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[ideas] Is there a way we can use our skills/talents to try and help turn our local politics into something more healthy and inclusive?
by Patrick A. M. Maina 29 Jun '19

29 Jun '19

Dear listers, Is there a way we can use our skills/talents to try and help turn our local politics into something more healthy and inclusive? Somalia's 20+ years of lawlessness is a grim reminder that toxic politics can backfire massively in an unpredictable and uncontrollable way that does not yield any winners over very long periods of time. There is no human society that is immune to the dangers of toxic politics, therefore it is important for stakeholders (be they professionals, business people, politicians and/or intellectuals) to voice their good-faith concerns against toxic politics, ideally in good time - when there is still a good chance for the country/leaders to change course, because ultimately we all get to bear the heavy socioeconomic costs associated with political uncertainty and volatility. To quote UNDP (see link #1): "Societies whose political institutions are more inclusive and participatory tend to be more peaceful and resilient, just as societies practicing exclusion tend to be more vulnerable to fragility and conflict." As long as leadership and/or resource/opportunity allocation is associated with ethnic identity, and/or an exclusive mindset, there will always be discontent among the have-nots, which leads to aggressive political competition as different ethnic communities clamor for their "turn to eat". It is therefore in our best interest, as a country that desires stability and prosperity, to push towards inclusive and participatory frameworks of governance (see link #2). Let me open the floor with some ideas / suggestions based on the above-mentioned themes. Hoping we can have a non-partisan idea-focused discussion in the spirit of searching for creative solutions to a shared problem. IDEAS / SUGGESTIONS:-------------------------------- 1. Our country needs moments of guaranteed pause in our politics where everyone (including media) gets to take a break from elective politics and focus on development: doing things that create opportunities and prosperity for all. What if election laws were amended to make campaigning illegal unless it occurs within 18 months prior to an election? 2. What if promises for maendeleo (development) were limited to election time only - and required in writing (lodged at the registrar), with measurable pledges and indicators (e.g. x number of jobs annually) such that the promises form a performance contract between the (winning) politician and voters across the whole country? 3. What if politicians agreed that failure to achieve x% of the committed pledges/targets, without credible extenuating circumstances, would be deemed a fair and reasonable ground for impeachment/recall. This would help minimizefalse/unrealistic promises and help reshape the perceptions of leadership from the more toxic "opportunity to rule", into the healthier opportunity to serve the country. 4. What if politician salaries were pegged to the median salary in the country - and any extra perks (e.g. performance bonus) to be linked, via a tiered system, to the delivery of agreed socio-economic performance targets and paid lumpsum at the end of the political term? This would incentivize a growth mindset and also minimize the perception that politics is a shortcut to easy wealth (meaning politics would attract people who truly want to make a difference; stakes would be lower during elections and we would have more of in-touch leadership styles). 5. What if political leaders and senior administrators were offered actual housing (instead of a monetary allowance) in median level neighborhoods (e.g. Eastlands) - to avoid their developing the out-of-touch elitism that seems to comes with moving to places like Karen or Muthaiga? What if government only offered them cover limited to public health services (I've seen this being discussed in the news)? Perhaps our country will be transformed much faster if our leaders lived among the median demographics and had a personal stake in improving the median standards of living? 6. What if political campaigns were about winning support for a written socio-political strategy and plan; i.e. a competition of ideas - instead of personalities? What if elections were about perceived merits of ideas, implementation strategies or preferred economic direction that the country should take - instead of identities and/or unrealistic promises? 7. All Kenyans have common problems that they would like to hear politicians talking about all the time such as JOBS CREATION and ABUNDANT OPPORTUNITIES for ENTREPRENEURSHIP. I think ICT, manufacturing and agriculture are high-potential drivers where quick results can be attained. How can we encourage politicians to focus on these issues within a nationally inclusive framework? 8. Can/should advertisers influence the News Media to stop fanning divisive narratives, mediocrity, ethnic chauvenism, identity politics and other banal inanities - and focus instead on responsibly shaping the national agenda towards issues that bring growth and prosperity? Can media self-regulate and refocus the Kenyan masses towards sustainable agendas (like entrepreneurship and excellence)? If our media moguls are in doubt about the business case of responsible journalism, I would urge them to study how Somalia's media industry has been performing over the last ~28 years. I think if the clock was pulled back, Somalia's media would think very carefully about the narratives that they want to shape their national discourse. Short term profits can come with a heavy long-term cost. Please consider this. 9. Serializing national goals to maximize focus, prioritize and leverage the domino effect of cumulative wins: Do we really have the capacity to make massively bold and audacious goals that are to be implemented concurrently or are we setting ourselves - and our leaders - up for failure by overreaching far beyond our realistic capabilities and stretching ourselves way too thin? Our economic/policy advisors need to accept the reality - that we are a poor, debt ridden country with crippling levels of corruption, institutionalized mediocrity, short sighted orientation and greater levels of incompetence than competence; a country that seems to be always tittering on the edge of a precipitous political/economic cliff - thus urgently in need of credible stabilizing plans and strategies. I would like to propose the idea of a serial, bite-sized approach to strategic national initiatives, where the main goals (which can still be big and audacious) are smartly serialized for domino effect and pursued, with laser focus, one at a time. For example we can have the entire nation's development agenda focus on creating jobs and opportunities - and nothing else - for the first 5 years, then in the subsequent 5 years the focus can change to boosting growth and efficiency, say via infrastructure upgrades/enhancements. This makes it easy for political manifestos to be guided by realistic 20-30 year economic master-plans (that already have national concensus), rather than arbitrary perceptions about what is popular at election time. It can also help decouple the economy from political transition cycles which would attract high quality FDI. Attempting very wide scope goals in parallel significantly increases costs - without giving the economy time to catch up and create domino effects; it compounds complexity - yet we have limited capacity to manage significant complexity; it increases the likelihood of mega corruption due to greater ambiguity + an overstretched Monitoring and Evaluation framework; it consumes a counterproductive amount of leadership bandwidth - such that unexpected events become more of a challenge than would otherwise be; and it magnifies risk of failing to attain ALL the audacious goals to near certainty levels. CONCLUSION: If we serialize our national goals, we will avoid biting more than we can chew and stretching our resources (or bandwidth) too thin. Being focused will minimize the risk of goal-capture by corruption cartels. By prioritizing wealth creation initiatives, we will give our economy a chance to develop domino effects - building a viable case for increasing capacity via infrastructure enhancements. A period of guaranteed pause in politics will allow the country to focus on development. Elections should be about issues - rather than identity. Performance-linked manifestos will encourage politicians to make realistic promises that they intend (and are able) to keep and be held accountable for their attainment. Media is key to ending negative/exclusive ethnicity as it can shape the national discourse towards less toxic narratives. Research suggests that inclusive, participatory governance models are superior to exclusive ones. Inclusivity creates the right socio-political conditions for sustainable stability and prosperity. Welcoming your thoughts / more ideas on the same. My only request, please, is that we try to have a non-partisan, intellectually honest exchange of creative ideas. Good evening. Brgds,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] Links / References: 1. Inclusive political processes https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/2030-agenda-for-sustainable-devel… 2. Sustainability and Public Participation: Toward an Inclusive Model of Democracy on JSTOR https://www.jstor.org/stable/25610875?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

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Fwd: [At-Large] GDPR A Year Later in European Jurisdictions
by Barrack Otieno 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

Might be of interest. Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: *Carlton Samuels* <carlton.samuels(a)gmail.com> Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Subject: [At-Large] GDPR A Year Later in European Jurisdictions To: At-Large Worldwide <at-large(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org>, " lac-discuss-en(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org" < lac-discuss-en(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org>, CPWG <cpwg(a)icann.org> The Eurobarometer 487a report offers insight on citizen awareness of the GDPR, individuals’ rights under it, their perception of their ability to control their personal data and their sense of and understanding of the enforcement mechanisms and actors. Read it here: http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/ index.cfm/ResultDoc/download/DocumentKy/86886 Carlton ============================== *Carlton A Samuels* *Mobile: 876-818-1799Strategy, Process, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround* ============================= -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Data Visualization through the Use of Excel
by Tracy Nyatoro Weru 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

@LabAfrica,Strathmore university in partnership with Sunesis Consulting Limited is organizing a 3-day training course on Excel as a Business Intelligence Tool (Dashboard Reporting). The program will take place @iLabAfrica on 17th - 19th July 2019 at 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. This is a 3-day training that aims at providing business personnel with skills to transform data into decisions using a cost effective tool. The training course is open to all personnel in business related fields who want to leverage on the power of Excel as a Business Intelligence tool. We would be honored to have you participate in this training. If you have further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the event coordinator Getrude on her email address: ggichuhi(a)strathmore.edu <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/1?ta…> The course will help you to: - Explore top 15 advanced data analysis functions that will save your report generation turn-around time! - Move from static, dull reports to interactive and insightful dashboards -learn to apply form controls, slicers, pick lists, and camera tool to create interaction - Show top performers using formulas and YoY% by a click of a mouse - Achieve more with advanced analytical charts -Pareto chart, Scrolling charts, Gauge Charts - Easily spot trends and patterns in your data by using icon sets, traffic lights, Sparklines and Custom Number formats - Creating a dashboard in Excel step-by-step Suitability: - This course is definitely NOT for you if locking cells ($ sign), VLOOKUP & PivotTables are news to you! - You need to have been a regular user of Excel (at least 40% usage in a week), and are comfortable with creating simple lookup formulas and charts, as well as customizing them. - *This course is not suitable for Absolute Beginners in Microsoft Excel.* If you are a beginner, we recommend that you start with less advanced Excel courses. You send an email to Getrude on ggichuhi(a)strathmore.edu <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/2?ta…> with your inquiry. Fee information: Ksh 66,500 which covers the training fee, lunch and refreshments for the three days, as well as the certificate.. -- *Kind Regards,* Tracy Weru Program Manager @iLabAfrica Research Centre Email: tweru(a)strathmore.edu <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/3?ta…> Direct Line: +254 (0) 703 034 621 Ext: 2621 Cell: +254 (0) 724239020 Enquiries: +254 (0) 703-034000/200/300 www.strathmore.edu <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/4?ta…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/5?ta…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/6?ta…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/7?ta…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/8?ta…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/9?ta…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/10?t…> <https://link.aeusercontent.com/mt/lt/D355BBBAC67B2DCE36571561528960260/11?t…> -- *Note: *All emails sent from Strathmore University are subject to Strathmore’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.strathmore.edu/en/email-policy> to read the policy. * * "Visit our Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/StrathmoreUniversity>Page and Twitter <https://twitter.com/StrathU>Account".

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Re: [kictanet] [Fair Competition Laws will Promote Innovation and Reduce Unfair Market Practices - the bill is not targeting a particular company or product] Safaricom to be compelled to split m-pesa business in new bill
by Patrick A. M. Maina 25 Jun '19

25 Jun '19

Hi Ali, Here we go again... My comment was fair because your points appear to be contradicting themselves - which suggests a limited understanding, either of the overall topic or of the point(s) that you are making. If this is not an accurate assessment, I invite you please to rephrase and present your ideas more congruently to avoid being misundersood. Taking note of past interactions, I am detecting a pattern where you repeatedly claim, without substantiating, to be offended or attacked by intellectually fair comments (e.g. when sincerely called out for contradicting your own points or for demolishing your own arguments) and that makes it quite challenging to debate with you with intellectual candor. Your decision to draw conclusions about a particular entity based on ONE WORD on the subject line does not make sense to me because my plain language *insertions* and use of plural terms in the message body (including the section you quoted) clearly suggests a general discussion. Latching onto one word or phrase while completely ignoring the overall context is not an intellectually honest way to debate. So Ali, the onus is still on you to offer a more substantive substantiation as to why you chose to associate one specific entity with what is clearly a general paragraph, and which you excerpted from what is clearly a general discussion. Debating experts generally advise that participants who take diversionery paths instead of focusing on robust, congruent ideas have no intention to engage in genuine debate but just want create certain perceptions for the moderator/observers or create a dramatic distraction so that important ideas are hidden (muzzled) by the noise. Rather than prevail with the strength of their ideas, intellectually dishonest (or unskilled) debaters try to "win" by muzzling or supressing opposing ideas. This is a troubling pattern that I am detecting in your debating style Ali. Productive mature debating is a skill that can be learned. To learn more about how to have an intellectually honest debate, please read the following articles as a starting point, and then search online for more. https://hbr.org/2019/01/how-to-debate-ideas-productively-at-work https://shane.substack.com/p/how-to-stop-being-intellectually Hope that helps. :-) Please let us be open to diverse opinions, fresh ideas and new ways of thinking. Suppressing ideas when discussing public-interest policy issues is counterproductive because it leads to sub-optimal outcomes. Try not to take an intellectual challenge as a personal affront, or use victimhood as a tactic, otherwise you will miss valuable opportunities to engage in, and learn from, high-quality intellectually honest debates on complex, public-interest topics. Enjoy your day. Brgds,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 8:37:45 AM GMT+3, Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke> wrote: Patrick Do you always have to turn a conversation into a personal affront/attack? My limited understanding of State Capture? I will not deign to respond to personal attacks because in my responding I will be making an assumption that you are an expert in the subject of State Capture. Let me instead respond to your question below:- "Perhaps Ali, you can shed more light as to why the name of a particular company - and not any other(s) - came into your mind after reading my general comments about ruthless anti-competitive, anti-poor practices by monopolistic entities. Is there something you have observed or heard about their activities and/or practices?" Simple Patrick. The title of this email thread specifically mentions Safaricom and so the assumption is understandable that you are singling them out. Perhaps you care to respond to that instead of deflecting? I asked a specific question on this. Focus on that, perhaps? AliHussein Principal AHK & Associates Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. On Mon, Jun 24, 2019 at 9:36 PM Patrick A. M. Maina <pmaina2000(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Greetings Ali, and many thanks for your thoughts. One key attribute of high value debates is the presence of two (or more) opposing perspectives because diversity of thought often leads to a multi-dimensional understanding of complex issues, which (if leveraged with good intentions) can lead to high quality inputs for policies, strategies, regulations and/or decisions. So I truly welcome and appreciate your counter-perspective and rebuttal efforts. :-) Let me start with an African saying made famous by Chinua Achebe: "An elderly person is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb." Perhaps Ali, you can shed more light as to why the name of a particular company - and not any other(s) - came into your mind after reading my general comments about ruthless anti-competitive, anti-poor practices by monopolistic entities. Is there something you have observed or heard about their activities and/or practices? Why would public-interest regulation be interpreted as targeting specific companies - unless it is some kind of admission or assertion that those companies could indeed be acting (or causing negative externalities) against public interest? Retrogressive externalities could be an unforeseen and/or unintentional by-product of a sub-optimized network-effects success model and poor economic master-planning (see links #1-7). Furthermore corporations, in different parts of the world, have also been known for purposeful malevolent activities when they fear of competition/disruption especially when operating within a weak / outdated institutional / antitrust framework. Specifics would need to be studied on a case by case basis. Have you considered the timing of the bill (in context of recent industry developments)? The proposed rules could actually *benefit* the very local corporate entities that would supposedly be motivated to resist them. In the global scale, our "tech giants" are like MSMEs and they get to be on the receiving end of mega-scale cross-border corporate tyranny. There is an interesting story of certain well known CEO's visit to Africa. A lot of people thought he was coming to look for investment opportunities and they cheerfully welcomed him (full VVIP+ treatment), took him on tours, demoed innovations, snapped selfies and eagerly answered his questions - hoping to dazzle, awe and impress him. Kumbe he was on a mission to gather economic intelligence - and he openly stated so (meaning you can't claim illegality) - leaving people to form their own self-deluded conclusions as to why he was doing it. Several years later, his company launches a product that will directly compete with ours at an unprecedented game-changing scale! There are so many stories like this in Africa, the script remains the same, only the actors, props and victims keep changing. It is quite embarrassing just how easy we make it for others to *repeatedly* plunder our ideas/insights or compete with us unfairly - to our own collective detriment - yet we always speak of a "knowledge economy" without taking time to understand what that *really* means. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." - old proverb. Africa's centuries-old commitment to gullibility and ignorance is unparalleled and quite disturbing (see links #8-15). We are among the very few (if not the only) modern-day societies that never seem to learn from history. We welcome plunderers / economic spies with pomp, ceremony and color, and we happily give them everything they need to subjugate and impoverish us. Like little children, we accept sweet words as proof of benevolent intent and our shallow vanity makes us take pride that everyone is interested in learning from us (surely that means we are very important and smart - if others want to study us and everything we know, right?), yet we don't take as much - or more - interest in learning from them or asking ourselves uncomfortable questions, such as: "why is the student always teaching the teacher?"... and most worryingly, we see voices of reason, desperately scrambling to wake us up - as party-pooping troublemakers. Quite depressing, but I digress.. Ali, your argument on state capture suggests a limited understanding on how state capture comes about or what really it is (see links #8-15). Essentially you are contradicting yourself because it is good (uncorrupted) public-interest regulations, strong government institutions (not beholden to a few private interests) and a socio-political commitment to fair and sensible rules - motivated by public-interest - that minimize the risk of state capture. State capture is enabled by corruption, unchecked corporate power and corporate lobbying against public interest, which leads to regulatory (and market) failure e.g. due to bad laws that have loopholes purposefully designed in to them - or good laws getting blocked from enactment. I urge you to read more on the topic if you are interested in it (there are some good links below that you can start with) to gain a better understanding so you can offer more robust arguments/rebuttals without unwittingly demolishing or contradicting your main argument. Have a great evening. Brgd,Patrick Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] Links / References: 1. Understanding Network Effects https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_information-systems-a-managers-guide-to… 2. The Dangers of Platform Monopolies https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/the-dangers-of-platform-monop… 3. UNCTAD: Why competition and consumer protection matter https://unctad.org/en/Pages/DITC/CompetitionLaw/why-competition-matters.aspx 4. Apr. 2016: MIT News: How network effects hurt economieshttp://news.mit.edu/2016/network-effects-hurt-economies-0406 5. Regulating Anticompetitive Behavior – Principles of Economics https://opentextbc.ca/principlesofeconomics/chapter/11-2-regulating-anticom… 6. Monopolies are Destroying our Economy (US centric - but contains valuable insights) https://intpolicydigest.org/2018/05/23/monopolies-are-destroying-our-econom… 7. Apr. 2019: IMF warns that tech giants stifle innovation and threaten stability https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/03/imf-warns-that-tech-giants… 8. 2017: UN Speakers Stress Need to Address Exploitation of Africa’s Resources, Urging Paradigm Shift, as Economic and Social Council Concludes Segment | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ecosoc6831.doc.htm 9. Why the richest continent is the poorest https://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/18/africa/looting-machine-tom-burgis-africa… 10. Culture and social environment in the pre-colonial era http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0041-476X200900… 11. Why no African country is truly free or independent - THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! https://www.theafricancourier.de/opinion-analysis/neo-colonialism-in-africa… 12. Exploiting gullible people is a modern form of mininghttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/07/exploiting-gulli… 13. Universities and the “democracy of the gullible” https://en.unesco.org/courier/2018-1/universities-and-democracy-gullible 14. The Age of Gullibility https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/one-among-many/201806/the-age-gulli… 15. The Science Of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=99160094 16. Corporations and Regulators: The Game of Influence in Regulatory Capture https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257246830_Corporations_and_Regulat… 17. Corruption, Lobbying and State Capture https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304479012_Corruption_Lobbying_and_… 18. Rent-Seeking and Regulatory Capture https://www.e-education.psu.edu/ebf200/book/export/html/160 On Monday, June 24, 2019, 7:57:38 AM GMT+3, Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke> wrote: Patrick >From the context of this headline, I'm curious to see how Safaricom contributes to your quote below:- "...OK to drive mama mbogas (small vegetable sellers), youth-founded startups, indigenous innovators and other MSMEs out of business, by leveraging legal/regulatory loopholes that allow them to distort market forces using their mass-scale market power. " Whilst I generally agree with your thesis below I think it's fair that when we make such accusations in relation to a specific company we quote specific examples. I'm all for ensuring a level playing field across the board and contend that this is a collective effort of Good Citizenry by corporates (which by the way is good for business long term) and robust but fair policies and regulation by government. The world is full of examples where breaking up companies has never achieved the desired effect of creating a level playing field (Standard Oil is probably the best example. Years later these baby Standard Oils are mostly back together in the form of Exxon Mobil. And by the way, the breakup may have made the Rockefellers even more fabulously wealthy). Rather than breaking up companies, the world should address the elephant in the room. State Capture. Boeing is probably the most current example of how government regulation was completely corrupted by a company, resulting in a colossal loss of life. One of my best examples of how governments can reign in bad players is how the fear of breaking up Microsoft and other tech giants in the 90s contributed to the rise of the current #BigTech companies. Maybe the cycle needs to be repeated? Let me reiterate. I'm in general agreement with your post, I'm just concerned we don't specifically target an organization without specific evidence to back it up. Regards AliHussein Principal AHK & Associates Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. On Sun, Jun 23, 2019 at 1:14 AM Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Fair competition laws are long overdue and should be very welcome because, if properly formulated and implemented, such laws will rapidly stimulate economic growth and create millions of new jobs. An objective observer will agree that there is something fundamentally wrong about billion-dollar-revenue companies operating in poverty-ridden low-income countries that find it OK to drive mama mbogas (small vegetable sellers), youth-founded startups, indigenous innovators and other MSMEs out of business, by leveraging legal/regulatory loopholes that allow them to distort market forces using their mass-scale market power. Instead of celebrating a few concentrated pockets of super-profits - we should be concerned as to why such "stellar" performance does not match the overall sector's competitive landscape (especially if everyone else in the sector is making losses) - as well as, the general state of the rest of the economy. Hopefully the relevant parties in legislature will do the right thing for opportunities-starved wananchi and for the struggling economy by passing fair competition laws (I am also hoping that wananchi, politicians, public interest NGOs and activists will add weight to such beneficial initiatives as/when necessary). There is still room for more to be done, however, especially in the six areas below (which if addressed, will create an environment that is even more conducive for prosperity and growth): 1. Contextualized Intellectual Property Protection: This area needs urgent attention to address rampant theft of IP due to obsolete, non-contextualized laws that favor corporate tyranny and plunder. Compelling data-based evidence (see link #1-2) shows that a laissez faire attitude to IP is a top contributor to poverty and low quality FDI in low income countries. Wealthy nations zealously defend their indigenous IP as a critical economic resource that is part of their national security (equivalent importance to oil, mining and financial sectors). Did you know that the top 10 most valuable companies in the world are IP-based (see link #3) and none of them is in oil / gas /precious stones or minerals? Extraction is no longer the secret to prosperity (in fact it only attracts chaos instead nowadays)! Did you know that Apple, the world's most valuable company overall, does not own a single factory (see link #4)? Apple is an IP and distribution company (not a manufacturer) - it is in the business of selling ideas! This should be very interesting for Africa, the fact that high value ICT corporations can be based on ideas, IP and distribution networks alone. Wake up brothers and sisters. We don't have to build physical factories to plug into the global ecosystem. We just need a good framework for monetizing great ideas! Even if we are to choose the harder 19th/20th Century path of traditional own-factory manufacturing (instead of the easier and more profitable logistics-driven 21st Century alternative) path, a conducive IP protection framework still remains an essential must-have prerequisite. Global clients will need strong credible guarantees that there wont be leakage of their designs / prototypes / proprietary tooling etc. 2. Preventing Deceptive PR and Marketing Practices: Weak regulation/enforcement encourages corporations to engage in deceptive PR campaigns (e.g. fake partnership offers or deceptive innovation "competitions" / "boot-camps" / "demo-day" events whose purpose is to facilitate the theft/plunder of IP. We also have anti-poor / anti-socialcompanies which brazenly deceive the public by masquerading as pro-poor / pro-social via dishonest marketing and CSR.). 3. Fast-tracked MSME friendly dispute resolution: Judiciary should consider a dedicated court to handle and fast-track commercial disputes that involve MSMEs v/s large corporations with affirmative action in favor of MSMEs (e.g. state provides litigation assistance and cushions the MSME from legal fees). Currently corporations use their resource-power to bully and steal from MSMEs because the current legal framework has loopholes which allows corporations to subvert justice (e.g. companies steal BILLIONS by delaying MSME invoices to accumulate debt then they declare bankruptcy. This is theft - plain and simple - but the law does not treat it as such. Other corporations use legal technicalities to unjustly drag court proceeding for years - hoping that litigants will run out of resources or give up even if they have a strong case. These kind of dispute resolution loopholes cause great harm to MSMEs. 4. Anti-Price Gouging regulations: Companies that provide essential services to the public (e.g communication / data / e-money) should not price them exorbitantly in order to exploit the must-have nature of the product. This should especially apply when there is limited / ineffective competition or indicators of cartel-like collusion within an industry. Dominant / monopolistic entities that offer essential services to the public should be compelled to publish their audited pricing methodologies every month in a way that shows the profit margin percentage for each product line (after factoring in scale and piggybacking advantages). 5. Anti-predation, anti-usury laws: I believe there are ongoing efforts in this area. The public should not be enticed into odious debt or induced to take on debt that they cannot manage; and the CRB should not be used as a financial weapon for oppressing the poor or entrenching poverty. Maintaining a record for 5 years after someone has cleared a loan is disproportionately punitive and shows a lack empathy with the ordinary mwananchi's economic struggles. CRB rules are anti-poor and punish people for lack of opportunity and a poor education - i.e. things that are not wholly of their own making, in favor of predatory corporations. The financial sector needs more empathy and less greed. By punitively and unreasonably denying people access to opportunities, they unwittingly limit their own growth potential. 6. Regulating non-profit foundations associated with for-profit companies: to limit conflicts of interest. Many (if not all) of these companies are covert vehicles for corruption, lobbying and influence peddling. They subvert agendas in sectors like education, finance, agriculture and health with the goal of creating new markets for affiliated corporations, winning government tenders or creating rent seeking avenues contrary to public interest. Ultimately the country loses because the net effect is wealth extraction. The left hand gives with a big show, and pompous ceremony where everyone is invited, but then, once the lights and cameras go off, the right hand quietly takes it all back, and then takes a lot more (leading to a net-loss). Economic analysts should start conducting net-effect analysis of charitable/donor activities to confirm the growing sense of awareness across Africa that something is not right with the charity/donor model. How can we receive so much "assistance" and yet we never seem to take off? How can countries that literally know everything important that happens within our territory (even before it happens) be completely inept and clueless when it comes to preventing proceeds of corruption from being laundered in their countries? Their economies benefit greatly from our fatuous practices.. could it be that some of them actually want us to stay corrupt? Food for thought. Modern day monopolies do not have to overtly abuse their dominance in order to damage the economy. Any mass-scale business model that is based on network effects is inherently anti-competitive because it locks-in millions of customers to one brand and its associated platforms or products - thereby severely limiting choice, stifling competition and blocking startups with better solutions from gaining market traction due to gatekeeper-effect (which prevents the rise of new ICT-related industries). This has a cascading effect of blocking TRILLIONS in high quality FDI that would have eventually come in via Venture Capital; it also limits the ability of the economy to create an export market - to beef up foreign reserves; limits the number of high-value formal jobs; reduces opportunities to lower government's reliance on debt for budget support; and suppresses the growth of a healthy middle class that is essential for economic and political stability. Anti-competitive practices also contribute to increased economic hardships for citizens (by limiting opportunities to a few connected individuals) and prevent governments from fulfilling their campaign promises to the people (thereby stirring dissent and political volatility risks). Products from dominant companies are priced using anti-poor (zero empathy) methodologies which makes them disproportionately expensive to the poor who comprise the majority (and who often have to make food v/s airtime decisions on a daily basis). The same companies offer exponentially better value for money to the rich (less than 1% of the population) to whom the discount has minimal life impact and who can afford to pay a premium anyway! Yet these companies brand themselves as pro-poor and pro-wananchi (which is evidence of a loophole in advertising regulations that allows for deceptive PR practices). Having concentrated points of failure in critical applications, like Mobile Money, puts our increasingly digital economy at significant risk. There needs to be innovations that decentralize mobile money and disrupt the current rent-seeking / price gouging model which offers ridiculous and unjust margins to companies that are already wealthy anyway. Money is not a product - even in digital form. Exchange of digital cash should be 100% free, with no rent-seeking intermediaries taking an undeserved "private tax" cut off every transaction; money should serve its proper purpose as an economic store of value and trade enabler. With the right framework, such socially beneficial innovations will have room to emerge. Economies grow when innovative MSMEs are given room to bloom, grow and thrive without being crushed by anti-competitive dinosaurs who themselves had benefited from state protection and preferential regulation when they were startups e.g. telecomms operators initially benefited legal limits on the number of competing mobile operator licenses - which gave them breathing room to reach scale and discover a working business model. Dominant corporations have highly competent teams that (ought to) understand the cyclical nature of markets and innovation. They are therefore not sincere when they play "victim" to block public-interest regulation that would be exceedingly beneficial to the overall economy. A big THANK YOU to all government stakeholders who are committed to doing the right (and smart) things for the economy and for wananchi in general. You are the true heroes that our country needs and your efforts are truly appreciated! Brgds,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] References / Links: 1. Nunnenkamp P, Spatz J; 2004: Intellectual Property Rights and Foreign Direct Investment: A Disaggregated Analysis https://www.jstor.org/stable/40283951?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents 2. Contribution of IP in growth of FDI's in India https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=fa4da9e0-029d-4f0a-9f61-bf42… 3. The World's Most Valuable Brands https://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ 4. Apple's Supply Chain From the Factory Floor to Retail Stores http://s354933259.onlinehome.us/mhi-blog/apples-supply-chain-factory-floor-… On Saturday, June 22, 2019, 5:08:51 PM GMT+3, Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2019, which is sponsored by Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo, is seeking to compel mobile phone companies to form separate arms to manage any other business they engage in outside telecommunications services. They will also be required to "legally split or separate the telecommunciations business from such other business. Besides separating the revenue streams, telcos will also be required to compensate consumers for dropped calls at the rate of Sh10 for every call dropped for up to three dropped calls a day. https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/MPesa-Airtel-Money-set-for-split/5… _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pmaina2000%40yahoo.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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Save the Date: the Kenya Internet Governance Forum 2018 (July 19, 2018)
by Grace Githaiga 25 Jun '19

25 Jun '19

Listers Greetings! This is to let you know that the Kenya Internet Governance Forum 2018 is planned to take place on Thursday July 19, 2018. I will send a call shortly to invite volunteers to help in organizing the forum. The organising committee lead by Victor Kapiyo (he will Chair for the 2nd term) will share further details on venue, topics, speakers with us as the process evolves. Looking forward to seeing as many of you on that day. Best regards Githaiga, Grace Co-Convenor Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) Twitter:@ggithaiga Tel: 254722701495 Skype: gracegithaiga Alternate email: ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga www.kictanet.or.ke "Change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged and come together to demand it. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change – but in yours"---Barrack Obama.

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Safaricom to be compelled to split m-pesa business in new bill
by Mwendwa Kivuva 25 Jun '19

25 Jun '19

The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2019, which is sponsored by Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo, is seeking to compel mobile phone companies to form separate arms to manage any other business they engage in outside telecommunications services. They will also be required to "legally split or separate the telecommunciations business from such other business. Besides separating the revenue streams, telcos will also be required to compensate consumers for dropped calls at the rate of Sh10 for every call dropped for up to three dropped calls a day. https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/MPesa-Airtel-Money-set-for-split/5…

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Re: [kictanet] Fair Competition Laws will Promote Innovation and Reduce Unfair Market Practices
by Jimmy Gitonga 25 Jun '19

25 Jun '19

Greetings Patrick, Thank you for the robust and thoroughly enlightening discussion / writeup. I have been schooled anew. One day, when (not if) Kenya comes out of this period of blatant state capture, you will be of great use to us. Best Regards, Jimmy Gitonga Web Software Design and Development LinkedIn: Jimmy Gitonga | Twitter: @Afrowave ______________________________________ Web: afroshok.com <http://afroshok.com/> > On 24 Jun 2019, at 9:39 PM, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: > > From: "Patrick A. M. Maina" <pmaina2000(a)yahoo.com <mailto:pmaina2000@yahoo.com>> > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>>, > Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke <mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] [Fair Competition Laws will Promote Innovation > and Reduce Unfair Market Practices - the bill is not targeting a > particular company or product] Safaricom to be compelled to split > m-pesa business in new bill > Message-ID: <244168600.1182915.1561401395341(a)mail.yahoo.com <mailto:244168600.1182915.1561401395341@mail.yahoo.com>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Greetings Ali, and many thanks for your thoughts. > > One key attribute of high value debates is the presence of two (or more) opposing perspectives because diversity of thought often leads to a multi-dimensional understanding of complex issues, which (if leveraged with good intentions) can lead to high quality inputs for policies, strategies, regulations and/or decisions. So I truly welcome and appreciate your counter-perspective and rebuttal efforts. :-) > > Let me start with an African saying made famous by Chinua Achebe: "An elderly person is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb."? > > Perhaps Ali, you can shed more light as to why the name of a particular company - and not any other(s) - came into your mind after reading my general comments about ruthless anti-competitive, anti-poor practices by monopolistic entities. Is there something you have observed or heard about their activities and/or practices? > > Why would public-interest regulation be interpreted as targeting specific companies - unless it is some kind of admission or assertion that those companies could indeed be acting (or causing negative externalities) against public interest? > > Retrogressive externalities could be an unforeseen and/or unintentional by-product of a sub-optimized network-effects success model and poor economic master-planning (see links #1-7). Furthermore corporations, in different parts of the world, have also been known for purposeful malevolent activities when they fear of competition/disruption especially when operating within a? weak / outdated institutional / antitrust framework. Specifics would need to be studied on a case by case basis. > > Have you considered the timing of the bill (in context of recent industry developments)? The proposed rules could actually *benefit* the very local corporate entities that would supposedly be motivated to resist them. In the global scale, our "tech giants" are like MSMEs and they get to be on the receiving end of mega-scale cross-border corporate tyranny. > > There is an interesting story of certain well known CEO's visit to Africa. A lot of people thought he was coming to look for investment opportunities and they cheerfully welcomed him (full VVIP+ treatment), took him on tours, demoed innovations, snapped selfies and eagerly answered his questions - hoping to dazzle, awe and impress him. Kumbe he was on a mission to gather economic intelligence - and he openly stated so (meaning you can't claim illegality) - leaving people to form their own self-deluded conclusions as to why he was doing it. Several years later, his company launches a product that will directly compete with ours at an unprecedented game-changing scale! There are so many stories like this in Africa, the script remains the same, only the actors, props and victims keep changing. > > It is quite embarrassing just how easy we make it for others to *repeatedly* plunder our ideas/insights or compete with us unfairly - to our own collective detriment - yet we always speak of a "knowledge economy" without taking time to understand what that *really* means. > > "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." - old proverb. > > Africa's centuries-old commitment to gullibility and ignorance is unparalleled and quite disturbing (see links #8-15). We are among the very few (if not the only) modern-day societies that never seem to learn from history. We welcome plunderers / economic spies with pomp, ceremony and color, and we happily give them everything they need to subjugate and impoverish us. Like little children, we accept sweet words as proof of benevolent intent and our shallow vanity makes us take pride that everyone is interested in learning from us (surely that means we are very important and smart - if others want to study us and everything we know, right?), yet we don't take as much - or more - interest in learning from them or asking ourselves uncomfortable questions, such as: "why is the student always teaching the teacher?"... and most worryingly, we see voices of reason, desperately scrambling to wake us up - as party-pooping troublemakers. Quite depressing, but I digress.. > > Ali, your argument on state capture suggests a limited understanding on how state capture comes about or what really it is (see links #8-15). Essentially you are contradicting yourself because it is good (uncorrupted) public-interest regulations, strong government institutions (not beholden to a few private interests) and a socio-political commitment to fair and sensible rules - motivated by public-interest? - that minimize the risk of state capture. > > State capture is enabled by corruption, unchecked corporate power and corporate lobbying against public interest, which leads to regulatory (and market) failure e.g. due to bad laws that have loopholes purposefully designed in to them - or good laws getting blocked from enactment. > > I urge you to read more on the topic if you are interested in it (there are some good links below that you can start with) to gain a better understanding so you can offer more robust arguments/rebuttals without unwittingly demolishing or contradicting your main argument. > Have a great evening. > > Brgd,Patrick > > Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] > Links / References:

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] Is Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency a bad idea?
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jun '19

20 Jun '19

Listers, Might be of interest. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Richard Hill via InternetPolicy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Date: Thu, Jun 20, 2019 at 9:43 AM Subject: [Internet Policy] Is Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency a bad idea? To: <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Here is the white paper explaining Facebook’s cryptocurrency: https://libra.org/en-US/white-paper/. Here is an article criticising it: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/opinion/facebook-currency-libra.html : ‘Launching a Global Currency Is a Bold, Bad Move for Facebook The way we structure money and payments is a question for democratic institutions, not technology companies. *By Matt Stoller* Mr. Stoller is a fellow at the Open Markets Institute. · June 19, 2019 · _______________________________________________ To manage your Internet Society subscriptions or unsubscribe, log into the Member Portal at https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login and go to the Interests tab within your profile. - View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/ -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Call for volunteers- 2019 KeSIG steering committee
by Grace Bomu 20 Jun '19

20 Jun '19

Afternoon listers, KICTANet wishes to invite volunteers to the steering committee of the Kenya School of Internet Governance (KeSIG). Now in its fourth edition, KeSIG takes place prior to the Kenya IGF, with the aim of introducing beginners in internet governance to basic concepts in internet policy making. This is with the goal of creating and increasing the available expertise for participation in local and global internet governance processes. KeSIG is slotted for 29th to 31st July 2019. Please write to info(a)kictanet.or.ke , with the subject *2019 KeSIG steering committee* if interested in collaboratively organising the school, explaining your interest. Membership to the team is on volunteer basis and we aim to have representation of diverse groups. Find more information on KeSIG <https://kigf.or.ke/kesig/> here. KeSIG Steering Team TORs <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-TzXUlOI6gIeTK4_fhpzanb6Y8Y-B1rmibSEFfG…> Looking forward to collaboration, Grace B -- Grace Mutung'u Skype: gracebomu @Bomu PGP ID : 0x33A3450F

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Fwd: IGF 2019 Call for Travel Support
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jun '19

20 Jun '19

Dear Listers, This is for your information, attention and action. Best Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Secretariat AfIGF <africanigf(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jun 10, 2019 at 1:08 PM Subject: Fwd: IGF 2019 Call for Travel Support To: Dear Stakeholders, Below kindly find a call for travel support from the Internet Governance Forum Secretariat to take part in IGF 2019 to be held in Berlin, Germany from 25-29 November 2019. Deadline is fast approaching. Kind regards, ------------------------------------------- The African Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF) Secretariat, African Union Le Secrétariat du Forum sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet (AfIGF), Union Africaine Email: Africanigf(a)gmail.com *From:* IGF Secretariat Date: Fri, May 31, 2019 at 7:46 AM *Subject:* IGF 2019 Call for Travel Support Dear All, The 14th annual IGF meeting will be hosted by the Government of Germany in Berlin from 25 – 29 November 2019. With this email, the IGF Secretariat would like to inform that the Call for Travel Support to attend the 14th annual IGF meeting <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/supporting-participation-a…> is open until 30 June 2019: https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/supporting-participation-a… Supporting participation at the IGF 2019 annual meeting Call for Travel Support to attend the 14th annual meeting of the IGF The mandate of the Internet Governance Fo... <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/supporting-participation-a…> *Background* During the IGF 2018 meeting in Paris, the United Nations Secretary-General has called for action to increase inclusiveness in the IGF processes. Specifically, it was called for a* ‘dedicated effort to include and amplify the weak and missing voices’*, as well as for the IGF to evolve toward a more multidisciplinary framework (see full speech <http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2018-address-to-the-int…> ). IGF 2018 Address to the Internet Governance Forum by UN SG António Guterres Mesdames et Messieurs, Nous sommes réunis aujourd’hui à Paris, en France, où la créativité et le génie humains... <http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2018-address-to-the-int…> Historically, the IGF community has also advised to increase diversity in the IGF processes. For these reasons, the IGF 2019 Host Country, Government of Germany, will support eligible stakeholders to participate at the 14th annual IGF meeting in Berlin, from 25 – 29 November 2019. *Application and Selection Process* All interested stakeholders are invited to submit their expressions of interest through a dedicated form <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2019-call-for-travel-s…> on the IGF website by 30 June 2019. The IGF Secretariat/UNDESA will collaborate with the multistakeholder organizing committees of the national, regional and youth IGF initiatives (NRIs) in order to identify the most suitable candidates that will enrich the IGF 2019 processes, but also bring long-term benefits to their respective communities from gained experience. Potential applicants are kindly advised to consult the IGF website and review all information about the application and evaluation procedure, before submitting requests. Best regards, IGF Secretariat -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Enter Libra; new rails for value movement
by Mbugua Njihia 20 Jun '19

20 Jun '19

Open source roots to support inclusive innovation, a strong viral coefficient, trusted partner framework, stable coin model, wide base of possible interoperable utility and an ambitious shared roadmap point to a strong transformative offering - http://www.mbuguanjihia.com/business/enter-libra-new-rails-for-value-moveme… ᐧ

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Call for Volunteers for the 2019 Kenya IGF Steering Team
by Victor Kapiyo 20 Jun '19

20 Jun '19

Good morning listers, KICTANet wishes to invite volunteers from the different stakeholder groups to assist in the preparation of the *Kenya Internet Governance Forum (KIGF) 2019*, which will be held on *Thursday, 1 August 2019. * The Kenya Internet Governance Forum (KIGF) is an annual meeting that brings together various stakeholder groups to dialogue on ICT and Internet policy. The Steering Team otherwise known as the Multistakeholder Advisory Group ( MAG) role is to assist in convening the Kenya IGF by preparing the programme and schedule and to improve the IGF process through community consultations, outreach and stakeholder engagement. MAG members volunteer and serve in their personal capacity, and are expected to have established linkages with their respective stakeholder groups. Please review the MAG TOR <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1npYjF9XHg79tWL24krEkaRZL9bNpCzV-TIpa0tR…> . To express interest, please send an email to *info(a)kictanet.or.ke <info(a)kictanet.or.ke>* with the subject line "*Kenya IGF 2019 MAG*" indicating your stakeholder group, expertise and why you are interested in joining the steering committee of KIGF 2019 by* Tuesday, June 25 2019. * Membership to the steering team is voluntary and all materials produced by KICTANet are published under creative commons licenses. Organisations from various stakeholder groups are encouraged to nominate representatives. For more information or clarification, feel free to get in touch. Best regards, *Victor Kapiyo*

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Fwd: [afnog] UCC Licensing Framework for IXPs
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jun '19

20 Jun '19

I hope this doesn't become a Regional Trend. Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mike Barnard <mike.barnardq(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2019 17:09:10 +0300 Subject: [afnog] UCC Licensing Framework for IXPs To: Afnog Mailing List <afnog(a)afnog.org> The Uganda IXP (https://uixp.co.ug) recently received a letter from the government (UCC) which announces that they intend to establish a licensing framework for IXPs. The letter includes a detailed draft of the proposed framework text (see attached). While we think it is wise for the government to continuously reconsider its role in this evolving industry in order to support its development, the UCC's proposed licensing framework would ironically prohibit further market development by effectively nationalizing the network interconnection service. As written, the framework: 1) Establishes a government controlled monopoly IXP called the “Designated National Internet Exchange Point” and requires all other IXPs to function as edge nodes for it. The framework accomplishes this by requiring all IXPs to connect to the DNIXP, and by giving government control over the contracts between IXPs and their members. See 7.4.b; 8.2.a; 9.e.iii; 9.j. 2) Includes vague language which could lead to problematic interpretations. For example: Clause 9.h could mean that the government intends for the DNIXP to establish itself by expropriating the UIXP’s infrastructure. 3) Allows the government to inspect, copy, or remove any data related to any IXP without a court order. This could include proprietary information. See 7.5.b.ii. 4) Turns IXPs into potential surveillance hubs by requiring them to report any unlawful activity observed in member networks to the government. See 7.3.e.iv. 5) Introduces other significant barriers to entry for new market entrants. Our view is that this licensing framework should either be (a) scrapped entirely, as it can be argued that it is counterproductive to license IXPs in the first place or (b) significantly revised such that it no longer includes any language which would create a monopoly or otherwise hinder the emergence of true competition in this industry. The UCC has called for written feedback to be submitted by July 5th, 2019 and we need your help to avoid disaster. Please take a few minutes to review the attached document and submit your comments in writing before the deadline. If you cannot submit feedback to the UCC directly, please send it to us (board(a)uixp.co.ug) and we will ensure that it gets delivered to the UCC in writing. Thank you. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Israel lessons on how to fund profitable start-ups
by S.M. Muraya 19 Jun '19

19 Jun '19

Dear Listers, December 2017, there was no comment on KICTANET for this article. Singapore vs. Israel: Who’s the better role model? https://www.kictanet.or.ke/?p=36145 Like we have said on this list, KES 100 Bln, per annum, can do wonders in Kenya.. https://www.kictanet.or.ke/?p=37640 Now that a foreign diplomat has spoken on how they (Israel) fuelled start ups, will this particular go.ke respond & provide budgetary support next year? https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/markets/marketnews/Israel-lessons-on-ho… *Israel lessons on how to fund profitable start-ups* By JAMES KARIUKI, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 19:20 SUMMARY - Kenya must generate internal funds that startups can draw from in order to thrive. - Israeli is closely working with Kenya to formulate a partnership deal that will see Kenyan and Israeli companies collaborate in trade. An Israeli diplomat has advised Kenya to provide seed capital to startups to ignite a culture of innovation. Speaking in Nairobi, Israel Embassy head of economic mission, Arnon Abel said Kenya must generate internal funds that startups can draw from in order to thrive. “In the nineties, the Israeli government injected Sh100 billion which helped many startups implement their ideas. In some cases, the government suffered losses but in other projects that succeeded, the government got back its money,” he said. He told a Startup Ecosystem Forum held in Nairobi that emergence of a vibrant startups ecosystem attracted multinational players that established research and development centres across Israel, which serve as incubation hubs for startups. Israeli is closely working with Kenya to formulate a partnership deal that will see Kenyan and Israeli companies collaborate in trade. “In Israel, the military, government, private businesses, academia and multinationals among other entities actively fund startups as a way of seeking new strategies to improve their businesses and be ahead of the pack. “The research and development centres (Cyberhubs) enjoy funding from global multinationals keen on learning firsthand how to improve their products or service delivery channels,” he said. Finland ambassador for innovations, Jarmo Sareva said failure of startup projects should not lead to despair in funding new enterprises. “Governments and companies must support startup forums to spur networking among innovators. Companies use the forums to present problems that startups spend time seeking commercial solutions,” he said.

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Vodafone denies Huawei Italy security risk
by Adam Lane 03 May '19

03 May '19

Dear Patrick Please note that Vodafone have responded to the inaccurate report from Bloomberg. The report is https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48103430 and copied below. You may also be interested in reading this report: https://www.zdnet.com/article/cisco-removed-its-seventh-backdoor-account-th… explaining that Cisco has already found seven “backdoors” into its equipment just this year alone. This is not a Huawei issue, or an espionage issue. It is a global ICT security issue that all companies are constantly struggling with. As you can read (or ask a technical expert), there are many bugs in many products (your apps on your phone are probably being updated on a weekly basis…) due to the nature of software development which are constantly being found and addressed; companies like Cisco and Huawei (along with customers like Vodafone) to the tests and find these (usually) before going to market (though sometimes afterwards) and address them urgently. I am not sure how this issue of bugs in software relates to multinationals illegally collecting and selling business insights. I am sure the local companies have just as many bugs in their software too, and all of us need to collaborate to address them, improve software development standards, and raise the bar. This is not a policy issue, it is a technical issue. You are certainly right that trust is good for business; unfortunately poor journalism such as that by Bloomberg which published before getting the “other side of the story” from Vodafone itself is not helping. I appreciate that you understand this, as you also referenced the ZDnet article which is much better reporting than Bloomberg, including Instead, Huawei says it was "technical flaws in equipment" which were fixed. "These were technical mistakes in our equipment, which were identified and corrected," the spokesperson said. 'The accepted definition of' backdoors' is deliberately built-in vulnerabilities that can be exploited -- these were not such. They were mistakes which were put right." Regards Adam https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48103430 Vodafone denies Huawei Italy security risk Vodafone has denied a report saying issues found in equipment supplied to it by Huawei in Italy in 2011 and 2012 could have allowed unauthorised access to its fixed-line network there. A Bloomberg report said that Vodafone spotted security flaws in software<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-30/vodafone-found-hidden-ba…> that could have given Huawei unauthorised access to Italian homes and businesses. The US refuses to use Huawei equipment for security reasons. However, reports suggest the UK may let the firm help build its 5G network. This is despite the US wanting the UK and its other allies in the "Five Eyes" intelligence grouping - Canada, Australia and New Zealand - to exclude the company. Australia and New Zealand have already blocked telecoms companies from using Huawei equipment in 5G networks, while Canada is reviewing its relationship with the Chinese telecoms firm. In a statement, Vodafone said: "The issues in Italy identified in the Bloomberg story were all resolved and date back to 2011 and 2012. "The 'backdoor' that Bloomberg refers to is Telnet, which is a protocol that is commonly used by many vendors in the industry for performing diagnostic functions. It would not have been accessible from the internet. "Bloomberg is incorrect in saying that this 'could have given Huawei unauthorised access to the carrier's fixed-line network in Italy'. "In addition, we have no evidence of any unauthorised access. This was nothing more than a failure to remove a diagnostic function after development. "The issues were identified by independent security testing, initiated by Vodafone as part of our routine security measures, and fixed at the time by Huawei." A Huawei spokesperson said: 'We were made aware of historical vulnerabilities in 2011 and 2012 and they were addressed at the time. "Software vulnerabilities are an industry-wide challenge. Like every ICT [information and communications technology] vendor, we have a well-established public notification and patching process, and when a vulnerability is identified, we work closely with our partners to take the appropriate corrective action." Several European telecoms operators are considering removing Huawei's equipment from their networks. But the firm's cyber-security chief, John Suffolk, has described the firm as "the most open [and] transparent company in the world". In January, Vodafone "paused" the deployment of Huawei equipment in its core networks in Europe until Western governments resolved their security concerns about the company. Huawei has been accused of being a potential security risk and of being controlled by the Chinese government - allegations it has always firmly denied. With the introduction of the 5G network in the UK approaching, telecoms operators say the way it would work, in a highly integrated system alongside 4G, means that excluding Huawei is not realistic without significant cost and delay, That would include potentially removing existing hardware, leading to the UK falling behind other countries. The company is the world's third-largest supplier of mobile phones, behind Samsung and Apple. Senior Director, Public Affairs Huawei Southern Africa Mobile: +254-7909-85886 Read Huawei Kenya’s First Ever Sustainability Report here<https://www.huawei.com/minisite/explore-kenya/pdf/huawei_kenya_csd_report.p…> From: kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+adam.lane=huawei.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 8:59 PM To: Adam Lane <adam.lane(a)huawei.com> Cc: Patrick A. M. Maina <pmaina2000(a)yahoo.com> Subject: [kictanet] [Economic Espionage Risks] Vodafone has 'acknowledged' that it Found Hidden Backdoors in Huawei Equipment (but says the issues were resolved). Dear Listers, These kinds of global reports should concern Kenyan business CEOs and Boards in all sectors (as well as economic / technology policymakers) - unless Kenya has little or no interest in competing regionally or internationally to generate new streams of foreign exchange; and even then, are we able to protect our local "home turf" competitive advantage, should multinational actors decide to illegally collect and sell (or leverage) unfairly acquired local business insights, in order to give affiliated new entrants unfair advantage over local enterprises? These are legitimate and global policy concerns. If such things are happening in advanced, tech-savvy economies, what about here in Africa? Is the world having a party at our expense? Trust is good for business - but its is not wise to trust blindly. If we refuse to learn from others, or from history, it will be difficult for us to hand over to our children/youth a future that proves that we played our part responsibly as present-day custodians. We need to start thinking of our existence in less selfish terms: as a relay race, where it is our duty to ensure that we pass on a better future to our children/youth. Let's wake each other up. We must start BELIEVING in ourselves and LOVING ourselves so that our children can believe in, and love themselves as well. Excerpts below: ------------------------------- Reported by Bloomberg today (30th April 2019): "[Vodafone] identified hidden backdoors in the software that could have given Huawei unauthorized access to the carrier’s fixed-line network in Italy, a system that provides internet service to millions of homes and businesses, according to Vodafone’s security briefing documents from 2009 and 2011 seen by Bloomberg, as well as people involved in the situation. Vodafone asked Huawei to remove backdoors in home internet routers in 2011 and received assurances from the supplier that the issues were fixed, but further testing revealed that the security vulnerabilities remained, the documents show. Vodafone said Huawei then refused to fully remove the backdoor, citing a manufacturing requirement. The April 2011 document was authored by its Chief Information Security Officer at the time, Bryan Littlefair. 'What is of most concern here is that actions of Huawei in agreeing to remove the code, then trying to hide it, and now refusing to remove it as they need it to remain for ‘quality’ purposes,' Littlefair wrote. 'There’s no specific way to tell that something is a backdoor and most backdoors would be designed to look like a mistake,' said Stefano Zanero, an Associate Professor of Computer Security at Politecnico di Milano University. 'That said, the vulnerabilities described in the Vodafone reports from 2009 and 2011 have all the characteristics of backdoors: deniability, access and a tendency to be placed again in subsequent versions of the code,' he said. Vodafone also identified backdoors in parts of its fixed-access network known as optical service nodes, which are responsible for transporting internet traffic over optical fibers, and other parts called broadband network gateways, which handle subscriber authentication and access to the internet... In Vodafone’s case, the risks included possible third-party access to a customer's personal computer and home network, according to the internal documents. However, Vodafone’s account of the issue was contested by people involved in the security discussions between the companies. [who allege that] Vulnerabilities in both the routers and the fixed access network remained beyond 2012 and were also present in Vodafone’s businesses in the U.K., Germany, Spain and Portugal. Vodafone stuck with Huawei because the services were competitively priced, they said." Links: 1. Vodafone found Hidden Backdoors in Huawei Equipment https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-30/vodafone-found-hidden-ba… 2. Huawei denies existence of ‘backdoors’ in Vodafone networking equipment https://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-denies-existence-of-backdoors-in-vodaf… Best regards, Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina [Cross-domain Innovator | Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

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Re: [kictanet] ict practitioners bill is back
by Ali Hussein 02 May '19

02 May '19

Dear Bwana CS KICTANet NEVER asked KEPSA to handle engagements on our behalf. We engaged KEPSA to work as a team. Period. Never, did we abdicate our responsibilities to KEPSA because we are not KEPSA members. If KEPSA gave you that belief then I'm afraid that you were misled. And KEPSA should apologise for misleading you. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. On Sun, Dec 17, 2017 at 4:53 PM, Joseph Mucheru via kictanet < kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > Ali Hussein, > > This is the reason I keep off this list. You are calling me a liar and yet > your team asked KEPSA to handle the engagements in this matter. > > With all respect going forward let's follow the agreed engagements between > government and private sector. > > Ahsante Sana! > > JM > > > On 17 Dec 2017 11:17, "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > > Bwana CS > > With all due respect. You are a senior government official and shouldn’t > peddle untruths. > > KICTANet HAS NEVER BEEN PART OF KEPSA. > > We have collaborated only once on the ICT BIll. Most of us don’t believe > KEPSA is representative of the wider ICT Industry. > > We welcome dialogue with your ministry and KEPSA on this. We are happy to > be included in the conversation. We however CANNOT endorse a dialogue and > discussions we are not party to. > > *Ali Hussein* > *Principal* > *Hussein & Associates* > +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > > Skype: abu-jomo > > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a > habit." ~ Aristotle > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 17 Dec 2017, at 9:04 AM, Julius Njiraini via kictanet < > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > > Digital forensic expert is involved in investigation of fraud, abuse, > embezzlement, larceny, conversion of any digital device, records and > process. The report is supposed to be presented in courtroom and testify as > expert witness. He is also supposed to corroborate evidence with other > segment of crime scene using relevant laws including evidence act, criminal > procedures code and cyber crime laws as best international laws in other > countries > On Dec 17, 2017 8:32 AM, "Julius Njiraini" <njiraini2001(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Thanks for your enlightenment. Am just concerned about new emerging >> fields like information security and forensics which is mainly concerned >> with digital cyber crime and evidence presentation in courtroom. These is >> especially concerns for computer security and forensics professionals >> On Dec 17, 2017 6:12 AM, "Joseph Mucheru via kictanet" < >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> The absence of dialogue and relying on media reports is a recipe for >>> discord. The current views, sentiments and concerns raised in the group are >>> justified only because there is no dialogue. Kicktanet is part of KEPSA >>> <https://kepsa.or.ke> who we are in constant dialogue even on this >>> topic. Going forward, the need to dialogue through the agreed channels is >>> key; >>> >>> So let me try and give a position on where we are; >>> >>> - I did state that we will need a Practitioners Bill and even >>> clarified to media it would not be the current one >>> - There is currently NO Bill in parliament. The last one lapsed and >>> we would need to start afresh >>> - The bill identified a need/gap in our sector that requires some >>> action, especially since ICT is at the heart of the Governments development >>> agenda >>> - The Industry was opposed with the method/solutions proposed by the >>> Bill but not the fact there is a gap >>> - Other Industries have self regulating bodies and if our sector is >>> to grow, we need to get organised and set this up. Why should government >>> have to do it? >>> - We are exporting our skills regionally and internationally and a >>> need to standardise and demonstrate our skills is key. This is because we >>> are not working in isolation, we are competing with other countries and >>> Kenya must be able to demonstrate consistent and quality skills -- today we >>> are blacklisted on various online jobs platforms because of a few bad >>> apples, while we know we have some of the best talents, we are also losing >>> tenders and business because we have not conformed to specific >>> international standards and so the rating of our products/services falls >>> short. (KBS is working on the standards) >>> >>> And for the accusations... >>> >>> - It was a private members bill and not sponsored by Government (We >>> opposed it in its current form - you know that, otherwise google it). >>> - Responding to questions from the sector does not amount to a >>> "roadside decision", considering the level of engagement we have had on >>> this issue >>> - The Government is there to serve the people of Kenya and not just >>> the sector in isolation >>> - Skills Rating systems used by platforms such as Kuhastle.com, >>> upwork.com., cloudfactory.com, monster.com..etc are examples of ways >>> people are able to build and demonstrate skills both technical and otherwise >>> - I have had engagements on this topic with KEPSA (ICT Sector >>> Committee <https://kepsa.or.ke/sector-comittees/>) - Mike Macharia >>> being the Chair >>> - I saw in social media many of you opposed to ICTAK >>> <http://www.ictak.or.ke/> being enjoined in the supreme court >>> presidential petition, but none came out (Kicktanet included) to >>> support/represent the sector, which was at the heart of the dispute. At the >>> very least ICTAK <http://www.ictak.or.ke/> was willing to come >>> forward. >>> - Similar to the Law Society, The Supreme Court should have chosen >>> the ICT experts from the ICT Industry body? >>> >>> My advice would be for the sector to take the lead and suggest how this >>> need/gap of* "SKILLS RATING" standards etc.. *can be addressed. We are >>> on the same side. If industry does not take the lead, then Government will >>> step in. As it stands, industry has various bodies and you need to agree on >>> how to engage amongst yourselves. We are going to be successful and so let >>> us push in the same direction. >>> >>> Finally, today the official engagement between government and the ICT >>> sector is through KEPSA <https://kepsa.or.ke/> . (KICTAnet, TESPOK, >>> KITOS etc.. are members and even when we engaged on the ICT Practitioners >>> bill, the sector was represented by KEPSA, when we met MPs). >>> >>> The last discussion on Tuesday 14th December 2017 between KEPSA and the >>> Ministry covered the following topics; >>> >>> 1. ICT Policy >>> 2. Kick-off Industry meetings >>> 3. Bills / Opinions - ICT Practitioners Bill >>> 4. PDTP <http://icta.go.ke/digitalent/> + Ajira Digital >>> <http://ajiradigital.go.ke/> (Jobs) >>> 5. Flagship Projects >>> 6. Constituency Development Hubs >>> <http://www.ict.go.ke/constituency-to-get-an-innovation-hub/> >>> 7. ICTA Engagement with Counties >>> 8. Enterprise Kenya >>> 9. Blockchain >>> >>> Thank you! >>> >>> On Sun, Dec 17, 2017 at 3:07 AM, Andrew Alston via kictanet < >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi All, >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> So – having seen an article in the standardmedia in which elements of >>>> what I stated below were quoted – and to which there seem to have been >>>> responses – I now need to comment further: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> (Article found at: https://www.standardmedia.co.k >>>> e/business/article/2001263257/techies-oppose-move-to-introdu >>>> ce-new-ict-watchdog) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *Mucheru, however, denies that the Bill will lock out experts without >>>> formal training insisting the reverse will be the case. “This Bill will >>>> benefit the people who have been working in technical capacity for years >>>> but have not acquired certificates,” he explained. “If they can demonstrate >>>> their proficiency to the Institute then they can get certified and widen >>>> the scope of jobs they can bid or apply for.” * >>>> >>>> So – I have a question – What will be the method of demonstrating >>>> proficiency and how will this be tested – and what will it cost – and how >>>> long will it take. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Now – let me break the questions down a bit >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1. The ICT field is vast – are you going to test proficiency in >>>> programming? In networking? In security? In database administration? In >>>> desktop support? In Linux? Freebsd? Microsoft? Solaris? AIX? What is the >>>> test going to be – and who is going to administer these tests >>>> 2. What makes an industry body more capable of testing proficiency >>>> than Cisco, Juniper, Huawei or any of the other vendors – the bill does * >>>> *NOT** cater for industry standard certification outside of formal >>>> education – it simply is not in there – and if you are not going to accept >>>> these and are going to have this industry body determine proficiency – we >>>> need to know how this will be done and how the people testing proficiency >>>> will be qualified to do it – and in what fields they are qualified to test >>>> proficiency. >>>> 3. What is the cost of this testing of proficiency – does an >>>> individual who has certified as a CCIE at the cost of thousands – and in >>>> some cases tens of thousands – of dollars suddenly need to pay more to >>>> demonstrate something that he has clearly already demonstrated? Who will it >>>> be paid for? How will the money be utilized? Will this be included in the >>>> license fee for the first year? Or will this suddenly cost extra so >>>> someone can make some money? >>>> 4. How does does it take to “demonstrate proficiency” – and if I >>>> bring in someone from outside to train my staff in a new field of >>>> technology – is he going to be made to sit some kind of exam? Or pay some >>>> kind of fee before he can upskill Kenyans? Because – lets be real – that is >>>> not going to happen – it will be the death of bringing in people to impart >>>> knowledge. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Let me be blunt – more than half the authors of the RFC’s within the >>>> IETF would not qualify under the bill as it stands – this means they would >>>> have to “demonstrate” their proficiency – despite the fact that they have >>>> their names on Internet standards – and if people expect these individuals >>>> to sit exams or prove to people that they know what they are doing – >>>> despite the knowledge having been clearly demonstrated (which is why they >>>> are being flown in in the first place, to train Kenyans in skills that are >>>> not available in the country so that those Kenyans can continue to further >>>> upskill and lift up the industry) – you can kiss goodbye to having cutting >>>> edge people coming into this country – it simply won’t happen – and it will >>>> be Kenya that loses out. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Then to comment on this: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *Mucheru adds that the Government has held several engagements with >>>> practitioners in the sector on the provisions of the Bill. * >>>> >>>> Correct – there was massive engagement – and the bill was largely >>>> defeated after the industry said it was broken – after people on this list >>>> said it was broken – after it was slammed left right and centre – so yes – >>>> there was engagement – but the article is wrong about the fact that the >>>> engagement agreed that this bill in its current form was a good idea or >>>> represented the correct solution. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *“There was consensus that we need to establish a professional body to >>>> regulate the industry,” he said. * >>>> >>>> I have no problem with the concept of a professional body – I have >>>> major problems with forcing a situation where people who have potentially >>>> decades of experience have to suddenly “prove” their skills via some >>>> entirely undefined means at some undefined cost to a bunch of people who >>>> may or may not have anywhere close to the experience or knowledge of the >>>> person being tested. If we said that we had a professional body that people >>>> could register to – and they needed to be registered – and in the event of >>>> *substantiated* complaints the individual could be deregistered and >>>> blacklisted – I would have no problem. It is the arbitrary and >>>> unsubstantiated and undefined criteria for registration that I take >>>> exception to – and that I believe could result in expensive legal >>>> challenges. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Please – do not get me wrong – I do not begrudge anyone who has a >>>> desire to genuinely root out the bad apples and clean up the industry and >>>> remove scam artists and fraudsters. I think that is a noble and pure >>>> objective that should be pursued. I however dispute the fact that this >>>> bill is the right way to go about it – and I dispute the fact that >>>> university degrees have anything to do with competence in this industry – >>>> particularly with the rate that technology evolves – because an individual >>>> doing a 3 year degree who is learning specific technologies in his first >>>> year – by the time he graduates – those technologies are history – and when >>>> he walks into the industry – he is having to self study it all again >>>> ANYWAY. Let me give you examples of technologies that did not exist a year >>>> ago in any real form: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1. Segment routing – the foundation of network routing going >>>> forward and the replacement to MPLS – how do I know this – because I’ve had >>>> my hands in crafting the specifications and doing a lot of the beta testing >>>> for it – so who is going to test proficiency here – it changes the game – >>>> and the only people qualified to teach it – or gauge the proficiency in it >>>> – do not themselves qualify under this bill to be registered. >>>> 2. Network telemetry processing – first introduced in limited form >>>> in Q3 2015 – and only now becoming main stream – but within a year of it >>>> being main stream – it will replace standard network monitoring entirely – >>>> who is going to teach that with a university degree? >>>> 3. Which university degree teaches BGP? BGP-LU? ISIS? Network >>>> segmentation? IPv6 addressing? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> The list is endless – these are things that cannot be learnt through a >>>> degree – they are learnt through industry standard certification or >>>> self-skilling by reading documentation. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> So, Mr Mucheru – please – do not read me wrong – I have tremendous >>>> respect for the regulator in this country – and it is testament to how well >>>> the Kenyan industry and the regulatory environment here works that today – >>>> Kenya has higher average mobile broadband speeds than either the US or >>>> South Africa or a lot of other places. It is testament to the regulatory >>>> environment here that we have the high-speed networks we do – and that the >>>> pricing is as low as it is – because the industry is competitive and open >>>> and innovative. This list of things the regulator has gotten right in this >>>> country is long - I do however plead with you, the bill as it stands would >>>> break the industry that all of us – yourself – myself – and so many others >>>> have worked so hard to build. I am NOT against a professional body – I am >>>> NOT against formalizing things – but I beg you – do not walk down the road >>>> of this current bill in its current form – it will be death to this >>>> industry in this country. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Andrew Alston >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *From: *Andrew Alston <Andrew.Alston(a)liquidtelecom.com> >>>> *Date: *Monday, 4 December 2017 at 01:24 >>>> *To: *KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >>>> *Cc: *Liz Wanjiru <lizwanjiru(a)gmail.com> >>>> *Subject: *RE: [kictanet] ict practitioners bill is back >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I have to say – personally I cannot think of a worse piece of >>>> legislation that I have seen in recent history. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Let us look at the net effects of this and the problems with it: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1. Large companies bring in consultants or external people where >>>> necessary to supplement capacity, to train and upskill Kenyan staff etc, >>>> while those guys are here, even for a week or two, they are compensated, >>>> and my reading of this bill is – this would be illegal – because you’d have >>>> to get every consultant you bring in accredited and licensed first – which >>>> is impractical in the extreme >>>> 2. The list of highly skilled people with 20+ years experience who >>>> would not qualify for accreditation under this bill is extensive, globally >>>> and within Kenya – this bill completely stops any form of knowledge >>>> transfer from those individuals and in fact will force a situation where >>>> Kenyan’s who wish to learn from some of the biggest names in the industry >>>> would be forced to go internationally to get that knowledge, rather than >>>> bringing those people in to train locally >>>> 3. It forces Kenyans who have spent years learning and honing their >>>> skills without university qualifications out of work and could well result >>>> in large scale job losses looking at the number of highly skilled >>>> individuals I know of who are working without qualifications >>>> 4. It prevents private companies from making what are normal >>>> business decisions – who they hire and who they pay. That is problematic >>>> in the extreme – in any normal situation if a private company hires staff >>>> that don’t perform – those staff either get fired or the market rejects the >>>> company and the company disappears – standard market dynamics – in this >>>> case – if a company finds extremely talented people they may be forced into >>>> a position where they have to hire less skilled people because someone >>>> can’t meet some accreditation requirement. >>>> 5. The bill has no recognition of prior experience – no recognition >>>> of those who have published papers and are world recognized experts – does >>>> not specify what the “recognized” universities are – does not take into >>>> account industry standard certification (CISSP/CCNA/CCIE/CCDP/JNCIE/JNCIP/JNCIA, >>>> the list is endless) >>>> 6. May well end up in the constitutional court when it deprives a >>>> host of people who have spent their lives working in this industry and have >>>> no other options for a career of the ability to earn a living >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> The bill relies on the belief that a university qualification some how >>>> makes you better than those without – it’s reasoning that has been >>>> disproved globally for years and years and years – and it flies in the face >>>> of the global industry and the way the ICT industry has worked since the >>>> day it began. It is damaging to the industry in Kenya – it is damaging to >>>> the growth prospects of the economy as a result – it is damaging to the >>>> people of Kenya – and it will destroy the position that Kenya is in as one >>>> of the leaders of the ICT industry on the continent (Kenya already has the >>>> highest average broadband speeds on the continent and significantly better >>>> ICT infrastructure than you will find even in South Africa – it is doing so >>>> well – why break a system that is proving functional?) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I really hope this does not pass – and if it does – will be curious to >>>> see the court challenges and how they play out – but I think this is >>>> madness personally – and in the name of stopping a few bad individuals – >>>> penalizes the entire country and will destroy an industry that employs >>>> thousands. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Andrew >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *From:* kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+andrew.alston= >>>> liquidtelecom.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *Liz Wanjiru via >>>> kictanet >>>> *Sent:* 04 December 2017 06:43 >>>> *To:* Andrew Alston <Andrew.Alston(a)liquidtelecom.com> >>>> *Cc:* Liz Wanjiru <lizwanjiru(a)gmail.com> >>>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] ict practitioners bill is back >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Hi, >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> While trying to push such laws shouldn't they be looking at >>>> credentialing people without formal ICT schooling but have the experience, >>>> knowledge and skills to back them? These people have talent and positively >>>> contribute in the industry. Some countries have learning institutions >>>> credentialing professionals based on their body of work and so long as they >>>> can demonstrate this they are awarded the degrees or other government >>>> approved certifications. Here is an example of such >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Link >>>> <http://www.ara.ac.nz/study-options/centre-for-assessment-of-prior-learning-…> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Liz >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mon, Dec 4, 2017 at 3:18 PM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy via kictanet < >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>> >>>> I wonder how some of the ground breaking technology companies - such as >>>> for instance Google Kenya, can operate if this bill is passed. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sun, Dec 3, 2017 at 4:57 PM, Watila Alex via kictanet < >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>> >>>> EricKigada: Kenya’s controversial ICT Practitioners Bill 2016 to be tabled in parliament again >>>> >>>> techmoran.com/kenyas-controv… >>>> >>>> https://twitter.com/EricKigada/status/937309893954031616 >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android >>>> <https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/mobile/?.src=Android> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>> ailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com >>>> >>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform >>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and >>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT >>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. >>>> >>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors >>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, >>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do >>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> *Ahmed Maawy* >>>> Head of Corporate Products - Al Jazeera Media Network >>>> Skype: ultimateprogramer >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>> ailman/options/kictanet/lizwanjiru%40gmail.com >>>> >>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform >>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and >>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT >>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. >>>> >>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors >>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, >>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do >>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Kind Regards >>>> >>>> Liz Wanjiru >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>> ailman/options/kictanet/joe%40mucheru.com >>>> >>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform >>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and >>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT >>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. >>>> >>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors >>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, >>>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do >>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Joseph Mucheru E.G.H >>> *Cabinet Secretary* >>> Ministry of Information Communications & Technology (ICT) >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>> ailman/options/kictanet/njiraini2001%40gmail.com >>> >>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform >>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and >>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT >>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. >>> >>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors >>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, >>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do >>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >>> >>> _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/info%40campusciti.com > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/joe%40mucheru.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ > mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > >

19 37

Blockchain in Agriculture
by Erick Mwangi 01 May '19

01 May '19

Gartner, Inc. predicts that, by 2025, 20% of the top 10 global grocers by revenue will be using blockchain for food safety and traceability to create visibility. Being an Agri country i would imagine similar conversations would take center stage. Its quite here re Blockchain. Eric

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[Economic Espionage Risks] Vodafone has 'acknowledged' that it Found Hidden Backdoors in Huawei Equipment (but says the issues were resolved).
by Patrick A. M. Maina 30 Apr '19

30 Apr '19

Dear Listers, These kinds of global reports should concern Kenyan business CEOs and Boards in all sectors (as well as economic / technology policymakers) - unless Kenya has little or no interest in competing regionally or internationally to generate new streams of foreign exchange; and even then, are we able to protect our local "home turf" competitive advantage, should multinational actors decide to illegally collect and sell (or leverage) unfairly acquired local business insights, in order to give affiliated new entrants unfair advantage over local enterprises? These are legitimate and global policy concerns. If such things are happening in advanced, tech-savvy economies, what about here in Africa? Is the world having a party at our expense? Trust is good for business - but its is not wise to trust blindly. If we refuse to learn from others, or from history, it will be difficult for us to hand over to our children/youth a future that proves that we played our part responsibly as present-day custodians. We need to start thinking of our existence in less selfish terms: as a relay race, where it is our duty to ensure that we pass on a better future to our children/youth. Let's wake each other up. We must start BELIEVING in ourselves and LOVING ourselves so that our children can believe in, and love themselves as well. Excerpts below: ------------------------------- Reported by Bloomberg today (30th April 2019): "[Vodafone] identified hidden backdoors in the software that could have given Huawei unauthorized access to the carrier’s fixed-line network in Italy, a system that provides internet service to millions of homes and businesses, according to Vodafone’s security briefing documents from 2009 and 2011 seen by Bloomberg, as well as people involved in the situation. Vodafone asked Huawei to remove backdoors in home internet routers in 2011 and received assurances from the supplier that the issues were fixed, but further testing revealed that the security vulnerabilities remained, the documents show. Vodafone said Huawei then refused to fully remove the backdoor, citing a manufacturing requirement. The April 2011 document was authored by its Chief Information Security Officer at the time, Bryan Littlefair. 'What is of most concern here is that actions of Huawei in agreeing to remove the code, then trying to hide it, and now refusing to remove it as they need it to remain for ‘quality’ purposes,' Littlefair wrote. 'There’s no specific way to tell that something is a backdoor and most backdoors would be designed to look like a mistake,' said Stefano Zanero, an Associate Professor of Computer Security at Politecnico di Milano University. 'That said, the vulnerabilities described in the Vodafone reports from 2009 and 2011 have all the characteristics of backdoors: deniability, access and a tendency to be placed again in subsequent versions of the code,' he said. Vodafone also identified backdoors in parts of its fixed-access network known as optical service nodes, which are responsible for transporting internet traffic over optical fibers, and other parts called broadband network gateways, which handle subscriber authentication and access to the internet... In Vodafone’s case, the risks included possible third-party access to a customer's personal computer and home network, according to the internal documents. However, Vodafone’s account of the issue was contested by people involved in the security discussions between the companies. [who allege that] Vulnerabilities in both the routers and the fixed access network remained beyond 2012 and were also present in Vodafone’s businesses in the U.K., Germany, Spain and Portugal. Vodafone stuck with Huawei because the services were competitively priced, they said." Links: 1. Vodafone found Hidden Backdoors in Huawei Equipmenthttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-30/vodafone-found-… 2. Huawei denies existence of ‘backdoors’ in Vodafone networking equipment https://www.zdnet.com/article/huawei-denies-existence-of-backdoors-in-vodaf… Best regards,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina [Cross-domain Innovator | Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

1 0

Online discussion on State of Broadband - Policy day
by Mwendwa Kivuva 30 Apr '19

30 Apr '19

Thank you Listers, we have had a great debate so far. There are so many issues that have remained hanging on the first thread. I hope we can continue debate on those issues, and tie the loose ends. We will move on to broadband policies. Here is a brief background. Kenya enacted a National Broadband Strategy in 2013. This was updated to the Draft National Broadband Strategy 2023 <https://ca.go.ke/public-consultation-on-the-national-broadband-strategy-for…> that takes into account recent technological, industry trends and market realities. The Draft strategy went through public participation in March 2019. It covers; Infrastructure and connectivity, Content services and applications, Policy - regulations and Legislation, Capacity building and innovations, Broadband devices, Finance and investment, Privacy and Security, Role of stakeholders in expanding broadband penetration, Governance and delivery framework. The outcome of the public participation has not been released to the public by the National Broadband Strategy Steering Committee. We hope to get an update on that. We also have the ICT Policy 2006, and the yet to be ratified Draft ICT policy 2016. The ICT policy should be the overarching policy on which the other policies in the sector branch from. Probably we will get an explanation on how new ICT related strategies are being drafted without an updated ICT policy. This leads to the following questions: 1. How is the sector regulated and what complimentary policies are in place? 2. What complimentary laws and regulations are in place that either stifle, or promote broadband? 3. How is the business environment for those who want to venture into provision of broadband services? 4. What policy interventions can be put in place to promote broadband uptake? Looking forward to a great policy day. Sincerely, ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva

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Online discussion on State of Broadband in Kenya
by Mwendwa Kivuva 29 Apr '19

29 Apr '19

Dear Listers, As notified last week, we are conducting an assessment on the state of play and impact of broadband in Kenya, broadly looking at the socio-economic impact on consumers, businesses and various sectors like agriculture, education, healthcare, finance and government. We are looking at real life examples of impact of broadband, challenges we face in increasing impact of broadband and recommendations on interventions needed to address the challenges identified. For this discussion, we define broadband as any fast internet. Fast enough to serve your intended purpose. We can have an extended definition through the discussion. Some of the questions we should answer are: 1. What is the current state of broadband in Kenya? What is the current coverage of broadband in Kenya? Do you have broadband internet in your area? How affordable is the available broadband? 2. What barriers are there in increasing impact of broadband in Kenya? 3. What recommendations can counter the barriers identified in increasing impact of broadband? Looking forward to a grrat debate. Sincerely, ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva

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[fyi] Mozilla's 2019 Internet Health Report is out. A "must read" source of context and ideas for all ICT stakeholders.
by Patrick A. M. Maina 28 Apr '19

28 Apr '19

Dear Listers, Mozilla's Internet Health Report (2019) presents a human-centric perspective on the current state of the internet. It also offers excellent recommendations on how to make the internet work positively for all stakeholders i.e. private sector, Government and the general public. The report is a "must read" source of context and ideas for all stakeholders interested in having a holistic perspective of emerging 21st Century public-interest issues. Here are some excerpts from the executive summary (published on Mozilla's blog): "The digital environment is a complex ecosystem, just like the planet we live on... The internet has the potential both to uplift and connect us. But it also has the potential to harm and tear us apart... we need to step up and do something if we want the digital world to net out as a positive for humanity rather than a negative... The good news is that more and more people are dedicating their lives to creating a healthier, more humane digital world. This Report is designed to be both a reflection and resource for this kind of work. It is meant to offer technologists and designers inspiration about what they might build; to give policymakers context and ideas for the laws they need to write; and, most of all, to provide citizens and activists with a picture of where others are pushing for a better internet, in the hope that more and more people around the world will push for change themselves. Ultimately, it is by more and more of us doing something in our work and our lives that we will create an internet that is open, human and humane." Please read, engage and share widely within your networks. Thank you! Links: 1. Executive Summary: https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2019/04/23/its-complicated-mozillas-2019-inte… 2. Mobile Friendly Sitehttps://internethealthreport.org/2019/ 3. The 2019 Internet Health Report (Short Version) https://d20x8vt12bnfa2.cloudfront.net/2019/2019InternetHealthReport_shortve… Brgds,Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

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Tanzania to limit SIM cards to one per network
by Victor Kapiyo 27 Apr '19

27 Apr '19

Interesting developments in Tanzania. Looks like biometric registration programmes have now become vogue for any initiative from government that calls for registration, and it's not just happening in Kenya with our Huduma Number. _____ Tanzania plans to limit the number of mobile phone numbers an individual can own to a single line per network, in its bid to boost security and tame cybercrime. This will involve a fresh biometric registration of all SIM card holders from May 1 to September. Subscribers have to present their national identification card or its number for registration. According to the sector regulator, the current system is not secure enough and lacks important subscriber details that are vital for the national identity card registration initiated two years ago. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Tanzania-to-limit-SIM-cards-to-on…

1 0

Smart Cities Books - Free Downloads
by Bitange Ndemo 26 Apr '19

26 Apr '19

Here are two books from UNESCO on Smart Cities - Very good reads and available for free. https://netexplo.com/notebooks/ Ndemo.

3 2

Huduma Namba Questions
by Grace Bomu 25 Apr '19

25 Apr '19

Listers, There are reports that huduma number data in Machakos County has gone missing. See http://dailyactive.info/2019/04/22/huduma-namba-data-go-missing-in-machakos/ and subsequent reports of arrests and investigations on the matter https://www.kahawatungu.com/2019/04/23/machakos-huduma-namba-registration-a… On asking around, it appears that huduma namba kits use micro SD cards which when full are taken to the Assistant or County Commissioners Office for copying (onto NIIMS?). Got me wondering whether use of SD cards is the practice across the country and the implications for data security and integrity with this method. Other questions I still have from observing the exercise is what the real objective of data collection is. It appears that most adults (with ID cards) may already have had their data in different registries related. I am assuming that this is how eCitizen and IPRS works. And then the question of integrity/accuracy of data when a person gives data about other people eg spouses. Will there be opportunity to know what data is held about me? Would be great to have this explained. Regards, -- Grace Mutung'u Skype: gracebomu @Bomu PGP ID : 0x33A3450F

3 2

Christchurch Call
by Alex Comninos 25 Apr '19

25 Apr '19

Dear All I am wondering lister thoughts on the "Christchurch Call” Where does Africa and the South stand in these processes, how will it affect us? What principles would we like to see in such a call? (If we would like to see it at all) This is happening in the midst of so many other global events, many tragic, as well as legislative and regulatory processes/calls on/for social media platform moderation and regulation. [article pasted below] its worth following the link to watch the video too. The devil will be in the detail of the 'Christchurch Call’ By Tom Pullar, Stuff New Zealand https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/112230966/the-devil-will-be-in-the-detail-… ANALYSIS: World leaders and technology companies will probably reach some sort of accord on social media and online extremism when they meet in Paris next month. But the devil will be in the detail of the agreement they reach, suggests Colin Gavaghan, director of the Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies at Otago University. Normally, when politicians attend international summits, the text of the agreements they sign is agreed beforehand and then ratified at the meeting, rather than actually being negotiated there. The summit in Paris on May 15 hosted by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron will be a little different from most, in that representatives from many the world's biggest technology companies, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter will be among the participants. There are clues as to what it will contain. A spokesman for Ardern said the Government wanted the text to set out "parameters or actions where countries and companies agree to take action". He also said the Government wanted the agreement to be "reasonably specific rather than too high level". But Ardern cautioned that the Christchurch Call would not amount to a "draft set of regulations" that social media companies would need to follow. She also suggested that the focus would be on trying to prevent footage from terrorist attacks being shared online, rather than on the distribution of extremist content more generally. "This is not about freedom of expression. This is about preventing violence and extremism and terrorism online," she explained. "I don't think anyone would argue the terrorist on March 15 had a right to live stream the murder of 50 people. That is what this call is very specifically focused on." Agreeing concrete steps to achieve even that narrow goal would be incredibly hard. Technology experts appear in agreement that the technology does yet not exist that could have automatically identified the live stream of Christchurch shootings as a terrorist atrocity while it was taking place and being streamed live online. There is also no need to use a large social media service, or even live-streaming at all, to distribute a video. While Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have used video and audio-matching technology to gradually rid their websites of copies of the Christchurch video, it was also being distributed by people who simply posted links to it – hosted on nefarious websites – in their social media posts. Just so long as people can set up websites and post content to the internet anonymously, it is hard to see how that could be prevented. Gavaghan cautions the more people that are brought to the table, the more "general and vague" international agreements tend to be. The risk, he argues, is you can end up with texts that are pitched at such a level that "no-one could disagree with them" but which don't tend to mean anything in practice. The role, if any, of the United States in the summit will be something to watch for, he says. "They take their First Amendment considerations very seriously indeed, and that has been a real bone of contention between the EU and US-based companies." But Ardern said the fact that the problem was "extremely difficult" was not a reason not try to find a solution and many would agree with that. Sensibly, she has also made it clear upfront that she believes the summit should be the start of a conversation rather than the end of one. The fact that it appears representatives from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter will attend the summit is also encouraging. That may be partly because they want to shift responsibility for solving the Christchurch-shooting problem from their businesses to governments and regulators. But they do appear to have recognised that the game has changed. The sheer novelty of the summit hosted by the two young politicians should save it from any risk of obscurity. If they do look at the broader issue of social media platforms being used to propagate extremist views more generally, then the practical challenges are likely to multiply. Material promoted by terrorist organisations would already be illegal in most countries, Gavaghan says. "They are quite an easy target to identify and get shot of." But the boundary between less extremist content and legitimate political views would inevitably be hard to define, he argues. "A lot of the casual everyday normalisation of racism and extremist views comes in at a level probably far below anyone's hate speech laws. "The daily output from the Daily Mail and the Express and the Sun probably does a lot more to normalise racism and anti-immigrant views than some of the really extremist stuff, but what can you do? It is not plausible to ban that.” That doesn't mean the landscape facing social media isn't, or should change, he believes. "The days when the likes of YouTube and Facebook could take the view that they are simply a neutral platform for other's people content and not a publisher – that has gone. "But the question is, what is it reasonable to expect them to do?" Stuff -- Alex Comninos

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Fwd: [afnog] Application for fellowship- 2019 Hackathon@AIS
by Barrack Otieno 25 Apr '19

25 Apr '19

Listers, Might be of interest. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Betel Hailu <hailu(a)isoc.org> Date: Tue, Apr 23, 2019 at 9:50 AM Subject: [afnog] Application for fellowship- 2019 Hackathon@AIS To: afnog(a)afnog.org <afnog(a)afnog.org> ============ FRANCAIS PLUS BAS ============ Hello everyone, The Hackathon@AIS is an event aimed at exposing engineers from the African region to Open Internet Standards development and is co-organized by the Internet Society and AFRINIC. This will be the third event in the series following successful events held in Nairobi (2017) and Dakar (2018). Please look at https://bit.ly/2Gp8uMa to see the topics that will be covered this year. Network/System engineers, software developers, and or computer science students are encouraged to apply as engagement in open Internet standards development can help further their careers. *The event will be held on the 19th and 20th of June 2019 in Kampala, Uganda*. If you are interested in participating AND can commit to being available over the 2 days, please fill the application form. Space is limited and successful applicants will be notified and then be enrolled in various online training sessions in the build up of the event. Fellowships will be awarded to strong applicants where possible. Click here to apply: https://internetsociety.wufoo.com/forms/sspq7xj1p17m0n/ *Applications close on the 19th of May 2019.* ====================================================== Bonjour à tous, Le Hackathon@AIS est un événement visant à exposer les ingénieurs de la région africaine au développement des standards Internet ouverts et est co-organisé par Internet Society et AFRINIC. Ce sera le troisième événement du genre après les événements réussis de Nairobi (2017) et de Dakar (2018). Veuillez regardez https://bit.ly/2Gp8uMa afin de voir les sujets qui seront couverts cette année. Ingénieurs Systèmes / Réseaux, développeur d'applications, et ou étudiants en informatique sont encouragés à postuler étant donné que l'engagement dans le développement des standards ouvert de l'Internet peut aider au futur de leur carrière. *L'événement aura lieu le 19 et 20 juin 2019 à Kampala, Uganda*. Si vous êtes intéressé à participer ET que vous pouvez vous engager à être disponible pendant les 2 jours, veuillez remplir le formulaire. Les places sont limité et les candidats retenus seront informés et seront ensuite inscrits à diverses sessions de formation en ligne en vue de l'événement. Des bourses de participations seront accordées aux meilleurs candidats dans la mesure du possible. *Important : Les documents et travaux de l’IETF étant exclusivement en anglais, une bonne compréhension de la langue est essentielle. * Cliquez ici pour postuler: https://internetsociety.wufoo.com/forms/sspq7xj1p17m0n/ *La date limite pour les candidatures est le 19 mai 2019.* Thank you, *Betel Hailu *| *Communications Coordinator – Africa Regional Bureau *|* Internet Society* skype: betty.hailu | www.InternetSociety.org | *Follow Us * [image: iption: Macintosh HD:Users:betelhailu:Desktop:facebook.png] <https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica>[image: iption: Macintosh HD:Users:betelhailu:Desktop:twitter.png] <https://twitter.com/ISOC_Africa> _______________________________________________ afnog mailing list https://www.afnog.org/mailman/listinfo/afnog -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

1 0

What ALA's “The Young Entrepreneurs Fund” means for African entrepreneurship
by Eric M K Osiakwan 24 Apr '19

24 Apr '19

https://digestafrica.com/young-entrepreneurs-fund-african Eric here Sent from my iPad

1 0

Online discussion on social-economic impact of broadband in Kenya
by Mwendwa Kivuva 18 Apr '19

18 Apr '19

Dear Listers, IDC is conducting an assessment on the state of play and impact of broadband in Kenya, broadly looking at the socio-economic impact on consumers, businesses and various sectors like agriculture, education, healthcare, finance and government. This assessment has been commissioned by Huawei in collaboration with Ministry of ICT and the Communications Authority. It has the overarching objective of supporting the policy making process to develop broadband services and infrastructure throughout Kenya and achieve substantial economic impact in the economy. Other partners in the study include the ICT Authority and the National Communications Secretariat. The assessment will involve a review of the current state of play in the sector as well as gaining insights from a wide range of stakeholders on the barriers and recommendations to increasing the impact of broadband. Among the key stakeholders identified include KICTANET, from whose members IDC will seek to gain civil society and other stakeholder perspectives including real life examples of impact of broadband, challenges we face in increasing impact of broadband and recommendations on interventions needed to address the challenges identified. This will be conducted as an online debate facilitated and moderated by KICTANET from 23rd to 26th April 2019. Through the online discussion, we will also seek to understand the current state of play of broadband in Kenya, including: 1. What barriers are there in increasing impact of broadband? 2. What recommendations can counter the barriers in increasing impact of broadband? 3. How is the sector regulated and what policies are in place? How is the business environment for those who want to venture into provision of broadband services? 4. How do we create the skills and demand and use cases for broadband? 5. What local content is there and is it having an impact or not? What type of local content are we lacking? 6. How are users and businesses benefiting from broadband? 7. Any other issues. Please note that lister may add any other issue on broadband that come to mind. After the discussion, a summary report will be developed by KICTANET which will subsequently be validated during a face to face meeting. IDC will incorporate relevant findings into the broadband market assessment. Sincerely, ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva.

6 9

Invitation to Ai Kenya Show and tell event : Building Secure Voice Biometrics with Ryan Roberts
by alfred＠kenya.ai 18 Apr '19

18 Apr '19

Dear Kictanet members! On Behalf of the Ai Kenya Events team, I would like to invite you for the following event happening on Saturday 27th April from 9.30 am to 12.30pm: "My Voice is my password" is a term that you might be familiar with. Voice biometrics adoption is experiencing strong growth, driven by the need for foolproof security methods for technology-driven systems and the popularity of voice assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. In the second Ai Kenya Show and tell event, we will be hosting Ryan Roberts, Principal Software Engineer at <https://www.cirrus.com/> Cirrus Logic, who will provide insight into the approach used to systematically train and test voice biometrics, one of the forms of Narrow AI(Artificial Intelligence). Join is for a session of discovery, demos and Q&A. Is your company offering services powered by Voice Biometrics? Are you curious to find out more on how voice biometrics algorithms work? Book your free ticket and check the full event details on <http://bit.ly/voiceAIK> http://bit.ly/voiceAIK About Ai Kenya Ai Kenya is a community of enthusiasts and practitioners in the field of machine learning and data science. We invite you to come to some of our events and see the work that we are doing. To understand us better, please have a look at this <https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BvGr3dSsshV50YxCZbnDwXUpD1s9y-Io> introduction deck that details our origin, objectives and previous work. We are fully open to any collaborative efforts that can help us achieve our goal of democratizing artificial intelligence in the East African Ecosystem. Looking forward to seeing you at at the event! Kind regards, Alfred Ongere +254705882004 Team lead, Founder www.kenya.ai <http://bit.ly/AIKPODYTB> Watch Ai Kenya Podcast <https://t.sidekickopen75.com/s1t/o/5/f18dQhb0S7kC8dDMPbW2n0x6l2B9gXrN7sKj6v 46g14W56Dx2l7fcxHKW16gGz793K_hD101?si=8000000000133214&pi=f0ec6675-7afc-4d37 -9def-1e621c6c596e>

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Dialogue on Digital Cooperation in Africa Dialogue Series
by Bob Ochieng 17 Apr '19

17 Apr '19

Dear All, As part of its global engagement process, the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, will work with partners to hold a series of in-person and online dialogues aimed at addressing African priorities in digital cooperation in the Spring of 2019. The public dialogues will be conducted through a multi-stakeholder collaboration of organizations including the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Internet Governance Forum, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Association for Progressive Communication (APC), and Diplo Foundation. https://digitalcooperation.org/regionaldialogues/ [digitalcooperation.org] <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__digitalcooperation.org…> The dialogue series includes: an in-person session with members of the Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA) on March 29th, an in-person session at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum on April 10th, and two online sessions on April 18th and April 25th. Please register for the online sessions via the following links: Thursday 18 April [intgovforum.webex.com] <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__intgovforum.webex.com_…> (14-15:30h West Africa, GMT+01:00) Thursday 25 April [intgovforum.webex.com] <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__intgovforum.webex.com_…> (14-15:30h West Africa, GMT+01:00) Thanks and regards B.

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Vodacom, Tala bosses charged with economic sabotage in Dar
by Barrack Otieno 15 Apr '19

15 Apr '19

Listers, seems as a region we still have a long way to go doing Tech business across the borders. I hope the Kenyan High Commissioner in Tanzania who is a techie intervenes since i can see one of our home grown techies in the thick of things. Let us not wait for a repeat of what happened in Ethiopia. https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Vodacom-tanzania-tala-bosses-char… In summary - The companies and their staff face 10 charges of contravening the Economic and Organised Crime Control Act, 2002. - They were remanded, as the crimes they are accused of are not bailable. Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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UN IGF Best Practice Forum on IoT, Big Data and AI - Virtual Meeting Today 15 April 12:00 UTC
by Alex Comninos 15 Apr '19

15 Apr '19

Dear All, I would like to urge you all to take part in the Internet Governance Forum IoT, Big Data, and AI Virtual Meeting (webinar) today the 15th of April at 12:00 UTC. The Virtual Meeting link is here: https://intgovforum.webex.com/intgovforum/j.php?MTID=m8018d13f801dfcb5ef0ce… We would love to multistakeholderise participation from diverse communities outside of the traditional IGF community. If you have no ideas what a BPF is or what the IGF is - thats completely understandable, and we aim to rectify that! More info can be found here https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/bpf-internet-of-things-iot… The 2019 edition of the Best Practice Forum on IoT, Big Data and AI will focus on trust in these concepts and their utilization for addressing identified societal challenges. Within the IGF’s remit, the BPF intends to continue to limit its scope to the growing area where IoT, Big Data and AI meet in an Internet context. Building on this BPF’s 2018 work as a starting point, the BPF proposes for 2019 to: * Challenge and review the identified best practices and complete the report with concrete and practical examples. (e.g. in the field of healthcare, environmental protection, e-commerce, public safety, cybersecurity, and infrastructure; * Identify existing and new ways to enhance trust in IoT, Big Data, AI applications and technologies in an Internet context; * Identify how AI can affect outcomes both in terms of social justice and in terms of the allocation of societal resources; * Identify how AI can complement or pose challenges to privacy and data protection as well as transparency and good governance; * Identify how IoT, Big Data, AI can contribute to achieving the UN SDGs and * Identify the impact on policies and regulations, including policy making processes of the application of IoT, Big Data, AI applications. The Virtual Meeting will require WebEX software which can be downloaded at https://www.webex.com/downloads.html. It should work on all Desktops (Mac, Windows, and Linux with some luck) as well as on mobile phones. One should also be able to phone into the meeting with a phone and the info provided here: https://intgovforum.webex.com/intgovforum/j.php?MTID=m8018d13f801dfcb5ef0ce…. If any of you have any questions about what the IGF is, what BPFs are, or how to use WebEx, please do not hesitate to contact me. Best, Alex -- Alex Comninos http://alex.africa -- Alex Comninos http://alex.africa I am transitioning to a new email address: hello(a)alex.africa -- Alex Comninos http://alex.africa I am transitioning to a new email address: hello(a)alex.africa

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] Evangelical view on artificial intelligence
by Barrack Otieno 15 Apr '19

15 Apr '19

Listers, Might be of interest to some. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Ayden Férdeline <ayden(a)ferdeline.com> Date: Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 10:56 PM Subject: [Internet Policy] Evangelical view on artificial intelligence To: ISOC INTERNETPOLICY <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> The Southern Baptist Convention has released a policy paper and a statement of principles on the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. I found it an interesting read, which, of course, is not to say I agree with all of it ;-) But as many of us are grappling with what AI is and how it will change our world, I found it fascinating to see how a religious organization is trying to proactively address some of these concerns before AI has an even broader social impact. I am not sure if other religions are engaging on this topic too, but if so, I would be curious to read their thoughts as well. You can read their statement here: https://erlc.com/resource-library/statements/artificial-intelligence-an-eva… Ayden Férdeline _______________________________________________ To manage your Internet Society subscriptions or unsubscribe, log into the Member Portal at https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login and go to the Interests tab within your profile. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Re: [kictanet] [SST whitelist considerations] It will be hard to access Government services without a Huduma Namba, Matiang'i says
by Patrick A. M. Maina 11 Apr '19

11 Apr '19

Huduma number is a great idea that can unlock many benefits for Kenyans. I would really wish for it to succeed. However I fear that the current state of runaway corruption puts the entire project at risk. A Single Source of Truth (SST) acts as a citizen whitelist which can help speed up service delivery and make things more efficient (e.g. by removing the need for ID cross-checks). This strength is also a weakness, unfortunately. Anyone with an SST ID (and "valid fingerprint") is presumed to be a bona fide citizen - but such a conclusion can only be sensibly relied on in an environment with negligible/immaterial levels of corruption. National scale SST whitelist systems are heavily reliant on human factors (e.g. human integrity, personal values, and patriotism) at their points of highest vulnerability. So hackers will likely target the weakest link i.e. gov employees (e.g. via huge bribes or blackmail or workforce infiltration via recruitment process) in order to get to the system. Researchers (link below) have shown that fingerprints can be easily stolen by tech-savvy criminals to facilitate illegal access e.g. via affordable 3D printing technology. Fake fingerprints (and fingers) can also be manufactured to create fictitious persons (e.g. ghost workers or organized criminals). Case in point is India's Aadhaar... just prior to the attack that almost triggered a war with Pakistan, there had been media reports of terrorists being caught in posession of Aadhaar cards. How did they get the cards? Did the "whitelist effect" of Aaadhaar facilitate their movements or planning? The possibility cannot be discounted. Human flaws are the weakest link in any technology solution. What about laws? Surely strict / harsh laws will "protect" the data by deterring illegal activity? 1. Local laws do not deal with or deter international (or state sponsored) perpetrators with high budgets, sophisticated hacking technology and ability to evade acountability (geopolitical powers). 2. Attribution challenges (hackers often leave spoofed breadcrumbs (fake trails) to mislead investigators... so innocent people or even countries can be framed for things they did not do, triggering unjust arrests/convictions or costly and potentially destabilising geopolitical hostilities). Sometimes backdoors are disguised as innocent acts of user or supplier incompetence (e.g. via deliberate insecure design). Sometimes they are a result of genuinely innocent incompetence or accidental oversight. How will Government know which is which? 3. Reactive laws (as opposed to strategic or tactical laws which consider the holistic contextualized picture) only increase compliance costs for law abiding citizens but do not guarantee deterrence for criminals who don't care about laws. Cybercrime laws don't stop or deter sophisticated cybercriminals (e.g. due to atrribution & jurisdictional challenges). 4. Unlike property theft, data can be stolen without the owner's knowledge. By the time the loss is detected (e.g. via numerous incidents of actual unlawful use) it is too late to do anything. It is often impossible to establish the extent by which a honeypot system has been compromised, how the breach happened, who did it and for how long it has been compromised. 5. Massive resources will have to be expended to perform an impossible task of protecting Kenya's most sensitive (and most valuable) data. As security experts keep reminding us, it is not a question of whether a system, any system, can be hacked, it's a question of when - and what will be the consequences. 6. Once biometric data has been stolen, the loss is permanent and irreversible. You cannot issue new fingerprints. So what happens next? 7. As soon as the credibility of the data is in material doubt, we will have to revert to the old system of manual cross checking and all the envisaged benefits will dissapear (as well as the 6B investment). Whether the perpetrators are caught / jailed or not, does not make a difference. To help put things in context, consider this: Government has been unable to secure IFMIS (which was supposed to help eliminate corruption - but became an enabler), TIMS (we still have fake number plates and vehicle duty evasion), SIMBA (we still have massive levels of duty evasion at ports), the IEBC Election System (we had to do two costly elections - leading to a massive waste of funds and an increase of perceived political risks, which also hit the economy very hard adding billions in hidden costs).. even eCitizen has reportedly not been spared, going by media reports. These challenges point to a pattern where we fail to deliberately contextualize solutions and come up with holistic approaches. We put too much trust in silo solutions and reactive laws but we have repeatedly ignored the HUMAN ASPECTS leading to repeated failure to realize envisaged benefits. Any system implemented within a corrupt culture will, more likely than not, end up facilitating (and worsening the cost and scale of) corruption. Guaranteed. This is our reality. Can corruption be solved in Kenya in a sustainable way (without risking stability)? Perhaps government can run a global competition for innovative ideas on how to solve corruption in Kenya. The public can watch high profile debates by local and foreign experts, as part of sensitization/education, and then vote on the top five ideas in every major economic sector, which would then be piloted at designated institutions or counties. Prize for the winning idea in every sector (say USD 1Million) can be linked to results, say after 10-15 years, once the idea is fully implemented and proven to have significantly met the ToR targets in an independently verifiable way (and backed by public perceptions). Good evening. Brgds, Patrick. Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] On Thursday, April 11, 2019, 2:25:32 PM GMT+3, Eshuchi Richard via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Just to put CS's full remarks into context and an illustration on why accessing services would be harder in comparison, Ministry of Interior posted the audio through: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/662150267181777/posts/2305403209523133?sfns=mo Twitter: https://twitter.com/InteriorKE/status/1116221458966044673?s=19 On Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 13:10 Wamathai (HapaKenya) via kictanet <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has said that it will be very hard for those who will not have registered for the Huduma Namba to access Government services. https://hapakenya.com/2019/04/11/it-will-hard-to-access-government-services… _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eshuchi.richard%40gma… The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pmaina2000%40yahoo.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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It will be hard to access Government services without a Huduma Namba, Matiang'i says
by Wamathai (HapaKenya) 11 Apr '19

11 Apr '19

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has said that it will be very hard for those who will not have registered for the Huduma Namba to access Government services. https://hapakenya.com/2019/04/11/it-will-hard-to-access-government-services…

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Reminder: ICANN66 Fellowship Application round closes on April 11.
by Barrack Otieno 10 Apr '19

10 Apr '19

Listers, This might be of interest to you. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Yaovi Atohoun <yaovi.atohoun(a)icann.org> Date: Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 9:05 AM Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Reminder: ICANN66 Fellowship Application round closes on April 11. To: AfrICANN Community List <africann(a)afrinic.net> Hello Everyone / Bonjour à tous EN: ICANN66 will take place from 2-7 November 2019 in Montreal, Canada. The deadline to apply is 11 April 2019, 23:59 UTC. More information at https://www.icann.org/fellowshipprogram FR : La réunion ICANN66 aura lieu du 2 au 7 novembre 2019 à Montréal (Canada). La date limite de réception des candidatures est le 11 avril 2019 à 23h59 UTC. Plus d’information à https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-55-2019-03-11-fr Thanks/Merci -- Yaovi Atohoun Stakeholder Engagement and Operations Manager- Africa; ICANN Tel. +229 66015649/65209067 www.icann.org _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Re: [kictanet] [labor issues] why Kenya should urgently BAN unpaid
by Jimmy Gitonga 08 Apr '19

08 Apr '19

I think Ali is being “clever” like the proverbial hare. Honestly, we need to stop looking at everything the West, including their vile practices, as gospel truth. Taking on interns, with the sole intention of getting unpaid labour, even if it is the "sneaker network" that gets you coffee is despicable. The intern, no matter how enterprising, will be used and dumped. "Why would a rational employer - whose goal is to maximise margins (within a very difficult / hostile business environment) - be interested in paying an experienced ex-intern, when they can simply get a fresh unpaid intern for free, train them within hours or a couple of days, even as other unpaids hold the temporary slack? This where we are headed - if not there already. The youth are "working" but they are still technically unemployed because they are not earning a living." If getting “ahead" means bowing down to the "scacity mentality” idol and the stepping on people is one’s business success mantra, may that business perish and it’s “rational” employer perish. Please note, we are not talking about the graduate who feels entitled to get paid internship, no. Those kinds of people will always be weeded out by the system. Their attitude alone is their undoing. We are talking about the ones with little to no social advantage of networks of family or friends who can supoort unpaid internship. This is where our Africans, “Utu ni watu”, “Ubuntu” and “I am because we are” comes in. Best Regards, Jimmy Gitonga Web Software Design and Development LinkedIn: Jimmy Gitonga | Twitter: @Afrowave ______________________________________ Web: afroshok.com <http://afroshok.com/> > On 3 Apr 2019, at 3:15 PM, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: > > Many thanks for your thoughts Ali.? > Indeed, words in most languages can have multiple, totally unrelated, meanings (e.g. "saw" the noun/hardware, "saw" the verb/cutting, and "saw" the past tense of "see"... or in Swahili "paka" the cat vs "paka" as in to paint) so in this case the appropriate focus would be on the vocation-oriented definition of "intern" (though I can see material for contextual innuendo in the two meanings hehe). > Some well known intellectuals on twitter are getting stuck on written definitions and relying on logical fallacies which is not intellectually sincere. Are definitions cast in stone? Can they have a shelf-life? Don't they change with time?? > Fact: Definitions only document meaning as it evolves over time; they are not the source of meaning. The general rule of thumb is that Informality precedes formality. > Thankfully the etymology (origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning) of "intern" shows that the meaning and usage, in professional context, has indeed been evolving. > > According to an online source (link below), the term is believed to have been documented as a noun circa 1879 for the teaching and medical professions, and then extended to other profesions around 1963. It was formally recognize as a verb circa 1933 within the medical field. > Prior to that, and going back as far as medieval times (in western cultures), people learned through apprenticeships and although you did not get "paid" in the narrow sense of the term, your boss provided you with free *accommodation* and *food*. Such contextual nuances around the apprenticeship system are (conveniently) ignored by advocates of unpaid internships. > In African culture (link below), apprenticeship was a very POSITIVE community experience. People had EMPATHY for one another and collective gains were favored over individual gains. Not caring whether someone had food or a safe place to sleep was unheard of. Lets face it, cold blooded, greed motivated exploitation of the youth within a community is an alien concept in most (if not all) of pre-colonial Africa.? > In traditional China and (I believe) India the apprentice is technically "adopted" and the relationship is parent - child, but in vocational context. There is mutual love, concern and caring even if the apprentice is treated harshly. It never crosses over to predation. > We are Africans. Unless we want to give up our core identity, the quest for meaning in everything we do (and the policies we support) has to be done within the context of our Africanness. Even as we adopt poitive aspects of foreign cultures in a cosmopolitan world, we can strive to retain the best aspects of our indigenous cultures. For example if the industrialized world had emulated positive African philosophies like simple contented living in harmony with nature, we would not have existential problems like climate change, WMDs, world wars, economic inequality and so on.? > Imported meanings are not rules cast in stone. We can, if we want to, define our own modern, African, definition of the word "intern" in a way that that protects our youth from abuse and exploitation.? > The youth are our children and our future. Let us not raise a generation of bitter, angry and resentful people. It's not a smart thing to do. > Thanks & have a great day! > Patrick. > Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross Domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] > Links: > 1. Etymology of the word "intern":https://www.etymonline.com/word/intern <https://www.etymonline.com/word/intern> > > 2. Traditional apprenticeship in Africahttps://www.academia.edu/11682853/Revisiting_the_role_of_traditional_… <africahttps://www.academia.edu/11682853/Revisiting_the_role_of_traditional_…> > > 3. Weird history of internshiphttps://www.businessinsider.com/the-weird-history-of-how-internsh… <internshiphttps://www.businessinsider.com/the-weird-history-of-how-internsh…> >

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Breaching the Access to Information Act, 2016
by S.M. Muraya 08 Apr '19

08 Apr '19

Dear Listers, Today, there is a "Daily Nation" article about MP's going after another MP for irregularly acquiring information, quoting Section 22 (1) of the Leadership and Integrity Act provides that a state > officer shall not directly or indirectly use or allow any person under the > officer’s authority to use any information obtained through or in > connection with the office, which is not available in the public domain, > for the furthering of any private interest, whether financial or otherwise. http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2018-04/32_Rules_Governing_… Question is where is the line drawn when information is illegally not just irregularly kept out of the public domain, breaching the Access to Information Act, 2016? Typically this would refer to information not compromising National Security but actually enhancing it (by safeguarding public resources). http://www.ombudsman.go.ke/index.php/access-to-information/access-to-inform…

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
by Barrack Otieno 08 Apr '19

08 Apr '19

Patrick, This might be of interest :-) Regards ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Richard Hill <rhill(a)hill-a.ch> Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2019 15:35:00 +0200 Subject: [Internet Policy] The Age of Surveillance Capitalism To: "Internetpolicy@Elists. Isoc. Org" <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> I presume that most people on this list will have heard about a book by a Harvard professor that is highly critical of the current advertising-driven Internet business model. Here is a review: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/20/shoshana-zuboff-age-of-su rveillance-capitalism-google-facebook Best, Richard -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Konza City is now 10 years old
by Odhiambo Washington 08 Apr '19

08 Apr '19

Hello listers, Does anyone know what activities are going on at the famed Konza City or it's one of those big white elephants?? Brian Gitonga Marete <https://www.facebook.com/marete?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&eid=ARDI1jSnyu5oBA5420Rmu…> shared a post <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216>. 12 hrs <https://www.facebook.com/marete/posts/10156427390174934> · It was obvious that Konza City was a con job from the get go. Concentrations of industrial excellence do not sprout up suddenly just because physical buildings and infrastructure are around. That is not the bottleneck, and anyone can provide that. The real battles of realizing something like the proposed Konza city are elsewhere. <https://www.facebook.com/jaylaan11/posts/10219010532593216?__tn__=%2CdH-R-R…> -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 "Oh, the cruft.", grep ^[^#] :-)

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Modernizing Tertiary Education - some ideas
by Jimmy Gitonga 05 Apr '19

05 Apr '19

Greetings Patrick, I saved this for the weekend so that I can reflect on it as I read it carefully. I almost shed tears at how good and elaborate the ideas you have proposed are. Thank you. Last week, I met a PhD holder who has lectured for more than a decade as a senior lecturer with no hope of progressing to professorship. Why? Today, to be considered for associate professorship in a Kenyan university, you must supervise two PhD seekers and four master’s degree students, working through their thesis. This was made necessary because oft times, a PhD candidate would submit his work to the supervisor who would then sit on it, since it did not affect the supervisor’s career prospects. However, now my “Dr.” friend is in a discipline that is not attracting a lot of research and thus PhD candidates. The few he has had to deal with try to push shoddy work, believing that he would stoop low and pass the work since he “needs” his professorship. He is resigned to the fact that though he is producing fresh knowledge that is being published outside the country, on the continent and beyond, he now seeks to retire from academia and pursue other literary interests. I contrasted his path with mine; non-stop learning, education delivered high speed on the Internet, designing and developing web software with no end in demand in sight. I just have to keep my mind sharp and eyes open for relevant technologies that are applicable in Kenya and Africa as a whole. My path was the non-standard one and for a long time my PhD friend use to worry for me. Now I am worried for him and for all the ones taking that “normal” path. Recently, I heard of a young “mechanic” who repairs the now electronic cars. Think of the latest Range Rovers. I was told that the cheapest he charges for a “look-see” of a car is 2,500/-. It hit me. That is what an chest specialist charges. TVET is going to be the way to go. Finland has the best offer in this area - http://www.euroeducation.net/prof/finco.htm <http://www.euroeducation.net/prof/finco.htm>. And I have not even discussed IoT. Best Regards, Jimmy Gitonga Lead, Design and Development at Afroshok LinkedIn: Jimmy Gitonga | Twitter: @Afrowave ______________________________________ > On 28 Mar 2019, at 11:05 PM, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: > > Greetings Listers, > The world is changing very rapidly and things that the older generations took for granted no longer apply. There are no jobs waiting for students when they graduate - that era ended decades ago (I believe in the 70s and early 80s). Yet, for some reason, academia appears to be stuck in time, doing things that no longer make sense. > > Here are some thoughts / ideas on what can be done to reform and rescue our tertiary education sector. (PhD holders might be interested in debating point No. 6. - is it too harsh or the right approach in principle? HR Policy practitioners might be interested in point No. 5..): > > 1. There is need for Government to strategically position TVETs and Universities as direct implementers of Vision 2030 and Big 4 objectives. Example - academia role should include creating sustainable jobs directly, and taking measures to guarantee high employment of graduates; instead of mechanically preparing our young people for jobs that may, or may not exist, then leaving them trapped in debt. > > 2. Expand CUE mandate to cover TVETs (as Commission for Tertiary Education); and then Implement a Universal Credit Accumulation and Transfer System - that creates multiple pathways *of equal status* towards higher qualifications (i.e. including transferable credits for TVET education and/or credits for demonstrable on-the-job / startup experience). This calls for a national skills mapping database that is derived from, and/or supports strategic national objectives (as outlined in vision 2030 & Big 4 master-plans). Accelerate regional accreditation to leverage intra-Africa synergies in view of AfCFTA. > > 3. Require *all* form 4 / grade x leavers to first attend TVETs for at least 2 years to gain hands-on technical skills for real world self-sufficiency, before they (i.e. those who wish to do so) attend university. Rationale: We need to keep our eye on the goal. The goal of education, imo,is not to create "paper churning, hands-off, intellectual elites" who lack real-world-relevant skills, but to create a competent, grounded, hands-on, innovative and future-proofed workforce that is capable of applying knowledge by making or doing things that help solve, in tangible and measurable ways, very specific challenges faced by our country (primarily) or to help solve global problems in a way that primarily and tangibly benefits our country (enhancing our global brand / jobs creation / high-value exports / attracting high quality FDI etc). > > 4. De-eliticize university education by creating high-value technical specialist pathways via TVETs (for high paying jobs and societal status / recognition). This would temper the belief held by the general public that a university degree is the only path to success and social mobility / status. > > 5. Employers to emphasize and primarily rely on real-world achievements for competence signalling - rather than relying on academic papers. For example, job advertisements should stop asking for academic qualifications. This is a pointless, tick-box requirement that only creates a market for "River Road degrees". > > For regulated roles, like medicine or engineering, having a valid practicing license should be a sufficient indicator of academic achievement as the license (hopefully) cannot be issued without verification of the required academic background. > > We now have the indigenous capacity to implement competency-based hiring painlessly with technology (e.g. via ongoing programs of supervised, automated technical screening assessments to create a national pool of vetted job candidates - which incidentally would eliminate a lot of wastefully redundant HR activities - at macro level). Hopefully tenderpreneurs / MNC lobbyists will not hijack and subvert this idea. Shindwe! :-) > > Incidentally implementing the above suggestion will reduce incentives for cheating or cram & dump learning. > > 6. Using policy and regulation to strictly limit career pathways for PhD holders such that they primarily engage in research and academia. Government and corporations should stop hiring PhD holders for full-time administrative roles, for example. It is wasteful, short-sighted and counterproductive (considering the massive resources expended to educate people to that level, as well as the need to productively leverage the intellectual potential of earned PhD holders as a super-scarce resource in Africa). > > PhD holders should be primarily dedicated to pushing the boundaries of knowledge for the benefit of our country - and they should be rewarded very well for it and accorded top societal honors / as well as status (so they are not tempted to seek jobs that do not develop / challenge their intellectual abilities / potential). > > The only exception would be for very specific, short term, high-impact, research-reliant-projects or initiatives with very precise and highly specialized objectives, where exceptionally high levels of real expertise is needed. > > The PhD designation should have (3-5) designation levels that signify real-world achievement at post-doctorate level. PhD holders, other than retirees, who wish to permanently engage in non-research work (or work that can be done by Masters / Bachelors degree holders) should be required to permanently relinquish their PhD qualification and lose the "Dr." designation. > > There needs to be a distinctive high-status designation for non-academic honorary doctorates e.g. "Exceptional Life Achiever Degree" with the title "Lx." in recognition of non-academic transformational achievements with high societal impact. > > 7. Academic institutions should form corporations to engage in intellectual property businesses for profit (e.g. IP licensing / manufacturing & distribution) to raise research funds. This requires a pragmatic expansion of institutional mandate as well as strengthening and contextualizing the indigenous IP framework. > > 8. Pedagogy should be driven by a projects-based learning paradigm with deep integration of learning and real-world work. Removing artificial (and retrogressive) boundaries or demarcations between industry and academia: > > > a. Why should learners first graduate before they can start working? This is a mindset problem. Does it make sense to have schoolwork and employment / MSME startups kept separate (yet they are complementary and interdependent)? > > b. Why allow someone without real-world paid work (not industrial attachment, but a real job or real MSME startup experience) to graduate? > > c. Why can't students learn and gain academic credits on the job (doing real, paid work for someone or in their own startups)? > > d.? Why ask our children to choose the projects they want to work on without setting a strategic real-world context that is mapped to real world goals (e.g. Big 4) and real career prospects. Projects-based learning can solve this - with emphasis on projects that can create sustainable wealth for the country (sold to regional governments or the consumer public). > > > > We need to train a generation of self-starters who can survive by creating their own opportunities - irrespective of the economy or jobs market. > > Students should incorporate real startups (with seed funding from Government) during 2nd year - to make and sell products that solve real-world problems in our country / region - and then earn transferable academic credits for demonstrable experience. > > Employers like Government, MSMEs and corporations can embed academia into the workplace by adopting an apprenticeship approach in partnership with Universities and TVETs to hire 2nd year students and assign them to projects that enable them to earn "on-job learning credits". > > By the time they graduate, at least 99% ought to be gainfully employed (or running real businesses). This is how you tackle poverty and unemployment in a sustainable way. So what really prevents us from doing this - other than mindset? > > I know the above might read like heresy to traditionalists - but before you grab the pitchforks and light the torches, look around you... status quo is not working, that's the reality - and things will get worse as 4IR gradually kicks in - if we don't effect radical transformation. > > I'd be happy to have a round-table with the faculty of any tertiary institution that is interested in discussing / debating the above points. > > Have a great evening! > Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross Domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

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Blockchain Taskforce Report - Reminder No. 1
by Ali Hussein 05 Apr '19

05 Apr '19

Listers Has anyone perhaps have had a look at the above report? Shouldn't this report have been released by now? Almost 9 months later? Dr. Ndemo, as Chair of the Taskforce please give us an update? Regards Ali Hussein Principal AHK & Associates Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.

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DATA PROTECTION BILL PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
by Mutindi Muema 05 Apr '19

05 Apr '19

Dear Listers, Please note that the Hon Gideon Moi is proposing the attached amendments to the Data protection Bill. They are about 27. Also note, the proposal to amend scope under Clause 3 of the Bill amends the scope of the Act to exempt 'a public body responsible for national security the purpose of which is the prevention, detection, investigation or punishment of a crime.' as well as ' a person in the course of a personal or household activity.' Kind regards, Mutindi.

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Take Part in ICANN's Age Diversity and Participation Survey
by Barrack Otieno 05 Apr '19

05 Apr '19

Listers, For those that participate in ICANN. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Bob Ochieng <omondibob(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2019 12:47 Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Take Part in ICANN's Age Diversity and Participation Survey To: afrICANN Community List <africann(a)afrinic.net> How to Participate To participate, please visit http://go.icann.org/agesurvey by 19 April 2019. You can take the survey in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Please see full blog here: https://www.icann.org/news/blog/take-part-in-icann-s-age-diversity-and-part… Regards Bob. _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann

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[labor issues] why Kenya should urgently BAN unpaid internships
by Patrick A. M. Maina 04 Apr '19

04 Apr '19

Greetings Listers, There is a (misplaced) belief that unpaid internships are a "win-win" because they incentivize employers to create opportunities (and incur potentially unrecoverable costs) for on-the-job training of fresh graduates, who would otherwise not have a real-world platform for gaining experience. The argument often posited in support of unpaid internships is that the intern has more to gain, as it is unlikely that a fresh graduate will create more value for the employer than s/he draws from the internship. Further, it is assumed that once they have some real world experience, the graduates will have better chance at getting a paid job elsewhere. Here's the problem with that kind of thinking: 1. Phantom Jobs Paradox: A 3 month internship most likely involves entry level assignments with very limited bounds of autonomy or direct commercial impact (e.g. Web Dev, Gathering & Compiling, Graphics design, User support, Customer Service, Reception, Office admin, Project Assistants etc). Now, given the rigid way that the labor markets work, in order for a candidate to realistically leverage the experience earned during internship, s/he will have to apply for a paid job that is very similar to what s/he did during the internship.. but wait... those are the exact same jobs being offered to unpaid interns - so the ex-intern is locked-out and remains jobless because no paid jobs exist for the experience s/he gained while working for free! Why would a rational employer - whose goal is to maximize margins (within a very difficult / hostile business environment) - be interested in paying an experienced ex-intern, when they can simply get a fresh unpaid intern for free, train them within hours or a couple of days, even as other unpaids hold the temporary slack? This where we are headed - if not there already. The youth are "working" but they are still technically unemployed because they are not earning a living. The unintended consequence here is that employers have figured out (as they were bound to) that they can use unpaid interns to profit from free labor (with the "bonus" of dodging "headaches" like PAYE, NSSF, NHIF and Px filing), and this is incentivizing them to keep rotating unpaid interns - in perpetuity. It is even worse if Government subsidizes the stipend - creating an artificial band-aid relief that does not add sustainable value. Friends, that is not job creation. The risk here is that these policies are creating a growing, frustrated, resentful (and increasingly angry) pool of young, unemployed former interns - who feel used, and don't understand why their "investment" in work experience did not pay-off with a real job, as society had "promised". This is already being voiced on twitter (link below - #payinterns). While attempting to solve the youth-unemployment problem, in good faith, policy makers could be unintentionally creating a simmering political time bomb. Something to think about and address (urgently). 2. Sub-optimization problem: As stated in my article on Modernizing Tertiary Education, we have an obsolete education system which churns out graduates without taking ownership for jobs creation (comfortable in the outdated, buck-passing silo culture that believes jobs creation is someone else's i.e. private sector or government, problem / responsibility). 3. Demand vs Supply: The unpaid internship model requires a high-growth economy, which must create a greater demand for jobs each year than the available pool of candidates (>approx 800,000 - 1 Million new *real* vacancies for paid jobs annually). This incentivizes companies to compete for the experienced candidates. The fastest way to do this is to create a rapid growth environment for MSMEs and startups. But the approach should be intelligent and evidence driven. Data driven evidence (from the US, see link below - but relevant locally - which can be confirmed by analyzing performance of local youth entrepreneurship programs) shows that the older generation (age 36 - 69) are the best targets for MSME stimulus initiatives, with higher chances of sustainable success, whereas ages 18-29 have the worst rate of startup failures - which makes sense, because experience truly counts in business and - the learning curve in business is super-steep(!). Data clearly shows that it is wasteful to throw money at the youth when they don't have the skills to manage / multiply it; the grit to persevere; and broad experience to draw on - and these are not skills that can be taught in an entrepreneurship class. The smarter way is for Government to encourage *experienced* older founders to start businesses and get government funding + growth support on condition that they hire our youth for high quality paid apprenticeships. The minimum headcount and/or salaries can even be set by Government for those who receive funding. This should happen within a designed ecosystem framework (interested policy makers are welcome to contact me for more details on how to go about this). >From a root-cause perspective, what is lacking in youth-oriented programs is strategic design for sustainability. We need to move from NGO-style interventionist paradigms to evidence driven master-plan design paradigms. Youth-targeting programs should be compulsorily derived from the master-plan (Vision 2030 / Big 4) and have precise, meaningful and measurable traceability back to the master-plan, in terms of real contributions towards getting the country closer to the vision. The end game must be clear - what does the 2030 economy look like (e.g. in measurable terms such as % unemployment, median wage, GDP, sector contribution, Stock Markets, balance of trade etc)? Or will we just wake up in 2030 and find everything has magically fallen into place? How do we know where we are right now in terms of Vision 2030 overall (and this is not about project status but macro-level metrics)? Are we 10% there? 60%? 30%? How do we know the status is reliable (e.g. can things be seen, is there data, and does on-the-ground sentiment reflect it)? What is working? What is not? What are the lessons so far? How will we know we have arrived (e.g. if we get there early)? How do we know if we are off course? Is there a data driven dashboard tracking Vision 2030? Here's a quick recap of problems with unpaid internships: 1. It encourages exploitation of young people as free labor; 2. Creates a loophole for companies to dodge PAYE for certain types of jobs; 3. It creates phantom jobs - busy young people who are technically unemployed (not earning a living);4. It unfairly locks out the poor. Those who can't afford to work for free (where do they get fare? or food?); 5. Increases political risks by creating a pool of angry, disillusioned youth;6. It is evidence of poor economic policies (interventionist instead of evidence driven master-plan design). Brgds,Patrick Patrick A. M. Maina[Cross Domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations] Links: 1. European Parliament bans Unpaid Internships https://www.neweurope.eu/article/european-parliament-bans-unpaid-internship… 2. Older entrepreneurs more likely to succeed: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2018/08/05/proof-that-the-most-succ… 3. Does Kenya's Youth Enterprise Development Fund Serve Young People (Maurice Sikenyi) https://bulletin.ids.ac.uk/idsbo/article/view/2874/ONLINE%20ARTICLE 4. Worrying trend of gambling youth + 500,000 in CRB blacklisthttps://sokodirectory.com/2019/04/76-of-kenyan-youth-are-gamblers-… 5. Why youth and women enterprises fail in Africa (Prof Michael Chege) https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Why-youth-and-women-enterprises-f… 6. Hashtag Payinterns (Kenya) on Twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/payinterns?src=hash

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Request for addition of new member - Peter Muchemi
by Denis G. Wahome 03 Apr '19

03 Apr '19

Hi Wash, Assist adding Peter to the list he is a 15+ year veteran in the industry - developer, lecturer and entrepreneur. Have a pleasant evening. Denis Wahome [image: Error Icon] Address not found Your message wasn't delivered to *kictane(a)gmail.com* because the address couldn't be found, or is unable to receive mail. LEARN MORE <https://support.google.com/mail/?p=NoSuchUser> The response was: The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please try double-checking the recipient's email address for typos or unnecessary spaces. Learn more at https://support.google.com/mail/?p=NoSuchUserz200sor1607336itb.10 - gsmtp Show quoted text

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Re: [kictanet] Blockchain Taskforce Report - Reminder No. 1
by Jimmy Gitonga 03 Apr '19

03 Apr '19

Hi Mwendwa, The Jadili <http://jadili.ictpolicy.org/> platform housed by Strathmore University has been working to be the portal for ICT based legislative bills in particular. Jadili has been relatively active in this area and we hope it does continue. However, Jadili is based on the Madison Project <https://github.com/opengovfoundation/madison/milestones> Sadly, the Madison Project, an open source project that Jadili is based on was abandoned after Obama left office and is likely to completely stall. In the meantime, Mzalendo Trust has been working hard on a platform named Dokeza <https://dokeza.mzalendo.com/>, a Swahili word largely meaning ‘Share your Idea’. Dokeza is being used to keep an eye on legislative bills going through the Kenyan Parliament with a mission to facilitate public participation in the Parliamentary processes. This platform should facilitate Information Sharing, Research and Networking, especially around our legislative bill development process. We are working to making Dokeza a repository of bills in particular before they become law and archive the process and the public participation that takes place to come to the bill that is signed into law. But most importantly, we are working to innovating around public participation in the legislative bill process and enabling relevant and adequate public participation. As part of the team, we would be very happy to get the Listers’ input on what and how we can make this platform the one-stop shop for our legislative bills, especially the ICT ones that govern the very platform. Power to the hijacking, Ali :-D Best Regards, Jimmy Gitonga Web Software Design and Development LinkedIn: Jimmy Gitonga | Twitter: @Afrowave ______________________________________ Web: afroshok.com <http://afroshok.com/> > On 2 Apr 2019, at 2:52 PM, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2019 12:34:51 +0300 > From: Mwendwa Kivuva <Kivuva(a)transworldafrica.com <mailto:Kivuva@transworldafrica.com>> > > This reminds me of the reminders of the status of the implementation of the > draft ICT policy 2016. How did that go? > > Sorry Ali for hijacking your thread :-). > > Do we have a sort of portal on the status of bills, policy documents, and > strategies ... and the responsible departments? That would make our work > easy in following up. > > So here are the documents we are awaiting some action on. > 1. Draft ICT policy 2016 > 2. Draft National Broadband Strategy 2019 > 3. Draft Critical Infrastructure protection bill (or is it Public structure > and Safety bill?) > 4. National Cybersecurity strategy (What is the status in developing a new > strategy? Probably ICTA can give an update) > 5. Data protection bill > 6. Blockchain and AI task force report > > Regards > ______________________ > Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya > > On Mon, 1 Apr 2019 at 15:49, Ali Hussein via kictanet < > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote: > >> Listers >> >> Has anyone perhaps have had a look at the above report? Shouldn't this >> report have been released by now? Almost 9 months later? >> >> Dr. Ndemo, as Chair of the Taskforce please give us an update? >> >> Regards >> >> *Ali Hussein* >> >> *Principal* >> >> *AHK & Associates* >> >> >> >> Tel: +254 713 601113 >> >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> >> Skype: abu-jomo >> >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> >> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>> >> >> >> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >> >> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >> >> Nairobi, Kenya. >> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2019 14:51:15 +0300 > From: Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke <mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>> > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Blockchain Taskforce Report - Reminder No. 1 > > Mwendwa > > Thanks. Hijacking well accepted. We just need to have an efficient feedback loop for these initiatives. It?s not too much to ask. > > Ali Hussein > Principal > AHK & Associates > +254 0713 601113 > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > Skype: abu-jomo > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle

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Facebook External Oversight Board Workshop (podcast)
by Alex Comninos 02 Apr '19

02 Apr '19

Hi All On the 26-27 March I attended Facebook’s External Oversight Board Workshop in Nairobi. This is the third round in Facebook’s consultations regarding the setting up of an External Oversight Board, which is to provide oversight of Facebook’s decisions with regards to content. In the spirit of open consultation I made a podcast covering the workshop: https://cybernyama.net/2019/03/28/facebook-external-oversight-board-worksho… More information about the External Oversight Board can be found here: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/01/oversight-board/ https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-blueprint-for-content-gove… https://fbnewsroomus.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/draft-charter-oversight-bo… https://fbnewsroomus.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/oversight-infographic.jpg What are your thoughts on the External Oversight Board? Sincerely, Alex

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Online "jobs?" Kenya identified as hotbed of academic writing for Cheating British PhD Students
by peres wamukhula were 01 Apr '19

01 Apr '19

Excerpt: "The industry is worth hundreds of millions of pounds globally, and tens of millions in Britain,’ says Dr Thomas Lancaster of Imperial College London. ‘Kenya is the hotbed where all the writing happens. There is high unemployment and a job working from home is coveted. They have good English and low overheads. ‘There are thousands of people in Kenya whose job is to write essays for cheating students. There are several writers in every apartment block." Here's the full article: Cheating students are paying companies to write PhD theses https://mol.im/a/6861373 via http://dailym.ai/android

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Webinar today: BPF on AI, Big Data and Internet of Things - 01 April 12:00 Noon UTC
by Alex Comninos 01 Apr '19

01 Apr '19

Dear All, the next virtual meeting of the next IGF BPF on Internet of Things, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (IoT-BD-AI) will be held Today on Monday April 1st at noon (12PM) UTC. At the first virtual meeting we defined a (working) title for the BPF: “ Justified Trust in IoT, Big Data, AI to stimulate their use to address societal challenges “, and provided a high level verbatim for this year’s work: ’The BPF as platform for multistakeholder deliberation to discuss best practices contributing to creating trusted systems and applications of IoT, Big Data and AI in an Internet context.’ https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/bpf-internet-of-things-iot… Meeting link: https://intgovforum.webex.com/webappng/sites/intgovforum/meeting/info/12363… I am looking forward to your participation, Kind regards, Alex Comninos

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