"I'm beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel." Kofi Annan.
Well, I'll BE!
Music to my ears.
And, in response to a special request by yours truly, the Daily Nation on Friday included the word 'Hope' in their frontpage headlines.
Good people, at the tail end of a down in the dumps week, I'm almost smiling. Almost, I said. But give me a couple of signatures on the dotted line and I'll be dancing the night away. Or some such.
Mutula Kilonzo who's on the PNU negotiating team says it's "a balanced deal that won't please everybody." Compromises all around. That's what we've been talking about. Ego and ambition sacrificed at the altar of the national good. Amen.
Can we almost get on with our lives already?
Because I had plans for 2008, I did.
But then again so did the circa 350,000 Internally Displaced People around the country who only have tattered lives to show for it now.
That's the thing (there's always a thing you see): the signing of a political deal is not the end, it is the beginning. Still much to be done in the days, months and years ahead.
I worry about the level of mistrust and suspicion between the two sides of the political divide and what that will mean going forward. But maybe I fret unnecessarily. Martha Karua and Sally Kosgei were seen chatting amicably enough at the end of yesterday's session. Perhaps they might all yet overcome their sharp differences and work as a team to move this country forward.
We're scraping hope from the bottom of the barrel, and believing they can because they must.It's my window, but I don't own the view.
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21:30
Trade Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton Stocks
» For Love and Money Trade Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton Stocks
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17:59
We Need A New Constitution and Jobs
» You Missed This Turning the spotlight briefly away from the brokering of power-sharing deals taking place in the plush confines of Serena Hotel, (with many of you already naively hailing the tentative agreement to create a prime minster's post with executive powers as the breakthrough needed to unlock the current stalemate) i have been asking myself the question what is the ultimate national price we must pay to honour the memory of 1000 kenyan lives needlessly sacrificed in the past 10 weeks? The answers i come up with are the enactment of a new constitution and the creation of jobs
Chris threw down the gauntlet earlier on this week when suggesting that as Kenyans the time has come for us to focus by force on crafting the future we want for our children and i am taking up the challenge seriously to think out of the box about the kind of ideas we need our dishonourables to get focussed on the moment they reluctantly return from the paid holiday we have been sponsoring them on the past 2 months and reluctantly roll up their well-paid sleeves to lethargically get down to work
I consider the enactment of a new constitution even more urgent and important than the re-introduction of a prime m(ini)onster post-enough is enough do we really need another 12 months to re-debate replacing the current constitution? It has since transformed us into collective pawns for our respective tribal elites and that document should not be allowed to exist one minute longer-we all already know a new constitution is the only viable solution to firmly establishing a stable foundation that will avoid potential turbulent political times ahead in future why are we going to waste time re-inventing the wheel by wasting further time either debating the merits/demerits of a new constitution or God forbid amending the current old one? When parliament resumes next month the first task should be to pass the new constitution within the month
Kabla kazi iendelee na maisha iwe bora lazima kazi ianze for many of the millions of jobless youth now roaming the major highways interlinking different parts of the country, manning makeshift roadblocks and wearing the latest in machete fashion-looks to die for. Unemployment still currently stands high even in the face of recovering economic growth that has now taken a beating (i used to admire this growth even outside my window) and even between 2002-2005 it did not manage to create the more than 500,000 jobs we were promised 6 years ago to cater for an excess young unemployed population. It was once said that this is not a fish market-that being the case we need it to become one so that we can get jobs as fishermen, fishmongers, fish sellers, fish chefs, fish supervisors and fish managers-for you tribalists out there replace the word fish with your favourite ethnic staple and leave me in peace
We know there are no free lunch that is not what we want but as much as the driving force of a career comes from the individual, there are many jobs needing no creation but simply awaiting the ablebodies and this grand-coaliton government must direct jobless youth to kilometres of roads needing tarmacking, irrigation schemes in semi-arid areas, empowering to a greater extent the hawkers market-this should start taking place immediately parliament resumes next month no wasting time
I know PNU and ODM read this blog-feel free to copyright my ideas as your own no charge from me but for your sakes i dare you to go further than me in thinking outside the box and giving us the country we deserve and not the country you want
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14:19
der Lonely Plant Sklave
» Kikuyumoja's realm Forsty, unser ehemalige Geo- und Englischlehrer mit langjähriger Safarierfahrung, schrieb letzte Woche aus Mali:
Mir wurde z.B. klar, dass ich eine gewisse Hektik sogar auf meinen Reisen in Afrika nicht ablegen kann. Ich bin z.T., übertrieben ausgedrückt, ein ‘Lonely Planet Sklave’, dem es hauptsächlich darum geht, wie er von A nach B kommt, vom bedeutsamen Wochenmarkt zu Weltkulturerbegebäuden. Dass sich zwischen A und B tolles, authentisches afrikanisches Leben abspielt, wird dabei völlig vergessen.
Die Spanierin, auf deren Visitenkarte “Monica - Traveller” steht, hat mir während der gemeinsamen Pinassenfahrt ein wenig die Augen geöffnet.
Sie reist hauptsächlich nach Straßenkarte, zu Orten, die ihr vom Namen oder der Lage her gefallen und benutzt den Reiseführer überwiegend, um sich über Transport- und Unterkunftsmöglichkeiten zu informieren.Dieses Zitat hier in meinem Blog, weil ich mir vor ca. einem Jahr einen ähnlichen “Vorwurf” gefallen lassen musste. Reisen als Beschäftigung und ohne ein örtliches Ankommen? Wo, oder besser: was ist das Ziel?
Gute Reiseberichte kann man sicherlich auch daheim schreiben (und an dieser Stelle vielleicht der Hinweis, dass der von mir überaus geschätze und letztes Jahr leider verstorbene Ryszard Kapuscinski seine meisten Bücher auch erst zu Hause zusammenschrieb). Reisen als Solches habe ich für mich noch nie als ein Abklappern von Sehenswürdigkeiten empfunden, aber es beinhaltete für mich auch immer ein Ankommen an einem Ziel. Ziellos durch die Gegend fahren und Erfahrungen zu sammeln - das widerstrebt meinem Naturell und meiner - ich nenne es - “afrikanischen Effizienz”. So wie ich auch über die vielen Autos staune, in denen nur eine Person von A nach B reist (= ungenutzte Kapazitäten).
Freilich, ein solches Herumtreiben muss man sich leisten können - finanziell und karrieretechnisch. Ein Herumreisen muss für mein Verständnis aber vor allem mental, im Kopf stattfinden. Der örtliche Transfer, der oft kurzweilige Aufenthalt an einem anderen Ort bedeutet nichts, sofern es keine Bereitschaft oder Möglichkeit zur intensiven Wahrnehmung der neuen Umgebung gibt. Und das geht vor allem über die anderen Menschen, da die subjektive Wahrnehmung alleine meiner Meinung nach zu einem einseitigen, zu verfältschen Eindruck führt.
Wäre ich Journalist, würde ich sicherlich nur über Technik schreiben wollen. Abstrakte Zustände und Gegenheiten, deren breite Attraktivität nur in der Benutzung durch Menschen ensteht (~ siehe auch: was ist so toll am iPhone? => die einmalige Benutzerführung / UI, user interface).
Als Blogger habe ich diese Vorgaben alle nicht und kann schreiben, was und wie es mir passt. Dass es dann teilweise zu Vorwürfen kommt, weil man ständig Gefahr läuft, Dinge oder Zustände zu Verallgemeinern oder zu übertreiben, ist das schöne Risiko dabei. Schön, weil es zu mehr Kommunikation mit den Lesern verhilft und teilweise rhetorisch gewollt ist.Forsty habe ich übrigens letztens nahegelegt, für seine nächste Reise ein Blog einzurichten. Und da er überaus interessant und alltäglich schreibt, wird sich das sicherlich auch sehr lohnen.
Für meine nächste Reise bzw. lokalen Bericht habe ich mir vorgenommen, noch mehr auf die Sichtweise anderer einzugehen und entsprechend mehr aus ihrem Leben zu berichten. Gestern frug ich zB meinen einen Arbeitskollegen, der letztes Wochenende bei der Africasan (Water & Sanitation Conference) in Durban (SA) war, wie er es denn gefunden hätte. Seine Antwort: “Außer dem Hotel, dem Tagungsort und dem Flughafen habe ich nicht so viel mitbekommen vom Land…”.
Wie gut, dass ich dann nicht mitgefahren bin (obwohl ich da ursprünglich unbedingt hinwollte und auch das Angebot hatte, mitzufahren…).
AOB: bei mir gibts heute Tortellini mit Mais-Schmand-helle-Sauce + Trockenpetersilie ausm Glas. Ein weiteres 15 Minuten Gericht für wenig Geld (ca. 2,50 EUR).
Dieses Geschirr is der Burner….
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Another Round of Anxiety and Waiting
» You Missed This So we have to wait for some more hours to know our fate as a country? Well, with fingers crossed it will be another long night. Hands on our hearts, hope as our singular asset and against all odds we hope to wake up to good news tomorrow from Annan.
But that ends the hopeful side of things in Kenya. The pragmatic and realistic aspect demands caution laced in a heavy dose of pessimism if our past is any guide. We must take the unexpected speedy climb down from the hitherto hardliners with a sumptuous dose of salt lest we end up naming the unborn who may come out STILL.
It is not pessimistic to factor in other dimensions that could have prompted PNU to create impressions they may not mean and will never respect. The international pressure is immense and the warning from crisis group is grim. Trust our scoundrels to revert to what they master best – buying time with the principal intention of maintaining status quo.
The stakes have never been higher. One minute Kibaki in utter contempt to all parties concerned declares with all bravado that there is no constitutional vacuum. And we are expected to breathe a sigh of relief the same evening praying that some unspecified deal has been hammered. Well, tough luck folks.
You CANNOT succeed in executing civilian coup by STEALING an election using tricks learnt in 1960s. This is the 21st Century and even General Mursharaf couldn't do it with all the military might at his disposal.
Time is of essence and the daggers are drawn. Will tomorrow see the shining blades being housed back in their sheaths or randomly opening skulls and extinguishing Kenyan lines? Your guess is as good as mine. Few hours to go and counting tick tock tick tock….
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10:55 Mount Ubuntu!
» Mount Kirima After weeks of Trial and Error I have finally managed to erase Microsoft Windows from my laptop and replace it with the Linux Based Ubuntu operating system. I will be the first to admit that I am not a computer geek but several problems with viruses and missing drivers had made my laptop all but [...]
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9:29
Quick Hits: Feb 21
» Kenyan Pundit Thanks everyone for sharing the 8-4-4 memories, you have me cracking up…and it’s a great reminder of what’s so fabulous about being Kenyan. - Problems I’d like to have. Oh darling…do we really have to give up the Barcelonas…tehehe. Gosh I miss the self-indulgent aspects of living in the U.S. sometimes. I [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Quick Hits: Feb 21", url: "http://www.kenyanpundit.com/?p=460" });
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9:10
How to Use Your Life Mission to Make Money (List of Free Video, Audio and Other Resources)
» The Displaced African Enclosure: [download]
Rest of the series:
1) How to discover your mission in life (part one)
2) How to discover your mission in life (part two)
3) Bonus:How to Discover Your Mission in Life
Many of us already know how to do this.Many of us have already heard the principles needed to achieve success in a capitalist world recited over and over again. We have heard story after story after story about people who used these principles to climb to the capitalist mountaintop. In fact if you fall into this category, feel free to scroll to the bottom of the article where I have linked to 12 resources that will hopefully inspire you to do things bigger than you dreamed of before. They key though is not knowing what to do. It is doing what we know.
However, there will probably be some of you who have never heard of the principles needed to make money and be financially free. In short, they are: (more…)
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8:35
Racist Obama cartoon
» Black Looks Obama caricature: The presidential candidate is shown painting the White House black. Now, isn’t that just plain stupid! The text is in Hebrew so I haven’t the faintest idea of what is being said, but the cartoon is unambiguous enough. http://www.notes.co.il/karny/40487.asp Share This:
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7:44
Resurrection
» Kenya Imagine Smutty talk, plantains, Jamaicans, and a Buddhist monk: Bee, like M. Defarge, recalls us to life..
Unsure where to start. Except that I have been far. Never thought I would end up here.
Highlight: Sitting in a Jamaican restaurant listening to the Jamaican chef, a large, beautiful, freckled woman, asking the Buddhist monk about sex.
Read more from Bee Dablewkay here. -
Government agrees to premiership for ODM
» Kenya Imagine Published here are the latest news updates from Nairobi. The government agrees to a Premiership for the ODM, Najib Balala threatens Lesotho for the Kikuyu and rent riots reported in Nairobi.
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6:46
ICDCI AGM
» bankelele Shareholder woes: My first AGM this year is that of ICDCI which was held on Thursday February 21 at the Safari Park Hotel.
Sometimes it’s painful to be shareholder and today was one of those days. I’m out of practice and forgot to check in early – and arrived at the Hotel at 11.m. sharp only to find a very long queue outside. It would have been better to be a proxy today as that queue moved faster. But the company had only four computer stations to register any of its 40,000 shareholders who showed up – and I didn’t get processed till noon after spending an hour standing in the hot sun.
The meeting was almost over and I was able to catch a few comments by the MD and the Chairman of the company:
- On property: they sold two buildings in Nairobi, but are going to invest in the real estate sector again – and develop a building on a plot in downtown Nairobi
- On Eveready: it has not performed well (for shareholders) but by going public they are now able to liquidate part of their shareholding
- On Rift Valley Railways – its long term investment, but they hope to get return on the investment within 4 years
- On company’s sustainability in these tough political times- aim to diversify regionally, to minimize country specific risk
- one shareholder complained about late delivery of the meeting invitations & company accounts (through the post office) and the Chairman answered that they are concerned about the cost of printing and distribution of the company accounts – they may print abridged ones in future and e-mail others or put them on their web site
Hot Button issue was the proposed name change of the company from ICDCI to Centum Investments: almost all shareholders who spoke, on the matter opposed the name change of the company – some saying old is gold, new name is not African and can’t be translated, they don’t want to lose identity etc.
The Company Chairman was at pains to explain when one director Mrs. Pauline Muriuki stood up and exhorted shareholders to approve the name change. She said the company wanted to differentiate itself from (former parent) ICDC, and also Uchumi and the Government – saying negative stories/Matope that involved these companies affect the ICDCI share price. She also mentioned that the shares allow the company to go international (will be listed on the Uganda Stock Exchange. She said other companies had changed their names to reflect their new identities and had succeeded thereafter such as Unilever.
She was clearly worried as the company had already put in place a multi-million campaign for the new name which was yet to be revealed (a launch dinner to be held today but unfortunately coincided with the launch of CNBC Africa in Nairobi and was canceled) - also the company had already printed out shirts and gift items for shareholders with Centum to take home after the meeting
Is there shareholder democracy? : The Centum matter was eventually put to a vote on the floor, and passed, but the Chairman failed to ask if there were any opposers to the name change. The matter should actually have been put to a vote (with physical ballots). But would it have mattered anyway (since directors - businessman Chris Kirubi and ICDC (23%) combined own 50% of the company’s votes). Still it was a warning that companies should not take shareholders votes for granted
Goodies: Centum branded polo-shirt, tote bag and calendar. The Hotel had prepared a buffet lunch that was bland, and the company may have been better off handing out packed lunch boxes as the shareholders were unruly as they queued for the gifts and food
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Behind Leviev’s empire
» Black Looks Pressure is mounting from all sides on Lev Leviev, Israeli billionaire whose empire is built on corruption, abuse, illegal practices and the blood of people from Angola to New York to Palestine. Leviev has also been implicated in human rights violations in Angola: Adalah also trumpets charges by the Business and Human Rights Resource Group, [...]
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5:57
Using the C-word
» Mshairi It has been interesting to read the controversy regarding Jane Fonda’s recent use of the C-Word on telly in America while discussing the V Monologues with the author, Eve Ensler. My late grandfather regularly insulted us - his granddaughters - using the Gikuyu translation of the word. The Gikuyu version sounds 10008 million times worse [...]
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3:13
Can't Beat, Will Join
» What An African Woman Thinks I’ve been advised to delete the last but one post because well, in brief, “the cracks are showing.”
Sigh.
Thing is, I can’t. Or, more accurately, I won’t.
First, I’d like to be able to look back at this blog in a year or two and remember my ups and downs and sideways at this crucial time in our country. So even if I feel differently tomorrow, I felt what I felt when I blogged what I blogged.
Second, if my cracks are showing, it’s because, well, I have cracks all over the place. Seriously. You don’t know the half of it.
I wasn’t happy with Condi’s speech. I thought her tone was disrespectful and unnecessary. She has a thing or twenty to learn from Kofi Annan who is rumoured to bang tables and do drama behind closed negotiating room doors but who, whenever he appears before the Kenyan people, addresses us with respect.
But, I recognize that she had been handed the ‘moral right’ to say what she did on a gold platter by our leaders as they seem to be incapable of sorting out this mess that they created without outside pressure.
So seriously, I’m not taking any of that back.
Just so you know.
But I will add that, beside the tough words, Condi came bearing, ahem, “gifts” or had we rather call them "incentives" in the form of promises of aid to our leaders should they finally do the thing that we elected them to do which is ‘to lead.’
Knowing Kenya’s paltry placement on the Transparency International Corruption Index, I wonder whether it was a case of if you can’t beat them, bribe them?
I wonder also, if it will it be a good thing or a bad thing for Kenya if this promise of a basketful of goodies serves to finally persuade the opposing sides to strike a comprehensive deal.
But then again, we want them to come to a reasonable understanding so that we can get our lives back, no? And sometimes, the ends justify the means, right?
Sigh. I bet you’ve gathered that I’m stark in the middle of a cynical phase here.
I don't know how I got here. I'm struggling to get to the other side. See you there. When I get there.
I need me an infusion of hope.
Barack Obama, where are you when a homeland needs you?
(Off to watch that will.i.am video on youtube again.)
We can get out of this mess, right? (YES WE CAN. BUT CAN WE REALLY?)It's my window, but I don't own the view.
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3:07
Pricked, again, beware, it is a pandemic…
» Me, Life & Everything 1207 | short | grrrr | work | psycho - system of a down The tags are back, it seems to be a yearly thing or something. I distinctly recall doing this rather recently. You ask, you get, innit? The Rules: - Link to the person that tagged you. - Post the rules on your blog. - Share six non-important [...]
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PNU Accept Creation of PM Post As Visa Bans Are Withdrawn
» You Missed This 
ODM and PNU negotiators under the chairmanship of Mr Kofi Annan (centre) pray at the beginning of Wednesday's session at Serena Hotel, Nairobi. Photo/PETERSON GITHAIGA (NMG)
Surprise, surprise as the season of climbing down reaches Kenya at long last
After last night’s ‘burning midnight oil’, Kenya Government aka PNU have this morning in principle agreed to the formation of the position of the prime minister’s post, according to sources close to the mediation team. Reuters have also published the news here.
While going for a break last evening, most of the negotiators declined to talk to the press who have for the last one and a half months set up permanent camps outside the Serena Hotel where Kofi Annan resides and where the mediations talks are being held. William Ruto, however, could not help it, but flash a wide grin! Last evening session which went on to this morning was primarily to discuss the contentious PM's post.
Mediation teams ‘held by the balls’ – literally
The detail are still sketchy but it is not lost on observers that US President George Bush has spoken about the Kenyan Crisis at nearly every press conference he has addressed ever since he arrived in Africa on February 15th. More importantly, Secretary of State Condi Rice visited Nairobi on orders from her boss and held meetings with both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. Rice is said to have privately reprimanded Kibaki and issued an ultimatum that the US President wants to see an agreement reached before he departs the African continent. Bush is due to depart Africa today 21st February 2008 after visiting Liberia, his last stop of the African tour. Will a deal be reached today?? Probably. Listen to this: “We all want a peaceful Kenya, so let us all agree on a common agenda for our country. This is the reason I want us to work with even those we competed with in the last general elections,” said President Kibaki.
Interestingly, in a classic case of ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours’, diplomatic sources in Nairobi reveal that following Secretary Rice’s visit to Nairobi, the dreaded visa bans imposed on Martha Karua and William Ruto have now been withdrawn from the list that included who-is-who is Kenya's lucrative political and business circles. Whether this was a precondition of reaching an agreement as demanded by the international community remains unclear. The visa ban threat had affected power brokers within government so much so that two teenage children of a powerful cabinet minister were reportedly ‘deported’ back to Kenya from their US universities last week.
Back to the creation of the Prime Minister’s post, it will be interesting to find out if PNU has bowed to pressure and accepted ODM’s demands for a PM’s post with executive powers.
If this is the case, Kenya's next parliament session will be interesting to watch because, for instance, Kalonzo Musyoka (and his ODM-K brigade) will cease to occupy the leader of government business seat and give it up for the in-coming Prime Minister.
More updates on this later.
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Images of Black Women & IWOC Day London
» Black Looks The annual “Images of Black Women” film festival runs from Friday 29th through to Sunday 2nd March. The festival opens with “Talk to Me” The true-life story of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene Jr during the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington D.C. A story of friendship between two men Petey Greene & Dewey Hughes. The film’s [...]
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0:38
My Two Cents to Msee Wetu
» KA-INVESTOR From my previous post i got this visitor's question that I would like to share with you and the answer i gave. What do you think?
His Question:
Dear sir,
I've been a regular of your blog and I've gained some very vital knowledge while here...to make the long story short I would kindly request your advice on two good buys (share) on the NSE, and your opinions as to why.
Thank you.
mseewetu@gmail.com
My Answer:
Hi Msee wetu,
Thanks for leaving your comment on my blog. Regarding the question, I don't think it is wise to buy into shares right now since political instability in the country is quite unpredictable. However, if you so wish to make long term buy I would advice you to go for the following shares:
1. Stan chart
I expect them to give out good dividend when they announce 2007 results. This is a strong company that banks on experience and efficiency.
2. KCB (watch the rights issue)
With an extensive branch network and investment in latest technologies across the East African region, this banks growth prospects look promising. They also have a very strong marketing strategy that sets them a head of the rest. They are planning to have a rights issue soon and you can get gain a bit from the price rally occasioned by it. I suspect they will announce good dividends coupled with a bonus issue when they give out their end year results, to sweeten the rights issue (remember NIC bank)
3. KQ (very long term)
I suggest this since it’s a strong counter that has received some battering of late. Their operating cost is high due to the increasing prices on the international market, there has been an increase in competition from international airlines and tourism which is their main source of revenue is badly affected by the effects of post election violence. Adding the resignations of their two directors, many people are off-loading them now to avoid further losses so you can get them at a bargain - less than Ksh.45. I would advice you to get this as a long term counter, 5 to 10 year. But eventually it will pay back well.
Several companies will soon be releasing their end year results and most of them are likely to post good profits for 2007. You can also buy in the depressed counter that you anticipate will perform well for short term gains from speculators (not a very good idea…it makes you a speculator too). The finance and banking sector had a very good year last year so check out this counters - specifically banks. Also consider companies in the construction sector that is likely to boom soon if the political stalemate is resolved (think Athi River and Bamburi)
Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions and should not be taken as statements of fact. Please consult your broker or investment advisor before making any transactions.
Thanks & regards,
Kainvestor
kainvestor@gmail.com
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0:07
Some notes on the DEMO video (long)
» Afromusing Well, when I started blogging I never thought a video of me talking at a panel was part of the deal, its quite strange watching yourself and getting self conscious about the whole thing. OMG mom! I am on the equivalent of TV! Lame lines aside; Erik has the video, I cant get myself to embed the video on my blog yet. I feel like Mike, that i could have done more. Some of the things I mentioned might seem a bit esoteric, so i will add some links and mention a few things i think i should have included at the panel.
OLPC: This computer has been the subject of discussions with Erik, Steve, JKE, Maitha and others for awhile now, several years actually. Erik’s post in 2005, my post in 2006 and even more recently regarding the keyboard design. It seems like we have lived through the project since it was a concept to its current reality. My thoughts on it have fluctuated, from the posts I wrote in the past, I was really gung ho about the thing. I still am on some level, as I do appreciate that I wouldn’t be where I am, were it not for access to computers (and power actually) during my formative years. This is what i wanted to say…
I was listening to the digital planet podcast (11/26) where they had a correspondent attend the launch of the OLPC in Abuja, Nigeria. You could hear the excitement and enthusiasm in the children’s voices as they spoke of what they would do with the OLPC. It was a great moment. Now to the questions that started popping into my head like Orville Redenbachers microwave popcorn. When Gareth Mitchell was talking to Bill Thompson, they mentioned how they attended the OLPC launch in Tunis and how a child was crying because they’d been given an OLPC to play with for a time, then it was taken away. That was not a good moment, rather sad really, that kid is probably traumatized right now wherever he or she may be. I mean isn’t that just a little cruel? I know i would wail like a banshee if i was in her shoes. The discussion segued into what it would mean for the children to have a laptop that they would call their own. This got me wondering, that perhaps one of the unintended consequences of the OLPC project is that it would enhance the idea of ‘mine’ rather than ‘ours’. In modern Africa do the age old African values of community and sharing still apply? Would the OLPC idea chip away at the ‘utu’, that is a societal benchmark? Is the Ndiyo project a better thought out model for computer literacy, what with the idea of USB thin clients that I am already a fan of?
I should add that I think the Ndiyo model of networked computing could be well suited for school situations. This is because of two reasons.
1. Cost - The class sizes in Kenya increased owing to the free primary schooling offered by the government. Having a networked model enables more students to get basic computer literacy, as they can share the computer lab resources. This is particularly apt i think because the OLPC project was geared towards schools in the developing world.
2. This i already mentioned above…the idea of ‘my laptop’. The OLPC can be shared between students…but if you have a class of 30 children and 28 OLPC’s someone will undoubtedly get disappointed.On the other hand, as Steve mentioned in the post on OLPC Keyboard..i will reiterate his comment here, because i think its very important.Some thoughts: you ask “Maybe I am looking at this all wrong, Is Negroponte pimping the ‘education project’ in pursuit of…what?”. Well, maybe the answer is indeed in plain sight. Maybe he just wants to provide technology access to the masses like he keeps telling us he wants to.
And here is another thought for you: if the OLPC team did indeed go to Nigeria to look for inspiration for the design of the product, it is heartening that they are looking to the populations that will actually use these products for design and usability clues instead of sitting in Boston or LA or wherever and saying “hey, thats what the kids/world/users/consumers need”.
I have in the last month or so found myself increasingly frustrated with this attitude to design and product creation when I have to “fix” my computer for my 4 year old who wants to use it but cannot understand why in the world Windows keeps doing stuff and getting in his way.
Find out what your users need and want and give it to them. End of story.Though i haven’t had a chance to play with the OLPC, I am sure its a fine product. From Steve’s comment i think the OLPC should just be marketed as a low cost computer for those interested to buy for their children/themselves, and not specifically geared towards governments purchasing them for schools. The Give one Get one campaign was nice…but how were the ‘given’ laptops distributed? What rationale? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I think that at a price like $100 how about seeing some free-market action going on in Africa? That is a whole other AID Vs TRADE debate right there.
On the power to charge OLPC: There is a larger question of power in Africa, which i won’t get into right now (though i will in the coming weeks) For a glimpse of the opportunity, Idris Mohammed mentioned the great opportunity in power generation during last years’ TEDGlobal. More here, and whenever his talk is posted, it will be on the TED site here. Erik did mention that there is a cranking device that can be used to power the OLPC, and browsing the power supply tab on OLPC news shows some novel and innovative approaches to solving the power problem. From a cow dynamo to something i like…the OLPC solar mesh repeater.
OUTSOURCING:
The company i referred to in the video is called Verviant. It is based in Nairobi and helps small to medium sized businesses in the East Coast of US to maximize on limited IT budgets. In speaking with Onesmus Kamau of Verviant, he indicated that the company was able to deploy a video management system that will save their client $500,000. It is but one example of the opportunity in outsourcing web development, database management, and software development in general. This infoworld article (albeit a few months old) mentions the hot spots for this being Ghana, Egypt, South Africa and Rwanda. I would also recommend watching Carol Pineau’s movie ‘Africa Open for Business’ if you haven’t already. The blogger Nii Simmonds, who will be speaking at SXSW writes about business in Africa,including outsourcing. His blog ‘Nubian Cheetah’ is a good resource, as is Emeka Okafor’s Timbuktu Chronicles. The PSD blog is also another good resource…(links to other outsourcing references are quite welcome, do chime in on the comments)Mobile Phone Tech: I think between Mike, and Erik we covered this o.k. A sim card/chip costs less than a dollar…and the phone with a flashlight that I was referring to in the video looks like this.
On cell phone reach, here is one example of celtel’s reach illustrated in a post from a Zambian economist. My little screed last year about the iphone hints at the fact that i totally love the fact that you can choose whichever carrier you like when in Kenya/most parts of Africa. Its just a matter of switching sim cards and not having to worry about whether your phone will work or not. Most if not all the handsets in Kenya are unlocked.On the parting shot: Customization and allowing for grassroots creativity. I wanted to mention that this idea is illustrated best by Chris Nikolson,in an NYT article, and context was added by one of my favourite bloggers ‘African Uptimist. Please see this post. It has some great examples that show how the idea (a strategic one at that) is implemented in the field. I felt like my brain had some speedbumps and for some reason Chris Nikolson’s name completely disappeared from my head. I think his quote is so important, let me amplify it again here if I may…
The best results are achieved when you move with the natural flow of grassroots creativity. Often, this means abandoning or suppressing preconceived notions, and building on spontaneous and creative adaptations of the new technology by local people to meet their needs.
One more link…Guy Lundy’s ‘Future Fit’ - An African futurist to watch.
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Just How Broke Is The Kenyan Government?
» You Missed This When this crisis was just beginning and long before Kenyans and the international community knew who Mwai Kibaki really was, we tried to predict the outcome of this mess with a friend and we both agreed that the deadlock would not be broken by war or anything else.
It would all hinge on money.
If the Kibaki administration managed to keep the money flowing in and the bills paid, then it was going to be a long, long fight.
What we did not agree on with my friend (who is a financial expert and understands Kenya well) was just how vulnerable the Kenyan economy was. In his view it was going to take a lot to bring the folks at the Treasury down to their knees. He emphasized to me that the Kenyan economy was NOT the Zimbabwean economy. If truth be told, he has mostly been right. However a number of extraordinary factors have quickly combined to completely change the scenario.
Despite Finance Minister Amos Kimunya’s brave face and cocky statements to the effect that the economy would hardly be scathed even after the devastating post-election violence that has swept across the country, the reality is different.
We are not all financial experts so let’s keep this simple.
Imagine that Kenya is an individual who receives money but has numerous bills to pay. Survival hinges on receiving enough money to be able to pay their bills on time. Before we start looking at where the money is coming from it is important to note that this chap called Kenya hardly saves any money and in recent times has been a huge spender. That combination can be deadly.
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