Walubengo, You can dig for your answer in my write up below. This week I had an opportunity to fly to Laikipia for a lunch meeting with investors who wanted to kill two birds with one stone by having a Safari and discuss business at the same time. They paid the bill. The one hour flight to and from Laikipia got my head spinning. The pilot has been flying here for more than thirty years and has seen many physical changes in Central, Eastern and Rift Valley. I pestered him with many questions. At some point he told me that all the rivers that flow through Central Kenya had crystal clear water in the 7o's and 80's but as farmers encroached on riparian land, soil erosion crept in and now they are all red dragging the best of soils into the Indian Ocean. In spite of several Departments of Geography in our Universities there are little or no studies on the long term effects of what is happening to our ecosystem. We study both human and physical geography not to apply the knowledge but as a means to get papers for employment. A quick research will tell you that we are not only food insecure but also water insecure. Although Kenyas water per capita in cubic meters at 647 is above world average 360, we do not compare well with other progressive countries such as India at 1,911 and China at 2,840. We were better at independence since we had many dams built by the British but are now non-existent. People planted Ndumas in most of the dams. We must now admit we did not know the impact and still we do not know until our academics get down to work on research. Soil erosion means we are also eroding the most arable land in the country. Per capita arable land in Kenya measures only .14 hectare per person. Here we fall below the world average of .21 hectare per person. The statistic implies the world must manage this resource better in order to feed everybody. The British had started this policy on African reserves sort of rural urbanization. We rightly shunned it but without studies to look into our future. We must re-introduce this with a better name and better housing with all utilities. My research findings on such housing will cost about Ksh. 200,000 per unit of three bedrooms. In other words we can construct 340,000 households from the Goldenberg loot if we were to recover it. This will translate to all of Northern Kenya from Kacheliba to Wajir. We have about 6 million households in Kenya of which 3 million can afford to pay for such a house or better. The Government can indeed manage to build for the remainder through improved tax collections (we pay about 40% of the potential income tax and about 20% of the potential local authority taxes such as rates). Of course there will be other savings from health budget that goes into opportunistic diseases that we can eliminate from the face of Kenya. These include water borne diseases. Typhoid alone costs Kenya billions that need to be used to improve the livelihood of our people and meet the constitutional demands. Therefore, the question on Lake Victoria water will not arise if we dammed all the waters that flow into the lake and elsewhere. As for affordable prices for broadband, I have no doubts that we shall meet this even before the end of this year. The shared infrastructure negotiations are going on smoothly. In a few weeks time we should move forward with the LTE open access program. If we all understand the open access principle where big and small will use the infrastructure at same access cost. More agile companies will indeed provide very competitive pricing. As we move the Government more online, the more the number of internet users meaning we shall reach the critical mass much faster. With the critical mass and many providers, the price can only go downwards. The biggest problem and one asked by Monda is the question of vested interests. I know some sectors have a real problem with this issue and negatively impacts on our economic growth. In our sector we have been lucky in the sense that much of what we do is new and the rapid technological changes discourage power brokers who may entrench themselves to build strong vested interest. This is not to say that we are not often asked to do things differently. Our savior is going to be open government and in this I pray that every Kenyan understands this concept because it has a way of not only dealing with vested interest but also impunity in a way. If I had time I could delve into this more. To date I do not think even media has understood this powerful tool. Back to my flight. Coming back I found myself humming Jim Reeves song we thank thee each morning for a new born day .. we thank thee for the sunshine and air we breathe, for the rivers that run, for the birds that sing, for the eyes to see this things unfortunately we may not hear the birds sing since from above you can see that we have eliminated their habitat percent of total land area in Kenya covered by forest is 2% compared to world average of 31%. We may not see the rivers as they were before since all our soils are polluting the what remains of rivers as eucalyptus has swallowed much of the water and wetlands. Hovering over many towns across the land you get hurt by what you see. Although there are planners in all local authorities you see a cry of unplanned structures with visible problems of managing solid waste. You simply see chaos in a country with literacy levels approaching 90%. What you see are the sources of many diseases and problems such as the jigger menace in some parts of the country. I grew up fairly poor but we did not have this level of disorganization. At least health officers did something to prevent many diseases. I saw dirty butcheries and restaurants closed by health officers. There was a semblance of planned dukas. Where the madness of unplanningness came from I do not know but this is one of the things candidate Ndemo will deal with. In conclusion, we must make very tough decisions if we want a better future. I know the new constitution has brought all sorts of rights but it is all nonsense if we undermine the future with unplanned population, unplanned urban centers, unplanned future, etc. There must be no rights without responsibility. Ndemo.
Bw PS,
nice insights you have below. Mine is simply to ask what your thoughts are, in terms of making consumer internet prices affordable. Yes, cost of bandwidth at international gateway level used to be 5,000USD per MB (over satellite) but now it has dropped below 500USD per MB. Basically it has dropped by 10 times - HOWEVER- in our cyber cafes, the cost of accessing internet is still 1/- to 2/- per minute, pretty much what it was during the satellite days.
Mobile data internet which is the more common form of access is not any cheaper either. There's has been NO drop per-se, just marketing gimmicks of increasing the amount of bandwidth for the same (HIGH) price. It is like saying lunch costs 2,500/= at some 5star hotel, but since there has been good rains/harvest, for the same 2,500/= you are free to eat ALL you want...sounds good, but ONLY for those who could afford the 2,500/= lunch bracket in the first place - who unfortunately are not many....particularly in an economy whose average monthly income is around 8,000sh.
So how do you intend to tackle the internet price problem when you get to be President?
walu.
--- On Fri, 8/12/11, bitange@jambo.co.ke <bitange@jambo.co.ke> wrote:
From: bitange@jambo.co.ke <bitange@jambo.co.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? Extended due to Public Demand To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke Date: Friday, August 12, 2011, 9:01 PM
Harry, Yes there is a crisis virtually in every country at the moment. The difference is how you handle the situation. In Britain the Prime Minister thought he can take a vacation in Italy and forget what is going on at home but he was forced to dash home. Before I respond to how we take care of our crisis, I felt there is a patriotism lesson that we need to learn from Britain.
The first reports we got in our News papers here and even in electronic media, there was no cause of the crisis in Britain. It was simply reported that London is burning. Some of our best media houses with so many journalists forgot to ask questions like what, where, when, why, etc. This would have helped us understand. This is because the British Media (from where our Media got the story) first looks at their countryâs interests first and everything else is secondary. Does our Media have what they call Kenyan or African interests? If they did, they would have raised issues relating to racism and African Diaspora. We shall be more respected if we had the interest of those in the Diaspora at heart be they from Bahamas or Nigeria.
How do we respond to our crisis? This should not be a government project. The entire society needs a lesson on respecting other human beings because this where our problems start and will open up greater opportunity and sustained harmony for all humanity. In other countries they make an effort to socially integrate all citizens of different economic classes. Let me elaborate. In Kenya a good mechanic will never be found drinking with a corporate CEO but in other countries it happens and sometimes you find they are neighbours. It is not common you find a woman with an undergraduate degree married to a plumber for example. We have defined classes that we try everything to belong to. We do not have good plumbers, mechanics, carpenters etc in this country yet we have thousand s looking for white collar jobs.
I am sure most of you have watched Cheers. The artists in the bar are a postman, a doctor, other professional, bar maids and men having a common goal. Where no one thinks or feels they know more than the other. This is the begging of building a harmonious society that no one feels left out. The rift we have created just needs a small thing like shooting a drug dealer (as in the UK) then hell will break loose. We must not forget that this happened in China in 1949 when the Maoists took over. They literary killed anybody who seemed to be from upper class. Land reform was the major focus of policy as a result of China's vast rural population, around 90% of the population were farmers. Lands of former landlords were confiscated by the government and subsequently redistributed to the lower-class peasants. Do not forget the French revolution.
Discrimination in any form should be shunned. This is because it is the basis of all problems be it class or tribalism.  Three of my close friends have experience that summarizes what I have tried to explain. Mr. X got six and eighteen points at O and A levels respectively. At university he came out with 1st class in Electrical Engineering and joined the then EAPL and later obtained an MBA. Mr. Y had division II and could not afford high school but went to Kenya Science Teachers to become a teacher. Mr. Z also passed his O levels with Division III and joined Barclays Bank as a Clerical officer. They have struggled in their own ways and of the four of us Z is the wealthiest. Any time I am with X, he complains why I should even have time for Y and Z. Y by the way has struggled for many years and he will soon get his PhD. According to X these are not our class of people. He loathes Z as one who failed and now possibly has earned his wealth through corrupt means. In spite of the fact that I have tried to ask X to forget the past, he feels he belongs to a different class and hangs around some of the âsuccessfulâ people. Although I have never disclosed this to Y and Z their sixth sense leads them to discriminate X from some events. At some point we were four young lads who enjoyed life together but now pulling a part because of differences in the way we led our lives after high school. I hear and see this kind of stories often and make me feel bad about class division in our country.
I have had the privilege of deciding who my assistants should be but not once have I ever picked someone because we spoke the same vernacular language. My current office is a living example and after leading by example, all of my senior officers followed suit. This is how we should begin to tackle the problem of tribalism. We also must ensure equitable distribution of resources and start connecting all the counties with roads, energy, water, schools and hospitals. We have already connected fibre optics to all the counties and are in the process of covering the pockets that exist. Even with difficult times we have managed to balance infrastructure development to all parts of the country. We shall continue with similar strategies.
To achieve my objectives, I take you back to building sustained regional influence and develop the HUB concept in everything here in Kenya. Transportation, ICT, Industrialization, and practically everything Hub. Of course some of our neighbours will feel jealous.   This is what we need in a sustained way because it will help galvanize Kenyans against some external âaggressorâ. President Museveni used this effectively to get Ugandans behind him when he claimed Migingo as a strategy to get re-elected. Let us do good to the entire East Africa by building the rail up to Goma, Adis, Juba, Dar and Arusha all terminating in Nairobi. We must build major transit and logistics airport and make it cheap to access it to all rail destinations. Develop capacity to serve the entire world back offices.   From this we shall create a pull effect on our agriculture. Let me not disclose the entire strategy.
Regards
Ndemo.
Bw Ps,
Thanks for your articulative responses... Indeed looking at events cutting across the globe now, one wakes up to a realization that we face similar socio-economic challenges. Bottom line, is how do we respond. And respond we must. But consequently this is what makes the huge difference between moving forward purposefully to achieve progress and backpeddling on the other hand.
We'd also wish to understand what strategies would be put in place to ensure a balanced infrastractural development across the regions. I suppose much of the concentration right now is around the Capital and it's environs at the expense of the rest of the country. How about dealing with the great tribalism "monster".
3rdly, what strategies/plans do you have in place to achieve this dream you have.
Harry
-----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of bitange@jambo.co.ke Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 3:32 PM To: harry@comtelsys.co.ke Cc: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Bitange for President? Extended due to Public Demand
Grace, Thank you for extending the debate to Monday. I hope I get time to articulate some of the issues that will impact our lives in the next few years. Earlier I said that we are not alone in how we are dealing with our social development. I went ahead and gave examples from the US and UK. Although it is an unfortunate for the British people, it has come to pass. Even the Central Bank we got some good debate out of my post.
Leadership requires selfless commitment to the people they lead. It is a sacrifice one makes. In this respect, I will seek for advisors who have demonstrated ability to serve their country with dedication. We have these people but they have never been given a chance to lead. The constitution has accorded us the opportunity to search for such people. If you read today's front page Standard, it has the requirement for those who want to join the electoral commission. If we follow the requirement to the letter, we shall get credible people. It is this process that lacked before and political operatives took charge in many posts within government.
Indeed there will be a policy guideline on all organizations registered under Societies Act. It is in the interest of the public that these organizations file annual returns to the registrar because they are tax exempt. Tax exemption means that we the public partly fund their activities. Further the state has a responsibility to protect its citizens from being taken advantage of. We cannot burry our heads in the sand on this issue no matter how sensitive it is. We shall also be implementing our constitution with respect to Bill of Rights.
Regards
Ndemo.
Listers
We have received requests (offline) that we allow "Candidate" Ndemo more time for him to respond to more concerns being raised.
This is to let you know that the 'official campaign period" has been extended up to Monday August 15, 2011.
And now Dr. Ndemo, Harry Delano did ask you to say what kind of advisors you would be looking for to help shape policy. Can we hear you on this one too? You also make a valid point about churches and the fact that they are not audited. I know for example in Washington DC, Parish priests have to present audited accounts to Parishoners once a year, while the Bishop fundraises through a system that is open to public scrutiny. Would you then make a policy decision on this? On a light note, may I remind you that your responses will go into the 'manifesto' and translate into more or less "votes" :)
Listers, let the debate continue.
Rgds GG
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