There are two very similar threads to this current thread, one of theme "How we are killing our Kenyan ICT Industry, what we could do to revive it!" I have noticed members contradict themselves on that thread, and this current one. Is there any economist in the list who can give us theory of best practice? I don't believe liberalization means we should open our bellies and let every big economy out there eat from it. I like giving the example of Germany. Their products although of relatively superior quality, are usually multiple times more expensive than imports. Same with their services. I wonder if the A 100 highway in Berlin was build by Chinese, even if Chinese firms quoted a fraction of the cost. Ali talked of the great Tumbuktu. When did we stop being innovators and builders and start being mass consumers? Is neocolonialism ensuring that we never move forward on our own? That we cannot do anything on our own? That Kenyans shall forever remain spanner boys in mega construction projects! NSSF and Times Tower were build by local companies, albeit probably at inflated prices. But with a willing and able government, can't we have local contractors do just as good a job? I am dead sure that the UTILITARIAN value of having local companies do works even at double the cost far outweighs the savings of auctioning our Capital. If we buy machinery from the west, should we still buy services from them? Where did we loose our national pride? Regards ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva twitter.com/lordmwesh google ID | Skype ID: lordmwesh