Hello,

My overall sense is that Konza gets unfairly beaten up, by us commentators most of the time. To begin with, the project is very young compared to the likes of Shenzhen, which became an SEZ in 1980, 41 years ago. The problem arises when our planning and implementation horizon is too short. Even 10-15 years is too short for an objective appraisal of failing or succeeding. I think questions about the progress thus far can be more valid than a declaration that the project has failed.

My 5 pence.

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On Wed, 2 Jun 2021, 09:09 Grace Githaiga via KICTANet, <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Good points @Ali Hussein. I like your point number 3 'can the project get back on track?'

Considering it was a vision 2030 project, can we say that that there are still 9 or so years to get it back on track?

Rgds
GG

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grace Githaiga

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From: KICTANet <kictanet-bounces+ggithaiga=hotmail.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke> on behalf of Ali Hussein via KICTANet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Sent: 02 June 2021 7:33 AM
To: ggithaiga@hotmail.com <ggithaiga@hotmail.com>
Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] KONZA: The failed promise of Kenya’s smart city
 
GG

Thanks for sharing. 

Listers, even the best-laid plans can miss their targets. I'd rather we discuss:-

1. What went wrong.
2. What are the lessons to be learned.
3. Can the project get back on track?  
4. Has it gone wrong? How long does it take to build a new city?

Regards

Ali Hussein

Digital Transformation


Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

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LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim




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On Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 7:32 PM Grace Githaiga via KICTANet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Listers
This may be of interest to some here.
Rgds
Grace

Kenya was one of the earliest countries to outsource its dreaming to McKinsey. The entire Vision 2030 strategy was developed by the Kenyan government in conjunction with McKinsey & Company, with Konza being one of many techno-utopian urban renewal projects the firm was involved in. At first, most were undertaken in Asia, then, in the 2000s, the focus shifted to African countries, which were seen as growth markets for big tech and financial corporations.

...the McKinseyfication of government and federal services often means that the mere production of paperwork counts as progress. ...The question then becomes, Who is responsible for the failure of Konza?”

--

Grace Githaiga
KICTANet Convenor

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