ボストン コンサルティング グループ日本代表。京都大学文学部卒。米ハーバード大学経営学修士(MBA with High Distinction)。日本航空を経て現在に至る。様々な業界に対し、事業戦略、グループ経営、M&A(合併・買収)などの戦略策定、実行支援、経営人材育成、組織能力向上などのプロジェクトを数多く手がけている。著書に『戦略「脳」を鍛える』(東洋経済新報社、2003年)、『使う力』(PHP研究所、2006年)、『経営思考の「補助線」』(日本経済新聞出版社、2009年)など。
Sun Resources NL (ASX:SUR) はヨーロッパ北西部の7,200億立方フィート内陸ガス鉱泉での掘削に参加すべく最終的な探鉱権協定契約をまとめている。契約と承認プロセスの両方において進歩が見られ、 Sun Resources は今後数週間中に契約を締結する見込みである。契約条件の下、 Sun Resources は探鉱権における15%の権益を取得すべく、過去および今後の掘削コスト230万豪ドルを出資する予定である。同鉱泉は2011年第3四半期に掘削されるものと見られている。
ラクダミルクに大きな潜在力が宿っているという点で、専門家の意見は一致している。国連食糧農業機関(Food and Agriculture Organisation、FAO)のウェブサイトは、ラクダミルクについて「牛乳よりもやや塩分が多く、ビタミンCの含有量も牛乳の約3倍。鉄分、不飽和脂肪酸、ビタミンB群も豊富」と説明している。また、年間100億ドルの利益を生み出す一大産業に発展する可能性があると指摘している。(c)AFP/Boris Bachorz
【7月23日 AFP】陸上、ダイヤモンドリーグ2011(IAAF Diamond League 2011)第10戦モナコ大会(Herculis)は22日、モナコ(Monaco)のモンテカルロ(Monte Carlo)で行われ、男子100メートルは9秒88を記録したジャマイカのウサイン・ボルト(Usain Bolt)が優勝を飾った。
ボルトは、スタートで出遅れたものの50メートルを越えると走りのギアが入り、今季自己最高タイムをマークした。しかし、8月27日に開幕する第13回世界陸上大邱大会(13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Daegu)を控え、今季3本目の100メートルに出場したボルトは、9秒88で2位に入ったネスタ・カーター(Nesta Carter)の位置を目で追いながらゴールした。
絶滅が危ぶまれている小形のアンテロープ(レイヨウ)、アダースダイカー。生息地は、タンザニアのザンジバル島と、ケニア南部のアラブコ・ソコケ国立公園(Arabuko Sokoke National Park)の森に限られていた。森林の縮小などによって、20年前の5000頭から現在は1000頭まで数を減らしており、国際自然保護連合(IUCN)では絶滅危惧IA類(絶滅寸前)に指定されている。
【8月6日 AFP】陸上、ダイヤモンドリーグ2011(IAAF Diamond League 2011)第12戦ロンドン大会(Aviva London Grand Prix)は5日、英国ロンドンで初日が行われ、男子110メートル障害でデイロン・ロブレス(Dayron Robles、キューバ)が13秒04で優勝を飾った。
男子100メートルに出場予定だったアサファ・パウエル(Asafa Powell、ジャマイカ)は股関節の違和感を訴え、第13回世界陸上大邱大会(13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Daegu)の開幕を間近に控えていることもあり、棄権している。(c)AFP
The unholy alliance in Somalia: Media, donors and aid agencies
By Rasna Warah
Posted Sunday, August 7 2011 at 13:23
The season of giving has started - and it not even Christmas yet. Leading international aid agencies, including the United Nations, Oxfam, Save the Children and Islamic Relief UK, have launched massive campaigns to save the thousands of Somalis who are facing hunger in their own country and in refugee camps in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia.
The appeals for food aid have been accompanied by heart-wrenching images: children with swollen, malnourished bellies, emaciated mothers with shrivelled breasts that no longer lactate, campsites bursting at the seams with hordes of skeletal refugees. Almost all the large humanitarian aid agencies are rushing to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to witness, photograph and film the crisis. We have seen these images before - in the mid-1980s when Mohamed Amin filmed the famine in Ethiopia that triggered the trend of rock stars becoming do-gooders. Since then, famine has become the biggest story coming out of Africa - and one of the biggest industries.
Media-savvy aid agencies
Images of starving Africans are part and parcel of fund-raising campaigns, as are journalists. As one leading humanitarian official told the BBC’s Andrew Harding, the UN can produce endless reports, but it is only when the images of starving people are televised or placed on the front page of newspapers that politicians take action.
The problem is that the story that they see or read is not as impartial as they would like to believe. More often than not, it is told by aid agency staff on the ground or independent filmmakers. News organisations that do not have the resources to send reporters to far-flung disaster zones such as the camp in Dadaab, have entered into an unholy alliance with aid agencies, whereby the aid agencies’ spokespeople - wearing T-shirts and caps bearing the logos of their respective organisations - “report” the disaster via satellite to international audiences. Even when journalists are present on the ground, they rely almost exclusively on aid agencies’ version of the disaster. The narrative about the famine in Somalia has, therefore, become both predictable and one-sided.
Dutch journalist Linda Polman believes that the “unhealthy” relationship between journalists and aid agencies does not allow for independent, objective reporting, and is often slanted in favour of the agency doing the “reporting”.
Media-savvy aid workers fully exploit the eagerness with which journalists accept their version of a disaster or crisis. On their part, says Ms Polman, journalists “accept uncritically the humanitarian agencies’ claims to neutrality, elevating the trustworthiness and expertise of aid workers above journalistic scepticism.”
This non-nuanced, simplistic story about African disasters has foreign policy implications, says Karen Rothmyer in a discussion paper published by Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Centre early this year.
“Top US officials responsible for Africa policy who begin their days with media summaries focusing disproportionately on Africa’s problems are unlikely to see the continent’s potential.”
The cosy relationship between aid workers and journalists has thus distorted the way Africa is reported. Journalists often do not get to the heart of the story or take the time to do the research into the causes of a particular crisis. Africans do not feature much in their stories, except as victims.
“In public affairs discussions the term ‘starving Africans’ (or ‘starving Ethiopians’ or ‘starving Somalis’) rolls from the tongue as easily as ‘blue sky’,” wrote former aid worker Michael Maren in his 1997 book The Road to Hell.
“Charities raise money for starving Africans. What do Africans do? They starve. But mostly they starve in our imaginations. The starving African is a Western cultural archetype like the greedy Jew or the unctuous Arab.”
In a recent phone conversation, Ms Polman told me that the “starving African” story is not just the easiest to tell, especially in a continent that does not generate much international media coverage, but is also the most “politically correct.” After all, who in their right mind would want to be accused of doing nothing for dying people?
Business opportunities
Even more alarmingly, there is almost no attempt on the part of news organisations to independently verify the facts and figures disseminated by aid agencies, which, as I discovered when I worked with a UN agency, are quite often inflated or based on erroneous data.
The temptation to exaggerate the extent of a crisis in order to raise more funding is always present, says Ahmed Jama, a Somali agricultural economist based in Nairobi. Jama believes that it is very likely that many parts of Somalia that have been declared as suffering from drought, such as the fertile lower Shabelle region - which experienced a bumper harvest last year - may actually be food secure, and that it is possible that the people suffering there are not locals but those who migrated to the region from drought-prone parts of the country.
He adds that it is in the interest of UN and other aid agencies to show a worst-case scenario because this keeps the donor funds flowing. Jama says that while parts of Somalia have always suffered from cyclical droughts, the lack of sound agricultural and livestock policies have ensured that droughts rapidly turn into famine, which was not always the case. In the 1980s, for instance, he says, Somalia met 85 per cent of its cereal needs, thanks to government and international community investments in agriculture.
Disasters such as the famine in Somalia fuel the aid business, with each aid agency eager to “brand” itself as the most competent in handling the disaster. In her recently published book The Crisis Caravan, Polman describes how crises become “business opportunities” for aid agencies.
Aid organisations that want to remain on top of the game, she adds, need to be fluent in the language of product positioning, proposal development and client relations. Physical presence in the disaster area is critical because “aid organisations that fail to put in an appearance at each new humanitarian disaster miss out on contracts for the implementation of aid projects financed by donor governments and institutions, and are bypassed left, right and centre by the competing organisations that do show up.”
The real story
Aid agencies rarely report the root causes of a famine, though in the case of Somalia, there is a tendency to blame the civil war and militia such as Al Shabaab, which until recently had banned aid agencies from entering areas under its control.
For more than two decades, civil war and famine have dominated the narrative about Somalia. But the Cape Town-based Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah believes that much of the commentary on the Somali civil war is based on “a false premise” - that the Somali civil war is the consequence of an age-old clan conflict. This view, he says, is unfortunately also held by a number of Somalis, who have no memory of the Somalia of his childhood, where the cosmopolitan capital Mogadishu “was not only one of the prettiest and most colourful cities in the world, but also decidedly the oldest in sub-Saharan Africa and older than many of Europe’s most treasured medieval cities.”
The real conflict in Somalia, he says, is not so much between clans but between urban and pastoralist communities, especially those which migrated to Mogadishu, and who visited havoc on the capital city in 1991 by forming contingents led by city-based men and “armed with ancient injustices newly recast as valid grievances.”
“The pastoralist Somalis, who are by nature urbanphobics,” he writes, “saw the city as alien and parasitic, and because it occupied an ambiguous space in their hearts and minds, they gradually accumulated hostility towards the city until they became intent on destroying it.”
However, some economists believe that the international community is largely to blame for the crisis in Somalia. Michel Chossudovsky, professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa, claimed in his 1993 book The Globalisation of Poverty and the New World Order, that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had a negative impact on Somalia’s stability after they imposed structural adjustment programmes in the 1980s that forced Somalia to adopt austerity measures that destabilised the national economy and destroyed agriculture.
He blames the Bretton Woods institutions for, among other things, reinforcing Somalia’s dependency on imported grain, periodic devaluations of the currency that led to a hike in prices of fuel, fertiliser and farm inputs, and the privatisation of veterinary services. US grain supplies that entered the country in the form of food aid also destroyed local agriculture, he says. Food aid, in turn, was often sold by the government on the local market to cover domestic costs.
The diversion of food aid is nothing new. Ms Polman’s research shows that in almost every crisis area around the world, warlords, militia, and soldiers have benefited by imposing “taxes” on humanitarian agencies or stealing and selling food aid to buy arms. Quite often, refugee camps become safe havens for militia, who use the safety of the camps to regroup and recuperate. Refugee camps thus indirectly prolong civil wars.
Avenues for bribery
What is also not mentioned in the appeals for funding is the fact that a lot of the funds are used to pay off or bribe officials and militia to allow aid convoys to pass. (In Somalia, Ms Polman claims, the “entry fee” charged by warlords has in the past run to as much as 80 per cent of the value of the aid.) In many countries, it is not militia, but government officials, who steal aid money.
The other fact that is conveniently overlooked is that a large proportion of the funds raised is used to cover aid agencies’ administrative and logistical costs. Staff has to be hired, four-wheel-drive cars have to be bought, offices have to be set up, highly paid international experts earning hefty per diems have to be flown in or consulted. All this costs money, lots and lots of money. D.T. Krueger, a former employee of the Food and Agricultural Organisation, estimates that as much as three-quarters of funding received by a UN agency is used purely on itself. Much of the aid also ends up back in the donor country in the form of salaries for experts who are nationals of the donor country, and in the form of inputs for development projects that are purchased in the same donor country.
Despite all these glaring inefficiencies and failures, the aid industry continues unabated; in fact, it is going from strength to strength. Statistics indicate that the number of aid agencies and NGOs have mushroomed since the end of the Cold War - in Kenya alone, for instance, there are more than 6,000 registered international and local NGOs that contribute more than $1 billion to the Kenyan economy.
In my assessment, there is a strong relationship between the number of donors and aid agencies in a country and its level of poverty - the more donors and aid agencies there are, the less likely that country is to significantly reduce poverty levels.
And here is why. Aid to governments often has the net effect of suppressing local economies and initiatives. In Somalia, for instance, Maren noted that food production was suppressed by food aid, as farmers had no incentive to grow their own food. Aid also makes governments less accountable to their own people. When the work of government is taken over by aid agencies and NGOs, and when government budgets are heavily subsidised - or entirely funded - by foreign donors, governments become less accountable to their own citizens, and more accountable to the donors. It also makes it easy for governments to blame lack of donor funding for their failures to carry out development programmes. This leads to a vicious blame game, where the victim is always the ordinary citizen.
Donor aid also reduces countries’ sovereignty. Aid is the most effective (and cost-effective) way in which foreign donor countries control other countries without being labelled as colonialists. It leads to bizarre situations where a donor country - and even more alarmingly, an international aid agency - sets government policy for a poor country, while presidents, ministers and permanent secretaries look on helplessly. Donors have a keen vested interest, therefore, in keeping the aid industry well-oiled. They cannot do this without the help of their foot soldiers, the aid agencies - who also rely on donor funding - and journalists who surrender all claims to neutrality and objectivity by becoming mouthpieces of these same aid agencies.
However, neither the donors nor the aid agencies could play their part without the complicity of African governments, which have unquestioningly taken on the roles of victim and beggar.
「Kenyans for Kenya」はケニア赤十字社、ケニア商業銀行(KCB)、携帯電話会社サファリコム、メディア所有者協会が中心となって発足したキャンペーン。同じ国内で苦しむ人々のために、ケニア国民に対し携帯電話を利用した送金サービスでの募金を呼びかけている。また、KCBの口座を通じた世界からの募金も受け付けている。集まった募金の総額はホームページで随時更新されている。
In a pioneering move Samsung Electronics’ Nairobi office has confirmed the launch of the solar-powered Samsung Netbook NC215S laptop to the Kenyan market as part of a global launch that kicked off in key African markets last week.
Kenya is among the pioneer launch markets selected by Samsung and the world’s first solar powered laptop.
Speaking in Nairobi, Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader Robert Ngeru confirmed the availability of the solar powered 10.1 inch netbook in Kenya was part of the ongoing Samsung Built for Africa campaign.
Ngeru explained that the netbook’s features are eye-catching and intelligent, with a large front solar panel located on the cover of the netbook.
The Netbook also features an ultra-portable and stylish design, weighing just 1.3kg with a slim display rim that’s as thin as a finger. The netbook will be available across the firm’s local dealer network.
The laptop is loaded with a front cover panel that captures energy from the sun and allows the user to recharge the battery automatically and without cost.
“The Samsung Netbook NC 215S is an aggregation of Samsung’s diverse forward thinking technologies and it satisfies the needs of global market consumers by integrating environmentally-friendly green IT technology,” Ngeru said.
“Using about two hours of bright midday sun, the user can charge the battery life by one hour with a fully charged battery lasting up to 14 hours of usage, and the battery can be charged up to 1 000 times over 3 years,” he added.
Samsung NC215S solar netbook has a great edge over other netbooks available on the market due to its 14,5 hours stand-by capability as compared to other netbooks which have 7 or 8 hours stand-by capability.
The unveiling of the Samsung Netbook NC 215S comes just months after it was showcased at the Samsung Africa Forum event in Nairobi last May.
During the electronics exhibition, the Samsung NC 215S attracted the attention of the public given the limited electricity availability in much of Africa.
And following its African launch, the netbook is also set to be launched in Russia, the US, Europe and South Korea before the end of this month.
Available only in black, the netbook’s solar panel can also be used to charge a smartphone, MP3 player and other devices via its USB port, even when the PC is switched off or in a power-saving mode.
Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S II Smartphone in Kenya.
The new Samsung Galaxy S II dual core smartphone is a lightweight handset with a thin (8.49mm) rim and combines an excellent viewing experience with high performance.
Speaking in Nairobi during the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader, Robert Ngeru confirmed that the Android powered smartphone would be hitting the market to further enhance Samsung’s local offering.
“With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Electronics in Kenya is well-placed to spearhead and fast-track the adoption of Smartphones in Kenya given that such phones are expected to drive and accelerate Internet adoption,” Ngeru said.
“Indeed, a recent research finding by Informa Telecoms Media reveals that there will be up to 265 million data subscribers in Africa by 2015, up from about 12 million today, confirming the need for smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S II.”
The demand for quality smartphones in the Kenyan market, Ngeru said, is growing at a fast pace as discerning mobile phone users continue to upgrade to handsets that can support value added services provided by the leading local mobile operators.
“In Kenya and on the back of the earlier launch of the Samsung Galaxys which sold more than 10 million units globally, we have noted a steady and tremendous growth in the demand of quality smartphones particularly due to the availability of 3G GSM networks.”
The Samsung GALAXY S II uses Android 2.3 Gingerbread mobile operating system. The next generation smartphone also includes access to Samsung’s four new content and entertainment hubs, seamlessly integrated to provide access to music, games, e-reading and social networking services.
The Kenyan government has ordered telecom operators to shut down unregistered SIM cards in order to restrain criminal activity in the region.
Mwai Kibaki, Kenya's President (image source: file photo)
The move aims to force all Kenyans to register their SIM cards. Kenya has about 25 million active mobile numbers and only 12.4 million have registered thus far.
The deadline to register all mobile numbers is 1 October 2011.
Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki said the new laws were now in place to protect mobile service providers from legal suits for blocking SIM cards” and he has directed the Ministry of Information and Communication to ensure no unregistered numbers were in use.
“There is now a legal framework to protect service providers from unnecessary legal suits,” Kibaki said at the launch of Telkom Kenya’s 3G mobile network in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
Samuel Poghisio, Minister for Information and Communications said Kenya was moving towards a shared telecoms infrastructure platform and would repossess idle frequencies.
“We have had problems with business people who think that resources like spectrum and frequencies, are to be hoarded for their own individual benefit. The trend now is to share those resources and for us to use them more effectively,” he said in comments published by the ministry.
Kenya will soon be hooked to its fourth undersea fibre-optic cable following the laying of the France Telecom-funded Lower Indian Ocean Network 2 (LION2), The Standard reported online.
LION2 undersea cable lands in Kenya (image source: file photo)
The ship laying the LION2 arrived in Mombasa, Kenya on 30 August 2011, marking the completion of the actual cable laying. The cable will now be connected to a main submarine cable in international waters for testing, and is expected to go live in the course of the first half of 2012.
The EUR 56.5 million LION2 will connect Kenya to Mayotte, Madagascar, Mauritius and La Reunion Islands. LION2 is an extension of LION, which connects the Indian Ocean Islands to the world. The initial LION was laid in March 2010.
France Telecom, through its subsidiaries in the region (Mauritius Telecom, Orange Madagascar and Orange Kenya), is a major investor in the second phase of the cable and has put in KES 4.18 billion of the KES 7.5 billion. The new cable will be a boost to Orange Kenya, which is actively pursuing deployment of
Internet infrastructure in Kenya after it launched a high speed 3G network last week. Meanwhile, Kenya has invited interested investors to build a super-fast, fourth-generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) services network.
LTE or 4G networks boast five times faster data transmission speeds than existing 3G networks and support high-definition video conferencing. The government envisages a Private Public Partnership (PPP) model in which the government would undertake to provide the necessary frequency spectrum resources, while the private sector would meet all the other costs related to deployment and operations.
Google, in partnership with Safaricom and Equity Bank, plans to bring small and medium scale enterprise (SMEs) businesses in Kenya online for free.
Google is to create free websites for Kenyan SMEs (image: Pinnapedia, 2010)
The project, dubbed “Getting Kenyan Businesses Online (GKBO)”, provides a template for SMEs to log onto www.kbo.co.ke and fill in information to upload onto their new website.
The Google-led effort will also give SMEs the opportunity to create their own website at no cost. With 10.2 million Internet users in Kenya, Google Kenya Country Manager Olga Arara-Kimani said the initiative would transform the SME landscape, while positively impacting on the economy.
Speaking at a Nairobi hotel, Arara-Kimani said many small businesses fear getting online because they think it is complicated and expensive.
“We are providing your own, easy to build website for mobile and desktop. The SME will be listed online under our website, www.kbo.co.ke. If we are able to get these businesses online, where we are now seeing that they are not only being found locally, but have the opportunity to be found internationally; they can contribute to the growth of the business,” she said.
The GKBO website is mobile and desktop compatible allowing SMEs to personally manage the site and update business information in real time. Resources available include a shopping cart service and SMS alerts providing the number of hits to the website.
According to a recent Google study, one in three mobile Internet searches in the East African region pertains to local information. Ministry of Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo said GKBO also helps to address high registration prices for website domains that often discourage SMEs from signing up.
“The storage capacity in this country is four times as expensive as it is outside the country. If it continues to be that expensive it will discourage people from getting local domains. What Google brings in is the leveraging of their capacity for storage to bring lower costs,” he said.
He said the government was taking steps to boost cyber security through the Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) at the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).
CIRT will receive, review and respond to computer security incident reports and activity, as well as create awareness of cyber security issues through the provision of cyber security advisories.
Partners involved in the GKBO initiative include Safaricom, Equity Bank, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information and Communication, World Bank and Kenya Network Information Centre.
Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Worldwide have announced the availability of the world’s first virtual payments card that operates off a mobile phone-based wallet in Kenya called PayOnline.
Kenya is the first market in the world to make this type of payment solution publically available, which lets Airtel Money customers in Kenya use their mobile phones to make online purchases from international MasterCard merchants around the world.
Airtel’s mobile technology platform works with the financial structure and regulatory framework provided by Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard.
“The launch of the world’s first virtual payment card on a mobile phone account marks a major milestone in Kenyan mobile commerce. It’s just like having a payment card on your mobile phone that you can use for online purchases, offering consumers high levels of security, accessibility, acceptance, and a global reach,” said N Arjun, Chief Projects and Transformation Officer, Airtel Africa.
With PayOnline, paying for an online purchase is quick and easy. People simply request a single-use shopping card number directly from their mobile phone’s menu of options. Airtel money services will then generate a special 16-digit number that enables the completion of the purchase. Once the purchase has been authorised, a confirmation message will be sent to the user’s mobile phone.
A single-use number assigned to each PayOnline purchase must be used for the first time within 24 hours, which offers increased security and protection to prevent unlawful access to people’s money. Transactions will initially be limited to 35,000Ksh (about US $369) per transaction and 70,000Ksh (US $739) per day. However, these limits can be changed in the months to come - dependant on demand.
People can purchase items online which are quoted in Euro, USD or Pound, and will be charged a fixed transaction fee of 50Ksh for each “PayOnline” number generated. This fee will be deducted from the customer’s Airtel Money account.
“The connected world is shrinking at a rapid pace as people turn to mobile phones to connect with friends and make purchases on-the-go. We saw that people want more options in making their payments easier and more convenient which is why we joined hands with Airtel and Standard Chartered Bank to help make people’s lives easier with this innovative new product,” said Daniel Monehin, MasterCard’s area head for East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide.
“Financially empowering the citizens of Kenya is a rewarding experience, not only for consumers themselves, but for the various institutions and merchants that are involved in doing so. MasterCard looks forward to working with Standard Chartered Bank and Airtel to continue promoting the advantages of electronic payments and to accelerate the displacement of cash and cheques in Kenya,” he added.
“As a leading international bank in Africa, we are always looking for ways to bring innovative financial solutions to our customers in line with our brand promise: Here for good. We have been in Kenya for 100 years and have always been at the forefront of introducing new products and services to the market.
The PayOnline solution is a unique way of ensuring that our customers can transact in the digital world for the first time without having to have a credit card or use their physical debit card. Airtel PayOnline will enable more Kenyan consumers to connect to the global marketplace via their mobile phones no matter where they are in the world,” said Kariuki Ngari, Executive Director Kenya, and Cluster Head, East Africa Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank.
The race to feed more than 12 million people facing severe food shortages in the Horn of Africa has seen humanitarian agencies make several funding appeals. Donor governments have contributed more than US$1.46 billion out of the required $2.48 billion.
So far, so traditional. What has not been counted has been the response of ordinary people in the region to the disaster unfolding on their TV screens. Here is a round-up of some initiatives that have tapped into popular philanthropy.
Kenyans for Kenya - One of Kenya's most successful funding drives ever, the campaign aimed to raise 500 million shillings - about US$5.28 million - in one month; that target was reached in 10 days. The initiative then aimed for one billion shillings - $10.56 million - and by 1 September, had collected more than $7 million. The money has been used to send tonnes of food to crisis-affected areas through the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS).
Corporate sponsors have been conspicuous givers, but private citizens contributed more than $1.6 million using MPESA, a mobile phone money transfer service run by telecoms firm Safaricom.
FeedKE - A separate campaign started by a Kenyan Twitter user, Ahmed Salim, gained some popularity among internet users. Using the Twitter hashtag #FeedKE, the campaign also used mobile money transfers to raise more than $15,000, which was also channelled through KRCS.
Telethons - A three-day telethon organized by the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent Authority in August raised more than $17 million. The Red Crescent has also collected more than 400 tonnes of food for the drought and set up clinics in Somalia.
Another telethon, organized by the South African NGO, Gift of the Givers, and the South African Broadcasting Corporation, raised more than $170,000. This was just a fraction of the nearly $3 million that Gift of the Givers says has been raised by South Africans.
The diaspora - Millions of people from the Horn of Africa live abroad and regularly spend a portion of their earnings sending remittances to their families; Ethiopians and Somalis living abroad send more than $1 billion home annually. According to media reports, remittances from the Somali diaspora to the worst-hit areas in the south of the country are up by 10 percent.
The US Agency for International Development says several Somali NGOs in Minneapolis have joined forces with the American Refugee Committee in an initiative called Neighbours for Nations that unites and mobilizes diaspora community efforts to provide relief and development services in Somalia.
Celebrity buzz - From Bono to Beyonce, celebrities have thrown their weight behind the campaign to feed millions in the region. Bob Marley's family released a new video for the legend's song, High Tide or Low Tide, to help raise awareness and money for the drought in East Africa as part of the 'I'm gonna be your friend' campaign in conjunction with Save the Children.
Jay Z and Kanye West courted controversy when they destroyed a $350,000 Maybach Mercedes for the video of their track, Otis, but the two artists say the vehicle will be auctioned and the proceeds used to assist the drought response.
In August, Canada-based Somali musician K'Naan - whose hit, Waving Flag, was the World Cup 2010 anthem - visited his homeland for the first time in decades to raise awareness about the food crisis.
【9月26日 AFP】ケニアの環境活動家で2004年ノーベル平和賞受賞者のワンガリ・マータイ(Wangari Maathai)さんが25日、がんのため首都ナイロビ(Nairobi)の病院で死去した。71歳だった。マータイ氏の創設した植林NGO「グリーンベルト運動(Green Belt Movement)」が26日、発表した。長期の闘病生活を送っていたという。
Africa: Can We Have Internet Governance Without Internet Rights?
http://allafrica.com/stories/201109290227.html
Nairobi - Many important technical decisions about internet architecture are being made right now - decisions that will have consequences for decades.
At present, policy choices are being made largely without the input of civil society and without sufficient consideration of the public good.
It is clear that civil society needs some innovative thinking, a new paradigm through which we can ensure the right policy outcomes.
This is why APC's pre-event at the sixth Internet Governance Forum focused on developing a rights-based approach to access. Any debate surrounding ICT policy must be informed by respect for human rights in order to be effective. In light of this, APC put forward the proposal that the theme for the next IGF should be human rights.
As Joy Liddicoat of APC's Connect your rights! campaign explains : "Human rights are as essential to internet governance as the TCP/IP protocol is to the domain name system."
A rights-based approach is the best method toward ensuring just outcomes from ICT policy.
A rights-based approach to gaining access
It is the best way to ensure universal, affordable access. Monopolistic conditions, and a lack of economic incentives means that markets in developing countries have largely failed to provide affordable access to a majority of users. The promise of the internet as a tool for development and empowerment continues to be unrealised by large segments of the population. Disparities in access between rich and poor, urban and rural areas serve to exacerbate existing social inequalities.
Telecommunications companies simply do not have the incentive to provide access to marginalised groups. Access will only be assured when states are obligated to provide it, as with a right.
A rights-based approach to maintaining access
Worldwide, governments are moving towards restricting access and this securitisation of the internet is a major threat to civil and political freedoms. This translates not just into outright censorship, but often creates the conditions - such as surveillance and lack of anonymity - for self-censorship.
Recently the Pakistani government passed regulation banning all encryption. Likewise, the Indian government now requires all cybercafe visitors (disproportionately poorer citizens) to register with ID. This kind of extreme legislation has profound implications for the security and anonymity of users.
Equally alarming is the emergence of draconian measures for IP protection. "Three strikes" laws - where users can be disconnected or even imprisoned for copyright violations - are a clear distortion of the law.
A rights-based approach would rule out these kinds of reactionary legislation.
In light of the increasingly complex issues facing internet policy-makers, including many at the IGF, there is a real need for a clear set of guiding principles for internet regulation.
Such a set of principles already exist. They are on paper - in existing international human rights declarations. It's now up to the international internet community to learn more about them and start to apply them in their own policies and regulation.
Human rights must be the underlying theme for the 2012 IGF.
More about the IGF
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network and non-profit organisation founded in 1990 that wants everyone to have access to a free and open internet to improve lives and create a more just world.
Kwale - A Member of parliament has urged the youth to embrace Information Technology to compete nationally and internationally.
Mr William Ruto of Eldoret North said the world was moving towards a knowledge-based economy and without knowledge in IT, the youth would not be able to compete globally.
Addressing students at Kinango Secondary School in Kwale County on Saturday, he said crude tools could not be used by the youth to compete in the world of Internet, Facebook and e-commerce.
The former Higher Education minister expressed dissatisfaction with the country's IT literacy, which, he said, was low compared to other developing countries that have advanced technology in their education systems.
Mr Ruto also expressed disappointment that in spite of the Coast region being a potential food basket, the area continued to rely on relief food from Red Cross.
Economic growth
Through his new-found party, UDM, he promised to set aside Sh70 million in every constituency for the empowerment of women and youth to start income-generating activities at the grassroots level.
This, he said, would contribute to economic growth and job opportunities in the country in a wider way than the Kazi kwa Vijana project.
However, Mr Ruto cautioned that unless Coast leaders united to fight drug abuse ravaging the region, it would be counterproductive to empower the youth only for them to succumb to the menace.
He expressed disappointment that although the main drug barons were known, none of them had been arrested.
Other leaders with Mr Ruto urged Coast people to unite and vote for a party that propagates policies and issues for the advancement of 'Wanjiku' (the ordinary citizen), and judge an individual's development records before voting in the forthcoming polls.
With online business increasingly driving economic growth, developing nations' top priority should be the infrastructure their citizens need to get connected, according to delegates at an Internet conference that ended in Nairobi last week.
The Internet's potential to raise living standards is under-exploited in the developing world, where just 21 percent of the population have access, compared with 69 percent in the developed world. In a study published earlier this year, consultancy Mckinsey found that the Internet accounted for 21 percent of economic growth in mature economies, and that almost $8 trillion changes hands through e-commerce each year.
But regions such as Africa, lacking the broadband infrastructure mature economies enjoy, have an uphill struggle to encourage telecoms operators to invest in the mobile networks needed to bring the Internet to the masses -- especially when the masses have little disposable income to repay their investment. "There is no way developing countries should sit back and wait, because online activities are driving offline activities," said Joe Mucheru, head of Google in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Participants at the United Nations-sponsored Internet Governance Forum said there was a need to expand infrastructure such as undersea cables and wireless networks for markets where the primary mode of connection to the Web is by mobile phone. Some Western telecoms operators facing stagnation at home are prepared to make big bets on connecting developing nations; France Telecom , under the brand name Orange, is seeking to double its revenue in the Middle East and Africa to 7 billion euros ($9.5 billion) in the coming years.
It is already present in Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal and Kenya, among other African countries. One of its present projects is the building of an undersea cable to improve Internet connectivity in west Africa. Bitange Ndemo, the top official at Kenya's ministry of communication, says the answer lies in the construction of a national fibre network to take capacity brought on submarine cables to homes and businesses. "I ask you to make (access) to this resource (high-speed Internet) a human rights issue," Ndemo told participants at the meeting. "If access to broadband is declared a human rights issue, then governments will step in and invest so no human being is left behind."
YouTube has announced the launch of a Kenyan domain, YouTube Kenya (http://www.youtube.co.ke) that will now offer some of the most informative and entertaining video content from around the world through a local interface that promotes the content most relevant to Kenyans.
Kenya will soon have their own YouTube domain (image: stock.xchng)
As proved by Julius Yego, javelin gold medalist at the 10th All Africa Games in Mozambique who perfected his technique by watching YouTube, there is something on YouTube for everyone. From amateur to professional content, the unexpected to the emotionally affecting, the educational to the entertaining, Kenyans now have greater flexibility to tell their stories, and find videos most useful to them.
"We are thrilled to be launching YouTube in Kenya today," said Olaga Arara-Kimani, Google Kenya's Country manager. "We have remarkable reserves of information right here in Kenya, from music, educational clips, news, and self-help tips. With a new localised version of YouTube, Kenyans will be able to connect and use this information more easily."
YouTube Kenya makes it easier for local users to find and view the videos most relevant to them, by tuning search and discovery algorithms such as featured videos and homepage, as well as category spotlights.
Content uploaded by users in Kenya will show up as "browse pages" on the YouTube Kenya site, creating a new virtual space for the national community and giving Kenyan users the opportunity to increase their exposure.
Speaking at a Nairobi hotel during the launch, Dr Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications said: "Information remains an invaluable resource that can be used by people young and old alike, professional and amateur to open up their worlds to new opportunities.
"Accessing relevant information and sharing helpful stories on the Internet is enabling people to learn, train and partner with each other to help better their lives. The government remains committed to helping Kenyans connect with content that is most useful to them.
"The Internet is opening up new channels to market the wonders of Kenya to potential tourists all over the world. Ours is a beautiful country; even with the highest number of tourists' arrivals ever recorded last year, a 15%growth compared to 2009, the sector has the potential to grow even stronger. Online video platforms like YouTube can help us achieve this potential."
Kenya: Intel, Safaricom Launch Campaign to Promote E-Learning in Primary and Secondary Schools
http://allafrica.com/stories/201110170119.html
Collaboration Includes Education Content, Internet Connectivity, ICT Skills Training and Parental Control for Web Access
The initiative targets school going children aged between 9-18 years.
Intel Corporation has partnered with Safaricom in an e-learning initiative aimed at promoting use of computers among primary and secondary schools in Kenya.
The initiative aims to foster use of cutting edge technology to improve education standards and targets school going children aged between 9-18 years.
Dubbed "Explore, Play Learn the Fun Safe Way," the project visions at helping young ones use computers as a learning, and entertainment tool, while at the same time making sure that they are protected from inappropriate content and risks that come with surfing the Web.
Intel country manager Omar Bajaber believes that broadband penetration is a key contributor to the GDP of the country.
"To drive our economy we need to invest in broadband, education and local value add content. Making broadband affordable will have positive implications for our economy. This program is projected to increase broadband penetration as well as providing technology tools to help our children in their education and to assist Parents adopt technology to improve their personal lives." says Bajaber.
"The partnership between Intel and Safaricom ties in with our mission to increase access to education, improve the quality of education and help our children receive high quality education that equips them with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy," adds Bajaber.
"Children learn by exploring and playing. For it to be effective it has to be fun for the young ones and more importantly we want them to do that while protecting them from the dangers associated with the Internet".
Bajaber added that providing technology access and IT skills to students was a cornerstone for future innovation and individual opportunity in the competitive global marketplace.
The parties have partnered together to develop a best-in-home model for deploying ICT in education. The project includes a laptop of choice bundled with Safaricom Data, Education Content for K12, Encyclopedia Britannica, British Council, Free Games, Entertainment and Business Software, Intel PC Basics for First time users and McAfee Family Pack license for 3 Years which helps in protecting users from inappropriate content on the Web.
In addition, Intel and Safaricom will work together to increase PC penetration - new laptop purchases - through attracting new customers for the mobile company by offering affordable laptops and broadband.
Safaricom Head of Consumer Segment Rita Okuthe said the company would continue to mine value in partnerships with companies that share the vision of increasing the uptake of data-based learning among Kenyan communities.
"As the biggest investor in internet infrastructure in Kenya, Safaricom strongly believes in the internet's potency as a tool for providing solutions to societal needs. Education is one such and we come to this partnership with the conviction that it will serve to advance e-leaning among our children," said Ms Okuthe.
Sustainable Development
She said that Safaricom would continue supporting efforts to make data content relevant to local, Kenyan needs as a way of pushing for increased uptake and penetration, especially in under-served areas.
Government data indicates that nine out of every 10 Kenyans who use the internet regularly do so through the Safaricom network.
The network includes the country widest and pioneer 3G network, a robust and unmatched WIMAX presence and a growing cable reach across Kenya.
To demonstrate the benefits of technology in the home, there were Intel-powered laptops from a majority of vendors for all usage models, from Basic Computing to Advanced Computing, featuring the latest Intel technology.
Microsoft East and Southern Africa launched the Microsoft Virtual Academy, a fully cloud-based learning experience focusing on Microsoft Cloud Technologies, on Tuesday 18 October 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Microsoft Virtual Academy is an open door event where Microsoft showcases the latest generation of technologies to Kenyan professionals and enthusiasts. The main target demographic is the student community and IT professionals.
According to Microsoft, the virtual academy allows students to learn at their own pace with a wide variety of free online training content, giving them the tools necessary to improve the Information Technology skills needed for most careers.
During the open door convention the Developer and Platform manager of Microsoft’s East and Southern Africa, Vincent Mugambi, said Microsoft has stepped up its partnership with local universities to empower the students with the best technology tools to enhance their learning experience.
“We are striving to develop a culture conducive to innovation. As we recognize that the potential to innovate must be nurtured early-on, Microsoft will continue to provide appropriate and superior learning tools to encourage innovation,” said Mugambi.
Microsoft believes that the best investment which promises the best returns are those investments in skills. Improving skills also improves employability and so contributes also to the development of local knowledge economies while also arming Africans with the tools to develop solutions to the challenges they face.
深刻な食糧問題 現在、ケニアを含めたアフリカ東部「アフリカの角」地域は1950年以来の最悪の干ばつに見舞われ、深刻な食糧不足に陥っている。 飢餓克服に向けて、ケニア赤十字社、ケニア商業銀行(KCB)、通信事業者Safaricomなどが中心となって発足した「Kenyans for Kenya」というキャンペーンを展開し、ケニア国民に対してモバイル送金「M-PESA」などを通じて募金を促している。
"Our donation today shows Huawei’s commitment as a member UN’s Global Compact to fulfill our responsibility as a global corporate citizen with local presence, by enabling a higher standard of living for those in our society."
【参考動画:HuaweiのケニアでのCSR活動(2011年)】
HuaweiのTシャツを着てマラソンをするケニア人、中国人が印象的。
A new opinion poll firm targeting 24 million mobile phone and internet users was launched on Sunday as the research system gets root in Kenya ahead of next year's elections.
A product of Eskay Communications, Poll Kenya is to use Short Text Messages and online polling to track the popularity of presidential and other political candidates.
"This is an important day for us. We have been with mobile phones since the 1990s.
"We have had some success in the mobile industry like money transfer, but certainly we have not had the kind of presence and success in the market place when it comes to SMS and online polling," Eskay Communications director Sammy Karoney said.
Mr Karoney, officials Procorus Limo and George Wakesho said SMS and online platforms will give voters a "fast, efficient, and easy way to track the popularity of your governor, senator, Member of Parliament or President."
Being a voter-sponsored poll study, Mr Karoney said this will guard the research from manipulation as is the case when using questionnaires.
The poll is set to ensure proportional representation in number of people voting per county and also consider gender and age variables.
The firm, which seeks to run periodic studies in the run up to 2012 elections, will see voters send the word "poll" or a blank message to 3005 for guidance to successful voting. A cell phone number can only be used to vote once.
Voters on the web will follow system instructions at www.pollkenya.co.ke while payment is done using credit cards.
According to Poll Kenya officials, during the recent Nigeria elections, an SMS based poll was conducted where 30,000 people participated with 78 percent saying they preferred Goodluck Jonathan for presidency.
Through SMS and online polling, Poll Kenya hopes to reach a broad audience and get instant survey results in real time.
Barrack Mulluka, who was the chief guest during the launch, urged the firm's officials to be wary of compromise by politicians.
The launch comes at a time when opinion polls firms have been on the spot over the validity of their results with some politicians terming them as skewed and in favour of certain candidates.
今回のEight19社が提供する「IndiGo」はスクラッチカードを購入後、携帯電話のSMSで送信する仕組みである。発電に携帯電話のSMSを活用することに着目したのは非常に興味深い。一方で、まだアフリカには携帯電話を持てない人々も多くいる。さらには1日1ドル以下で生活している貧困層も多い。彼らは電気も携帯電話以前にBasic Human Needsを満たすことができない状態にいる。
Who would have thought, 20 years ago, that a poor African country would become a powerhouse of global innovation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)? Definitely not me!
As student on a long road trip through Africa in 1990, I often struggled to make expensive calls home to Europe. Making an international call typically involved finding an Indian-African merchant with a phone that could connect you to other parts of the world, in theory.
In practice, I often waited for at least an hour, and I had to pay what today would be Sh600 per minute.
Now zoom back to today and compare this with the abundance of mobile devices, even in the poorest parts of Africa, and incredibly low calling rates.
This year, Kenyans could call the US from their cell phones for as little as Sh3 per minute! To describe this transformation over the last 10 to 15 years in Africa, especially in Kenya, as a “revolution” is not exaggerated.
Since 2000, the Kenyan ICT sector has grown an average of 20 percent each year, outperforming every other sector by a wide margin (the second best performer was hotels and restaurants which grew at 8 percent).
The ICT sector has been driving growth in Kenya: without it, instead of the 3.7 percent average growth it achieved, the economy would have grown at only 2.8 percent.
Even this year, when Kenya’s economy has been navigating through great turbulence with almost 20 percent inflation, the ICT sector has grown strongly.
Kenya now boasts more than 25 million phone connections, which is more than there are adults in the country! The Internet is spreading equally fast.
Other developing countries - particularly in Asia - have undergone similar transformations, but what sets Kenya apart is mobile money, one of the most remarkable innovations of the last decade.
Mobile money, which allows cash to travel as fast as a text message, is not a mere extension of banking, it is a new form of banking. Unlike mobile banking, mobile money does not necessarily need a banking infrastructure.
Mobile money has achieved in Kenya what decade-long experiments with micro-savings have failed to achieve across the world: rapid financial inclusion for large parts of the population. The essential difference is the low-cost transaction platform, which mobile money provides.
In 2006, before the advent of mobile money, only 20 percent of Kenyan adults had access to financial services. Today, more than 80 percent are connected to the financial system.
The revolution has only just started: now that almost everyone in Kenya has a phone, there are many new innovations that will emerge - think Ushahidi.
What are the lessons of Kenya’s ICT revolution for the broader economy of Kenya and for other countries? First, this revolution is not just for the young tech-savvy programmers that huddle at iHub.
It has become mainstream and affects virtually every every sector of the economy. It’s misleading to talk about a so-called “new economy” because it has changed the way the old economy is operating.
Over the next years, the biggest innovations will probably come from the incubation of technology in “traditional” sectors. The financial sector is already in the midst of this transformation, and mobile money is the most visible sign.
Second, the “ICT revolution” can be an inspiration for other sectors of Kenya’s economy. Over the last months, calling rates fell so low that some observers even argued the regulator should step in.
What a contrast to other economic sectors! As textbook economics will tell you, you won’t achieve lower prices through sanctions or controls, but by fostering innovation and competition.
Third, the mobile revolution, especially mobile money, can become a game changer for the poor. It presents an opportunity to deliver modern financial services to “unbanked” billions across the world.
Storing money safely and securely has empowered Kenyan women and has improved personal security because people don’t have to carry cash anymore.
It is amazing to observe how - in just a few years - the mobile phone has morphed from a luxury tool into one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against poverty. Kenyans should take pride in this development because they remain at the forefront of ICT innovation globally.
There are some 35 million mobile money users in the world today: one in two is a Kenyan. Mobile money took-off in Kenya (not in China or Indonesia) thanks to a combination of strong leadership and vision in business and government.
For once, a poor African country is a world market leader and an exporter of innovation. But it won’t be the last time!
Part of this article draws on an article with Michael Joseph and Philana Mugyenyi (Mobile money: A game changer for financial inclusion) in McKinsey’s What Matters. Wolfgang Fengler is the World Bank Lead Economist for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Eritrea
Safaricom’s recent upgrade of some of its service in Kenya caused a disruption to their M-PESA offering, something for which the company was unprepared. The upgrade also managed to put a halt on airtime top up services.
“The outage was as a result of a technical hitch that emanated from the routine upgrade of other Safaricom services which coincidentally affected all M-PESA handset transactions meaning that money transfers and other services like top-ups were not going through,” Safaricom said in a statement.
However, the problem was detected early and resolved. “By 11 am, the problem had been resolved and all handset transactions were going through. Even then, there were intermittent delays caused by and a queue of pending transactions which was expected to clear,” the company added.
The upgrades to Safaricom’s systems were carried out by IBM, and Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore was quick to apologise. “We regret the inconvenience this outage has caused and wish to reassure our beloved customers that our commitment to a safe, reliable and affordable M-PESA service remains unflinching,” he said.
Kenya: Electronic Payments Must Benefit Lowest Level Workers
http://allafrica.com/stories/201112200082.html
The Narok County Council's recent layoff of 100 of its employees after they protested the introduction of an electronic revenue collection system at the Maasai Mara Reserve is the wrong approach.
The evidence shows that if electronic payments are to work there have to be incentives for all stakeholders, including those at the lowest levels, to embrace them.
The council leaders' punitive actions come amid accusations of years of theft which they say e-ticketing will put a stop to. These leaders' indignation at their employees "rampant corruption" stems from the assumption that if they had been their employees' shoes, they would have behaved better. They would have taken action, not stolen and influenced their fellow workers to do likewise.
There is ample evidence, however, that stolen cash was shared at all levels; the clerks were merely collectors for bosses who condoned the activity, which they felt pressure to continue. The council employees' concern, which seems shared by some in the community, it that this new electronic system is equally corrupt and designed to allow higher-ups to bypass them and pocket more for themselves. They point to the County Council's 10-year contract with Equity Bank to provide the service for a 1.7% fee (of an estimated Kshs 1.5 Billion) and are suspicious.
I lived in Kenya from 1982-1984, first as a teacher in Ukambani and later attached to a USAID-funded project that worked with local governments. I had a desk in Kisumu at the provincial office of the Ministry of Local Government. I commuted to several small towns in Western and Nyanza provinces and saw first-hand the good and the bad. One council executive had not taken a vacation in 13 years. When finally forced on leave, a substitute from the Ministry took over and uncovered duplicate sets of books and a long history of embezzlement.
I now work with an e-payments company in west Africa and understand the suspicions associated with new payment technologies. The benefits of electronic money, which far outweigh the risks, need to be understood and felt by all stakeholders. Simply caning those who raise questions and telling them to follow orders or be fired does no good to long-term prospects.
In addition to introducing efficiencies impossible with cash handling, two of the best attributes of these systems are tracking (i.e. the money can be followed) and transparency (anyone with access to the information can follow these tracks).
Equity Bank is already touting the success of its Narok pilot, claiming a two-fold increase in revenues even before the system is fully deployed. As the saying goes "a new broom sweeps cleaner" and certainly a new system, closely monitored in pilot, should perform well. Delivering high performance levels over the long term is more challenging and requires an ongoing commitment, not only from Equity Bank but even more so from the County Council as the story does not end with healthy bank balances. The community must benefit from this newly-collected wealth.
Here are a few ideas.
Community acceptance should begin with public meetings and the appointment of community ombudsmen who will be provided with access to observe the tracked funds
The County Council's accounting system should be upgraded and processes put in place to, at a minimum, allow one to reconcile these funds with real-time bank balances. Two sets of books must be a thing of the past and, again, community ombudsmen should be given access.
Revenue figures should be made very broadly available, perhaps via free SMS subscription to anyone interested.
Many of the furloughed employees should be welcomed back and given the opportunity to participate fully in a newly-restructured organization. The efficiencies associated with the new collection system should eliminate some clerk positions and allow the creation of new positions, hopefully with greater responsibilities, higher official pay and the possibility of more interesting work.
Equity Bank should get specific on the recent claims of Chairman James Mwangi that their contract will bring the Council added benefit from a number of systems the bank has in place "including our branchless networks and many others." These specifics should emphasize decentralized benefits to employees and community members, including opportunities for entrepreneurship, and be introduced quickly.In this case there should be more than promises, there should be immediate and visible funded projects that benefit the broader community. One must prime the pump of community support. One idea: given the 10 year duration of the Equity Bank contract, it may be possible to explore monetization of some portion of the future revenue stream to fund immediate community projects. Private note sales have been used by investors to lease infrastructure in the USA, including public parking and highways. In addition to immediate windfalls, these arrangements transfer the risk of any future drops in revenue to the concessionaire. This is only one option, and these USA examples have been criticized, but there seems at least the possibility of a leapfrog approach, unique to Kenya, that might be both modest and transparent and capture some of the net present value of this revenue stream to jumpstart development and make converts of the doubtful.
It is too easy to place blame for corruption on the clerks and toll takers, effectively wrap them in electronic straightjackets and say "job done". Most people know that the big money is stolen out of public view. So as payments migrate from small sums of cash to billion-shilling contracts, suspicions must be seen as normal and expected, and directly addressed
As electronic payments become more prevalent, not only in Kenya but throughout Africa, those at the lowest levels can benefit greatly. But initially these benefits seem vague while costs seem clear, so they protest. They see the higher-ups, who control the accounts into which these e-monies flow, retaining opportunities to enrich themselves.
Transparent processes combined with immediate benefits and reconfigured higher-value work will go a long way toward ensuring technological adoption and to placing Kenya (and the Narok County Council) at the forefront. Without a benefit to all stakeholders, these high-tech solutions will likely suffer ongoing suspicion and be subject to low-tech sabotage.
Africa: ICTs Could Fill Agricultural Extension Gap, Says Meeting
http://allafrica.com/stories/201112221016.html
Nairobi ― A severe lack of extension workers in Sub-Saharan Africa could be partially filled by new information and communication technology (ICT) tools, a conference on extension innovations was told.
Africa has one extension worker per 4,000 farmers, compared with one per 200 hundred farmers in developed countries, the conference, Innovations in Extension and Advisory Services: Linking Knowledge to Policy and Action for Food and Livelihoods, heard last month (15-18 November).
But this gap could now be narrowed through the use of ICT tools including mobile phones, the internet and iPods, combined with more traditional media, such as radio.
Michael Hailu, director of the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation, in the Netherlands, said that, even where there is no shortage of extension personnel and funds, smart use of ICTs can help deliver knowledge in real time to farmers, especially in poorly staffed and remote corners of Africa.
"The continent must try to be as innovative as possible and exploit the growing mobile communications sector to deliver knowledge," he said. "ICTs such as mobile phones are helping farmers to increase production, discover new markets for their produce and gain access to new knowledge and technologies."
The conference declaration called for a greater use of ICTs and the media in the provision of advisory and extension services, which should also take into account culture and gender issues.
But Hailu cautioned that it would be a big risk for governments to continue neglecting recruitment of extension services workers, because ICTs could not fill all the needed services.
Hannington Odame, director of the Centre for African Bio-Entrepreneurship, in Kenya, also pointed out that ICT usage has its limits and that training farmers and agro-stockists would help meet needs.
"ICTs can only provide information on straightforward things or offer static information, but where follow-ups are required and the needs of farmers are varied, you cannot help but use personnel," Odame said. "This may come in the form of well-trained farmers or even stockists who sell chemicals and inputs to farmers."
He said diverse sources of information were needed to enable farmers to attain maximum productivity and profitability, a consideration that may call for setting up a farmer information system.
Mary Kamau, director of extension and training in Kenya's agriculture ministry, said the country had established the National Agriculture Information System under the National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Program, where farmers can access information from their mobile phones through toll-free numbers.
Investment in agriculture extension services needs to increase to 3.5 per cent of the agriculture gross domestic product (GDP), according to Magdalena Blum, of the Food and Agricultural Organization's Office of Knowledge Exchange, Research and Extension.
She added that no African government is spending even a tenth of the recommended 3.5 per cent, even though agriculture continues to contribute more than 30 per cent of the continent's GDP.
Kenyan universities are not doing enough to foster research in mobile phone technology, leaving a wide gap in one of the country's fastest growing sectors, analysts say.
"Very few institutions actually offer students a deep understanding of mobile software engineering," said Mr John Kieti, manager of technology training organisation, M:Lab East Africa.
Mr Kieti was speaking as M:Lab renewed its calls for applicants to its training programmes.
The applications deadline is January 9, 2012.
Mobile phone technology is becoming an important driver of Kenya's social development and economic growth.
For instance, M-Pesa revolutionised banking in the country while applications in health and educational sectors are quickly being adopted by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Investors and venture capitalists are also banking on Kenya's young innovators.
Yet analysts decry an education system that is still lagging far behind.
Most universities offering technology degrees have to cover a wide array of content and lack the facilities to pioneer mobile phone technology research.
"The sector is changing so fast that universities are having a problem catching up," said ICT Board CEO Paul Kukubo.
He added that universities should lay stronger foundations for technological training that could withstand changes in the sector.
A recent survey by the ICT Board indicated that the supply of skilled technology professionals was far outmatched by demand for new innovations in Kenya.
The report also said that universities were not well equipped to train IT professionals to international standards. It critiqued inadequate, watered-down curricula that plague higher education institutions.
Private companies and NGOs are increasingly stepping in to fill this perceived educational gap.
Safaricom is currently funding training and incubation facilities at Strathmore University while the World Bank is a major partner at M:Lab.
Samsung has also vowed to grow local innovators through its app store.