Hi All, Yet another nail in the Konza coffin with the imminent departure of Craft Silicon to Singapore as a result of the finance bill which gave tax incentives to imported software and no corresponding incentives for local developers. http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/ICT+firms+shun+Kenya/-/1017288/1483212/-/1sy894... At this rate Nokia will relocate Virtual City to Denmark or Singapore if we continue to allow our laws to favour foreign firms at the expense of developing local capacity. This development pours cold water on the recent establishment of a research lab by IBM as those who acquire the skills will not be able to be competitive locally. More disappointing is a statement by Huawei Kenya representative, Wind Li, that such incentives to foreign software developers will challenge locals to be more creative yet we all know that China shutdown it borders to foreign participation for over 50 years which resulted in their current positive growth. He added insult to injury by saying that removal of trade barriers is always good for a country's business development, this statement sounds a lot like what the western governments kept preaching to us during the height of the structural adjustment program. Regards PS. China is now making it clear that they are here as the 3rd wave of colonizers of Africa. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 10:03 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk>wrote:
Hi All,
Yet another nail in the Konza coffin with the imminent departure of Craft Silicon to Singapore as a result of the finance bill which gave tax incentives to imported software and no corresponding incentives for local developers.
http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/ICT+firms+shun+Kenya/-/1017288/1483212/-/1sy894...
At this rate Nokia will relocate Virtual City to Denmark or Singapore if we continue to allow our laws to favour foreign firms at the expense of developing local capacity. This development pours cold water on the recent establishment of a research lab by IBM as those who acquire the skills will not be able to be competitive locally.
More disappointing is a statement by Huawei Kenya representative, Wind Li, that such incentives to foreign software developers will challenge locals to be more creative yet we all know that China shutdown it borders to foreign participation for over 50 years which resulted in their current positive growth.
He added insult to injury by saying that removal of trade barriers is always good for a country's business development, this statement sounds a lot like what the western governments kept preaching to us during the height of the structural adjustment program.
Regards
PS. China is now making it clear that they are here as the 3rd wave of colonizers of Africa.
Robert Yawe
Two things stand out from my shallow reasoning on this, based on the fact that I do not have the figures/reasons to support myself: 1. Minister Githae is not being advised properly. I should blame the ICT Board (Paul Kukubo) for this, unless he says his organization's mandate does not include promoting local developers. 2. There may be just a handful software development houses in KE, a number which is seen as insignificant. I don't see why same tax incentives were not extended to local software developers. Maybe M$ pushed for this and arm-twisted the govt?? Decisions aren't made in a vacuum, so there must be a hand to blame for this misnomer. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
Thank you Robert for bringing this up. It's good to see Dr. Ndemo is petitioning the government to give local players a better deal. You have a good point Washington. How many local software development firms exceed the $1M mark? That would be a good basis to gauge our ingenuity. Regards On 21/08/2012, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 10:03 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk>wrote:
Hi All,
Yet another nail in the Konza coffin with the imminent departure of Craft Silicon to Singapore as a result of the finance bill which gave tax incentives to imported software and no corresponding incentives for local developers.
http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/ICT+firms+shun+Kenya/-/1017288/1483212/-/1sy894...
At this rate Nokia will relocate Virtual City to Denmark or Singapore if we continue to allow our laws to favour foreign firms at the expense of developing local capacity. This development pours cold water on the recent establishment of a research lab by IBM as those who acquire the skills will not be able to be competitive locally.
More disappointing is a statement by Huawei Kenya representative, Wind Li, that such incentives to foreign software developers will challenge locals to be more creative yet we all know that China shutdown it borders to foreign participation for over 50 years which resulted in their current positive growth.
He added insult to injury by saying that removal of trade barriers is always good for a country's business development, this statement sounds a lot like what the western governments kept preaching to us during the height of the structural adjustment program.
Regards
PS. China is now making it clear that they are here as the 3rd wave of colonizers of Africa.
Robert Yawe
Two things stand out from my shallow reasoning on this, based on the fact that I do not have the figures/reasons to support myself:
1. Minister Githae is not being advised properly. I should blame the ICT Board (Paul Kukubo) for this, unless he says his organization's mandate does not include promoting local developers. 2. There may be just a handful software development houses in KE, a number which is seen as insignificant.
I don't see why same tax incentives were not extended to local software developers. Maybe M$ pushed for this and arm-twisted the govt?? Decisions aren't made in a vacuum, so there must be a hand to blame for this misnomer.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
Kivuva, Yes we have started discussion with Treasury. I just called Kamal (Craft Silcon (CS) CEO)to ask him if it is true that he is moving to Singapore. Well he tells me that CS will always remain a Kenyan company and he is here to stay. He just opened another office in Singapore and Somalia. We should be celebrating to see a Kenyan multinational spread its wings throughout the globe. Let us not go to Somalia when the market is mature. Taking an early rist pays greatly. This what we need to spend time talking. The rest we can do. Ndemo.
Thank you Robert for bringing this up. It's good to see Dr. Ndemo is petitioning the government to give local players a better deal.
You have a good point Washington. How many local software development firms exceed the $1M mark? That would be a good basis to gauge our ingenuity.
Regards
On 21/08/2012, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 10:03 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk>wrote:
Hi All,
Yet another nail in the Konza coffin with the imminent departure of Craft Silicon to Singapore as a result of the finance bill which gave tax incentives to imported software and no corresponding incentives for local developers.
http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/ICT+firms+shun+Kenya/-/1017288/1483212/-/1sy894...
At this rate Nokia will relocate Virtual City to Denmark or Singapore if we continue to allow our laws to favour foreign firms at the expense of developing local capacity. This development pours cold water on the recent establishment of a research lab by IBM as those who acquire the skills will not be able to be competitive locally.
More disappointing is a statement by Huawei Kenya representative, Wind Li, that such incentives to foreign software developers will challenge locals to be more creative yet we all know that China shutdown it borders to foreign participation for over 50 years which resulted in their current positive growth.
He added insult to injury by saying that removal of trade barriers is always good for a country's business development, this statement sounds a lot like what the western governments kept preaching to us during the height of the structural adjustment program.
Regards
PS. China is now making it clear that they are here as the 3rd wave of colonizers of Africa.
Robert Yawe
Two things stand out from my shallow reasoning on this, based on the fact that I do not have the figures/reasons to support myself:
1. Minister Githae is not being advised properly. I should blame the ICT Board (Paul Kukubo) for this, unless he says his organization's mandate does not include promoting local developers. 2. There may be just a handful software development houses in KE, a number which is seen as insignificant.
I don't see why same tax incentives were not extended to local software developers. Maybe M$ pushed for this and arm-twisted the govt?? Decisions aren't made in a vacuum, so there must be a hand to blame for this misnomer.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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Unless you know something I don't Robert, there is no connection between Nokia and Virtual City that extends to their influencing it's location. As for tax incentives for foreign software this is not necessarily a bad thing. There is some software that local firms need that local software companies cannot or will not produce. This software being cheaper is a good thing holistically. The greater issue then is what can be done to stimulate the local software industry? Personally my problem is not Microsoft and Oracle software being cheaper. This is in fact a kick in the pants to competitors and an opportunity for integrators. My problem is we are not creating a culture and environment for local Micrososfts and Oracles to develop and thrive. I'm pretty sure the success of ESET (Slovakia), Bitdefender (Romania), AVG (Czech Republic), Avast (Czech Republic) is not due to tax holidays. Let us treat diseases, not symptoms. On Tuesday, August 21, 2012, robert yawe wrote:
Hi All,
Yet another nail in the Konza coffin with the imminent departure of Craft Silicon to Singapore as a result of the finance bill which gave tax incentives to imported software and no corresponding incentives for local developers.
http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/ICT+firms+shun+Kenya/-/1017288/1483212/-/1sy894...
At this rate Nokia will relocate Virtual City to Denmark or Singapore if we continue to allow our laws to favour foreign firms at the expense of developing local capacity. This development pours cold water on the recent establishment of a research lab by IBM as those who acquire the skills will not be able to be competitive locally.
More disappointing is a statement by Huawei Kenya representative, Wind Li, that such incentives to foreign software developers will challenge locals to be more creative yet we all know that China shutdown it borders to foreign participation for over 50 years which resulted in their current positive growth.
He added insult to injury by saying that removal of trade barriers is always good for a country's business development, this statement sounds a lot like what the western governments kept preaching to us during the height of the structural adjustment program.
Regards
PS. China is now making it clear that they are here as the 3rd wave of colonizers of Africa.
Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya
Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
So Craft Silican shall set up in Singapore, and export their Software to Kenya, where it shall be imported software, right? Tax incentives are tricky. There were firms that reportedly set up shop in the EPZ to enjoy tax holidays. After the holiday was over, the same firms were spotted in Uganda where EPZs were being set up and firms would enjoy tax holidays.
+1 Rad. Well said. We do however need a blend of both. A solid partnership between government and private sector can be a wining combination. The experience of Japan and Korea is a good case study where government and private sector collaborated to create globally competitive companies like Toyota, Samsung etc. Ali Hussein +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPhone® On Aug 22, 2012, at 12:13 AM, "Rad!" <conradakunga@gmail.com> wrote:
Unless you know something I don't Robert, there is no connection between Nokia and Virtual City that extends to their influencing it's location.
As for tax incentives for foreign software this is not necessarily a bad thing. There is some software that local firms need that local software companies cannot or will not produce. This software being cheaper is a good thing holistically.
The greater issue then is what can be done to stimulate the local software industry? Personally my problem is not Microsoft and Oracle software being cheaper. This is in fact a kick in the pants to competitors and an opportunity for integrators. My problem is we are not creating a culture and environment for local Micrososfts and Oracles to develop and thrive.
I'm pretty sure the success of ESET (Slovakia), Bitdefender (Romania), AVG (Czech Republic), Avast (Czech Republic) is not due to tax holidays. Let us treat diseases, not symptoms.
On Tuesday, August 21, 2012, robert yawe wrote: Hi All,
Yet another nail in the Konza coffin with the imminent departure of Craft Silicon to Singapore as a result of the finance bill which gave tax incentives to imported software and no corresponding incentives for local developers.
http://www.nation.co.ke/Tech/ICT+firms+shun+Kenya/-/1017288/1483212/-/1sy894...
At this rate Nokia will relocate Virtual City to Denmark or Singapore if we continue to allow our laws to favour foreign firms at the expense of developing local capacity. This development pours cold water on the recent establishment of a research lab by IBM as those who acquire the skills will not be able to be competitive locally.
More disappointing is a statement by Huawei Kenya representative, Wind Li, that such incentives to foreign software developers will challenge locals to be more creative yet we all know that China shutdown it borders to foreign participation for over 50 years which resulted in their current positive growth.
He added insult to injury by saying that removal of trade barriers is always good for a country's business development, this statement sounds a lot like what the western governments kept preaching to us during the height of the structural adjustment program.
Regards
PS. China is now making it clear that they are here as the 3rd wave of colonizers of Africa.
Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya
Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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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.
participants (7)
-
Ali Hussein -
bitange＠jambo.co.ke -
Dennis Kioko -
Kivuva -
Odhiambo Washington -
Rad! -
robert yawe