Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???),
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use. Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is. Anyway....the links: 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index) 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act). And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day. I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index? Rgds -- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
Well I can only describe this as the epitome of arrogance, that said we need to really work on our national value system. My two bananas. Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> Sender: "kictanet" <kictanet-bounces+otieno.barrack=gmail.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke>Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:47:59 To: <otieno.barrack@gmail.com> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use. Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is. Anyway....the links: 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index) 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act). And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day. I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index? Rgds -- Francis Hook +254 733 504561 _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/otieno.barrack%40gmail... 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.
Yes, I think it is completely unreasonable for Foreign Policy to give Kenya this rating. Kenya certainly has problems, but I am in Egypt right now, and from my perspective, Kenya looks pretty good. I think it is rather insulting that Myanmar gets a better rating than Kenya or Uganda. Good grief. Part of the problem is the hegemonic discourse of Africa as a site of failure. Thanks for raising this issue. Warigia On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 9:47 AM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com>wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public Service University of Arkansas 1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis Hall Little Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227 wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.edu http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
Francis, Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours. In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted. Self Love On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya? On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
The list makes no sense, really. I am in Egypt, which is currently a military dictatorship, and yet it is ranked higher than Kenya, which in my view is a somewhat functional democracy with authoriarian elements. Yet the list gives Egypt a better score than Kenya. It is ridiculous. On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com>wrote:
Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public Service University of Arkansas 1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis Hall Little Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227 wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.edu http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
Dr. Rigia, not to worry too much. These researchers have been declaring Kenya a failed state for the last consecutive 4yrs. It has not stopped the Chinese from coming to invest. So i think the rating does more harm to western investors than to ourselves (Kenyans). Meanwhile, we continue to enjoy scenic beaches, amazing wildlife and panoramic mountains and valleys. And I almost forgot - we continue leading the world on mobile money technologies and usage, not to mention soon to come Konza City (do I say?). So you see, I really do not to worry too much about these ratings (perhaps as someone said, they keep those NGO-types in business) walu. --- On Thu, 6/21/12, Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> wrote: From: Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 2:04 PM The list makes no sense, really. I am in Egypt, which is currently a military dictatorship, and yet it is ranked higher than Kenya, which in my view is a somewhat functional democracy with authoriarian elements. Yet the list gives Egypt a better score than Kenya. It is ridiculous. On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote: Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya? On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote: Francis, Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours. In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted. Self Love On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use. Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is. Anyway....the links: 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index) 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act). And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day. I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index? Rgds -- Francis Hook +254 733 504561 _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafr... 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. -- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know -- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/warigia%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. -- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public ServiceUniversity of Arkansas1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis HallLittle Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227 wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.eduhttp://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%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.
Walubengo, You've got it right, the guys who paint us negatively too come here for their summer holidays, yet they wouldn't dare go to syria, let alone fly over it enroute On 21 June 2012 14:35, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
Dr. Rigia,
not to worry too much. These researchers have been declaring Kenya a failed state for the last consecutive 4yrs. It has not stopped the Chinese from coming to invest. So i think the rating does more harm to western investors than to ourselves (Kenyans).
Meanwhile, we continue to enjoy scenic beaches, amazing wildlife and panoramic mountains and valleys. And I almost forgot - we continue leading the world on mobile money technologies and usage, not to mention soon to come Konza City (do I say?).
So you see, I really do not to worry too much about these ratings (perhaps as someone said, they keep those NGO-types in business)
walu.
--- On *Thu, 6/21/12, Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com>* wrote:
From: Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), To: jwalu@yahoo.com
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 2:04 PM
The list makes no sense, really. I am in Egypt, which is currently a military dictatorship, and yet it is ranked higher than Kenya, which in my view is a somewhat functional democracy with authoriarian elements. Yet the list gives Egypt a better score than Kenya. It is ridiculous.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com>wrote:
Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public Service University of Arkansas 1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis Hall Little Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227 wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.edu http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
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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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Walubengo, I have not seen the list yet but would want to know where Greece ranks. Ndemo.
Dr. Rigia,
not to worry too much. These researchers have been declaring Kenya a failed state for the last consecutive 4yrs. It has not stopped the Chinese from coming to invest. So i think the rating does more harm to western investors than to ourselves (Kenyans).
Meanwhile, we continue to enjoy scenic beaches, amazing wildlife and panoramic mountains and valleys. And I almost forgot - we continue leading the world on mobile money technologies and usage, not to mention soon to come Konza City (do I say?).
So you see, I really do not to worry too much about these ratings (perhaps as someone said, they keep those NGO-types in business)
walu.
--- On Thu, 6/21/12, Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 2:04 PM
The list makes no sense, really. I am in Egypt, which is currently a military dictatorship, and yet it is ranked higher than Kenya, which in my view is a somewhat functional democracy with authoriarian elements. Yet the list gives Egypt a better score than Kenya. It is ridiculous.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis, Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT
aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information,
ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics
they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices
they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???),
14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria,
Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state
is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
(updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or
so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more
heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) -
and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing
how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would
be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline,
slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people
living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last
half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary
application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The
Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's
case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted)
by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain
regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument
for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean
Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly
ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an
issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this
"failed" states index?
Rgds
--
Francis Hook
+254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels
Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
_______________________________________________
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public ServiceUniversity of Arkansas1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis HallLittle Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227
wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.eduhttp://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
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Daktari, Greece? Yeah, them they are highly rated at no 138 out of 177. That is they are 138 steps away from Somalia (considered the ultimate failed state number 1) and just 39 steps away from being the most FUNCTIONAL state (considered to be Finland at N0. 1 then Sweden- despite their weather and their hidden Sun :-) Check out @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index walu. --- On Fri, 6/22/12, bitange@jambo.co.ke <bitange@jambo.co.ke> wrote: From: bitange@jambo.co.ke <bitange@jambo.co.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), To: "Walubengo J" <jwalu@yahoo.com> Cc: bitange@jambo.co.ke, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Friday, June 22, 2012, 5:43 PM Walubengo, I have not seen the list yet but would want to know where Greece ranks. Ndemo.
Dr. Rigia,
not to worry too much. These researchers have been declaring Kenya a failed state for the last consecutive 4yrs. It has not stopped the Chinese from coming to invest. So i think the rating does more harm to western investors than to ourselves (Kenyans).
Meanwhile, we continue to enjoy scenic beaches, amazing wildlife and panoramic mountains and valleys. And I almost forgot - we continue leading the world on mobile money technologies and usage, not to mention soon to come Konza City (do I say?).
So you see, I really do not to worry too much about these ratings (perhaps as someone said, they keep those NGO-types in business)
walu.
--- On Thu, 6/21/12, Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 2:04 PM
The list makes no sense, really. I am in Egypt, which is currently a military dictatorship, and yet it is ranked higher than Kenya, which in my view is a somewhat functional democracy with authoriarian elements. Yet the list gives Egypt a better score than Kenya. It is ridiculous.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis, Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT
aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information,
ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics
they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices
they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???),
14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria,
Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state
is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
(updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or
so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more
heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) -
and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing
how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would
be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline,
slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people
living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last
half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary
application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The
Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's
case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted)
by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain
regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument
for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean
Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly
ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an
issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this
"failed" states index?
Rgds
--
Francis Hook
+254 733 504561
_______________________________________________
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels
Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
_______________________________________________
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public ServiceUniversity of Arkansas1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis HallLittle Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227
wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.eduhttp://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
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Daktari Greece ranks 138th (i.e. 39th from top vs Kenya 161 from the top). Rgds Francis On 22 June 2012 17:43, <bitange@jambo.co.ke> wrote:
Walubengo, I have not seen the list yet but would want to know where Greece ranks.
Ndemo.
Dr. Rigia,
not to worry too much. These researchers have been declaring Kenya a failed state for the last consecutive 4yrs. It has not stopped the Chinese from coming to invest. So i think the rating does more harm to western investors than to ourselves (Kenyans).
Meanwhile, we continue to enjoy scenic beaches, amazing wildlife and panoramic mountains and valleys. And I almost forgot - we continue leading the world on mobile money technologies and usage, not to mention soon to come Konza City (do I say?).
So you see, I really do not to worry too much about these ratings (perhaps as someone said, they keep those NGO-types in business)
walu.
--- On Thu, 6/21/12, Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1, Libya #50 (???), To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 2:04 PM
The list makes no sense, really. I am in Egypt, which is currently a military dictatorship, and yet it is ranked higher than Kenya, which in my view is a somewhat functional democracy with authoriarian elements. Yet the list gives Egypt a better score than Kenya. It is ridiculous.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Syria, 7 places adrift! With 17,000+ casualties, 35,000 wounded, and 250,000 refugees, and still fighting in the uprising, how can they be better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis, Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT
aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information,
ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics
they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices
they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???),
14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria,
Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state
is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
(updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or
so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more
heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) -
and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing
how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would
be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline,
slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people
living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last
half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary
application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The
Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's
case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted)
by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain
regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument
for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean
Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly
ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an
issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this
"failed" states index?
Rgds
--
Francis Hook
+254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels
Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh
www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public ServiceUniversity of Arkansas1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis HallLittle Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227
wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.eduhttp://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
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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.
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup. I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought. I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-) Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya. On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya. Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc. And they are one better than Kenya? On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
Yes, and another amusing indicator is that they say that Ghana is borderline. The last time that I checked, Ghana is one of the most stable and successful of all African countries, with a thriving democracy. On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 1:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com>wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: poorly is
our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
(updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public Service University of Arkansas 1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis Hall Little Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227 wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.edu http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
True true. And coincidentally most of the "failed" or nearly failing states (at least in Africa and ME) are 1 - New or existing oil producers. 2 - Have increasingly strong ties with China as development partners (and potential markets for oil e.g. S Sudan, Sudan, Angola, Uganda, etc) 3 - Rich in natural resources (DRC - story for another day - merits a chapter of its own) On 21 June 2012 14:42, Warigia Bowman <warigia@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes, and another amusing indicator is that they say that Ghana is borderline. The last time that I checked, Ghana is one of the most stable and successful of all African countries, with a thriving democracy.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 1:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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-- Dr. Warigia Bowman Assistant Professor Clinton School of Public Service University of Arkansas 1200 President Clinton Ave. Sturgis Hall Little Rock, AR 72201 501-683-5227 wbowman@clintonschool.uasys.edu http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16> A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous. Adam On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely... Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune! Ali Hussein +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPhone® On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16>
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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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On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 11:52 PM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Ali, yes, in a sense, see letter from the PS to New York Times written almost 3 years ago: <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E2DE1F39F933A05754C0A96F9C8B63> Might be behind a registration firewall so txt below. Adam LETTER; Kenya's Balancing Act Published: July 30, 2009 To the Editor: ''Radical Islamists Slipping Easily Into Kenya'' (front page, July 22) vividly described some of the challenges the Kenyan government faces from having the failed state of Somalia as a neighbor. But it addressed only one aspect of this complex problem. It referred to the threat from Islamic terrorism but only glossed over the enormous humanitarian burden that Kenya carries, preventing it from closing its border with Somalia. For many years, Kenya has served as the beacon of hope for the thousands of refugees fleeing from the misery and civil strife in Somalia. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Kenya is home to more than 260,000 Somali refugees. As the conflict in Somalia persists, Kenya is obligated to provide refuge and security, which means patrolling the border, but not closing it completely. Kenya is also one of the Western countries' closest allies in the region. We are committed to working with American and British advisers to maintain and build our counterterrorism efforts. For our counterterrorism efforts, the Kenyan government has received harsh criticism from human rights organizations. It is a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, we are asked to improve our security measures to protect the tens of thousands of Westerners living in our country. On the other hand, we are asked to provide a home to tens of thousands of refugees. High-level decisions of this nature are not black and white. Bitange Ndemo Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information and Communications Nairobi, Kenya, July 24, 2009
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16>
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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Yes Adam. Indeed it is not black and white. Well put Dr.Ndemo. Ali Hussein +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPhone® On Jun 21, 2012, at 6:03 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 11:52 PM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Ali, yes, in a sense, see letter from the PS to New York Times written almost 3 years ago:
<http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E2DE1F39F933A05754C0A96F9C8B63>
Might be behind a registration firewall so txt below.
Adam
LETTER; Kenya's Balancing Act Published: July 30, 2009
To the Editor:
''Radical Islamists Slipping Easily Into Kenya'' (front page, July 22) vividly described some of the challenges the Kenyan government faces from having the failed state of Somalia as a neighbor. But it addressed only one aspect of this complex problem. It referred to the threat from Islamic terrorism but only glossed over the enormous humanitarian burden that Kenya carries, preventing it from closing its border with Somalia.
For many years, Kenya has served as the beacon of hope for the thousands of refugees fleeing from the misery and civil strife in Somalia. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Kenya is home to more than 260,000 Somali refugees. As the conflict in Somalia persists, Kenya is obligated to provide refuge and security, which means patrolling the border, but not closing it completely.
Kenya is also one of the Western countries' closest allies in the region. We are committed to working with American and British advisers to maintain and build our counterterrorism efforts. For our counterterrorism efforts, the Kenyan government has received harsh criticism from human rights organizations.
It is a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, we are asked to improve our security measures to protect the tens of thousands of Westerners living in our country. On the other hand, we are asked to provide a home to tens of thousands of refugees. High-level decisions of this nature are not black and white.
Bitange Ndemo Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information and Communications Nairobi, Kenya, July 24, 2009
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16>
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: > > Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT > aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, > ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . > > This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics > they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices > they use. > > Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), > 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, > Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state > is. > > Anyway....the links: > > 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index > (updated with 2012 Index) > > 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive > > > Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or > so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more > heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - > and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing > how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would > be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, > slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people > living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last > half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary > application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The > Patriots Act). > > And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's > case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) > by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain > regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument > for another day. > > I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean > Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly > ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an > issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this > "failed" states index? > > Rgds > > > -- > Francis Hook > +254 733 504561 > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafr... > > > 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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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No, I can assure you, sovereign risk ratings are not determined by Foreign Policy magazine rankings. I've done a few in my past life at GI and they were usually *far* more tedious than skipping through shallow-ish Foreign Policy mag articles, and involved snooze-making amounts of balance of payment data and stuff. I also think the ranking is off. But as a country risk analyst, I suspect the FP ranking doesn't matter much anyway. Anyone who's serious about an investment will not rely on this as a yard stick, anyone who's not serious isn't, ummm, serious anyway. Have a lovely Thursday evening, everyone! Andrea On 21 June 2012 17:52, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: < http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?pa...
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: poorly is
our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
(updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc)
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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.
-- Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt> Publisher +254 720 960 322 www.ratio-magazine.com Find/post East Africa careers<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/careers/index.php> Find/post conferences, workshops, trainings, other business events<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/businessevents/index.php>
Andrea I beg to disagree. They may not necessarily look at Foreign Policy Magazine Rankings but you can't deny the fact that biased reporting and rankings like this do have a certain influence on analysts. Unless you are telling me we as human beings are not influenced by a bit of 'desktop researching'? My question would be to what extent do these kind of reports influence analysts? Ali Hussein +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPhone® On Jun 21, 2012, at 6:28 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
No, I can assure you, sovereign risk ratings are not determined by Foreign Policy magazine rankings. I've done a few in my past life at GI and they were usually *far* more tedious than skipping through shallow-ish Foreign Policy mag articles, and involved snooze-making amounts of balance of payment data and stuff.
I also think the ranking is off. But as a country risk analyst, I suspect the FP ranking doesn't matter much anyway. Anyone who's serious about an investment will not rely on this as a yard stick, anyone who's not serious isn't, ummm, serious anyway.
Have a lovely Thursday evening, everyone!
Andrea
On 21 June 2012 17:52, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16>
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
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Trust me, sovereign risk ratings are way more complicated than that. They do involve a ridiculous amount of data, for starters. There isn't that much space for politics etc - happy to see if I can find an old template or methodology guide if you really want to know (and trust me, you don't. I was on the brink of flinging myself out of the 7th floor). I've worked for a bunch of the usual suspects in the country risk analysis industry, ranked countries on a number of criteria etc, and any analyst worth his/her salt will not spend much time on this FB ranking. As an analyst, you basically read whatever you can get your hands on and you quickly discard that which makes little sense. Analysts are analysts because they know the countries and regions they cover, so they have some sound judgement on what makes sense and what doesn't. All of which is a non-ICT discussion, so I'll stop here, but I'm happy to pursue this one on one on email if anyone wants to know more. On 21 June 2012 18:37, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Andrea
I beg to disagree. They may not necessarily look at Foreign Policy Magazine Rankings but you can't deny the fact that biased reporting and rankings like this do have a certain influence on analysts. Unless you are telling me we as human beings are not influenced by a bit of 'desktop researching'? My question would be to what extent do these kind of reports influence analysts?
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 6:28 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt < andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
No, I can assure you, sovereign risk ratings are not determined by Foreign Policy magazine rankings. I've done a few in my past life at GI and they were usually *far* more tedious than skipping through shallow-ish Foreign Policy mag articles, and involved snooze-making amounts of balance of payment data and stuff.
I also think the ranking is off. But as a country risk analyst, I suspect the FP ranking doesn't matter much anyway. Anyone who's serious about an investment will not rely on this as a yard stick, anyone who's not serious isn't, ummm, serious anyway.
Have a lovely Thursday evening, everyone!
Andrea
On 21 June 2012 17:52, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: < http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?pa...
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so
our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: > > Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT > aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, > ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . > > This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics > they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices > they use. > > Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), > 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, > Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state > is. > > Anyway....the links: > > 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index > (updated with 2012 Index) > > 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive > > > Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or > so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more > heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - > and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing > how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would > be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, > slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people > living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last > half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary > application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The > Patriots Act). > > And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's > case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) > by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain > regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument > for another day. > > I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean > Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly > ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an > issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this > "failed" states index? > > Rgds > > > -- > Francis Hook > +254 733 504561 > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafr... > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder
> 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
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: poorly is platform privacy, do platform for privacy, do 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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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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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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Ok. :) Let's take this offline but I stand my ground on this one. Because if we are to believe all analysts view points as coming from solid ground I'd walk on water... :) Ali Hussein +254 773/713 601113 Sent from my iPhone® On Jun 21, 2012, at 6:54 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
Trust me, sovereign risk ratings are way more complicated than that. They do involve a ridiculous amount of data, for starters. There isn't that much space for politics etc - happy to see if I can find an old template or methodology guide if you really want to know (and trust me, you don't. I was on the brink of flinging myself out of the 7th floor).
I've worked for a bunch of the usual suspects in the country risk analysis industry, ranked countries on a number of criteria etc, and any analyst worth his/her salt will not spend much time on this FB ranking. As an analyst, you basically read whatever you can get your hands on and you quickly discard that which makes little sense. Analysts are analysts because they know the countries and regions they cover, so they have some sound judgement on what makes sense and what doesn't.
All of which is a non-ICT discussion, so I'll stop here, but I'm happy to pursue this one on one on email if anyone wants to know more.
On 21 June 2012 18:37, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Andrea
I beg to disagree. They may not necessarily look at Foreign Policy Magazine Rankings but you can't deny the fact that biased reporting and rankings like this do have a certain influence on analysts. Unless you are telling me we as human beings are not influenced by a bit of 'desktop researching'? My question would be to what extent do these kind of reports influence analysts?
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 6:28 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
No, I can assure you, sovereign risk ratings are not determined by Foreign Policy magazine rankings. I've done a few in my past life at GI and they were usually *far* more tedious than skipping through shallow-ish Foreign Policy mag articles, and involved snooze-making amounts of balance of payment data and stuff.
I also think the ranking is off. But as a country risk analyst, I suspect the FP ranking doesn't matter much anyway. Anyone who's serious about an investment will not rely on this as a yard stick, anyone who's not serious isn't, ummm, serious anyway.
Have a lovely Thursday evening, everyone!
Andrea
On 21 June 2012 17:52, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?page=0,16>
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: > > Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT > aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, > ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . > > This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics > they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices > they use. > > Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), > 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, > Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state > is. > > Anyway....the links: > > 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index > (updated with 2012 Index) > > 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive > > > Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or > so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more > heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - > and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing > how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would > be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, > slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people > living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last > half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary > application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The > Patriots Act). > > And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's > case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) > by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain > regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument > for another day. > > I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean > Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly > ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an > issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this > "failed" states index? > > Rgds > > > -- > Francis Hook > +254 733 504561 > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafr... > > > 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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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www.ratio-magazine.com Find/post East Africa careers Find/post conferences, workshops, trainings, other business events
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ns-serif">Find/post East Africa careers Find/post conferences, workshops, trainings, other business events
Ali Hussein, we have been lied to before, and we never learn. never trust The imperialists. For Who deceives me once, God forgive him; if twice, God forgive him; but if thrice, God forgive him, but not me, because I could not beware. [1611 *Tarlton's Jests* (1844) 11] On 21 June 2012 18:37, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Andrea
I beg to disagree. They may not necessarily look at Foreign Policy Magazine Rankings but you can't deny the fact that biased reporting and rankings like this do have a certain influence on analysts. Unless you are telling me we as human beings are not influenced by a bit of 'desktop researching'? My question would be to what extent do these kind of reports influence analysts?
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 6:28 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt < andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
No, I can assure you, sovereign risk ratings are not determined by Foreign Policy magazine rankings. I've done a few in my past life at GI and they were usually *far* more tedious than skipping through shallow-ish Foreign Policy mag articles, and involved snooze-making amounts of balance of payment data and stuff.
I also think the ranking is off. But as a country risk analyst, I suspect the FP ranking doesn't matter much anyway. Anyone who's serious about an investment will not rely on this as a yard stick, anyone who's not serious isn't, ummm, serious anyway.
Have a lovely Thursday evening, everyone!
Andrea
On 21 June 2012 17:52, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Now we are being punished for our hospitality? Surely...
Having said that me thinks we shouldn't expend our energies on something so obviously biased. Thing is though is that we are caught between a rock and hard place as these rankings sometimes determine our financial rankings in matters of sovereign debt etc. unfortunately it's still true that who pays the piper calls the tune!
Ali Hussein
+254 773/713 601113
Sent from my iPhone®
On Jun 21, 2012, at 2:43 PM, Adam Peake <ajp@glocom.ac.jp> wrote:
Short explanation of Kenya's position according to Foreign Policy: < http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/18/postcards_from_hell_2012?pa...
A problem Kenya carries that many other countries do not are the refugee camps along the northern borders, and then there's the problems of unstable neighbours. But such a ranking, without explanation is ridiculous.
Adam
Interestingly Ethiopia is ranked 16th (somehow its missing on the wikipedia link but is on the other link) - one better than Kenya.
Recently they banned VoiP and attached a prison sentence to anyone caught using a VoIP app. There IT indicators are among the lowest in Africa ergo access to information , implicit freedom to "associate/assemble" electronically, ICT for development, share ideas, ability to politick online, etc are severely constrained - at least in so far as social and political environments go. Anyone who has tried to open shop in Ethiopia will tell you its not plain sailing. Dissent is not allowed. etc etc.
And they are one better than Kenya?
On 21 June 2012 14:03, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kivuva, On that note about NGOs (and perception), its sad to note that these have increasingly become a form of creating self-employment - both by foreigners and Kenyans alike. Pick a cause, shed light on how bad things are (even if they are not really that bad) and start passing around the cup.
I recall there was a time the govt sought to regulate (audit?) NGOs and their activities - (and avoid duplicated efforts, wastage of resources, etc). I think at the time were some rumblings about why the govt should do this - if I am not mistaken it was mainly because certain NGOs "addressing" democracy, civic education, human rights, etc were drawing fire (or the govt's wrath) for whatever reasons and I think part of the political class that that time, who perhaps had vested interests, supported such NGOs activities and the whole move amounted to nought.
I'd like to think that since 2003 the democracy has grown, healthcare more widely available, women's/Children's/human rights are better, malaria/AIDs on the decline, agricultural practices better, etc. Of course I do not have a yardstick but just by living in our society I have seen changes. Most certainly things are better than 10 years ago. Thus such NGOs should have whittled down to a handful and perceptions of Kenya should be different already. Ironically this ranking must mean the NGOs work has amounted to nothing :-)
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so
our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: > > Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT > aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, > ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) . > > This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics > they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices > they use. > > Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), > 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, > Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state > is. > > Anyway....the links: > > 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index > (updated with 2012 Index) > > 2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive > > > Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or > so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more > heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - > and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing > how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would > be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, > slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people > living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last > half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary > application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The > Patriots Act). > > And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's > case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) > by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain > regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument > for another day. > > I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean > Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly > ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an > issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this > "failed" states index? > > Rgds > > > -- > Francis Hook > +254 733 504561 > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldafr... > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder
> 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
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 8:19 PM, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote: poorly is platform privacy, do platform for privacy, do 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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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
There must be a way to root out such elements. They are doing more damage than good. What regulation mechanism has worked elsewhere? Maybe we should learn some lesson.
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote: poorly is
our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index
(updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
I think Kivuva if the govt compelled NGOs to register various details in an openly accessible database - a database that can be searched/filtered/manipulated, etc by projects, focus areas (health, democracy, rights, violence, etc) with these NGO also providing budgets, project costs, opex, etc - then we'd be one step closer to streamlining the sector - as was the intention back then. We'd pool projects - foster collaboration between NGOs, identify main funding partners and guide them accordingly. We'd be saying "yes - there are problems here and if you would like to help, lets work together and do it this way for maximum impact" - rather than have four/five diff NGOs traipsing all over the place doing the same things, falling over each other and sometimes confounding the communities they work in or the people they help. The donors will also have visibility as to how many NGOs are doing what and prioritise accordingly. Reporting to govt and donors in a set format must be made mandatory - e.g. what has been the impact and how is it measured? NGOs should not exist in isolation. My two bits.... On 21 June 2012 14:51, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Having said that I admit there are indeed NGOs doing sterling jobs in Kenya and we need to support them. But for the most part, and I make no apology about this, many of them are simply busy bodies that muddy the waters, distort the facts (or focus on the negative ones), stir controversy (in NGO-ese: "foster open dialogue") etc and strive to remain relevant in order to secure funding. In so doing they must continue to paint a negative picture of Kenya.
There must be a way to root out such elements. They are doing more damage than good. What regulation mechanism has worked elsewhere? Maybe we should learn some lesson.
On 21 June 2012 13:16, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Francis,
Thank you for bringing this up. I think the ratings are more to do with perception than reality. Most of the negative that make us rank so poorly is our own creation. What about thousands of NGOs taking pictures of slums, drought and starving children then run to western donors begging for cash to "HELP" the poor they "REPRESENT"! This has ruined the developing world's image beyond measure. Our own PRESS is also a major problem. I don't see western country publish widely sensationalizing their homeless, street gangs, mafia, and grand grand corruption, as we do ours.
In recent times, I have seen our leaders, including PS Ndemo insist on positive reporting from our media. That is the direction we should seek. If we instill cockiness in the direction of narcissism, then the west will stop taking us for granted.
Self Love
On 21 June 2012 10:47, Francis Hook <francis.hook@gmail.com> wrote:
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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.
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-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
-- ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva For Business Development Transworld Computer Channels Cel: 0722402248 twitter.com/lordmwesh www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
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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.
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
Listers, My observations on similar researches has brought to light that one needs to take cognisance of who is funding the research. I came to the conclusion a while back that some vested interests out there feel so threatened by Kenya and are at pains to paint such a bad picture of the country. Ranking Kenya number 17 is simply ridiculous and totally misrepresenting-but ofcourse, that is the main objective. We have heard of countries that want to discredit our beloved Kenya so that it discourages various organisations from setting shop or expanding their scope in Kenya, in the hope that they become beneficiaries. Much as we have several issues to tackle, this rating is utterly ridiculous. And if this is not the case, I suggest that the funders of this research should critically evaluate their research agency's weighting methods. In the meantime, let us take what is necessary to act on from the report, trash the rest and continue developing our beloved country. These researchers will catch up with us somewhere ahead- if at all! And on that note, I urge all Kenyans to flag the flag high and say NO to impunity, corruption and all those vices! Gilda Original Message ----- From: "Francis Hook" <francis.hook@gmail.com> To: <godera@skyweb.co.ke> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2012 10:47 AM Subject: [kictanet] Failed States Index 2012 - Kenya #16, Somalia #1,Libya #50 (???),
Apologies this is not mainstream ICT but at the periphery some ICT aspects need to be considered as well...(open access to information, ICT enabling democracy/choice/transparency, ICT in corruption, etc) .
This index is by the US group Fund for Peace. I wonder what metrics they are using or how they are weighting the values of the 13 indices they use.
Kenya is ranked 16th...that's just 15 steps away from Somalia (???), 14 from DRC and shares the "teens" positions with Pakistan, Nigeria, Niger among others. The lower the score, the more "failed" a state is.
Anyway....the links:
1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Failed_States_Index (updated with 2012 Index)
2 - http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive
Personally I don't think Kenya should rate that poorly out of a 177 or so countries...I suspect some of the 13 indices are weighted more heavy than others (corruption, criminality, political situation etc) - and if such were removed from the index, just for the sake of seeing how it shifts the rankings, I'd like to think some EU countries would be in the top 50 at least....social unrest, steep economic decline, slum creation (US - housing/mortgage crisis has seen more people living in the streets in the last couple of years than in the last half a century), Wall Street demos, etc, ...."Suspension or arbitrary application of law" (Guantano Bay still open for business, The Patriots Act).
And "Intervention of external political agents" - I think in Africa's case these "political agents" are usually from (or supported/fronted) by some developing countries that would want to nurture certain regimes in order to reap some economic gain...but that's an argument for another day.
I'm also surprised the use of the adjective "primitive" by Korean Airlines, to describe Kenyans, elicited more reactions than this lowly ranking...should we get all hot and bothered about what is likely an issue of translation or summon our national pride and repudiate this "failed" states index?
Rgds
-- Francis Hook +254 733 504561
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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 (10)
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Adam Peake
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Ali Hussein
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Andrea Bohnstedt
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bitange@jambo.co.ke
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Francis Hook
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Gilda Odera
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Kivuva
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otieno.barrack@gmail.com
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Walubengo J
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Warigia Bowman