the world's most unequal cities, home to lavish gated compounds with servants and swimming pools as well as Kibera, Africa's biggest slum. The country has one of the highest profiles of any in Africa. Its flourishing wildlife make it a massive tourist destination, and a substantial chunk of Africa's foreign press corps make their base there. That focus may explain why it has twice been attacked by al-Qaida - in 1998, when the US embassy in Nairobi was bombed, and in 2002, when Israeli tourists were targeted in Mombasa. The country is a key western ally in the fight against al-Qaida in Africa. If Kenya descends into anarchy, one of the continent's brightest lights will have flickered out, but the most immediate wider effect will be felt by other countries in the region, who stand to lose their most reliable neighbour. *Tough road from independence* *1961* Jomo Kenyatta is freed from prison. The independence activist was jailed by the British. *1963* Kenya gains independence from the British. Kenyatta becomes Kenya's prime minister and later president. *1978* Kenyatta dies in office and is succeeded by Daniel arap Moi. *1982* Kenya becomes one-party state. *1987* Opposition groups suppressed. International outcry over political arrests and abuse of human rights. *1991* Agreement to reintroduce a multi-party political system. *1992* Moi re-elected. *1997* Demonstrations calling for greater democratic reform. World Bank holds back on $5bn of credit. Moi wins another election. Opposition cries foul play. *1998* Attack on US embassy in Nairobi, right, kills 224, injures 4,500. *2002* 10 Kenyans and three Israelis die when a hotel in Mombasa is destroyed by a car bomb. *2002* Mwai Kibaki wins a landslide victory to end Moi's 24-year rule. *2003* International Monetary Fund begins lending to Kenya after anti-corruption measures are put in place. *2004* A draft of the new constitution is finalised, outlining limitations to parliament and reining in presidential powers. Massive crop failures and drought cause havoc. *2006* Government ministers are alleged to have received kickbacks from a mysterious company. Finance minister resigns. *· *Jeevan Vasagar was the Guardian's east Africa correspondent from 2003 to 2006. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

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NOVATECH Investment Forum
by alice 30 Dec '07

30 Dec '07

Dear colleagues and friends, I am pleased to inform you that the NOVATECH investment forum organisers would like key East African countries to submit information on potential ICT projects. In this context the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), would like you to submit the following information on potential ICT projects from your country for consideration: - Country Name - Project title - Sub-sectors involved - Project contents/components/description - Project amount/budget (or in the range of) - Project status (i.e. project idea, at tender stage, on-going etc.) May I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year 2008. Thank you. Makane Faye United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Telephone :+251 11 5514534 Email: mfaye(a)uneca.org <mailto:mfaye@uneca.org>

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Nation Website "Live" Votes Reporting
by Alex Gakuru 28 Dec '07

28 Dec '07

Hi, Did you know Nation website has updated vote counts? Have a look at http://politics.nationmedia.com/ Nifty! Somebody should tell them to announce this on radio For consumers convenience! Best, Alex

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[Fwd: Kenyan Elections]
by alice 25 Dec '07

25 Dec '07

Hi all Interesting article on Kenyan elections on the Washington post best alice

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Best Wishes for Christmas and New year
by alice 25 Dec '07

25 Dec '07

(Apologies for cross posting) Dear all Wishing everyone and their families a very happy Christmas and New Year. Thank you for your contribution, time and efforts in making this virtual space a platform for information sharing and support. KICTANet lists moderators Walu and alice

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Horizons Story Today
by Vincent Ngundi 25 Dec '07

25 Dec '07

This makes an interesting reading. I guess the way forward is to setup an IPv6 task force to chart the way forward for Kenya. KENIC, in conjunction with AfriNIC, is planning to host an IPv6 workshop in June 2008. Our target is to train 150 engineers on IPv6 deployment. We shall announce registration for the same in due course. Regards, -Vincent >> [Daily Nation] >> Horizons Magazine >> 20 December, 2007 >> By REDEMPTOR ATIENO >> >> INTERNET: Connectivity capacity nears exhaustion >> The country must upgrade to a new platform before current >> capacity is >> exhausted >> >> In about two year time, aspiring internet users will be unable >> to get connected or publish new websites. >> >> Further it will not be possible to new cyber cafes, let alone >> the many government-fronted digital villages targeting rural areas >> throughout the country. Critical Internet addresses that uniquely >> identify users and resolves the location where a website is >> located on >> the internet will be exhausted, worldwide. >> >> According to the chairman of ICT Consumers Association of >> Kenya, >> Alex Gakuru, "The country will have depleted capacity for new >> internet >> connectivity unless internet infrastructure are upgraded to what is >> called Internet Protocol version six (or IPv6) because the world's >> current IPv4 will be exhausted." >> >> It will be too expensive, he says, and chaotic for the country >> to continue using the current IPv4 and the Government needs to >> address >> this problem urgently. "ISPs only need to upgrade their systems at no >> cost to consumers assuring room for more expression, choice, and >> opportunity. Consumers should not be charged because ISP equipment >> only need reconfiguration since most are already IPv6 compliant >> anyway." >> >> The ICAK chairman notes that the issue has been given the >> publicity and priority it deserves, yet it will be too expensive for >> the country to continue using IPv4 designed for the1977 Internet and >> acknowledges the Kenya Network Information Centre-KeNIC's leadership >> is best suited to ensure the smoothest transition to IPv6. >> >> Gakuru observes that with the worldwide increased connection of >> internet-enabled mobile devices, such as GSM and WiFi phones more >> hosts are making inroads into the internet each requiring an IP >> address in order to connect and thereby causing a faster depletion of >> IP addresses. >> >> An IP address is a unique number address that every computing >> device connected to the internet is assigned. IP addresses are >> used to >> route traffic on the internet and can be seen as the backbone of the >> internet. >> >> He explained that " the current IPv4 system can accommodate up >> to for billion IP addresses but with the current world population at >> six billion, then the internet cannot be for everyone. He says this >> upgrade should be prioritised. >> --ends--- -- KeNIC - The Kenya Network Information Center http://www.kenic.or.ke

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Eligible NGOs in Africa to apply
by Rebecca Wanjiku 22 Dec '07

22 Dec '07

Dear all -- Sorry for Spam - For those interested please apply directly - contacts are below The Africa-America Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce the next deadline for scholarship applications for the Transformational Leadership Program (TLP). AAI is partnering with The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) on TLP to enhance capacity of professional management skills and leadership in Africa. Please feel free to share this scholarship opportunity with any interested and qualified individuals. This multiyear program offers both non-degree professional development and business degree training programs to African managers in Africa-based NGOs working in the fields of health, education, environment and entrepreneurship. The program involves three training providers with excellent track records in their respective fields: Emory University's Goizueta Business School (Atlanta, USA), The Aresty Institute of Executive Education at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA) and the United States International University ( Nairobi, Kenya). AAI invites the managers of eligible NGOs in Africa to apply for a TLP scholarship for a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta, GA by January 21, 2008. Please download the following program and application information with which you can apply for a TLP scholarship to Goizueta Business School: TLP Scholarship Program Description TLP NGO Profile Form TLP Scholarship Application Packet Goizueta Business School MBA Program Details The general eligibility criteria are: Applicants must be residents of an African country. Applicants must have significant professional work experience (e.g. 5-15 years) working in NGOs. NGOs must be doing work in the critical areas of health, education, environment or entrepreneurship in Africa. NGOs must submit a current profile form to AAI for approval. Applicants must be proficient in English. Applicants must agree to return to their countries immediately upon completion of their training program and abide by the 2-year Home Residency requirement for US-based training, requiring them to remain in their home country for a period of two years after the completion of the program. Placement will be limited and we expect the application process to be competitive. Applicants should expect to receive a decision regarding their application within four weeks after the application deadline. For additional information you may contact: Tahnia Charles-Belle Program Officer, AHET Email: tcharlesbelle(a)aaionline.org Tel: +1 (212) 949-5666 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Africa-America Institute | 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1706 | New York, NY 10170 Tel: +1 (212) 949-5666 | Fax: +1 (212) 682-6174 | Email: aainy(a)aaionline.org | Web: www.aaionline.org The mission of The Africa-America is to promote enlightened engagement between Africa and America through education, training, and dialogue. If you are having trouble viewing this email, please click here or copy and past the following url into your web brower: http://www.aaionline.org/NewsAndEvents/174.aspx _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann -- Best Regards, Becky 254 720318925 beckyit.blogspot.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ 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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Convergence of views on access at international internet forum
by Wanjira, Alice Munyua 20 Dec '07

20 Dec '07

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISSEMINATION Convergence of views on access at international internet forum RIO DE JANEIRO, 14 November, 2007 The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) recognises that access is the single most important element in any attempt to put in place a governance of the internet. A broad range of suggestions for making access to the internet a reality for the five billion unconnected people were put forward by governments, industry and non-profits currently taking part in the second Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There seems to be a high degree of convergence of views on how to improve access. The growth of mobile telephony in developing countries has shown that the competitive model can deliver services to vulnerable populations, including the poor, says Willie Currie, manager of the policy programme at APC. Many groups attending the IGF in Rio agree that what is needed, is for the principles of competition to be consistently and evenly applied to all areas of the telecom sector. Access to international and terrestrial backbone infrastructure, they say, depends on this commitment. However, we need to recognise that there are contexts in which the competitive model falls short of delivering the internet, adds Currie. When market forces alone do not suffice, collaborative models are needed to extend access to under-served areas. Since a competitive model needs to coexist with a collaborative one for access to become a reality, APC advocates for incentives to be put in place. Instead of hindering, information and communication technology (ICT) policy should stimulate the participation of diverse network operators and providers in service delivery. Talking from the IGF venue in Brazil, APC insists that the timing for promoting ICTs as a development tool has never been more appropriate. This is particularly true at the level of rural and local access. For a universal, affordable and equitable access to materialise, ICT regulation and policy need to be integrated to local development strategies. APC privileges a multi-sector model where different types of infrastructures are bundled. When laying down roads, the government can install water pipes and lay electricity along with fibre-optic ICT cabling, illustrates Willie Currie. This approach, IGF participants noted, reduces costs of infrastructure and contributes to a more effective use of scarce development resources. The APC network has been involved in global, regional and national ICT policy processes since 2000, with a focus on human rights and social inclusion in the information society and on promoting digital inclusion. On the eve of the 2007 edition of the IGF, APC organised a one-day event on equitable access. For more information Frédéric Dubois, Information coordinator, frederic(a)apc.org +1 514 660 0664 http://rights.apc.org ======================================= APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and institutions who are or have been involved in collaboration with APC, and share the APC vision - a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies. _______________________________________________ apc.forum mailing list apc.forum(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apc.

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ICT Opportunity alert: Will the true entrepreneurs stand up?
by Al Kags 20 Dec '07

20 Dec '07

In these heady political times in Kenya, it is perhaps not sensible to discuss issues surrounding development. But then another school of thought would have it that, there isn't a better time to discuss matters surrounding development than these heady political times – even at the risk of seeming to campaign for one candidate at the expense of another. Then there is the thought that the electioneering (who came up with that word?) period is a brief interlude in the journey of life that we must go through so we must not interrupt our thoughts on development because of political events. Having said that, I find myself unable to proceed without joining the rounds of applause that have been going round for the remarkable team that the Minister for information and communications, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe and his Permanent Secretary, Dr. Bitange Ndemo for being the first in the leadership of that ministry to make huge significant strides in the development of ICT in Kenya – right up to setting up the infrastructure (Kenya will fully be networked and connected with fibre connectivity by May 2009) and the framework for capacity building through the fairly young Kenya ICT Board. The Kenya ICT Board has been mandated to mainly market Kenya as an ICT destination and to build capacity for the country to be competitive as an ICT destination – and taking from the speed and work ethic of the minister and the PS, the board does not have the luxury of slow development. In fact, the word "rapid" appears more than once in the various documents that it must work with and its mission. Through support from the world bank and the central government, the Kenya ICT Board has a significant budget that it is going to use to build capacity in various areas including the digital inclusion program that is going to be carried out through the facilitation of entrepreneurs across the country to start digital villages – essentially glorified cyber cafés that will provide access to training and to government and other services through the internet. The digital villages program will see the board provide training, direct IT support, business support and even a revolving fund to ensure that entrepreneurs can start the digital villages and sustain it as a business long after the Transparency and Communications Infrastructure Project (TCIP) has come to a close – the money is finite, after all. The outsourcing industry has also seen some significant attention as a key component of the ICT sector because of its strategic take-outs in terms of employment and wealth creation in the ICT industry. Before the fibre connectivity kicks in, the Kenya ICT Board is empowered to provide bandwidth capacity support (jargon for a bandwidth subsidy) that will enable the outsourcing industry players to enjoy the comparatively lower bandwidth costs that they would, if fibre connectivity was already in place. The intention is that that support will spur growth. These two projects in particular come together in various ways. Of course, the most obvious is that singularly and together they provide a very strong opportunity for employment and wealth creation for many Kenyans across the board, in a fairly short time. But the potential benefit to the economy goes beyond that direct benefit. An easy way to illustrate this is with an example that I have heard Dr. Ndemo give a number of times and that makes a lot of sense. The key challenge to having justice done is the time it takes for cases to continue. One of the key contributing factors is the amount of operational work that a judge must do in order to record a case and therefore come to a fair judgement. A judge must write down in English all of the evidence that he or she will hear as he listens to the witness. Writing being what it is, the evidence is given for a long time, factoring the pauses that the judge needs to write down what he hears. That information must then be collated, synthesised and understood for a fair judgement to then be issued and they have to write that down as well. Multiply this by the number of cases pending in the backlog of the courts and you will understand the delay in getting justice. The perils of such a system we already have experienced with corruption and sloppiness being a necessity for convenience. How many times do innocent Kenyans plead guilty so that they can pay a fine and move on with their lives instead of having to remain along the corridors of the courts of years on a minor case? How many times have Kenyans chosen to give "Kitu Kidogo" to the clerk or the judge or someone to hasten their case – and while hastening it have the judgement placed in their favour? This is easily solved with the help of ICT. We could record the proceedings of the court, outsource an audio recording to a digital village that has the transcription facility, where the proceedings are transcribed to text and then sent back to the judge to make a ruling. Time becomes less of an issue and transparency and accountability then become strengthened. In fact, if you have such a facility, you can ask some firm questions about the delay of cases because of the effectiveness of it all. It is clear that the government and the Kenya ICT Board have the concepts right in terms creating the opportunities for wealth and employment creation. What must now be ignited is the private sector. The entrepreneur must seize the opportunity that is beginning to show itself and make the most of it. Sadly, so far, the developments in the ICT sector have largely had the attention of activists – even those who have their businesses. When else did you hear of entrepreneurs fervently asking the government to regulate them?

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Notice of Implementation Date for WHOIS National Laws Procedure -- Registrars please read]
by alice 19 Dec '07

19 Dec '07

Notice of Implementation Date for WHOIS National Laws Procedure 18 December 2007 * * Today ICANN is publishing a notice of implementation of the ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law. The procedure will be posted for 30 days, and implemented on 17 January 2008. The draft procedure was first posted for comment on 3 December 2006, see http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/whois_national_laws_procedure.htm <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/whois_national_laws_procedure.htm>. ICANN sought input on the draft procedure from the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). The procedure has been revised to incorporate advice from the GAC, and is available at http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/revised-draft-whois-procedure-18… [PDF, 29K]. New language has been inserted into Sections 1.4, 2.1, 3.1 and 5.1 of the procedure, based on input received from the GAC and from members of the ICANN Board in the Los Angeles meeting. The ICANN Board discussed the draft procedure during the public meeting of the Board on 2 November 2007 in Los Angeles, and noted that "the next step now would be for the staff to update their procedure in taking into account that advice [from the GAC]." The procedure describes how ICANN will respond to a situation where a registrar or registry indicates (and seeks to demonstrate) that it is legally prevented by local/national privacy laws or regulations from complying with the provisions of its ICANN contract regarding the collection, display and distribution of personal data via WHOIS. The procedure is for use by ICANN staff. While it includes possible actions for the affected gTLD registry or registrar, this procedure does not impose any new obligations on registries, registrars or third parties. It aims to inform gTLD registries, registrars and other parties of the steps to be taken when a possible conflict between other legal obligations and the ICANN contractual requirements regarding WHOIS is reported to ICANN. Since publication of the first draft procedure, ICANN staff has been applying the draft procedure in handling potential conflicts between WHOIS provisions and national laws to test its effectiveness. * Background* In December 2003, the Whois Task Force 2 of the GNSO recommended the development of a procedure to allow gTLD registry and registrars to demonstrate when they are prevented by local laws from fully complying with the provisions of ICANN contracts regarding personal data in Whois. In November 2005, the GNSO concluded a policy development process on establishing such a procedure. The policy includes 'well-developed advice on a procedure' created through: extensive solicitation of community comment, recommendation by the WHOIS Task Force, and approval by the GNSO Council. In May 2006, the ICANN Board adopted the policy and directed ICANN staff to develop and publicly document a conflicts procedure. The draft ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law (http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/whois_national_laws_procedure.htm) was published on 3 December 2006. ICANN sought input on the draft procedure from the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). On 28 March 2007, the GAC published its Principles Regarding gTLD WHOIS Services (http://gac.icann.org/web/communiques/gac27com.pdf [PDF, 209K]). GAC Principle 3.2 states that "gTLD WHOIS services must comply with applicable national laws and regulations." The GAC Communique from 28 June 2007 (http://gac.icann.org/web/communiques/gac28com.pdf [PDF, 177K]) included specific reference to the draft procedure: "The GAC welcomes the opportunity to respond to the 'draft ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with Privacy Law.' Since this draft procedure was produced in December 2006, the GAC has prepared its 'Principles regarding gTLD WHOIS Services.' These principles provide the framework for dealing with potential conflicts. "We recognise the importance of effective conflict resolution mechanisms for the WHOIS regime, and we expect to see this as an integral part of the GNSO proposals for a future ICANN WHOIS regime. "We will provide formal advice on the conflict procedures based on the GAC WHOIS principles at the meeting in Los Angeles. The GAC recommends that the Board reviews the draft procedure in light of this substantive contribution. "In the interim, specific cases should be referred to the relevant national government for advice on the authority of the request for derogation from the ICANN gTLD WHOIS policy." The GAC Communique issued on 31 October 2007 in Los Angeles (http://gac.icann.org/web/communiques/gac29com.pdf [PDF, 73K]) noted that: "the GAC welcomes the opportunity to respond to the 'draft ICANN Procedure for Handling WHOIS Conflicts with National Privacy Laws.' Due to the complexity of this issue related to the diversity of national policies and procedures among GAC members the GAC does not believe a uniform process is workable and accordingly the interim solution from the GAC's San Juan communiqué should be the basis for resolving any potential conflict: . specific cases should be referred to the relevant national government for advice on the authority of the request for derogation from the ICANN gTLD WHOIS policy." On 2 November 2007, the ICANN Board noted that staff would update the procedure to incorporate GAC advice (http://losangeles2007.icann.org/files/losangeles/LA-BoardofDirectors(Part1)… <http://losangeles2007.icann.org/files/losangeles/LA-BoardofDirectors%28Part…>). The revision described in this notice reflects the input received since the publication of the draft procedure on 3 December 2006. _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Application Round for Fellowships for ICANN Paris Meeting 2008 OPne: Program makes sure global voices heard at ICANN¹s International Public Meetings
by alice 17 Dec '07

17 Dec '07

ICANN press release on fellowships for the Paris meeting: <http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-07dec07.htm>http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-07dec07.htm Application Round Opens for Paris Meeting Fellowships Program makes sure global voices heard at ICANN¹s International Public Meetings 7 December 2007 MARINA DEL REY, Calif. : The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is putting out the call for fellowship program applications for its 32nd International Public Meeting to be held in Paris from 22-27 June 2008. "The fellowship program plays a key role in making sure that global voices are heard at the ICANN meeting and in our various public forums," said Theresa Swinehart, ICANN's Vice President, Global and Strategic Partnerships. The 23 fellows from 22 countries who played an active role at the Los Angeles meeting were chosen from 167 applications received. An additional 10 candidates chosen in this round were deferred to the New Delhi meeting in February. Of the fellows at the Los Angeles meeting, 10 had never attended an ICANN meeting before, and seven were alumni from the inaugural program in San Juan this past June. Priority is given to applicants who are current residents of developing and least developed nations and interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations, such as the Governmental Advisory Committee, the Country Code Names Supporting Organization, and the Generic Names Supporting Organization. The fellowship will assist in covering airfare, hotel and a stipend. Recipients will be expected to actively participate in and contribute to ICANN processes. As always, registration for ICANN¹s meetings is free for anyone wanting to attend. Applications will be accepted from now until 1200 PDT ( UTC -7) on 11 January 2008. More information, as well as a link to the application for a fellowship, is available online at: <http://www.icann.org/fellowships/>http://www.icann.org/fellowships/ About ICANN: ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: <http://www.icann.org/>www.icann.org. Media Contacts: Jason Keenan Media Adviser, ICANN (USA) Ph: +1 310 382 4004 E: <mailto:jason.keenan@icann.org>jason.keenan(a)icann.org International: Andrew Robertson Edelman (London) Ph: +44 7921 588 770 E: <mailto:andrew.robertson@edelman.com>andrew.robertson(a)edelman.com

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Living with confusion – African operators find themselves pulled in new directions
by alice 17 Dec '07

17 Dec '07

From Balancing Act Living with confusion – African operators find themselves pulled in new directions Once it was simple. There was the Government incumbent and all the other operators were against it. Then the incumbents ceased to be the incumbents and some of the new mobile operators found themselves taking on that mantle. With new power comes new responsibilities. Or does it? Once it was all about voice. Now there’s all this fancy convergence talk and anything you can think of sending down a phone connection will be sent. Increasingly operators are being pulled in new directions. Russell Southwood looks at three issues that are tugging from the edges. Three news items this week touched on some of the things that are pulling operators into looking at where their company’s activities begin and end. The pull towards content provision: This week France Telecom signed a “multiyear agreement” with MGM to be allowed to offer the studio’s movies to its video-on-demand customers. According to the reports, Orange is counting on video-on-demand as a new source of income for its fixed line business as its calling revenues go down. Cote d’Ivoire Telecom became the next of Orange’s African subsidiaries to start rolling out its “livebox” product that offers voice, Internet and television. But all is not easy in the new world of telco as content provider. In Senegal, Orange had to reach a content agreement with the more-or-less monopoly supplier of French-language, satellite pay TV content. As a result, it has to peg the price of its offer to that of its satellite content provider. Mauritius Telecom, despite having 15,000 people sign up for its “livebox” service again found itself talking unsuccessfully to what will probably become its competitor about getting content. In this context, having a large parent company sign global content deals makes a great deal of sense. But what if you’re not part of a global company? How do you sort out content to stay in the game? Or do you simply say, we’ll sit out this one out and stick to what we know? Deals between Vodacom and DStv may be easy in the short-term on a reseller basis but when it goes beyond this, who ends up getting the lion’s share of the revenues? Content is beset with a whole new range of problems that no-one in the African telco business seems to have thought their way through. Rights holders like Hollywood are not known for their generosity and too many of the available rights are still being given on a monopoly or duopoly basis. The court battles in Senegal over whether a third TV channel had the right to show Prison Break illustrate how far the market still has to develop. The pull towards infrastructure: At least three African countries – Kenya, South Africa and Uganda – have Governments that are in the advanced stages of putting together public interest companies to roll out national fibre infrastructure. Although the mobile operators bandy about the size of sums they are going to invest in infrastructure, they haven’t really worked out whether as the new incumbents they should be building infrastructure or not. It is one thing for MTN and Vodacom to announce infrastructure build-outs in South Africa but are they really going to extend the same principle to all of the countries they operate in? Mmm…Maybe. MTN is certainly putting down fibre in Ghana in order to overcome the historic inadequacies of both the network it acquired and that provided by the incumbent Ghana Telecom. Nevertheless an exchange at a regulators meeting in West Africa exemplifies the problem. Two of the large mobile operators chains had representatives on a panel who were asked why were they not rolling out cross-border links, given their networks were almost touching each other in several countries. Their responses were almost identical: we don’t think there’s enough traffic to justify it and therefore it is the Government’s responsibility. Nobody had thought that the private sector might create its own “carriers’ carrier” to act as a trusted transit operator to solve this problem. However, if the private sector operators sit on the sidelines of this discussion, they can hardly complain when Government decides to take the initiative and start taking responsibility through public interest backbone companies. The international fibres which everyone has shouted long and hard for will be here in 2009 and without regional connectivity, their impact will be frittered way. So the private sector really has to find a way to “put up or shut up”. All of which makes even stranger the announcement by Namibia’s power utility Nampower that it has granted a large contract that will connect several different power grids in South Africa. The line will connect the electricity networks of Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and South Africa to create an alternative route for power imports and exports to and from neighbouring countries. Slipped rather quietly into the announcement was the fact that the transmission line would be fitted with a fibre-optical ground wire which will, apart from providing essential transmission communication, “expand NamPower's communication capacity”. Is any private sector company talking to Nampower about using this capacity or indeed increasing this available capacity for private operator’s voice and data traffic? Not as far as we know….So are operators interested in solving these problems either individually or together? Mmmm…That’s a bit difficult to tell. The pull towards energy provision: Recently MTN revealed the scale of money it was spending on generator fuel in Nigeria. Taken over a year, it was US$65 million. Try to imagine that if that is calculated on the basis of 5,000 base stations for one country, what the total cost looks like for all mobile operators across the continent. Unlike the pull towards infrastructure described above, this is straightforwardly a short-term, bottom-line issue. If the operators could find a way of using generators just for redundancy, then the amount paid in this direction would drop substantially. So what can the operators do? Well, there’s the high road and the low road. The low road is finding base station equipment that will not eat as much fuel. This week Vodafone Germany announced that it was the first operator to put in Ericsson’s new BTS that will make “an important contribution to cutting carbon-dioxide emissions” by lowering energy use. Compatible with all its base stations since 1995, it claims to save between 10-20 per cent of energy consumption “depending on the network traffic pattern.” During periods of low network traffic, the feature effectively puts those parts of the network that are not being used in standby mode - overcoming the traditional practice of having radio equipment continually turned on, which can result in energy being wasted. The high road is self-provisioning power transmission, either through an operator consortium JV or by one operator taking the initiative. The energy industry takes a long-time to respond to demand, sometimes as long as 10-15 years. So why not set up a small-scale power generation and transmission company that can address those base stations nearest to each other? Small-scale providers can generate power at scale: 40% of Holland’s energy needs come from small-scale providers. Then it is a case of delivering this power and possibly distributing it to a small number of other paying customers. Is it in the immortal words of Telkom SA’s new CEO Reuben September (talking about his mobile strategy) is it a case of “everything that is feasible is desirable”? Where do you draw the line in terms of what a company needs to be able to do in order to thrive? For without addressing these kinds pulls on company time and resources, all of Africa’s operators will continue to operate below their full potential. Balancing Act <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/397/197296/123/0/>

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Candidates from Africa needed !!!
by Rebecca Wanjiku 15 Dec '07

15 Dec '07

This is a very lucrative appointment. please fwd your names Dear All, Africa is a region of interest for the Nom Com in 2008, as the ICANN Bylaws specify that there must be at least one director from each of the 5 ICANN regions. Njeri Rionge's term finishes in November 2008. And we have no representatives at the Generic Names Supporting Organisation. The website for the 2008 Nom Com (http://nomcom.icann.org) has complete information on the Statement of Interest and positions available for selection by the Committee. The Committee has also posted translations of the 2008 Nom Com flyer in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Translations of the flyer into Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Swahili will also be posted in the near future. If you need specific information do not hesitate to email me directly. For all who have other lists, please send to people whom you think would be interested and thanks for doing that. cheers, ar 2008 ICANN Nominating Committee Issues Invitation for Statements of Interest in ICANN Leadership Positions 14 December 2007 ICANN's Nominating Committee invites Statements of Interest from the Internet community as it seeks qualified candidates to assist in ICANN's technical and policy coordination role. Interested individuals are invited to submit a Statement of Interest to this year's Committee for the following positions: Two members of the ICANN Board of Directors One member of the Council of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) One member of the Council of the Country-Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) Two members of the At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) ICANN's Nominating Committee (Nom Com) is an independent committee tasked with selecting a majority of the members of ICANN's Board of Directors and other positions within ICANN's Supporting Organisations. ICANN is an internationally organised, public benefit, non-profit corporation dedicated to: preserving the operational security and stability of the Internet; promoting competition; achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and supporting the development of policies appropriate to its mission through bottom-up, consensus-based processes. Individuals selected by the Nominating Committee will have a unique opportunity to work with accomplished colleagues from around the globe, address the Internet's intriguing technical coordination problems and policy development challenges with diverse functional, cultural, and geographic dimensions, and gain valuable insights and experience from working across boundaries of knowledge, responsibility and perspective. Those selected will gain the satisfaction of making a valuable public service contribution towards the continued function and evolution of an essential global resource. Considering the broad public interest, nominees will work to achieve the goals towards which ICANN is dedicated in order to facilitate the Internet's critically important societal functions. Current Board members who have been selected by the Nominating Committee include: Harald Tveit Alvastrand, Susan Crawford, Roberto Gaetano, Steven Goldstein, Dennis Jennings, Rajasekhar Ramaraj, Njeri Rionge, and Jean-Jacques Subrenat (see, http://www.icann.org/general/board.html) Statements of Interest for the positions described above can be submitted through nomcom2008(a)icann.org. More information regarding the Nominating Committee can be found at http://nomcom.icann.org . Applications will be considered confidentially and should be received by 15 April 2008 for full consideration. Selections will be announced before mid September 2008. Successful candidates will take up their positions following ICANN's Annual Meeting in November 2008. Questions or comments may be emailed to ICANN at nomcom2008(a)icann.org. Background: The Nominating Committee is designed to function independently from the ICANN Board, Supporting Organisations, and Advisory Committees. Nominating Committee members act only on behalf of the interests of the global Internet community and within the scope of the ICANN mission and responsibilities assigned to it by the ICANN Bylaws. Nominating Committee members contribute understanding of the broad interests of the Internet community as a whole, and knowledge and experience of specific Internet constituencies who have appointed them. The challenge for the Nominating Committee is to integrate these perspectives and derive consensus in its selections. Although appointed by Supporting Organisations and other ICANN entities, individual Nominating Committee members are not accountable to their appointing constituencies. Members are, of course, accountable for adherence to the ICANN Bylaws and for compliance with the rules and procedures established by the Nominating Committee. Successful candidates are not remunerated, although direct expenses incurred in the course of duty will be reimbursed. These positions may involve significant international travel, including personal presence at periodic ICANN meetings, as well as regular telephone and Internet communications. Recent ICANN Meetings have been held in New Zealand, Canada, Luxembourg, Argentina, South Africa, Morocco, Brazil, Portugal, Puerto Rico and the United States. Meetings during 2008 are scheduled for New Delhi, India, Paris, France, and a city in Africa to be announced. The diverse locations facilitate participation across the world's Internet community. _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann -- Best Regards, Becky 254 720318925 beckyit.blogspot.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ 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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Broadcasting Treaty: Council of Europe Picks Up Where WIPO Left Off
by Alex Gakuru 14 Dec '07

14 Dec '07

******************************************************************************************************** December 10, 2007. Broadcasting Treaty: Council of Europe Picks Up Where WIPO Left Off By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The Council of Europe is deliberating on whether to negotiate a convention to protect broadcasters' signals against piracy and thereby take up the issue from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) where negotiations on a proposed broadcasting treaty came to a standstill earlier this year. The Councils decision to proceed depends on approval by its Committee of Ministers. The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France, predated and includes the European Union. Link to the article: http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=864 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

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Fw: KICTANET COMPETENCE STATUS SURVERY RPT
by Rebecca Wanjiku 13 Dec '07

13 Dec '07

Here is the report prepared by the lead consultant during KICTANet's institutional assessment. kindly read it and forward your response. best regards, becky ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Re: [kictanet] NSIS website hacked?
by James Kagwe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

A dig reveals this; ; <<>> DiG 9.3.2 <<>> nsis.go.ke any ;; global options: printcmd ;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 76 ;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 5, AUTHORITY: 2, ADDITIONAL: 5 ;; QUESTION SECTION: ;nsis.go.ke. IN ANY ;; ANSWER SECTION: nsis.go.ke. 38172 IN MX 10 mta.wananchi.com. nsis.go.ke. 38172 IN MX 20 mail.wananchi.com. nsis.go.ke. 29891 IN A 62.8.88.6 nsis.go.ke. 17830 IN NS dns2.wananchi.com. nsis.go.ke. 17830 IN NS dns1.wananchi.com. ;; AUTHORITY SECTION: nsis.go.ke. 17830 IN NS dns2.wananchi.com. nsis.go.ke. 17830 IN NS dns1.wananchi.com. ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: mta.wananchi.com. 63997 IN A 62.8.88.64 mta.wananchi.com. 63997 IN A 62.8.88.63 mail.wananchi.com. 63574 IN A 62.8.88.102 dns1.wananchi.com. 64894 IN A 62.8.64.5 dns2.wananchi.com. 65700 IN A 196.200.36.3 ;; Query time: 15 msec ;; SERVER: 196.200.16.2#53(196.200.16.2) ;; WHEN: Tue Dec 11 17:22:50 2007 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 243 A ping reveals this; C:\Dig>ping www.nsis.go.ke Pinging www.nsis.go.ke [62.8.88.6] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 62.8.88.6: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=54 Reply from 62.8.88.6: bytes=32 time=31ms TTL=54 Reply from 62.8.88.6: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=54 Reply from 62.8.88.6: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=54 Ping statistics for 62.8.88.6: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 29ms, Maximum = 50ms, Average = 36ms Wananchi are the victims -----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 Odhiambo Washington Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 4:18 PM To: James Kagwe Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] NSIS website hacked? On Dec 11, 2007 3:19 PM, John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > For those who may not know NSIS stands for National > Security Intelligence Service, the Kenyan equivalent of the > American CIA, Russian KGB, Israeli Mossad and the British > M15 get the drift? > > Now these chaps website seems to have been hacked and > defaced. Check out... > > http://www.nsis.go.ke/ > > and please tell me am wrong. You are right, it's been "cracked". However it's hosted by third party, if you look at DNS records, and this can always happen when a server admin installs on a server stuff they don't quite understand, or even plays with a sensitive configuration without thinking much about it. Hey, Walu, it's just the website, the content of which is for public consumption (and public defacing whenever possible to prove a point). -- 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: 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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Technology SMEs
by Dorcas Muthoni 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

You may have heard of the action taken by the Copyright board on software piracy in cyber cafe businesses. This article on Business Daily: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4522&Item… captures it. We all acknowledge the role of cyber cafe businesses in driving Internet penetration. When small and medium enterprises business owners take decisions to start the Internet shops, they are basically supporting what we all want to see; an e-Kenya. Picking from a recent post on the list regarding the challenges being faced by local computer assembly firms, there is truly an issue with regard to the sustainability of Technology SMEs. These local firms have enabled many Kenyans have affordable computers/clones and Internet access respectively. On average, a cyber cafe with 30 computers requires up to about KES. 1.8million to have genuine copies commodity software frequently used by their customers. Open Source is an approach that can make these commodity software affordable and available to such SME businesses in a way that satisfies customers effectively. We all need to support local technology SMEs because they are really a driver for the this industry. OPENWORLD (www.openworld.co.ke) will conduct an Open Source workshop at the Grand Regency Hotel on, Friday, 14th December 2007 starting 9.00am. The purpose of the workshop is to inform Cyber Café Owners and Operators on how they can benefit from Open Source Software in order to sustain their businesses. It will be interesting to hear from others how we can support technology SMEs since they are a key driver in the growth of the industry. -- Muthoni My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/ -------------------------------------------- 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] Faith in local web hosting
by robert yawe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

Hi Brian, As you rightfully indicate in your post you are coming in late on this discussion, this is the problem with a mailing list unlike a blog or forum the history of a discussion is not maintained. Thus just to get us on the same page your arguments are actually in support of my position, which is that we need to develop local content and hosting capacity as well are reliable country wide connectivity before the arrival of the fiber optic marine cable. The road analogy was to explain my point that the cable is a highway which needs to arrive when we have already created linkages to the rest of the country and not what we seem to be doing which is waiting for the marine cable as the panaceas to all our slow internet issues. You do bring an interested issue in your point on the objective of the roads as a means to cart off our resources, could the fiber optic cable be a modern approach to the same? Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: brian <brian(a)caret.net> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>; info(a)mediacorp.co.ke Sent: Tuesday, 11 December, 2007 1:44:53 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting I am coming late to this debate .... more follows: On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 06:03:46 +0000 (GMT), robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > > Your analogy of a Road from Mwea to Kericho is an interesting one, if you > have noticed all roads have led to Nairobi for many years it is only after > those satellite locations have grown sufficient traffic through Nairobi > that we have developed direct linkages. A case in point is the road > connecting from Machakos to Thika, Kitengela to Rongai, and the now being > constructed Njambini Road. > > Why didn't we develop this roads at independence? I differ strongly on this. Most roads in Africa were built to support the largely extractive industrial practices of colonial masters and the post-independence regimes which turned a blind eye to the economic pillage of our countries. Most of these roads are what we continue to re-carpet, repair and depend on for our basic transport. Same applies to telecommunications and other major infrastructure. Any new infrastructure in an African country, be it a road, an airline route or an optic fibre cable needs to be thought out from a fresh standpoint and a mindset that leans towards building internal capacity or providing the platform/environment/atmosphere for local/internal capacity to be built. I have elaborated on this in an AfrISPA position paper - "One Voice - A VOIP Position Paper" while Mucheru has highlighted the market structure and regulatory regimes to support African country's emergent and blossoming ICT sectors in another AfrISPA position paper entitled "The Rules of Engagement" Copies of these papers can be availed freely upon request. Mblayo ___________________________________________________________ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting
by robert yawe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

Dear Mr. Mucheru, I hear you but we are missing out on a vital point, never go to the negotiating table from a position of weakness. What is the likelihood of getting a mortgage from the bank if you have no savings, no job and no business? As I have said before, the fiber is going to land whether I like it or not, but that does not stop me from airing my views. You raise the issue of India have you looked at how much local content they have and their utilisation of local connectivity? If you follow the issue of India closely you will note that they first developed local capacity. India used the so called slow satellite connections to reach the outside world and because of the capacity they had developed the locally Microsoft, Motorola and other large American companies saw the need to increase the speed of connectivity to India. Safaricom should be a case in point for us, how many minutes of International calls do you think is the contribution to their 17 Billion profit. Imagine if they had setup shop & concentrated their efforts on International calling where would they be today? Your analogy of a Road from Mwea to Kericho is an interesting one, if you have noticed all roads have led to Nairobi for many years it is only after those satellite locations have grown sufficient traffic through Nairobi that we have developed direct linkages. A case in point is the road connecting from Machakos to Thika, Kitengela to Rongai, and the now being constructed Njambini Road. Why didn't we develop this roads at independence? What most of you are suggesting is that we put up a Kes. 500,000/- toilet with jacuzzi for a one roomed iron sheet house in Kibera so that the occupant can enjoy themselves for 20 minutes every day. Instead of us continuing to discus the pros and cons of landing the fiber in 2009, lets concentrate our efforts, skills and resources in preparing for its arrival. I do not pretend to have all the answers but together I believe we can better prepare this country for the marine cable than the West African countries did. PS. KAY System designs and implements appropriate local and wide area networks and we are currently working on an online payment system that will make e-commerce a reality to the majority of Kenyans. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru(a)google.com> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>; info(a)mediacorp.co.ke Sent: Friday, 30 November, 2007 5:15:20 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting Robert, I trust this email finds you well. Some important facts I, we are not alone, and neither is Kenya. We need to as a country remain competitive and further more we need to do so efficiently and quickly. Right now our competition in the digital is from all corners of the globe. As we speak bandwidth costs in Kenya are on average US$6,000 per MB while the same bandwidth costs US$ 400 in India, they are able to transact faster and further more hae the ability to have many other services on the same cable compared to our satellite only capacity. We need a highway to the rest of the world for two reason, one is a significant part of our economy is connected to the outside world, be it tourism, importation of medicines, education etc... We cannot ignore that part of the equation. This does not mean we ignore the local needs, the PS took time to outline the current projects gong on to provide national fiber connectivity and he further outlined the time lines for it's deployment. I simple way to look at this is even from a local perspective. We have the various towns in the country each with differing comparative advantages. For example, you get tea from Kericho, rice from mwea etc. It would be very unwise to say that Kericho does not need a road to Mwea because it has not completed building it's own local streets, or Mwea does not need a road or communication to other towns or regions. Kenya has it's own comparative advantages and so do other countries. We need to ensure we have as good if not better linkages the rest of the world not only for the world to access Kenya, but also for Kenya to access the world. I am very sure none of this new to you and it would be a big shame to pour cold water on a project that will be life changing for all of us. For instance, I will have better access to my sisters abroad, I will be able to do Video conferencing with them at an affordable rate. I will be able to watch the International stock markets and other financial markets in the same way. The fact I can do it today with Analogue (Marram road) does not mean Tarmac is bad and should be ignored. By the way Robert what is primary business of KAY System Technologies Ltd Joe Mucheru On Nov 30, 2007 5:33 AM, robert yawe < robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: Kagai, Like all the rest we are misplacing the importance of the marine cable and it is unfortunate that Dr. Ndemo is also unable to provide us with the logical reason for why we need to land this fiber cable. Your issue of digital TV has nothing to do with whether we have the marine cable or not as our transmission is local and thus what we need is a fiber network within the country. I have been listening to that story of digital TV being echoed by many a so called IT gurus. All that the fiber will do is create so much competition for our local stations before they have enough time to adopt or recoup their investments which will result in massive layoffs. If we can negotiate for the delay in opening our markets to sugar maybe we need the same team to look at the pros and cons of the fiber cable landing. Note that the signal sent out by MNet and other satellite channels is digital yet I can watch it on my Greatwall TV which is as analogue as you can get, even come 2010 all that will happen is that set top boxes will be so cheap that there will be no need to replace our TV's. Alternatively look behind your DVD player and tell me how many analogue and digital inputs you have? Just for information purposes do you know that Telkom Kenya has fiber optic cable laid to most high rise building in the city but only 2 or so locations have actually had the fiber terminated onto equipment? I ask anyone to challenge me on this point this includes Eng. Waweru and Mr. Kirui all of who have been party to this wasteful actions. We are being totally wasteful with our resources what makes us think that the landing of the fiber optic cable will change our habits. Kagai, I ask again why do we need to land the fiber optic cable and how will it change your life, leave alone mine? Have an analogue weekend Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: Bill Kagai <billkagai(a)gmail.com> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: info(a)mediacorp.co.ke; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, 29 November, 2007 10:19:51 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting On Nov 28, 2007 8:24 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > End user ---> Telkom ---> ISP ---> KDN --> ISP --> Telkom --> end user > > Do the math Yawe, you probably need to look at this cable beyond internet. The kind of technology we use today for broadcasting TV is being phased out in Europe by August 2008. TV is now being broadcast on cable or ADSL specifically for beyond quality purposes. You need to ensure that commercial components reach the right people. For instance, that is why CNBC opted to pull out its channel from DSTV bouquet to local stations like KBC with a wider reach. 'Measurement of reach' is capable through adsl/cable connected to the international fibre network. ADSL via optic fibre reinforces the copper that we are not about to do away with anyway in the near future. Copper is not obsolete yet. Optic fibre allows u freeview channels where internet becomes secondary to primary data and voice transmission...and most of all...things we have learned to leave with..such as attenuation distortion...become an old way of life for us in the Africa north of the limpopo but south of of the sahara. Another way of looking at it...when they tell you that computers are down in a bank..most of the times they mean the link to the server is unsteady since they need to ensure that you don't withdraw twice or thrice on the same transaction..satellite does not give you redundancy [read back-up] channels as cable would. With cable, you are able to re-wind live tv instead of having a local disk imersed in your decorder...thanks to the cable. In essence, if u look at the submarine cable minus the copper telephone system and electricity grid then u will not see much. If u look at it in terms of how it adds value to the existing infrastructure, then you will see...how significant albeit small....the hole the international link plus the terrestrial cable needs to fill to sort out our big problems. Bill... Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! for Good _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: mucheru(a)google.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com -- Joe Mucheru Office Lead, East Africa Google Kenya 7th Floor, Purshottam Place Westlands Road P O Box 66217 - 00800 Westlands Nairobi, KENYA +254 20 360 1701 Office +254 20 360 1100 Fax +254 20 360 1000 Switch Board (Regus) +254 722522135 Mobile http://www.google.com This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this communication by mistake, please don't forward it to anyone else, please erase all copies and attachments, and please let me know that it went to the wrong person. Thanks. ___________________________________________________________ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Re: [kictanet] Projections
by robert yawe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

Dr. Ndemo, It is interesting what you have said about how the Koreans used their high speed links initially for pornography, my take would then be why don't we concentrate on providing local pornographic content so that we can get more people online. This will allow us to exist this unproductive use of bandwidth so that we will have higher utilisation of the fiber when it lands. I know the concept here is that the reasons for the initial uptake of a technology is not necessarily what it was designed to do. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: "bitange(a)jambo.co.ke" <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> To: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, 6 December, 2007 1:03:44 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Projections Dear Walubengo, Studies have shown that if you constantly think that you will fail, indeed you fail eventually. I gather that you have already decided to be too pessimistic about the future of ICTs in this country. When the Koreans built their broadband networks, virtually all men were into pornography. After overcoming the spiteful start, they have built wonderful local content and search engines that rival google. You can now project how we shall use the ICTs to remove poverty from our midst. Regards Ndemo. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.… ___________________________________________________________ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Computer parts and peripherals
by Nieri, Diana MainaX 10 Dec '07

10 Dec '07

Hi all, Please check out today's story from PS. Dr. Ndemo on taxes on computer components http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4777&I temid=5847 <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4777& Itemid=5847> Computer parts and peripherals attract Import Duty and VAT whereas fully assembled systems imported from outside the country attract neither Duty nor VAT .This move has affected Locally assembled Systems adversely, as the very components used in integrating these systems now attracts VAT and Duty thus making them not competitive with International brands. We need to support our own local people to ensure faster access of affordable computers Regards Diana Maina --------------------------------------------------------------------- Branch office of Intel South Africa Corporation 2nd Floor, South Wing, Building 14, The Woodlands Western Service Road, Woodmead, 2148 Johannesburg, South Africa The above is a branch office of: Intel South Africa Corporation A Corporation registered in Delaware, USA Registered Office: 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, USA Registered No: 2501764 This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential material for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). Any review or distribution by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete all copies.

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latest domain name brief attached DEC 07]
by alice 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Dear all Domain name industry brief by Verisign attached. best alice _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Re: [kictanet] Fibre Optic & Cyber Security, March 2009
by Pauline Muthigani 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Walu, True, Kenya and the whole region have become the preferred destination for executing cyber crimes . Top on the agenda for the ICT fraternity, and the board should be to see to it that the e-legislation bill is passed and enacted much sooner than 2009. My experience with ICT investors especially in eCommerce and eBusiness, confirms that unless the Cyber Security issues are dealt with( investigations and prosecutions etc), Broadband or no Broadband , Kenya still is not a competitive destination as we would wish her to be.Even for the really great digital village initiatives, the risk is high there..I hope the owners are being made aware. What we need is a 'conducive environment and security assured infrastructure' the rest will fit in. The Dubai model is worth borrowing a leaf from. First things first. rgds, Pauline > Security is going to be a mega-issue once the submarine > fiber lands in Mombasa. At the moment Kenya is spared the > full-scale exposure from international cyber crooks simply > because our slow satellite links don't lend themselves to > modern tools of cyber-attacks. > > Here is my macro-projection of what will occur on the > internet-security landscape in March 2009 or thereabout > when the submarine cable is launched. > > 1. Continued delay of national and regional legislation > makes Kenya and E.Africa a safe-haven for cyber-crooks. > > {following the delayed debate and enactment of the > pre-requisite Cyber-legislations (e-Transaction Act, > Cyber-crime Act, Data-protection Act, etc) Kenya has become > the preferred destination for executing cyber crimes and > getting away with it. The crooks are taking advantage of > the lack of legislation as well as the incapacity for the > authorities to investigate, collect, preserve digital > evidence as well as prosecute cyber-crime. > > The newly launched submarine cables seem to have provided a > conducive superhighway for the crooks to deploy there tools > from the comfort of their Chinese, Eastern Europe and other > territories. The Kenya Government seems to have been > caught off-guard and the Internal Security Minister could > not be reached for comment because he was holed up in a > crisis-meeting....} > > 2. Local domains hosting critical national infrastructure > get hit (Banking, KRA, Immigration, Medical Data) > > {....In particular, the successful deployment of > eGovernment initiatives such as KRA, KPA, Banking, Medical > and other data have become a soft-target for the criminals. > They

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Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 5, Issue 22
by A.K. Mahan 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Dear all, I am new to this list and have been lurking. In addition to the Latin American and Caribbean study noted by Alice, the World Dialogue on Regulation also conducted a similar survey of Africa in 2003 - for which the Kenyan regulatory website was observed to be a best practice website. http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/213/65/ As mentioned by Alice, there is a Consumer Center on the CCK website - which is an extremely useful feature. In addition to what kind of information is made available, we also need to think about how it is organised and presented. At the CCK site, the information on the Consumer Center page seems overly formal. The tone and language of that section could be a bit more user friendly with examples of complaints and the kind of documentation that would be required. For example, I bought a prepaid card last month that was supposed to have 20 minutes of time on it. And after carefully monitoring my time so that I have enough for two months, more than 30 days after I bought the card I find out that I could only make 15 minutes of calls. What do I do? Your site tells me that I have to exhaust all possibilities with the provider. Is that the person I bought the card from? If I call the number on the card and they take the complaint but say they can't help me, can I complain to the regulator? Or, I have subscribed to a broadband (yeah!!) service. But from noon until about 6pm it is really slow. I've called my service provider, but they say everything is fine. Can I measure this? How do I show it is too slow for what I am paying? Some websites post the complaints that are being reviewed by the regulator; other websites post yearly consumer complaint indicators. Also, an online feature to submit questions could be useful. In a recent study of the Uruguayan regulator, we found that attention to consumer affairs was lacking on all levels (by the regulators, consumers and the private sector) simply because there is no historical tradition of a consumer movement in the country. One of the reports recommendations was for the regulator to work with the local consumer advocacy groups to strengthen them and make them a better resource for consumers. Developing a strong relationship with the consumer advocacy groups would also serve to lessen the burden on regulators in terms of improving communication and disseminating information to consumers via these groups. Thanks for the great discussion thus far. Very useful. - Amy Mahan _______________________________________________ Amy Mahan, LIRNE.NET Coordinator Montevideo, Uruguay www.lirne.net www.regulateonline.org ________________________________________________ > The CCK recently unveiled the CCK service chatter that sets public > expectations Re: dealing with the Commission and its staff > interchangeably called the "The Customer Service Charter " it outlines > rights and responsibilities and the procedure to follow if CCK service > standards are not met. available at www.cck.go.ke > > Then there is a consumer center on the website, which includes some > useful links e.g how to make a complaint, what you need to know about > telecoms services, but is this enough? > I think the following benchmarks > (http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/354/69/ ) for Latin American > and Caribbean Regulatory Authority Websites are rather useful > > best > alice > > above comments are personal and do not reflect any position of the organizations I am affiliated with > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > >

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Kenyans executing Identy Theft in the US!
by John Walubengo 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Looks like the internet security challenge is already being practiced by Kenyans in the diaspora... check this out... Two Convergys employees arrested on ID fraud charges DAILY HERALD Two Convergys employees were arrested and charged with ordering thousands of dollars worth of cell phones and accessories using the identities of AT&T customers. Kechi Ezem, 24, of Provo, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count each of identity fraud and theft, and 24-year-old Philista Oniango, of Orem, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count each of theft and identity theft. Oniango is also being held at the Utah County Jail on an immigration hold. Both women are employees of Convergys, which handles calls for AT&T. According to court documents, Orem police went to Convergys after AT&T learned that a cell phone billed to one of its customers had been ordered by Ezem. Ezem told police that Oniango had her computer password, and a search of company records showed that she had confirmed the order of more than $50,000 worth of phones and accessories using AT&T customer accounts, court documents said. Most of the phones were sent to Oniango's home in Orem. the story continues at http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/245669/ walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

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nGOmobile competition
by alice 06 Dec '07

06 Dec '07

Hi All this may be interesting for some.... best alice -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Apc.africa] nGOmobile competition Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:25:24 +0000 From: Abi Jagun <abi(a)apc.org> Reply-To: APC Africa list <apc.africa(a)lists.apc.org> To: apc.africa(a)lists.apc.org Dear APC Africa members and Team (Please see http://www.ngomobile.org/ for more information.) I recently came across this website and announcement and thought it might be of interest to those organisations interested in using mobile phones in their work. "nGOmobile is a text message-based competition aimed exclusively and unashamedly at grassroots non-profit organisations working for positive social and environmental change throughout the developing world ... The competition wants to encourage NGOs to think more about how mobile technology could be applied in their work ... NGOs from developing countries are invited to submit a short proposal outlining how text messaging could make their job easier ... What we are looking for is impact - a clear indication that winning an amazing prize, and gaining access to mobile technology, would revolutionise your work and turn mission impossible into mission accomplished." The prize includes the following: A brand new HP Pavilion laptop computer - To help you run your messaging campaign from anywhere you choose A GSM modem - Send messages through the mobile network without the need for the Internet Office software - Word processing, spreadsheets, email - everything to help you run your project more efficiently A top-of-the-range Nokia mobile phone (or two) - A couple of cool Nokia phones to help you take photos and videos (and talk!) FrontlineSMS - Software to run your text-messaging campaign. A little cash - One thousand dollars to help get your new project off to the best possible start! There will be FOUR winners and the deadline for proposals is 14th December. Please see http://www.ngomobile.org/ for more information. _______________________________________________ Apc.africa mailing list Apc.africa(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apc.africa

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An ITWeb article from pauline@nordic.co.ke
by pauline＠nordic.co.ke 06 Dec '07

06 Dec '07

This article has been sent to you from pauline(a)nordic.co.ke as a courtesy of ITWeb. Comment: Too expensive!! Nigeria blacklists Siemens Nigeria has revoked its last contract with Siemens and suspended dealings with the industrial group pending a probe into allegations it gave 10 million euros ($14.6 million) in bribes, the government said yesterday.A German court fined Siemens 201 million euros on 4 October for bribes paid to Nigerian, Russian and Libyan officials by a former manager of one of the group's telecoms equipment units.Details were not made public at the time, but the Wall Street Journal reported details of the Munich court ruling last month. It said five Nigerian former ministers and senior officials were involved.President Umaru Yar'Adua, who took office on 29 May on pledges of zero tolerance for corruption, said he had ordered security agencies to investigate and take appropriate action.Information and communications minister John Odey said the government decided to cancel the 128.4 million naira ($1.08 million) contract for the supply of circuit breakers and other power generation accessories, as a first step towards blacklisting Siemens."Council today cancelled the contract bid won by Siemens Nigeria because of the current investigation against the company relating to corrupt practices," Odey told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in the capital Abuja."Government will not have any dealings with Siemens Nigeria in terms of contracts until the investigation is concluded and the company is exonerated or otherwise," Odey said.Several of the ex-ministers and top officials named in the German court ruling have denied they took bribes. The company has said it accepts the German court's judgment.The ruling, according to details reported by the Wall Street Journal, focuses on bribes paid between 2001 and 2004, ranging from 2 000 euros to 2.25 million euros, given to senior government officials in Nigeria, Libya and Russia. About 10 million euros went to the Nigerians, it said.The newspaper said Siemens sold telecoms equipment in Nigeria, but the ruling did not specify what contracts Siemens was seeking. It also did not say what, if anything, the recipients of Siemens' money did in exchange for it.Yar'Adua's anti-graft posture in one of the world's most corrupt countries has been undermined by a series of scandals.The speaker of the House of Representatives was forced to step down after being found to have improperly awarded contracts worth $5 million for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy.Anti-corruption police have charged five ex-state governors with embezzlement and have said they are investigating several others, though there has been no conviction. Posted: 12/6/2007 10:46:27 AM --------------------------------------------------- ITWeb - First with IT news. Every day. For more topical IT industry news, views and analysis, visit us at http://www.itweb.co.za ---------------------------------------------------

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The day your Phone-Number becomes a web address]
by alice 06 Dec '07

06 Dec '07

The day your Phone-Number becomes a web address (http://area.phone.num.com/) the reality will hit home. Neustar enum: http://www.enum.org/index.html?CFID=428983&CFTOKEN=13613274 Personal devices: ipods, psp, cell phone, pvp, pda whatever your plugged into, will innerconnect to the internet. You'll be your own little Utility Co. Yep that day is coming. Neustar: http://www.neustarultraservices.biz/ TWM Solicitors Selects NeuStars Managed Internal DNS Service: http://www.neustarultraservices.biz/news_events/articles/070810.html Demo: http://www.neustarultraservices.biz/technology/portal.html NeuStar National Pooling Website: http://www.nationalpooling.com/ NeuStar extends UltraDNS Network Infrastructure to Australia and China: http://www.domainnews.com/general/2007112805/neustar-extends-ultradns-netwo… nfrastructure-to-australia-and-china/ -- ____________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: governance-unsubscribe(a)lists.cpsr.org For all list information and functions, see: http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance _______________________________________________ secretariat mailing list secretariat(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/secretariat This message was sent to: alice(a)apc.org Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/secretariat/alice%40apc.org

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Nii Quaynor receives the prestigious Jon Postel Award
by Eric Osiakwan 06 Dec '07

06 Dec '07

Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor has laboured as a General in the ICT Army in Africa over two decades providing leadership, vision, foresight, strength and the best of field commandship - in his own words, "a strike against techno-colonialism. A lot of us have learnt from his fortitude, tenacity and sense of commitment to cause that sometimes is not as well recognised but yet the only hope for generations to come. Nii'a efforts has resulted in great strides not only in the technical community but in the other disciplines and stakeholder manifestations across board. It is important to underscore his great work as one of the pioneers also of the building of institutions for the knowledge economy in Africa of which AfriNIC is a classical example of great gain. Not to talk about his building of systems, people, spaces and opportunity. Please join me in congratulating a five star General, Nii which means in our local dialect, Chief..... Eric here Begin forwarded message: > From: "Dawit Bekele" <bekele(a)isoc.org> > Date: 6 December 2007 05:09:37 GMT+03:00 > To: <africann(a)afrinic.net> > Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Nii Quaynor receives the prestigious > Jon Postel Award > Reply-To: bekele(a)isoc.org, africann(a)afrinic.net > > Hi all, > > > > I am happy to announce to you that, today, this year’s prestigious > Jon Postel award has been awarded to Nii Quaynor. Lynn St.Amour, > CEO and President of ISOC handed the presentation crystal of the > award to Nii Quaynor at the IETF meeting in Vancouver, where more > than 1,000 participants were present. > > > > You all know how much Nii has contributed for the development of > Internet in Africa, which is why we are all happy that he has be > given this award that he fully deserves. > > > > To know more about the Jon Postel award please see http:// > www.isoc.org/awards/. > > > > Best regards, > > > > > > Dawit Bekele > > Manager, African Regional Bureau > > Internet Society (ISOC) > > bekele(a)isoc.org > > Tel: +251 911 22 13 33 > > > > > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.11/1084 - Release Date: > 10/21/2007 3:09 PM > > _______________________________________________ > AfrICANN mailing list > AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann 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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Tell me the future
by alice 05 Dec '07

05 Dec '07

Dear all Very interesting reads below re; the internet. And yes yes again fiber/infrastructure is critical to increase penetration, access etc best alice > > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/03/mondaymediasection.internet > > > Tell me the future > > We asked the godfather of the net to tell us where the technology will > take us. He emailed his address book > > * The Guardian <http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian> > * Monday December 3 2007 > > When we asked Vint Cerf, chief evangelist at Google, to guest edit > MediaGuardian, we expected him to bring us some luminaries of the web > who we don't often get to hear from. His choices transform an > often-asked question ("what's the future?"), into an insight into the > thinking of innovators and pioneers. It's no coincidence that three of > them are founders of some of the biggest web names. > > Their specialist fields (from search, to advertising, video streaming > to social networking) represent what Cerf believes to be the most > exciting areas of development on the web and in the world; notably > Steven Huter and Adiel Akplogan, who have pioneered the internet > infrastructure in Africa. > > Finally, each one has had, and will continue to have, a profound > impact on the future of media. > > *Developing world* > *Steven Huter and Adiel Akplogan* > *Research associate, University of Oregon Network Startup Resource > Center; CEO, Regional Registry for Internet Number Resources for Africa* > The first full internet connection to the African continent was > established in Tunisia in October 1991. Over the next 15 years, the > transition from store-and-forward email networks to full internet > connectivity in capital cities all over Africa progressed steadily, > with Eritrea being the last to join the global internet in November 2000. > > While most of the continent's internet connections are via satellite > today, the transition to fibre over the next five years will take off > as one or more of the undersea cables currently competing to service > eastern and southern Africa become operational. However, penetration > to rural communities will continue to be limited due to the lack of > infrastructure, and the cost of a personal computer is typically more > than what the average person in a village can afford. > > Consumer broadband services via DSL are becoming available in an > increasing number of countries; however, service costs depend greatly > on the pervasiveness and reliability of local infrastructure. Wireless > solutions will continue to evolve as the dominant service for "last > kilometre" access due to the lack of local infrastructure. Given that > national scale fibre build-outs are not a major focus of the five-year > budget plans for most governments, most service providers will > continue to deploy a combination of wireless and leased line > infrastructure from telecommunications companies for providing > internet access. Overall progress will occur, but realistically, the > limited or unavailable national infrastructure (power and fibre) will > make it difficult to attain economies of scale, which will limit > pan-African internet development between now and 2012. > > The explosion in mobile telephony that has turned Africa into the > fastest-growing market in the world, at more than twice the > international average growth in subscriber numbers, will continue to > drive locally-fuelled innovations. A number of SMS and voice-enabled > applications are already in use in numerous African markets, providing > financial, agricultural, health, and other information services. > Network services via mobile devices will accelerate as mobile > operators upgrade infrastructure, and cheaper and more sophisticated > handsets lower the bar for innovation. > > The rise of a youthful, entrepreneurial and well-educated vanguard of > Africans will lead this overhaul of the continent's communications > services. Countries that are embracing information technology today > and harnessing the power of wireless networks, mobile telephony and > low-cost technology for the end-user, along with establishing > regulatory environments to foster entrepreneurship, will evolve > rapidly over the next five years. Countries that establish and promote > internet exchange points will help to cultivate the localisation of > African internet traffic, and stimulate the creation and distribution > of more local content. > > To take full advantage of the power of the internet, African leaders > must give rise to regulatory and political environments that remove > cumbersome barriers, encourage competition by opening up markets to > engage more access providers, and capitalise on these positive forces > that ultimately will be the dynamic impetus to propel Africa forward. > > *Social networking* > *Chris De Wolfe* > *CEO, co-founder MySpace* > In only a few years, social networks have become a staple in the > internet landscape as the social networking phenomenon allowed people > to "put their lives online". A person's profile became a > representation of who they really were in the offline world, and > allowed them to transfer their offline world online. > > More than ever, social networks are blurring online and offline > worlds, evolving into social destinations that are driving the > direction of the larger web and affecting industries like advertising, > music and politics. > > Predicting the future of social networks exclusively misses the larger > point - these evolving online social destinations are laying the > groundwork for the new social web which we believe is becoming > infinitely more personal, more portable, and more collaborative. > > First, as we expand these social destinations to all corners of the > world, we must always think in terms of the individual. With millions > of people using social websites, there's an increasing demand to make > everyone's web experience personal. In the same way a home or office > is your physical address, we expect your personal, online social > profile to become your internet address. When I give out > www.myspace.com/chrisdewolfe <http://www.myspace.com/chrisdewolfe> to > friends and colleagues, everyone knows where to find me online. > > We expect aspects of all socially-based sites to become increasingly > portable. In terms of mobile, we expect to have relationships with > every carrier and device-maker in the world and we expect that half of > our future traffic will come from non-PC users. > > Social activity is happening everywhere and we expect applications and > features to be more fluid, based on the online population that want > content where they want it, when they want it, and how they want it. > Social activity should be portable and we expect the industry will > continue to move in that direction. > > Lastly, online social destinations work best when creativity and > development are collaborative concepts. From personal profiles, to the > widget economy, to the OpenSocial standard - the future of the social > web will harness the savvy of the masses to produce more relevant and > meaningful social experiences, ultimately pushing the larger industry > to be more innovative and progressive. > > Lowering the barrier to entry for a new generation of developers will > lead to a more collaborative and dynamic web and directly affect the > tools and feature sets available on socially-based sites. Supporting a > more collaborative web creates a more global and participatory > internet experience for everyone. > > The evolution of social networks is kick-starting a broad global shift > for how people, content and culture collide on the web. Right now > we're looking at the tip of the iceberg for what the social web will > look like in the future. Fundamentally, all social destinations must > expand while staying personal, they must engage users while empowering > portability, and they must work with up and coming innovators and > major web leaders to both collaborate and contribute to the larger web > community. > > *Video* > *Chad Hurley* > *CEO, co-founder YouTube* > In five years, video broadcasting will be the most ubiquitous and > accessible form of communication. The tools for video recording will > continue to become smaller and more affordable. Personal media devices > will be universal and interconnected. People will have the opportunity > to record and share video with a small group of friends or everyone > around the world. > > Today, eight hours of new video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. > This will grow exponentially over the next five years. Our goal is to > allow every person on the planet to participate by making the upload > process as simple as placing a phone call. This new video content will > be available on any screen - in your living room or in your pocket - > and will bring together all the diverse media which matters to you, > from videos of family and friends to news, music, sports, cooking and > more. > > In the next five years, users will be at the centre of their video > experience, you will have more access to more information, and the > world will be a smaller place. > > *Advertising* > *Maurice Lévy* > *Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe* > Five years is an eternity in technology, but from our vantage point a > few things are clear about what the internet and internet advertising > will look like in 2012. One, virtually all media will be digital, and > digital will enable almost all kinds of advertising. Two, online > advertising will depend more than ever on the one element which has > always been at the heart of impactful advertising, both analogue and > digital: creativity. The explosion of media channels means this is a > glorious time to think and act creatively. In art history terms, we > are at the dawn of the Renaissance after the Dark Ages. > > Just as the Renaissance broke down the distinctions between sacred and > profane art forms and between individual and community, so we are > seeing a similar exciting blurring today - and this will only > intensify. Linear media is fast giving way to liquid media, where you > can move seamlessly in and out of different settings. Prescribed time > - the 7 o'clock news, the Friday night out at the cinema, etc - is now > becoming multitasking time. People are no longer willing to put up > with interruptions for a commercial break during their entertainment > experience, and so we have to find incredibly creative solutions to > interact with them and engage them in genuine and honest ways. This > implies a brave new world of engagement and involvement between > marketers and consumers and will also mean co-production between > marketers and media owners. Scale will be critical: in five years' > time, around 2 billion people will be constant internet users and > mobile internet computing will be ubiquitous. What a great time to be > in the business! > > *Mobile* > *Biz Stone* > *Co-founder, Twitter* > As we increasingly realise the web as a vital social utility and > important marketplace we cannot ignore an even bigger potential. The > power of the internet is not limited to the PC. Twitter has emerged to > create a seamless layer of social connectivity across SMS, IM, and the > web. Operating on the simple concept of status, Twitter asks one > question: "What are you doing?" Friends, family and colleagues stay > connected through short responses. > > The potential for this simple form of hybrid communication technology > is strong. For example, a person in India may text "Follow Biz" and > get online via Twitter over SMS in a matter of seconds. Biz might be > updating from the US on a PC. Nevertheless, the updates are exchanged > instantly. > > Our future holds in store the promise of increased connectivity to a > powerful social internet which truly extends to every little spot on > our Planet Earth. We're all affected by and defined by each other's > actions. What are you doing? > > *Search* > *Peter Norvig* > *Director of research, Google * > Yale librarian Rutherford Rogers said "We're drowning in information > and starving for knowledge." The internet is an ocean of information > and in the near future we'll speed through it effortlessly and > intuitively, like a tuna. No, I don't mean you'll have fins. > > If you haven't been searching for [tuna tail vortices] recently, you > may not know that a tuna's body creates small vortices in the water > that are then channelled by the tuna's tail to create additional power. > > This symbiosis of tuna and watery environment forms a more efficient > propulsion system than anything designed by human engineers. > > In the future, a similar symbiosis of searcher and computational > environment will allow us to move faster through the internet than we > would have thought possible. We will not just be typing in keywords > and getting back a list of 10 web pages. > > Instead, our interaction will be more fluid, our computers will accept > our requests in many forms, and will scan our environment proactively, > looking for ways to provide us with additional power. We will get back > web pages, yes, along with existing books and videos, but also custom > tables, charts, animations, databases, and summarisations created > on-the-fly in response to our specific needs. > > Today, nobody says "I need to connect to a megawatt power station" - > instead we assume that electricity will be available on demand in > almost every room of every building we visit. Edison could see that > this would be useful, but could not foresee the range of appliances, > from food processors to mp3 players, that this availability would > enable. So too will information flow freely to us in the future, and > be transformed by as-yet-unforeseen information appliances. > > *Archive* > *Bruce Cole* > *Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities (US)* > At the National Endowment for the Humanities, we believe the internet > and other information-age tools, such as digital archiving, will help > us understand the world more deeply, broadly, and creatively. For > humanists just as much for scientists, the ability to mine, analyse, > and understand data, simulate complex environments, and combine > information from a wide variety of sources, is critical to > 21st-century discovery and innovation. > > The exciting new tools of the digital age also present unique > challenges. With digital technologies, we can comb through information > in seconds versus years, and assimilate knowledge from a much broader > array of sources for new insights. But the wellbeing of the > infrastructure itself demands new time-frames. Information in books > can be preserved for centuries before transfer to new "media" is > needed. Information on disks, thumb drives, and other digital media > has a lifespan measured in years or even months rather than centuries > before transfer to the next generation of media is required. > > Just as physical infrastructure is a foundation for modern life, > digital infrastructure (data storage, computers, networks, etc.) is > foundational infrastructure for the information age. Attention to the > health and support of this infrastructure is critical to ensuring that > born-digital knowledge is preserved and passed on for the benefit of > future generations. > > > _______________________________________________ > AfrICANN mailing list > AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net <mailto:AfrICANN@afrinic.net> > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann Eric M.K Osiakwan ICT Integrator Internet Research www.internetresearch.com.gh emko(a)internetresearch.com.gh <mailto:emko@internetresearch.com.gh> 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Tel: +233.21.258800 ext 2031 Fax: +233.21.258811 Cell: +233.24.4386792 _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Communication Methods: History Repeats Itself
by Alex Gakuru 05 Dec '07

05 Dec '07

I wish to take a historical perspective re-looking the continuing fibre debate to prove why we cannot resist change and win. I learnt this morning that Mombasa had a submarine cable connection in 1895 to the rest of the world! After Marconi invented the radio in 1900,that became the "new" communication method and served the time well. HF still in use in ships and today CCK still licenses radio hobbyists <http://www.qsl.net/oh2mcn/5z4.htm> 1950s saw arrival of the satellite, better and cheaper than substituting long range radio. In the 1970s came fibre for communication used in conjunction with satellites, has been serving us thus far. The first documented article on local use was in 1983 on the Kenya Engineer magazine written by Eng. John Kariuki. This fibre connected Westlands, City Centre, Southands and Embakasi. Twenty years later, can we really afford to argue against fibre connectivity? Shall we stall it and wait for 10 years to be dumping sites for "old" fibre technology after the new type of connectivity PS mentioned is broadly deployed out there? Developed countries, such as Canada, are now delivering 1 Gigs to to home through FTTH projects. Let us also remember that PS Ndemo still has a order pending complete execution. <http://www.statehousekenya.go.ke/speeches/kibaki/ feb06/2006280201.htm> Regards, Alex For the record, I differ with a separate post calling for list information gatekeeping allowing only deemed "useful content" since if that principle were extended to radio, TV, this list would be flooded with claims of broad censorship:) I believe the current debates will seasonate settle fizzle out sooner or later. But should one be uncomfortable with another's postings, just press DELETE without ever opening the messages:) Personally I am happy to read every post because I always learn new things. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Re: [kictanet] Fibre Optic
by robert yawe 05 Dec '07

05 Dec '07

Alex, You again still have not justified the landing of the marine cable. 1. Of the US 500 Million spent on satellite connectivity 80% is none productive traffic such as porn, spam and chat (you and me both in Nairobi but chatting on MSN). Reducing costs is not necessarily the only way to resolve an issue most of the times it is easier to increase your income so that the expense as a percentage is lowered. 2. Lets not replace the world bank loans with diaspora remittances, let us become productive and more ingenious, lets take advantage of our position as the most advanced economy in sub Saharan Africa. We need to lay fiber to the neighbouring countries so that we can pick out sourcing contracts from Europe and America but set up the call centers in the neighbouring countries. That way we utilise our higher value personnel to look for high value outsourcing. 3. Dream on . . . 4. Log onto a locally hosted site and experience true high speed Internet, stop browsing foreign sites and the fiber ceases to be essential. I know Dr. Ndemo says we cannot be an Island, is it being an Island when you are faithful to one partner. Certain things can be shared such as a hand shake or a conversation but certain activities are best kept within. Lets not over stretch ourselves bringing high speed garbage when we can use technology to improve our lives, locally. 5. Charity begins at home and so does B2B and B2C 6. Out sourcing what??? Have a good day. PS. Delay fiber or perish Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: Alex Gakuru <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Friday, 30 November, 2007 6:25:46 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fibre Optic Robert: I cannot rationally argue against fibre connectivity, but on processes yes. Of course, I will argue hypothetically since if I responded seemingly with insider information then I would be misleading consumers. And you know my issues... On Nov 30, 2007 4:46 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > > Explain one issue to me, how will the marine cable increase the remittances > from the diaspora, they are sending 3.9 billion over slow, expensive > satellite links why should we reduce this by spending 7 billion to land the > fiber? 1. AfDB data shows that in total Africa spends US$ 500 million (shs 30 billion) every year on transit satellite bandwidths.( i.e. 5 TEAMS projects). That would be a saving! 2. Back to your question, since it would be (promised very) cheap to call them, then we shall call them day and night "convincing" them how they have neglected mother Africa, poetically narrating Wanjiku's financial sufferings back home, her kiosk that needs only one-off stocking and her anguish will ease. They are only human. They will dig deeper into their pockets, miss a few lunches, tighten their belts, or speak nicely to their bosses on their urgent need to alleviate home poverty. If we collude and do this nationally for just one year, then we could quadruple remmitances to 16 billion shillings or at worst double it to 8 billion-enough to build a cable that will benefit us for the next 25 years:) That was on a light note though I am paraphrasing real comments attributable to *130* "Please call me" to diasporans. 3. Imagine starting a movie company. Be it a comedy, folk tales, Flora and Fauna, or like developing video games like Wesley Kiriinya's, "Adventures of Nyangi" http://www.sinc-studios.com/. The fibre gives one a potential 1.2 billion internet users customer base. Because THEY can play quality demo videos clips fast many are bound to purchase and if, say 10,000 buy a product at US$10 that would be Kshs 6 million. Such opportunities are lost every day we are not connected by fibre. 4. We have 2.7 million internet users. For how long does each one take tapping their fingers on the desk waiting for a slow web page to load? Multiply each one's lost productivity by 365 days/year then by 2.7 million and compute the national productivity loss caused by slow, yet very expensive internet. Based on these mathematics OECD countries have put up a nifty graphic showing broadband rankings of member countries, but which also include average price of broadband and average throughput here http://www.fiberevolution.com/2007/11/us-lags-in-grap.html, pointer courtesy Bill St. Arnaud http://www.canarie.ca/. I would be interesting to have Dr. Ndemo's expected consumer prices to compare. 5. Consumer/Busineses costs saving would be the most apparent benefit. I need not dwell on that since we all feel them pretty well. 6. I also skip outsourcing. > Alex, all I ask is can you give me a logical reason why we should spend 7 > billion to land this fiber? Are above logical enough reasons sufficiently compelling justification to support the international fibre? But like I said, remember SAT3 West Africa cable cost nearly the same as satellite because of Bandwidth cartels. So should be assured they have no space in TEAMS to clog broadband to consumers, but that is somebody's job. We are only asking for assurance it will not turn out to be a white grey elephant project:) > > I am aware this discussion is academic but it should not stop us from > questioning the rational. > That's the spirit! We keep Ndemo on his toes, always.... Thanks, Alex __________________________________________________________ Sent from Yahoo! - the World's favourite mail http://uk.mail.yahoo.com

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Free Internet Centre Established
by Alex Gakuru 05 Dec '07

05 Dec '07

[Telcos' "Corporate Social Responsibility" programs could borrow from this wonderful initiative--AlexG] Kenya and Korea to offer free Internet training Written by Okuttah Mark December 5, 2007 Groups within Nairobi and its environs will benefit from free Internet training and access courtesy of an initiative between the Kenyan and Korean governments. Schools with no Internet connectivity and computers, informal sector, children homes and slum dwellers will benefit from the venture. The centre is also open to other organised groups and individuals for Internet use at a fee. The initiative intends to bridge the digital divide facing the country. <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content &task=view&id=4693&Itemid=5847> ____________________________________________________________________________________ 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] Kenya's Peculiar Business Environment
by Claire RUTO 04 Dec '07

04 Dec '07

I am sorry guys; I have kept quiet as I have watched this debate go on. But now it is bordering on sub-judice and defamation, given the implications some are making. I would ask that we keep this site to comments on policy and information that would enrich us as practitioners in ICT. It takes away from our discussions when we start to makes comments that have no basis on fact and which we really know nothing about. Having said that I must say that when facts have been used well, I have benefited a lot from the information given here and even from some of the criticism and suggestions made. Clare Ruto -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+ruto.c=ke.celtel.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+ruto.c=ke.celtel.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of badru Ntege Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 9:58 AM To: Claire RUTO Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Kenya's Peculiar Business Environment Bill Kagai wrote: >> So the lawyer's reason must have been genuine, not a pretext. >> I've seen some calculations on the amounts the country loses as a >> result of the traffic jams. >> The figure, per year, was more than the 2bn taxman is chasing! >> > > Blimey....Man..r u serious??!!! For a 2 billion brief..I would stay at > Intercontinental 2 nights in advance if traffic were to mess me up!!! > This joke has to stop. Its killing me. > Man i have very little trust in lawyers though in my darkest moment i know they might be the only rescue. However one could have another look at the situation in that the gains for one party were obviuosly understandable 2 Billion and all the other party had to do was not turn up. Could there have been some agreement ?? What time did the lawyer set off for court ?? How long has he been doing that journey ?? was there something unusual that morning that the traffic was too much ??? In these days of ICT did the lawyer call ahead and inform court of his problem ?? If he so did why was the case still thrown out ?? I'm sorry i just think this is too obvious that if we just let it be we allow ourselves as Africans to be ridiculed for corruption and incompetence. No lawyer is that dump or are they ??? Or do they think we are all too dump and stupid that we let it go. Guys I'm sorry but i smell a FAT ROTTEN RAT. I don't buy the traffic storry pull the other one matey. My 2 cents _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: ruto.c(a)ke.celtel.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ruto.c%40ke.celtel. com This e-mail contains confidential information or information belonging to Celtel Kenya Limited and is intended solely for the addressee. The opinions therein, explicit or implied, are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Celtel Kenya Limited as a company. The unauthorized disclosure, use, dissemination or copying ( in whole or in part) of this e-mail, or any information it contains, is prohibited. E-mails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity cannot be guaranteed. Celtel KenyaLimited shall not be liable for this e-mail if modified or falsified. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, please delete it immediately from your system and notify the sender of the wrong delivery and the e-mail deletion.

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Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting
by bitange＠jambo.co.ke 04 Dec '07

04 Dec '07

Dear Yawe, In my view you are failing to understand. I sent an e-mail to you stating the efforts we have put in place to have a local broadband network. I also stated that we need the international broadband network to enhance our common strategy on business processing outsourcing that now employs up to 3,000 Kenyans and has a potential of employing many more. Besides all this I have also stated that access to connectivity will spur innovation and create cheaper linkages to all Kenyans wherever they may be in the globe. We are simply creating an enabling environment. This where many opportunities will arise from. Digital TV is one of the many opportunities that we want our rural folks to utilize. Local content developers will need the networks to sell their content. Educational institutions will need these networks to provide e-learning services. E-commerce shall flourish. Tourissts accessing local services, flower farmers linking cheaply to their customers etc. This is all about economic growth. I sense you are not in agreement with us on why we need the Fibre Optic. You will do us a lot of good if you had an answer. In all your writing, you seem to be complaining and not offering any sugestions. Yet this forum is for sharing of ideas. Can you for once share what you are up to. You may greatly help this country if what we are doing is not justifiable. You are right about TKL Fibre that is not terminated and we are doing something about it. In fact the problem is local content which the Government is soon churning out and will need the FO. The greater problem though is that we have far too many activists than we have entrepreneurs. Innovative people cannot complain about idle capacity of such a factor of production. It is criminal that you who is aware of what ICT infrastructure can do to the country that you sit there to complain that it is idle instead of raising awareness to the public and utilizing that asset. Regards Bitange Ndemo. > Kagai, > > Like all the rest we are misplacing the importance of the marine cable and > it is unfortunate that Dr. Ndemo is also unable to provide us with the > logical reason for why we need to land this fiber cable. > > Your issue of digital TV has nothing to do with whether we have the marine > cable or not as our transmission is local and thus what we need is a fiber > network within the country. I have been listening to that story of > digital TV being echoed by many a so called IT gurus. All that the fiber > will do is create so much competition for our local stations before they > have enough time to adopt or recoup their investments which will result in > massive layoffs. If we can negotiate for the delay i

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