Items by alkags

Al Kags

• Tribalism is a middle class disease – deal with it at that level.

  Posted: February 5, 2012, 11:38 am by alkags

  A close friend of mine this morning sent me this message, which I post here verbatim: “Jana I was at a house party celebrating someones promotion decent people in decent positions. Conversations swing to politics and we share opinions then … Continue reading →

• Open Data Jan 2012: Media User Community Engagement

  Posted: January 26, 2012, 2:19 pm by alkags

  Kenyan media owners and open governance advocates resolved this week to urgently establish a national task force to promote data-driven journalism. The industry-led task force will explore practical ways for the media to tap into the government’s pioneering Kenyan Open Data Initiative … Continue reading →

• Internet wins: Now what?

  Posted: January 22, 2012, 6:32 pm by alkags

  After what is billed the loudest internet protest in history, the highly controversial SOPA and PIPA bills, that were due to be voted on last week, have been shelved. US Senator Harry Reid and Representative Lamar Smith both announced that … Continue reading →

• Shocking revelation of Google Scalping Mocality!

  Posted: January 13, 2012, 4:22 pm by alkags

  I am saddened that my first post of 2012 is a dismayed one, but I am so surprised and dismayed that I must post this. Stephan Magdalinski, the CEO of Mocality has posted a very serious charge that Google has … Continue reading →

• Moses Kemibaro New Director of Sales @InMobi

  Posted: December 13, 2011, 8:34 am by alkags

  Popular blogger and techpreneur, Moses Kemibaro is now the Director of Sales at InMobi Africa, the mobile ads company, joining Isis Nyong’o. Moses shocked people in the techspace when he decided to leave Dottsavvy Africa for Dealfish (a South African … Continue reading →

• Sonko: who does hi represent? How? Aargh!

  Posted: November 24, 2011, 10:03 am by alkags

  Sonko: who does hi represent? How? Aargh!

• Reckless Bloggers, online commenters beware!

  Posted: October 22, 2011, 11:38 am by alkags

  I have today become aware of a case that has been filed in court by Paul Muite and others against a political activist, Moses Kuria. In the case, Mr. Kuria is sued for defaming Paul Muite, Njonjo Mue and others, … Continue reading →

• The Power of Open: my reflections

  Posted: September 25, 2011, 2:57 am by alkags

  I said yesterday that, I am likely to have more to say as part of the discussion started by Nathaniel Heller of Global Integrity Commons, wherein he wondered whether Open Data is a good idea for the Open Government Partnership. … Continue reading →

• Open Africa: Kenya achieves another milestone

  Posted: September 23, 2011, 2:18 pm by alkags

  This week, as the world went through its annual routine of holding the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, a very significant global milestone was achieved: 38 governments of the world made known their strong explicit intention to adopt … Continue reading →

• Fire. Again. With Political Melodrama (yawn.)

  Posted: September 13, 2011, 7:52 pm by alkags

  I’m sorry, I am completely unable to feel distraught or more than passively chagrined by the unfortunate events at Sinai slum in Nairobi. I am a little annoyed with the government and Kenya Pipeline Company because I hear (and I … Continue reading →

• The value of Open Data

  Posted: September 11, 2011, 1:04 am by alkags

  Today, I have been thinking a great deal about Open Data and the value that would – or should (or maybe must) be assigned to Open Government Data. This is especially because dealing with government officials in Africa, I have … Continue reading →

• East Africa’s First Real Soap Coming soon

  Posted: September 10, 2011, 1:37 am by alkags

  I intensely dislike Soap Operas – revise that: I hate soap operas. I do not understand why tele-novellas are popular in this region. In fact, I tend to feel my braincells dying every time I watch them. But, my friend … Continue reading →

• Why hasn’t the vice-president moved into his house?

  Posted: September 10, 2011, 12:52 am by alkags

  Should we consider whether the project was ill-concieved?   Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka is an unfortunate man at many levels. Not only has he found himself with challenges of credibility on numerous occasions – not least of which is the … Continue reading →

• Stop! Let’s take a moment to think about education

  Posted: September 10, 2011, 12:33 am by alkags

  Boy, it has been an eventful decade since “the second liberation”, hasn’t it? President Mwai Kibaki is coming on to the sunset of his presidency and perhaps his 5-decade long political career. In his portfolio as he retires to his … Continue reading →

• Open Data. Open up to a new world (random reflections)

  Posted: July 24, 2011, 4:11 am by alkags

  I have recently been reawakened to the fact that the world is changing – at far more profound ways that I was aware of when I took my sabbatical from the information world in 2006. The major catalyst to this realisation … Continue reading →

• A new season, lessons of the recent past

  Posted: July 14, 2011, 1:55 am by alkags

  It has been a while since I last blogged. While I was away, I have done important things: First, I went back into the private sector from a two-year stint in the civil society and a previous two-year stint in … Continue reading →

• A new season, lessons of the recent past

  Posted: July 14, 2011, 12:45 am by alkags

  It has been a while since I last blogged. While I was away, I have done important things: First, I went back into the private sector from a two-year stint in the civil society and a previous two-year stint in government. These past four years have been ultra-useful to me – I have learnt a great deal about the industries where people work for the good of all.

  In these places I have interacted with amazing people who are distinguished in their commitment of socially developing our people and the environment they live in. I have learnt the philosophies that drive them (no, y’all from the private sector: not all people in government are sleeping and reading the newspapers and no, not all civil society chaps just talk). I have in these two years wrestled with my own beliefs and knowledge of the notions of poverty and I hope I shall have the confidence in the near future to write about it.

  Inexplicably – at least to me, I found the largest egos and the most politics in these sectors (where politics means underhanded, over-competitive, two-faced practices) – more than in the private sector (at least that my narrow experience allowed)

  All in all, I was happy that I learnt the following lessons:

  1. To work for your country, you must understand that every decision is loaded with the responsibility of the millions of people that live there.

  2. Irreverence is a powerful thing if you are going to change the world. You must have the courage to disregard how things have always been done, what existing processes there have been that slow things down (bureaucracy, within reason) and simply get stuff done.

  3. With change comes push-back. Hard skin and slippery maneuvering are art-forms that you want to learn.

  4. Trust no one. Expect the best of them to stab you in the back or at the very least ignore you.

  5. Even in the “do-good” industry, where people work for the good of all, self interest rules.

  6. Regardless of what people say, no one is completely philanthropic (they want fame, money and often, sex)

  7. (and this may seem to contradict 6 above, until you consider the two together) Everyone wakes up in the morning with every intention of doing good, making life better, easier, happier… everyone wants to change the world – in their own special, unique way.

  And now I am back in business – and you will see some interesting things from me.

• A new season, lessons of the recent past

  Posted: July 14, 2011, 12:44 am by alkags

  It has been a while since I last blogged. While I was away, I have done important things: First, I went back into the private sector from a two-year stint in the civil society and a previous two-year stint in government. These past four years have been ultra-useful to me – I have learnt a great deal about the industries where people work for the good of all.

  In these places I have interacted with amazing people who are distinguished in their commitment of socially developing our people and the environment they live in. I have learnt the philosophies that drive them (no, y’all from the private sector: not all people in government are sleeping and reading the newspapers and no, not all civil society chaps just talk). I have in these two years wrestled with my own beliefs and knowledge of the notions of poverty and I hope I shall have the confidence in the near future to write about it.

  Inexplicably – at least to me, I found the largest egos and the most politics in these sectors (where politics means underhanded, over-competitive, two-faced practices) – more than in the private sector (at least that my narrow experience allowed)

  All in all, I was happy that I learnt the following lessons:

  1. To work for your country, you must understand that every decision is loaded with the responsibility of the millions of people that live there.

  2. Irreverence is a powerful thing if you are going to change the world. You must have the courage to disregard how things have always been done, what existing processes there have been that slow things down (bureaucracy, within reason) and simply get stuff done.

  3. With change comes push-back. Hard skin and slippery maneuvering are art-forms that you want to learn.

  4. Trust no one. Expect the best of them to stab you in the back or at the very least ignore you.

  5. Even in the “do-good” industry, where people work for the good of all, self interest rules.

  6. Regardless of what people say, no one is completely philanthropic (they want fame, money and often, sex)

  7. (and this may seem to contradict 6 above, until you consider the two together) Everyone wakes up in the morning with every intention of doing good, making life better, easier, happier… everyone wants to change the world – in their own special, unique way.

  And now I am back in business – and you will see some interesting things from me.

• A new season, lessons of the recent past

  Posted: July 14, 2011, 12:44 am by alkags

  It has been a while since I last blogged. While I was away, I have done important things: First, I went back into the private sector from a two-year stint in the civil society and a previous two-year stint in government. These past four years have been ultra-useful to me – I have learnt a great deal about the industries where people work for the good of all.

  In these places I have interacted with amazing people who are distinguished in their commitment of socially developing our people and the environment they live in. I have learnt the philosophies that drive them (no, y’all from the private sector: not all people in government are sleeping and reading the newspapers and no, not all civil society chaps just talk). I have in these two years wrestled with my own beliefs and knowledge of the notions of poverty and I hope I shall have the confidence in the near future to write about it.

  Inexplicably – at least to me, I found the largest egos and the most politics in these sectors (where politics means underhanded, over-competitive, two-faced practices) – more than in the private sector (at least that my narrow experience allowed)

  All in all, I was happy that I learnt the following lessons:

  1. To work for your country, you must understand that every decision is loaded with the responsibility of the millions of people that live there.

  2. Irreverence is a powerful thing if you are going to change the world. You must have the courage to disregard how things have always been done, what existing processes there have been that slow things down (bureaucracy, within reason) and simply get stuff done.

  3. With change comes push-back. Hard skin and slippery maneuvering are art-forms that you want to learn.

  4. Trust no one. Expect the best of them to stab you in the back or at the very least ignore you.

  5. Even in the “do-good” industry, where people work for the good of all, self interest rules.

  6. Regardless of what people say, no one is completely philanthropic (they want fame, money and often, sex)

  7. (and this may seem to contradict 6 above, until you consider the two together) Everyone wakes up in the morning with every intention of doing good, making life better, easier, happier… everyone wants to change the world – in their own special, unique way.

  And now I am back in business – and you will see some interesting things from me.

• “Call me Willy,” he says.

  Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:20 am by alkags

  Today the new Chief Justice, Dr. Willy Mutunga, only one week old at the helm of the Judiciary signed up on Twitter and Facebook, rounding off the week in a now-characteristic refreshing way. His foray into social media is refreshing … Continue reading →

• Pivot25

  Posted: May 26, 2011, 5:39 pm by alkags

  PIVOT25: East Africa’s Biggest Mobile Tech Event from Pivot25 Conference on Vimeo.

• Samuel Wanjiru… & Boys.

  Posted: May 17, 2011, 12:56 am by alkags

  I yesterday posted a disturbed email to a listserve called ConcernedKenyanWriters and an interesting discussion ensued that helped me to clarify my position on the question of men and boys development in society today. Because of its importance, I have … Continue reading →

• Think with me

  Posted: May 5, 2011, 1:34 am by alkags

  Its been a while since I blogged. During this period of silence I have been pondering a whole bunch of critical questions. These include:- 1. As the Connected Kenya conference came to an end a couple weeks back, what is … Continue reading →

• Oh, God of all creation. Kenya we Pray.

  Posted: April 18, 2011, 1:47 am by alkags

  This song, I hear it and my blood rises to a flame, and I hear my national anthem and I pray.

• UN Security Council with the Kenyan people

  Posted: March 20, 2011, 4:05 am by alkags

  "No, Mr. Musyoka. But thank you for coming."

  The Vice President and his team have wasted millions of Kenya shillings to go to the UN security council to ask them to support (read:authorise) the deferral of the ICC case against the Ocampo 6, who are expected to start answering to charges on April 6th.  At the UN Security Council, they have their answer.

  THE OCAMPO 6 (BELOW) SHOULD GO TO THE HAGUE.

   

   

   

   

  In his submissions, Hon. Musyoka states (and in brackets this blogger replies)

  • That Kenya is not a failed state and can handle cases such as these (of course it can. Lets go ahead and set up the local mechanisms needed to do so – you know with 2012 coming up, the priority is going to shift so that the politician go on the campaign trail – which they already have).
  • That the deferral is necessary to allow for the Ocampo 6 to stand trial on Kenyan soil. (Here, Kalonzo looses me. We have no guarantees that the local mechanisms will be set up on time. We have to wait and see whether the local mechanisms will be trustable and bold enough to take the big fish on and that it will be free of “technicality manipulation”. Also, we are signatories to the ICC and that makes it our court.)

  It is really important for Kenyan VP, Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka to wake up and take not of the people’s preference on the ICC issue and it is important for him, President Mwai Kibaki and others to understand where the Kenyans stand on the issue of justice for the post-election violence. Stated simply, Kenyans want the ICC process to continue as the local mechanism is put in place – the two are not mutually exclusive.

  Mr. Musyoka, there are many other perpetrators of the Post-election violence apart from the 6 headliners so we shall expect the local mechanism to deal with them. But we have waited five years. no more waiting.

• Safaricom Innovation Board kicked off

  Posted: March 11, 2011, 4:48 pm by alkags

  Yesterday, was an eventful day at Safaricom. It was the day when the Safaricom Academy was launched – a partnership between Strathmore University and Safaricom.

  In the event, the character of the new Safaricom CEO was illustrated clearly by how he began his remarks: by apologising for the “appaling service” over the past 1 week. This is for me most refreshing.

  The less publicized event that happened yesterday is that the Safaricom Innovation Board was kicked off to begin building better relationships between Safaricom and developers, content aggregators and entrepreneurs. Bob Collymore said yesterday, “In no limiting terms, the board will play a liaison role of interacting with the innovators and guiding them on how to actualize their ideas. It will guide application developers on how to refine their applications and how to commercialize them. The board will also identify those who require further learning or exposure to increase their skills by exposing them to the Safaricom Incubation Center”

  The process of setting up the Safaricom Innovation Board has been a long one and has involved a lot of reflection and discussion between Safaricom and several representatives of the industry including Jessica Colaco, Erik Hersman (iHub), Rehema Parmena (IP Lawyer – RP Law), Joseph Sevilla (Strathmore), Moses Kemibaro (formerly Dottsavvy, now Dealfish), Karanja Macharia (Mobile Planet), Mbugua Njihia (Symbiotic) and myself. It has also involved a lot of reflection within Safaricom’s strategy, Value Added Services, Commercial, Legal and other departments involving closely such people as Michael Joseph and Bob Collymore, Betty Mwangi-Thuo (Chief Officer of New Products & Services division) – who have been leading the process, Nzioka Waita, Fred Waithaka, Paul Mugambi, and many other Safaricom staff.

   

  It is laudable to see a company take innovation so seriously and think on it so deeply to make sure that when it starts, it is going to have 100% lasting impact on the sector rather than agree too quickly and fail to sustain it. Its also a good thing that they have opened the doors for consultation.

  At this time, the Board members are Rehema Parmena, Erik Hersman, Mbugua Njihia, Joseph Sevilla, Fred Waithaka (Safaricom legal), Paul Mugambi (Safaricom New Products and Services division) and myself. Both Bob Collymore and Betty Mwangi-Thuo are ex-officio members.

  The role of the board is to act as the middle ground between the tech community (with ideas) and Safaricom to set the policies and platforms that will enable the more transparent (not to mean indiscreet) and fair submission of ideas to Safaricom and to make sure that the community is prepared for the process. Some of the things that we shall see in coming days is a clear process, clearly published criteria.

  Much is expected of the board by the community and we are all going to be engaging widely to ensure that there is synchrony.

  I’m excited at the prospects. The new Innovation Board website is being developed and we shall move swiftly along.

• I sang the National Anthem and felt real.

  Posted: March 6, 2011, 11:35 pm by alkags

  At the beginning of this past week, on Feb 28, we paused at 1pm and sang all three verses of the National Anthem. I was one of the 9 people who worked to bring people together. It was great. I’ve had to take a week to write this, because the words wouldn’t come.

  IT HAPPENED! See the vid | See the pics

  So why did I sing and persuade others to sing the National Anthem?

  On March 1, (the very next day) my iPhone was stolen, snatched from inside the cab that was taking me to my office by a young man who ran away daintily across traffic and disappeared into a low income neighbourhood. Upset though I was, I didn’t run after him. Instead I turned to my blackberry and as the cab sped away from the scene, I ‘twitted’ it and ‘facebooked’ it.

  All these are decidedly middle class experiences, aren’t they?

  Maybe that’s why I did it. Because I am middle class. And I need to get involved, somehow.

  Over Java coffee and Dorman’s milkshakes, from the comfort of the malls, or at home while flicking DSTV channels and fiddling with the internet from my smartphone and laptop, with friends who do the same, I am privileged to pontificate about what is wrong with this country – point the finger at the government and disdainfully wonder how in a country, where iPhones and Billions of “my” tax payer money alike are stolen with impunity, where a number of cabinet ministers are ambassadors to try and circumvent justice for the post election violence, and others blithely conduct a roaring drug trade…  I Disdainfully wonder how I should consider singing the national anthem with pride – and then take a sip of my Mocha.

  Poor people, like my uncle Awadh don’t drink Mocha. And they don’t pontificate about being Kenyan – they  simply can’t afford to. I am privileged and I must sing that national anthem and reflect on the line “raha tupate na ustawi” (“plenty be found within our borders”)

  But lets pontificate a little. There sometimes seems to be little to be proud of  in this country. Scholar, Wambui Mwangi says it even better than I do:

  “I am not sure that we have much to be proud of in these parlous times.

  “Six of our leading representatives and public figures are under grave suspicion by the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity, but this apparently does not perturb us.  Our internally displaced citizens continue to languish in refugee camps, which disturbs our comfort not at all.  Millions of young people are unemployed and frustrated but we would rather not discuss it.  Ethnic militias gather force and virulence: still, we are content.  A vulgar misogyny accompanied by a homophobia as vile as it is pervasive finds extensive purchase in our collective psyche: we are unflappable.  We seem to enjoy all these, or at least not to mind them enough to engage with their implications. We are enjoined to choose peace over justice. Nobody blinks. No thunderbolts fall from the sky.”

  In her observations above, she speaks for me too. There’s little to be proud of. If this was the whole story. And it isn’t the whole Kenyan story. Some important positives have happened and while I demand justice for wrongs done (and maybe I should be less populist and demand for justice to be done for the last 30 years’ worth of wrongs at least), I would be remiss if the positives did not make me proud. Kenya has become that country that everyone can say and think what they please  about anyone and anything (lots of Kenyans died and were tortured and lost everything for this right). Kenya has somehow – in a canternkerous, topsy-turvy, bendy way – finally come up with a new constitution and a lot of effort has gone into getting that to happen – and a lot more is going on within the country to make things better. It is true tribalism and corruption does weigh heavily on us. It is also true that there are efforts all over the country – many taken by non politicians to bring people together.

  By the way, speaking of this thing called pride: Wambui says, “‘Pride’ is an uneasy hook for our national sentiment because it seems to demand that we forget issues that we urgently need to remember and to question.” I am careful to talk back at Wambui Mwangi because she is among the smartest people I know, but here I think she has misrepresented what “pride” in this context would be. A mother is proud at her son’s football game of her son, despite the fact that his grades have been failing and she caught him trying out recreational pharmaceuticals, is she not? So is pride in Kenya in my view. It occurs, even as we question what we urgently need to remember and question.

  Maybe I sang and called on others to sing because I see more that binds us than that tears us asunder.

  Maybe I did it because it is an important national symbol and this country may have gone to the dogs because we don’t focus hard enough on our national symbols.

  James Shikwati, in a critique of the initiative, tells this anecdote: “I had been in a forum where the chair could not get us to sing the country’s national anthem. “National anthem for whose country?” we asked.” Gasp. Isn’t it true that when you forget your soul,nothing can make you what you want to be? As a country, we lost our soul when we lost touch with the bricks that made us a nation – mostly because of the futility of current affairs. The national anthem is not invalidated by the fact that individuals piss at its essence. The flag is not any less important or any less the sign of our nationhood, because there are people who use it as a means to get by traffic. I agree with James. A lot of work still needs to be done to make this country better – and I say that it should be done as we sing the national anthem, NOT INSTEAD OF singing.

  Shikwati ends his critique by saying, “The middle class should get to work and help to dismantle the infrastructure holding people back from being citizens of this country.” Er… it must be noted that the middle cass is very busy – thats why the economy is leaping and bounding (however wobblingly) again. But someone needs to remind us, the middle class what we should be working so damn hard for – in addition to our mochas and glib attitudes. The national anthem if reflected upon, may do this.

  And it did for some: Where’s my pillow, Mark Kaigwa, Viola’s iris and for many others… just Google it.

  I sang the National Anthem, and in doing so, I felt liberated.  As I sang these words, I understood in a very personal way, that it isn’t about the politicians. It starts here, with me, now. So why do a pointless thing as sing? Because as the roman historian, Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust) said: “It is sweet to serve one’s country by deeds, and it is not absurd to serve her by words.”

  At the end of the day, I still believe in Kenya and there is something Kenyan worth fighting for Damn it! or like Mr. Grimwig in Dicken’s Oliver Twist, “I will eat my head!”
  

• Social Media & Personal Relationships

  Posted: February 23, 2011, 2:02 am by alkags

  I discovered today that a close friend of mine removed me off of their twitter and facebook accounts – essentially blocked me. After the initial surprise, I wondered what that meant – does it mean we are no longer friends? Should how I relate with the person change? Should I trust them less? Should I reciprocate?

  I don’t think there is a ready established protocol for how to respond to such social media driven stimuli – or at least I don’t know of it. But what was inescapable to me is the gravity of it – as a statement of my relationship with the person.

  As the world is still reeling from the power of social media to effect social and political change at a global level, I have a personal epiphany about social media re: personal relationships and their particular impact on interpersonal interfaces.

  As I reflect, I remember a different situation recently, where a friend and his girlfriend split up and in a rage, she blocked him off Facebook. Even after reconciliation process started, when he found out about her having blocked him, that dealt the final blow to their relationship.

  I don’t know yet how to think of it – how to intellectually organise my thoughts around the question of how social social media is… I’m interacting with ideas around it in my mind.

• Crowd sings the national anthem

  Posted: February 21, 2011, 6:38 pm by alkags

• 28th February: Sing & Unite for Kenya

  Posted: February 14, 2011, 6:45 pm by alkags

  In the face of ethnic polarisation, a highly politicised atmosphere and the daily search for daily bread, it is sometimes easy for all of us to forget what binds us together, that we are Kenyan and that we are strongest when united.

  In this perspective, a group of Kenyans, of diverse interests, political affiliations, tribes, religions and economic backgrounds have agreed to come together on February 28th 2011 and take a few minutes at exactly 1pm (East African Time) to sing the three verses of the National Anthem.

  On February 28th Kenyans will come together and unite in the prayer that is the Kenya National Anthem, to celebrate their unity as a people, and to remind themselves that together, they can achieve much more. On this occassion, Kenyans come together, not to protest against anything but to stand for unity.

  The idea is simple: Wherever we are, whatever we are doing at exactly 1pm on February 28th, Kenyans from all walks of life, will pause and sing the national anthem, led by participating media houses, church choirs, community choirs, school children, and musicians. Once they have sung all the three verses, they will disperse and continue with what they were doing – only energised by the strong spirit of kinship.

  This is an initiative that belongs to Kenyans: aimed at uniting us under the banner of our National Anthem.

  For it to succeed, it needs you and me to stand together, side by side and sing for a united Kenya.

  1 nation, 1pm, 1anthem, 1 people.

  (Share this as widely as you can)

• 28th February: Sing & Unite for Kenya

  Posted: February 14, 2011, 6:45 pm by alkags

  In the face of ethnic polarisation, a highly politicised atmosphere and the daily search for daily bread, it is sometimes easy for all of us to forget what binds us together, that we are Kenyan and that we are strongest when united.

  In this perspective, a group of Kenyans, of diverse interests, political affiliations, tribes, religions and economic backgrounds have agreed to come together on February 28th 2011 and take a few minutes at exactly 1pm (East African Time) to sing the three verses of the National Anthem.

  On February 28th Kenyans will come together and unite in the prayer that is the Kenya National Anthem, to celebrate their unity as a people, and to remind themselves that together, they can achieve much more. On this occassion, Kenyans come together, not to protest against anything but to stand for unity.

  The idea is simple: Wherever we are, whatever we are doing at exactly 1pm on February 28th, Kenyans from all walks of life, will pause and sing the national anthem, led by participating media houses, church choirs, community choirs, school children, and musicians. Once they have sung all the three verses, they will disperse and continue with what they were doing – only energised by the strong spirit of kinship.

  This is an initiative that belongs to Kenyans: aimed at uniting us under the banner of our National Anthem.

  For it to succeed, it needs you and me to stand together, side by side and sing for a united Kenya.

  1 nation, 1pm, 1anthem, 1 people.

  (Share this as widely as you can)

• Nokia-Microsoft Partnership: from the pan to the fire?

  Posted: February 14, 2011, 2:25 am by alkags

  The Two Steves: Nokia & Microsoft CEO

  Last week, Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop sent a note to its employees around the world that they were in trouble as regards the smartphone market. A couple days later, Elop stood with Microsoft CEO, Steven A Ballmer to announce that Nokia will be discarding its OS Symbian and adopting Windows Mobile for its smartphones – in a spirited bid to catch up with Apple’s Iphone and Ipad as well as Google’s android technology.

   

  Ok, one understands why the two giants need each other – windows mobile has not done well in a while and needs way more distribution (which nokia gives as global market leader in phones, especially in the so called emerging markets) and Nokia’s software has usability problems – in my view that is – sound code with a design problem (a problem that windows mobile seems to solve).

  However. But. Nevertheless.

  I’m sure I stand to be corrected by both Nokia and Microsoft people, but my own perception is that the partnership is a bad move for Nokia – a strategic mistake, I go so far as to assert.

  Why? Because Windows Mobile will not solve Nokia’s problem and it is a bad move for African developers and innovators.

  Nokia’s smartphone problem was always a design one. Excellent phone technology, crap User Interface. Take the Nokia N8, which courtesy of Nokia I had the pleasure of testing when it was released. I didn’t write about it because I didn’t have the words to express myself – until now.

  At the time, I also had the Blackberry Storm 9730 and the Iphone 3GS. If I were to rank them, it would be iphone 3GS, Blackberry 9730 and then Nokia N8. Simple criteria: how easy is it for me to communicate.

  All the phones are touch screen phones. Responsiveness of screen? Rank as above. Ease of typing email? Rank as above. Ease of making calls, saving calls made to contacts and such mundane tasks etc? Rank as above. Syncronise contacts, calendar? Rank as above – except with the N8, you can’t syncronise – not with gmail nor with outlook (at least no way that I or anyone I asked – I even asked on twitter – knew.

  The problem is just a user friendliness issue. Will Microsoft help with that? Sure thing. They are better with UI. But they suck with the technology – windows mobile looks good but is not good tech.

  Also, to my second point, the discarding of Symbian means the death of initiatives in the emerging markets to build apps for Nokia phones. All the collaboration and rapport that Nokia had with Mobile Developers is about to end in my view. Because developers have no faith with windows and because Nokia’s admirable openness is going to be curtailed.

  This is an instinctive take. Bad mistake this partnership.

  Now android has a real chance in the emerging markets.

• Me @ TEDxNairobi

  Posted: February 12, 2011, 12:22 pm by alkags

• The most basic responsibility of a patriot ...

  Posted: February 8, 2011, 12:10 pm by alkags

  The most basic responsibility of a patriot is to vote, when the time comes. But the growth and prosperity of a nation require more than just making a choice – it also requires that a citizen actively and objectively comments on the day to day running of his nation, and most importantly, that s/he get his/her hands directly involved.

• Isis Nyongo new MD, Inmobi Africa

  Posted: February 7, 2011, 3:57 pm by alkags

  I have just learnt that my friend Isis Nyong’o (@inyongo), formerly the Google Business Development Manager has been appointed VP & Managing Director of inmobi Africa. In the Press release, it was said that has come on board to drive InMobi’s African business strategy, facilitating the expansion of the company’s continental base and that She takes over from Stephen Newton who recently left the company to pursue other opportunities.

  As  the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network, InMobi is seeking to increase the usage of mobile advertising within Africa – and it is strategic for them to do so as a large percentage of Africa is on mobile.

  To Isis, we say congratulations, and like we said to the other fabulous lady who became Google’s Africa policy Manager, Ory Okolloh (@kenyanpundit), we have great expectations of you. We hope to see at least:-

  • that you will get involved in the mobile development space a great deal
  • that you will start a blog and share your knowledge and learnings as you go.

• EGYPT RIGHT NOW

  Posted: February 3, 2011, 7:09 pm by alkags

  In Solidarity with Egyptians, and with the blogger, Sandmokey (of the Suspended sandmonkey.org – who on twitter can be followed on @sandmonkey), I am posting this essay below by Sandmonkey. It tells of the current state of egypt.

  Al Kags

   

  EGYPT RIGHT NOW

  By Sandmonkey

  I don’t know how to start writing this. I have been battling fatigue for not sleeping properly for the past 10 days, moving from one’s friend house to another friend’s house, almost never spending a night in my home, facing a very well funded and well organized ruthless regime that views me as nothing but an annoying bug that its time to squash will come. The situation here is bleak to say the least.

  It didn’t start out that way. On Tuesday Jan 25 it all started peacefully, and against all odds, we succeeded to gather hundreds of thousands and get them into Tahrir Square, despite being attacked by Anti-Riot Police who are using sticks, tear gas and rubber bullets against us. We managed to break all of their barricades and situated ourselves in Tahrir. The government responded by shutting down all cell communication in Tahrir square, a move which purpose was understood later when after midnight they went in with all of their might and attacked the protesters and evacuated the Square. The next day we were back at it again, and the day after. Then came Friday and we braved their communication blackout, their thugs, their tear gas and their bullets and we retook the square. We have been fighting to keep it ever since.

  That night the government announced a military curfew, which kept getting shorter by the day, until it became from 8 am to 3 pm. People couldn’t go to work, gas was running out quickly and so were essential goods and money, since the banks were not allowed to operate and people were not able to collect their salary. The internet continued to be blocked, which affected all businesses in Egypt and will cause an economic meltdown the moment they allow the banks to operate again. We were being collectively punished for daring to say that we deserve democracy and rights, and to keep it up, they withdrew the police, and then sent them out dressed as civilians to terrorize our neighborhoods. I was shot at twice that day, one of which with a semi-automatic by a dude in a car that we the people took joy in pummeling. The government announced that all prisons were breached, and that the prisoners somehow managed to get weapons and do nothing but randomly attack people. One day we had organized thugs in uniforms firing at us and the next day they disappeared and were replaced by organized thugs without uniforms firing at us. Somehow the people never made the connection.

  Despite it all, we braved it. We believed we are doing what’s right and were encouraged by all those around us who couldn’t believe what was happening to their country. What he did galvanized the people, and on Tuesday, despite shutting down all major roads leading into Cairo, we managed to get over 2 million protesters in Cairo alone and 3 million all over Egypt to come out and demand Mubarak’s departure. Those are people who stood up to the regime’s ruthlessness and anger and declared that they were free, and were refusing to live in the Mubarak dictatorship for one more day. That night, he showed up on TV, and gave a very emotional speech about how he intends to step down at the end of his term and how he wants to die in Egypt, the country he loved and served. To me, and to everyone else at the protests this wasn’t nearly enough, for we wanted him gone now. Others started asking that we give him a chance, and that change takes time and other such poppycock. Hell, some people and family members cried when they saw his speech. People felt sorry for him for failing to be our dictator for the rest of his life and inheriting us to his Son. It was an amalgam of Stockholm syndrome coupled with slave mentality in a malevolent combination that we never saw before. And the Regime capitalized on it today.

  Today, they brought back the internet, and started having people calling on TV and writing on facebook on how they support Mubarak and his call for stability and peacefull change in 8 months. They hung on to the words of the newly appointed government would never harm the protesters, whom they believe to be good patriotic youth who have a few bad apples amongst them. We started getting calls asking people to stop protesting because “we got what we wanted” and “we need the country to start working again”. People were complaining that they miss their lives. That they miss going out at night, and ordering Home Delivery. That they need us to stop so they can resume whatever existence they had before all of this. All was forgiven, the past week never happened and it’s time for Unity under Mubarak’s rule right now.

  To all of those people I say: NEVER! I am sorry that your lives and businesses are disrupted, but this wasn’t caused by the Protesters. The Protesters aren’t the ones who shut down the internet that has paralyzed your businesses and banks: The government did. The Protesters weren’t the ones who initiated the military curfew that limited your movement and allowed goods to disappear off market shelves and gas to disappear: The government did. The Protesters weren’t the ones who ordered the police to withdraw and claimed the prisons were breached and unleashed thugs that terrorized your neighborhoods: The government did. The same government that you wish to give a second chance to, as if 30 years of dictatorship and utter failure in every sector of government wasn’t enough for you. The Slaves were ready to forgive their master, and blame his cruelty on those who dared to defy him in order to ensure a better Egypt for all of its citizens and their children. After all, he gave us his word, and it’s not like he ever broke his promises for reform before or anything.

  Then Mubarak made his move and showed them what useful idiots they all were.

  You watched on TV as “Pro-Mubarak Protesters” – thugs who were paid money by NDP members by admission of High NDP officials- started attacking the peaceful unarmed protesters in Tahrir square. They attacked them with sticks, threw stones at them, brought in men riding horses and camels- in what must be the most surreal scene ever shown on TV- and carrying whips to beat up the protesters. And then the Bullets started getting fired and Molotov cocktails started getting thrown at the Anti-Mubarak Protesters as the Army standing idly by, allowing it all to happen and not doing anything about it. Dozens were killed, hundreds injured, and there was no help sent by ambulances. The Police never showed up to stop those attacking because the ones who were captured by the Anti-mubarak people had police ID’s on them. They were the police and they were there to shoot and kill people and even tried to set the Egyptian Museum on Fire. The Aim was clear: Use the clashes as pretext to ban such demonstrations under pretexts of concern for public safety and order, and to prevent disunity amongst the people of Egypt. But their plans ultimately failed, by those resilient brave souls who wouldn’t give up the ground they freed of Egypt, no matter how many live bullets or firebombs were hurled at them. They know, like we all do, that this regime no longer cares to put on a moderate mask. That they have shown their true nature. That Mubarak will never step down, and that he would rather burn Egypt to the ground than even contemplate that possibility.

  In the meantime, State-owned and affiliated TV channels were showing coverage of Peaceful Mubarak Protests all over Egypt and showing recorded footage of Tahrir Square protest from the night before and claiming it’s the situation there at the moment. Hundreds of calls by public figures and actors started calling the channels saying that they are with Mubarak, and that he is our Father and we should support him on the road to democracy. A veiled girl with a blurred face went on Mehwer TV claiming to have received funding by Americans to go to the US and took courses on how to bring down the Egyptian government through protests which were taught by Jews. She claimed that AlJazeera is lying, and that the only people in Tahrir square now were Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. State TV started issuing statements on how the people arrested Israelis all over Cairo engaged in creating mayhem and causing chaos. For those of you who are counting this is an American-Israeli-Qatari-Muslim Brotherhood-Iranian-Hamas conspiracy. Imagine that. And MANY PEOPLE BOUGHT IT. I recall telling a friend of mine that the only good thing about what happened today was that it made clear to us who were the idiots amongst our friends. Now we know.

  Now, just in case this isn’t clear: This protest is not one made or sustained by the Muslim Brotherhood, it’s one that had people from all social classes and religious background in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood only showed up on Tuesday, and even then they were not the majority of people there by a long shot. We tolerated them there since we won’t say no to fellow Egyptians who wanted to stand with us, but neither the Muslims Brotherhood not any of the Opposition leaders have the ability to turn out one tenth of the numbers of Protesters that were in Tahrir on Tuesday. This is a revolution without leaders. Three Million individuals choosing hope instead of fear and braving death on hourly basis to keep their dream of freedom alive. Imagine that.

  The End is near. I have no illusions about this regime or its leader, and how he will pluck us and hunt us down one by one till we are over and done with and 8 months from now will pay people to stage fake protests urging him not to leave power, and he will stay “because he has to acquiesce to the voice of the people”. This is a losing battle and they have all the weapons, but we will continue fighting until we can’t. I am heading to Tahrir right now with supplies for the hundreds injured, knowing that today the attacks will intensify, because they can’t allow us to stay there come Friday, which is supposed to be the game changer. We are bringing everybody out, and we will refuse to be anything else than peaceful. If you are in Egypt, I am calling on all of you to head down to Tahrir today and Friday. It is imperative to show them that the battle for the soul of Egypt isn’t over and done with. I am calling you to bring your friends, to bring medical supplies, to go and see what Mubarak’s gurantees look like in real life. Egypt needs you. Be Heroes

   

• Nokia, the World’s most sustainable tech company (Kenya’s too!!)

  Posted: January 31, 2011, 12:43 am by alkags

  Nokia, was yesterday pronounced the 4th most sustainable company in the world in the 7th Annual rankings by Corporate Knights, a Toronto based media company. Sustainability is a blurred term to most of the world and Corporate Knights have adopted a wide range of aspects in their criteria for the rankings. These include the pay gap between the CEO and the average worker (This bit I am fascinated the most by), how the company manages energy use – or how it manages its contribution to global warming, whether it pays taxes and other factors.

  Nokia's Dorothy Ooko

  This is good news. I have warm feelings for Nokia, and I am inclined to concur with the ratings – but for very local reasons. There is a criteria (at least in my books) that determines sustainability of a company and that is its direct meaningful investment in people. Nokia, in Kenya at least, has had an open policy towards growing the capacity of people – especially young people – to provide them with viable skills and a platform for innovation. The big deal here is that it gives Kenyan young people a fighting chance at growing globally competitive by sharing its technology and by enabling them to build applications and put them out there. Of course there is a selfish reason – they are after all a business. But it is a successful business that cares about people that ends up making those people successful and everyone involved is sustained.

  And so,

  • For supporting Mobile Monday in Kenya and around the world, elimisha_us forums and iHub fireside chats;
  • For being a part of the technology innovations community in Kenya in an open way – Dorothy Ooko (@dorothyooko on twitter – Nokia’s EA marketing guru) has generally made herself terribly available to techpreneurs and the like in Kenya;
  • For providing an equal platform for Kenyan and African young people to contribute to the global apps through the Ovi Store

  This blog is happy to congratulate Nokia on being the world’s most sustainable technology company.

   

• 3 reasons why Customer is King. Always.

  Posted: January 28, 2011, 10:41 am by alkags

   

  (Republished from the Evolution Africa blog. Evolution Africa is a consultancy formed by a passionate, committed and talented group of highly successful professionals whose focus is on introducing global best practice across Africa.)

  There’s a reason why the common saying the customer is always right. Of course logically the adage holds no water because the customer is, in fact, sometimes (even often) wrong. But the customer can never be made to feel wrong.

  Here’s why:

  1. Wrong = negative

  When trying to make a sale, a salesperson tries as hard as possible to get the customer to say “yes” as many times as possible and to keep the conversation as agreeable as possible. He, the salesperson agrees to everything – even when he disagrees! For example:

  Client: so, if I were to buy 2 of these instead of one you can give me a 40% discount on one, right?

  Seller: why that’s a great idea! But tell you what – I need to be in business tomorrow so I can bring you some more wonderful things so let me give you the very best offer of 10% off if you pick both.

  The point is, the conversation stayed positive even though the customer made an unreasonable demand. No = no sale; yes = sale!

  2. Customer has options!

  In the 21st Century, regardless of what one’s business is, there is a lot of competition. Even worse is that unlike a few years back, when the competition was down the street, nowadays the competition is halfway across the globe – and often they barely speak english!

  Because of all of the options that a customer has, a supplier cannot afford to be arrogant or aloof – even when dealing with an unreasonable customer.

  3. The customer has influence.

  Research has shown that a lot of people depend on word of mouth when making decisions on which supplier to use. Despite the fact that advertising has proliferated every aspect of our lives – TV, Radio, online, billboards etc, we take the word and endorsement of someone we have met much more. Its a question of trust.

  As a seller treats the customer as king, the customer is disposed to brag about the wonderful experience they had to their friends, many of whom take the endorsement seriously.

  The nature of the relationship is not one of equals. The seller/ supplier is a servant of the buyer. The most successful businesspeople are those who realise that early and no matter how successful they get, never forget this.

   

• How not to automate taxation processes

  Posted: January 28, 2011, 9:10 am by alkags

  (This article was published today in the Daily Nation.)

  I don’t particularly like the tax man, but reports that the Kenya Revenue Authority has improved in its revenue collection efforts in the last year find me with mixed feelings.

  On the one hand, I feel choked because the tax burden is so heavy, but I readily accept that this is an emotional reaction.

  On the other hand, one must feel glad that the government can now better sort out the big sectors that I need to make even more money, such as roads, water, electricity and the internet in my county.

  On January 16, KRA was reported to have improved revenue collection thanks to the automation of its systems and processes “for improved decision making and information sharing.”

  According to the report, the Simba System has automated the processes of cargo clearance (both on air and sea), taxpayer registration, returns processing, customer service, copy of records, payment of specific tax heads and tax clearance certificates.

  While this is good news, efficiency is still elusive at KRA for its customers. Here is a real-life experience of a customer at KRA.

  The customer, let’s call him Waithaka, goes to Times Towers to transfer ownership of a car. He is directed to a queue at counter 16, where the application for vehicle transfer needs to be approved.

  The review of the application involves an officer leafing through the papers to ascertain they are in order and then writing the amount that should be paid.

  This done, he is directed to queue at counter 13 or 14 to get an e-slip, which is printed out and given to him, with instructions to get photocopies, which he is to bring back, having paid the required amount.

  Waithaka then proceeds to make the copies, returns to Time Towers and ascends to the National Bank of Kenya branch on the 5th floor, where he queues and makes the required payment.

  He is advised at the bank to make a copy of the payment slip. Armed with the payment slip, its photocopy, the photocopy of the e-slip and the vehicle transfer papers that he started out with, Waithaka goes back to counter 13 or 14 (from where he got the e-slip), and leaves them with the officer at that counter. This process takes between one hour, 30 minutes and two hours.

  This is where the KRA automation really kicks in, because within two weeks, Waithaka gets a new log-book for the car in the post.

  We have, in the course of the preceding experience, seen signs of the automation (well, once in the printing of the e-slip) but it is clear that the automation of KRA in many respects has little to do with the taxpayer on a day-to-day basis, efficiently.

  Some of these processes could be reviewed – even before the software comes to touch the public – by making sure the approval of the paperwork and the printing of the e-slip is done by one officer.

  The e-slip is currently printed in landscape orientation in the middle of an A4 sheet of paper. Perhaps, they could change the printer settings to 2-in-1 printouts which would print two copies of the e-slip allowing the customer to simply tear the sheet in half.

  In addition, payments can be done at the same time therefore saving the taxpayer – and KRA – time and money.

  One of the most obvious benefits to KRA is that more people will come to transact business if they can do everything in half an hour or less.

• The highlight of my day today, was ...

  Posted: January 20, 2011, 7:49 pm by alkags

  The highlight of my day today, was to discover a new blog, the diary of a Kenyan prostitute at http://www.nairobinights.co.cc which is a fantastic and most refreshing read about the observations and thoughts of a prostitute – none of the moralistic, apologetic discourse (“we have no choices in life and it is because life is hard”) and certainly none of the usual preachy discourse about the injustice of policemen and so on – it is simply a direct, thoughtful, open, discussion of a worldview, in a way that is not talked about.

  It has stimulated me in ways that I have not been stimulated in a long long time. Sue, for that is the name of the blogger, discusses profoundly the perspectives of a prostitutes who works in the street and for me, gives the impression of a person who has found themselves. For me, it is a breath of fresh air to engage with discussion of “the Philosophy of sin”, “the spiritual role of a prostitute”, and so on.

  The rights and wrongs of prostitution do not seem to occur as relevant in the blog.

  As a blogger I am always really excited to see such a blog in the context of sharing knowledge and expanding the arena of thought. In principle, this is why every professional, every person who aspires to making the world a better place must simply share their knowledge, observations, worldview and perspectives – because ultimately it helps us all, young and old to make informed and knowledgable choices. Most of all, it empowers us to think and hopefully then be useful.

  As to the non-profits that deal with prostitutes (as Sue says, forget the political correctness and “Just call me Malaya”) I see this as a wake-up call for them to deal openly with the issues and not to weigh them down with some of the dogmatic hypocrisy that we see.

  All in all, Sue, the writer, writes so well, that I am as entertained as I am stimulated. This is one prostitute that I will regularly visit.

   

• We stay with the Hague! Sign the petition!

  Posted: January 18, 2011, 4:22 pm by alkags

  I have today signed the petition for Kenya to stay with the Hague Process and I want to be one of 1 Million Kenyans who say no, we do not want to get out of the Hague process. My Personal Position is that it is the height of impunity for our parliamentarians to attempt to remove Kenya from the ICC process. (By the way, as a champion of the process, our Vice President has lost yet another rung in his position of honour in my book because of standing behind such notions)

  —- The text of the Petition is as below:

  To:  The Executive, Legislative and Judicial Arms of the Government of Kenya

  On 22nd December 2010, Kenya’s Members of Parliament overwhelmingly voted to have our nation quit the International Criminal Court (ICC). Their rationale was that the decision by Mr. Luis-Moreno Ocampo to propose two cases for prosecution in this international court was an attack on our sovereignty and not in the best interests of Kenya.

  At the same time all opinion polls conducted so far show that ordinary Kenyans support the ICC process, and discussions in all public spaces indicate that Kenyans do not support any move to scuttle this process. However, the Members of Parliament still insist that Kenya must withdraw from the ICC.

  It is on this basis that we, the over 1,000,000 Kenyans signed hereunder, have decided to categorically speak up for ourselves, and clearly state what we want.

  We hereby very firmly state that we do not support the proposal by parliament to remove Kenya from the ICC, and that this is not our desire as the Kenyans the MPs purport to represent in Parliament.
  We take this stand for the following 5 main reasons:

   

  1. The ICC prosecutions are our best chance of knowing the truth about the 2007 PEV.
  2. The truth that will come out of the ICC prosecutions will work against the ever-increasing narratives of inter-ethnic grievance and mistrust that tend to be the basis on which political competition for Kenya’s state power has been conducted since the introduction of multi-party politics. This strategy led to the 1992, 1997 and 2007 Post Election Violence (PEV), and we cannot afford to go into another election without getting dealing with it.
  3. The ICC prosecutions start Kenya on the journey of seeking justice for the victims of all Post Election Violence to-date, because it debunks the myth that there exists any Kenyan who is above the law. This is necessary in a democratic state especially if we are ever to locally prosecute other crimes inherent to Post Election Violence in future.
  4. Our current justice systems are not able, ready and/or willing to prosecute PEV perpetrators, as has clearly been shown by the fact that in three years since the 2007 PEV we have not successfully prosecuted any perpetrators of the violence. In addition the investigative and judicial systems to be established as required under the new constitution, and which could successfully prosecute cases of the magnitude currently at the ICC, will not be realized for several years.
  5. The MPs have always overwhelmingly supported the ICC process and on two occasions refused to support the institution of a local tribunal as suggested by the Executive, stating ‘Do Not Be Vague, Go To The Hague’. It is therefore clear that the recent change of heart to now withdraw Kenya from the ICC is driven solely by the sudden realization that it could adversely affect the political careers of some of them. This is self-seeking and a slap in the face of the millions of Kenyans who are today psychologically and/or physically traumatized by what happened during the 2007 PEV. It is also disrespectful to the memory of the over 1,300 Kenyans who died, and an insult to the over 650,000 Kenyans who were rendered homeless.

  Whereas we admit that starting the process of seeking for justice for the 2007 PEV victims outside Kenya is not a first choice for many of us because of the embarrassing implication that our country is not yet fully capable and/or prepared to handle that issue, we feel that in the present circumstances we would rather face this embarrassment than the even bigger threat of a recurrence of the 2007 PEV, a recurrence that all local and international observers of the Kenya situation assure us would make the 2007 PEV look like a Sunday school children’s picnic.

  We therefore state very clearly, loudly and simply that ‘Kenya Cannot Get Out of The Rome Statute’, that we do not support the proposal by Members of the 10th Parliament to pull Kenya out of the ICC, and that our representatives in Parliament must respect our wishes and stop any further attempts to pull Kenya out of the ICC.

  Signed by the Following Citizens of The Republic Of Kenya.

  Sincerely,

  Al Kags & Other concerned Kenyans

   

• Mr. Bean, the devil

  Posted: January 12, 2011, 3:59 pm by alkags

  This is the video by Mr. Bean that started me out on my religious journey. The particular reference to christians startled me adequately to review the question: “Am I a christian because I believe (therefore have examined and studied and evaluated my faith) or am I one because I was born and baptised one?”

• Pay attention to the Mobile Web

  Posted: January 11, 2011, 6:45 pm by alkags

  Recently, White African posted on his blog that we should pay attention to the Mobile Web in 2011 in a way that I need not say much more. Here’s more evidence:

  (click to view highest resolution image)

  of this.

• technorati

  Posted: January 9, 2011, 12:58 am by alkags

  4PFB8RAWJ2WR

• Digital Knowledge

  Posted: January 9, 2011, 12:43 am by alkags

  I have just noticed this blog post by Bankelele about research released by TNS Digital about digital Content – usage of the internet, what people are doing with the internet, etc. Interesting information and extremely useful. I am willing to say that the data regarding mobile internet  is likely to see a modest explosion (as blogger White African also comments) in the next 12 – 18 months as smarter mobile phones proliferate the market. There is a proviso though. This market is seeing a lot of counterfeight mobile phones and they do a great dis-service to those interested in the growth of data. The mobile phone giants Nokia, Samsung and others have to work much harder to make more genuine phones available especially in the rural areas.

  Click to view full size

   

• China & Me: We start here

  Posted: January 9, 2011, 12:09 am by alkags

  This year, I have resolved to learn how to speak and write in Mandarin, China’s official languange. I have also resolved to try my damnedest to go to China on holiday in 2012. Why? Because it is fast becoming clear to me that China is going to overtake America as the world’s most important country – but it is going to do it differently – not through the imperialist (European influenced) style but through trade, business and investment. Naturally, Chinese culture will permiate the world as that continues but thats besides my point. I want to be infront of what opportunities come into Africa with the new shift.

  Having said that, it is not a fact (I don’t believe) that America could be insignificant over the next 50 years, but it is true that China will be way more important to Africa.

  I read this presentation about the future of china on Business Insider from the Swiss bank Credit Suisse and I have read a lot more about China and what China will mean for Africa. That some of Africa – especially Kenya – is in the throes of infrastructural development is an entry point for China and I suppose there are many more opportunities coming our way from the east.

  My thoughts on China are far from organised. But my instinct says its time to learn about the country. And language is the first level.

  Of course, when one reads of whole cities in China (mainly in inner Mongolia) that are empty, one wonders whether China is a lot of hype and little within. I suppose we shall soon see.

  But also read 17 amazing facts about China that might blow your mind.

• China & me: the beginning

  Posted: January 9, 2011, 12:04 am by alkags

  This year, I have resolved to learn how to speak and write in Mandarin, China’s official languange. I have also resolved to try my damnedest to go to China on holiday in 2012. Why? Because it is fast becoming clear to me that China is going to overtake America as the world’s most important country – but it is going to do it differently – not through the imperialist (European influenced) style but through trade, business and investment. Naturally, Chinese culture will permiate the world as that continues but thats besides my point. I want to be infront of what opportunities come into Africa with the new shift.

  Having said that, it is not a fact (I don’t believe) that America could be insignificant over the next 50 years, but it is true that China will be way more important to Africa.

  I read this presentation about the future of china on Business Insider from the Swiss bank Credit Suisse and I have read a lot more about China and what China will mean for Africa. That some of Africa – especially Kenya – is in the throes of infrastructural development is an entry point for China and I suppose there are many more opportunities coming our way from the east.

  My thoughts on China are far from organised. But my instinct says its time to learn about the country. And language is the first level.

   

  http://www.businessinsider.com/amazing-facts-about-china-2010-12#by-2030-china-will-add-more-new-city-dwellers-than-the-entire-us-population-13

• So proud of Amani

  Posted: January 7, 2011, 7:44 pm by alkags

• PARLIAMENTARY IMPUNITY: Where is the fury?

  Posted: January 7, 2011, 11:13 am by alkags

  It gets worse by the day! First, MPs banded together in Parliament and passed a (nonesensical) resolution for Kenya to withdraw from the International Criminal Justice system at the Hague – in support of 6 people who have been fingered by Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor at the ICC. So brazen were they that they also pledged to fundraise for the Hague 6.

  The impunity of it is astounding. Not only it it myopic (lets change the law to fit our current needs) but also it demonstrates the sort of leaders that we have.

  To add insult to Injury, the president and the prime minister are reported in the Daily Nation today to be seeking to establish a credible local tribunal to try the Hague 6 and others who can be implicated for atrocities during the Post Election Violence.

  Setting up a local tribunal is fine – especially since the Hague 6 were not by themselves. BUT CHANGING THE LAW/ WITHDRAWING FROM THE ICC for convenience is NOT.

  But to be truthful, in this case the finger is pointing at us: we are quietly allowing this to happen, moving about our business mumbling indignantly at the injustice of it all but not quite doing anything about it. We seem to have lost our collective voice and are unable to protest with any level of conviction. Maybe, we, like the politicians agree tacitly with the moves? Could it be?

  What I am wondering is: Where is the fury?

  What has happened to the organisations that would mobilise Kenyans to protest loudly at this impunity? Where is the Law Society of Kenya, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and all those other organisations that we believe are well placed to stand up for our rights?

  Where are the angry and usually loud voices for the people who stood up for Kenya? Where is Njoki Ndungu, Mutahi Ngunyi, Caroline Mutoko – even Francis Atwoli? What became of Civil Society?

  Why was Martha Karua (@martha_w_karua on twitter) a lone voice in Parliament?

  Well, one explanation that I have been given, is that many of these poeple, especially at the Law Society of Kenya and Civil Society in general, are keeping their heads down because there are numerous commissions and bodies that need to be set up according to the new constitution and they all are awaiting possible nominations and appointments into these commissions. No one wants to ruffle feathers and obviously create enemies.

  As a Kenyan, I have this sense of helplessness that makes ny sinuses cringe and tears come out of my eyes. Anyone there?

• Kenyan Pundit new Google Policy manager for Africa

  Posted: January 4, 2011, 1:30 pm by alkags

  The new Google Policy Manager for Africa

  The best news I saw while on holiday at the close of 2009 is that Ory Okolloh, better known as blogger Kenyan Pundit, is to be the new Google Policy Manager for Africa. This is very good news for Africa, because the former Executive Director of Ushahidi, truly is passionate about Africa and understands the issues for the continent.

  As we wish her well in the new role, it is important to state, on behalf of myself, that my expectations for that office of the Policy Manager for Google are high and that I will be watching with much interest.

  Congratulations, Ory!

• Electric Cars: is Kenya ready?

  Posted: January 4, 2011, 3:11 am by alkags

  Forget the major issues of availability of electricity and so on. Kenya, along with the rest of sub-saharan Africa, is among the countries that would most be affected by the whole question of Global Warming. Incidentally, the Kenyan middle class (and the East African middle class in general) is buying cars like never before – nationally, and most are imported.

  I am quite incompetent at discussing the intricacies of importing vehicles in Kenya – indeed Karuoro Waithaka (@karuoro) and John Wesonga (@jwesonga) are more competent as a matter of career and interest respectively.

  But having looked at these electric cars that we could potentially buy in 2011 courtesy of Business Inside (@businessinside), it occurs to me to wonder, is the Kenyan government giving any special benefits to people who want to import the more efficient cars and is it an issue among car buyers?

  I feel like we still pay lip service to the whole question of alternative energy – or we dont quite understand it.Nice to look at though – especially the car called Think, being built by some Norwegians

• VP invests in bandaid for IDPs this christmas

  Posted: December 22, 2010, 1:16 pm by alkags

  Kenya’s venerable Vice President, Kalonzo Musyoka today donated over Kshs. 7M worth of foodstuff to IDPs in Nakuru and Mai Mahiu as a christmas gift. While flagging off the trucks bearing the gifts in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park, the VP was filmed happily saying that there is more of such gifts yet to come from his foundation.

  This sort of gift is good. The internally displaced families (who have lived as refugees in their own country for three years!) will have food to eat and drink during the festive season and that counts for something.

  However.

  The Minister for Home Affairs, as Hon. Kalonzo happens to be, would have made so much more of an impact if he had joined Habitat for Humanity in building permanent houses for the internally displaced families (at a cost of about  280,000 per family) – meaning that he would have housed at least 35 families permanently.

  The point isn’t the VP. The point is  that all of us must begin to find sustainable ways to make a lasting impact on people’s lives. Instead of giving food stuff to IDPs, give them homes and they will take care of themselves. Because that is what they need more than anything else in the world.

  Instead of giving girls one-time handouts of sanitary towels, which they surely need, lets give their caregivers the means to buy them for years to come.

• Mummy time

  Posted: December 22, 2010, 8:01 am by alkags

  I woke up very early this morning – at 4am because I couldn’t sleep. My mind was so awake and so many varied thoughts were racing through my mind – ideas of all kinds floating around in an unstructured fashion (which is how they should). Since it became clear to me that sleep was going to continue being elusive, I decided to wake up.

  Going into the living room, I was a little surprised to find my mother awake and brewing a cup of tea – at 4 am. As it turned out, she has been rising at 4am every day and having a cuppa by herself everyday, just communing with herself, thinking things through and so on.

  So I joined her and this morning, she was looking through photos of her recent life – the recent family gathering – from my great-grandfather’s kids downwards (that had more than 400 people from all over the world!), to what she wants to do with the shamba to little memories to what we should do for christmas and who we should invite. Everything and nothing.

  And as we chatted quietly, I realised that my mother was happy and content. She was always feisty as I grew up, all the time aware of her troubles and the many things she needed to do to keep the family comfortable and now, she was quiet and easy to speak with.

  I am so lucky, I think to myself, to have a few moments before the world wakes up to talk with my mother about nothing in particular – something rare indeed.

  I’ll do that again tomorrow.

Al Kags

• el Bashir a blight in Kenya’s big day?

  Posted: August 28, 2010, 9:46 am by alkags

  Sudan’s leader Omar el Bashir was one of the dignitaries at Kenya’s rebirth ceremony – the promulgation of the new long sought after constitution. This has caused a stir both locally and internationally. In reaction, the International Criminal Court has reported Kenya to the UN security council for “action to be taken against Kenya”. US [...]

• I am so happy and renewed: my new Kenya

  Posted: August 27, 2010, 8:52 pm by alkags

  I am unable to efficiently proclaim my joy today as my country, Kenya is reborn. It is even more difficult to describe the feeling that I have of hope and optimism in our ability to drive progress and change for all future generations. I have generally always been like this – hopeful and optimistic but [...]

• Kenyan Oath of allegience – 27/08/2010

  Posted: August 21, 2010, 3:40 pm by alkags

  I ……………………….. Do swear allegiance to my Republic and the people of Kenya. I will be loyal to my nation, I will live by the spirit and letter of the constitution and our national anthem; to protect and promote the rule of law; I will never violate the rights of any fellow citizen; I will [...]

• Reflections of innovation in our normal world

  Posted: August 19, 2010, 1:09 am by alkags

  “The more things change, the more they remain the same” Much has been said about the new age we live in. Many people – myself included – have touted the current technology driven world we live in as a “new world”. It has often been suggested that the fundamentals of everyday living have been changed [...]

• Unlearning education for TRUE development

  Posted: August 4, 2010, 12:58 am by alkags

  I just had a conversation (for the umpteenth time) about the education and expertise of our generation and the need for de-education and re-education of our minds as young Africans as a means to fostering faster TRUE development in the continent. I was speaking with a student who works in a health institution in remote [...]

• Safaricom Listens: Innovation Forum

  Posted: August 3, 2010, 7:02 pm by alkags

  You will remember that recently I angrily wrote to Michael Joseph, the retiring CEO of Safaricom about the Safaricom Innovation Forum, because of its oppressive rules of engagement. It was nice to see Michael respond immediately and I was further honoured when he and his team decided to engage me further. On both those posts, I [...]

• Another one converted to blogging

  Posted: August 1, 2010, 4:47 pm by alkags

  So I’m a bit of a (rather obnoxious sometimes) blogging evangelist and i’m constantly trying to get my friends to blog. I think that there are so many amazing stories to be told about the most mundane of things… I fight the thought that i get when Ellie Wiesel says, “Some stories are true that [...]

• That’s all i’m saying

  Posted: July 28, 2010, 2:19 pm by alkags

  That’s all i’m saying.

• Michael Joseph Responds on Innovation Forum

  Posted: June 23, 2010, 5:19 pm by alkags

  Further to my email to Michael Joseph, he was quick enough to respond and say that they will review further what they have for the Innovation Forum. To begin with that he responded is halfway there because he has opened up the availability for conversation and input. I asked him whether I can publish his [...]

• Objection: Safaricom’s Innovation Forum

  Posted: June 21, 2010, 12:54 am by alkags

  Safaricom has made another first – as usual on top of their game. They have set up a platform for innovators to contribute to the universe of products that they could make available to their clients and that is truly laudable – the Safaricom Innovation Forum. Then I saw the Terms and Conditions and therein [...]

• Njoki Ndungu on Kiss

  Posted: May 26, 2010, 1:45 pm by alkags

  Tags:   
  Author insert a music with WS Audio Player.Download (Njoki Ndungu). This week, judges of the High Court made a ruling on a 2004 case challenging the constitutionality of the Kadhi Courts. The court’s ruling was that the Kadhi Courts section in the constitution (the current one) is unconstitutional. Yet another reason why I will be [...]

• Njoki Ndungu on Kiss ...

  Posted: May 26, 2010, 1:38 pm by alkags

  Tags:   
  Njoki Ndungu on Kiss

• Musing on youth development: are we on the right bus?

  Posted: April 24, 2010, 4:08 pm by alkags

  It turns out that Sonia and I are having a discussion on our blogs about Youth Development in Kenya – is the funding available appropriately used, are the designs of the programmes that are meant to support young people’s development appropriately designed, do we have an appropriately framed National Youth policy and more importantly, are [...]

• The African Speakers are there: look and you will find them

  Posted: April 18, 2010, 1:03 am by alkags

  Mariéme Jamme has wondered on her blog about where the great African Speakers are and I received a twitter message from @mwirigi to check it out and three emails from three people who thought that I might come forward. I don’t know why they thought so since I so rarely speak publicly but then I [...]

• Mutheu’s blog: A gem

  Posted: April 13, 2010, 2:27 pm by alkags

  Yaani today I looked at Mutheu’s blog (http://sweetfreshlove.wordpress.com/) and loved it!! She has really taken it on with honesty and verve that is just trully refreshing. Love it.

• Referendum will be a referendum of church’s influence

  Posted: April 6, 2010, 3:50 am by alkags

  Kenya’s parliament inadvertently passed the proposed constitution without any amendments – to the delight of many Kenyans. There was a general acknowledgement that while that document is not perfect, it is the very best that we can do at this point and the country should move to enact the new laws and move on with [...]

• The state and many other players have ...

  Posted: April 4, 2010, 3:39 pm by alkags

  The state and many other players have invested a significant amount of money in support of Youth Development. If you want to know more about what investment has been made and its import, My friend Sonia has been gnawing away at that specific bone for the last few weeks. In a fashion typical of workers [...]

• The tale of two Kenyas

  Posted: March 29, 2010, 8:20 pm by alkags

  This is Bollywood greatest star, Amitabh Batchan, reciting the anthem call of the new india driven under the Times of India led Lead India campaign. I feel like you can actually replace the word India with Kenya as you go. I have much to say about it. But no time just now. “There are two [...]

• I am late by two weeks, 54,000 ...

  Posted: March 28, 2010, 11:04 pm by alkags

  I am late by two weeks, 54,000 views and an internet tsunami later, but this is me recognising the power of the one Makmende. more one this in a minute

• No, David, let’s go with the Jua Kali ideas

  Posted: March 14, 2010, 12:24 am by alkags

  My friend David Ndungu has started blogging again. In his latest post, David comments on the PS, Dr. Bitange Ndemo’s remarks on local PC assembly are valid but problematic. He contends that the PS’s long standing remarks that Kenya needs to nurture and grow local PC assembly is a Jua Kali idea – an uncooked [...]

• Early Birds, Rose whisperers or a farce?

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 10:19 am by alkags

  Its 5.30 am and I have counted 15 young children lurking around the pre-dawn darkness. They are not the Pre-teen vice squad or vice mongers I don’t think. They, like me, are gearing up to go to the office, perhaps like me, cursing the day they were born. I count 6 buses. I’m thinking there is [...]

• This is a test message for blogging from MS word

  Posted: March 1, 2010, 4:49 pm by alkags

  Word 2007 is a real treat. I just want to see now if I can blog from within here.

• Reasoning seasoning (the floetry not the person, Floetry)

  Posted: February 22, 2010, 11:48 am by alkags

  Your reasoning is as sound as a well oiled machine a mustang at steady gallop on a moar, a more throaty roar at the speed of light. I wish I had seasoning instead the tangy bittersweet memory making salad that is tossed among stinging nettle and sweet smelling roses the thud-thud-thud of the machine behind [...]

• Choice Mchongoano

  Posted: February 22, 2010, 11:46 am by alkags

  In Black America they have Yo Mama jokes, in Kenya we have Mchongoano. I don’t know what they have in the rest of the world but this particular dig made my day today: “Ati jogoo yenu iko lazy mpaka ya neighbour ikiwika ‘kokoriokoooo!’, yenu inasema “same.” (Your rooster is so lazy that when the neighbour’s rooster [...]

• Hilarious (and NASTY) prayer!

  Posted: February 16, 2010, 4:54 pm by alkags

  Lord, Last year you took my favourite musician Michael Jackson… My Favorite comedian Bernie Mac… My Favorite actor David Carradine… My favorite actress Farrah Fawcett… This year, I just want to let u know my favorite Politicians are KIBAKI, RAILA and RUTO..

• Avatar: What is it?

  Posted: February 8, 2010, 3:54 pm by alkags

  Is it a movie, an animation or a cartoon? What is its genre – sci-fi, action, thriller? And what is it about? The future? The present? The past? I work for the best office in the world. My Colleague, who heads the Arts & Culture programme took one glimpse at avatar and hounded all of us [...]

• Youth Opportunities: Do we really gitch?

  Posted: February 1, 2010, 10:09 am by alkags

  I have just noticed this job announcement by KEPSA for managers who will oversee component two of the Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP) – which I am hearing about for the first time, I admit. I consider myself generally a fairly up-to-date person in an “average Joe” and in many ways (including my age) a [...]

• What a successful week! 3 new bloggers

  Posted: January 29, 2010, 9:08 am by alkags

  In a previous post I alerted you on the existence of two new bloggers Sonia and Karyn, who have started after a lot of evangelism from me. Now I find that also Mutheu has started!!! Now that is a week well done…

• Oracle Sun: The end of Open Source as we know it?

  Posted: January 28, 2010, 12:04 pm by alkags

  It occurs to me (after a spell of burying my head in some sand) that Oracle has bought Sun Microsystems (who in turn had bought MySQL)It occurs to me (after a spell of burying my head in some sand) that Oracle has bought Sun Microsystems (who in turn had bought MySQL). I have several issues [...]

• Blogger Alert! New blogger on the block

  Posted: January 27, 2010, 2:46 pm by alkags

  I want to say that I am very proud of my friend and colleague, Sonia Rasugu who has started a new blog after say 3 months of blogging. I recently vented my frustration at leaders and experts not blogging. At work I have been pestering my colleagues to blog and telling them that it is [...]

• Demonstrations and Terrorism: in pursuit of (elusive) objectivity

  Posted: January 17, 2010, 7:04 pm by alkags

  On Friday this week, after the Jum'ah prayers, muslims in Nairobi held a demonstration seeking the protection of the rights of the Jamaican controversial cleric, Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, who has been reported (see article as far back as 2003) to promote racist and religious fundamentalist views and who has a result, has been deported several times and denied entry into many countries because of his inflamatory views. But is he the issue really?

• When I grow up, I want to be Randy Pausch

  Posted: January 16, 2010, 1:13 pm by alkags

  Watch this and you will understand why.

• A vitz is not a car – How consumers brand

  Posted: January 12, 2010, 6:43 pm by alkags

  If anyone ever doubted that branding matters and that it is done – not by the brand manager but by the people – then one needs to visit twitter and search for #avitzisnotacar. “you change gears in a vitz like you change in a mountain bike.” “How to paint a Vitz, dip in a buchet once and [...]

• The Power of the network

  Posted: January 12, 2010, 4:28 pm by alkags

  Listening to John Chambers, CEO of Cisco in this video, on this subject, I am inspired. But I am also a little discomfited. I have this feeling of “the Matrix” taking over. But watch and learn.

• Getting the environment right.

  Posted: January 12, 2010, 2:37 am by alkags

  I am privileged to be part of a wonderful team that is the Friends of Karura Forest, that is seeking to make that forest – which runs from Muthaiga past the UN headquarters in Gigiri and Runda and that covers Kitisuru and Ridgeways on either side. The dream that we are working towards is to make [...]

• Meeting with Ted

  Posted: January 10, 2010, 7:37 pm by alkags

  Today I ith Ted

• Mew article

  Posted: January 10, 2010, 7:35 pm by alkags

  hsbhiofzdfhianzdhu vfiAihvb

• David Miliband: Please clarify for me the following

  Posted: January 10, 2010, 11:38 am by alkags

  I think very highly of the UK Foreign Secretary, by the way. A government official who blogs regularly is one who sits on the right side of my heart. That said, I would love to get straight answers from David Miliband on two issues – in simple straightforward, non-political language. Hon. Miliband (or as I would [...]

• in response to David Milliband

  Posted: January 10, 2010, 11:27 am by alkags

  I read UK Foreign Secretary,  David Miliband’s comments on Zimbabwe that he wrote in November last year and found myself a little miffed by the impotent tone it takes – as if the UK can only be an innocent bystander watching the BBC World news  and calling on someone to do something, in the way [...]

• My Anchor

  Posted: January 9, 2010, 12:10 am by alkags

  i know her on so many levels she is my anchor, when i am in the deep blue sea and my captain can see no way to keep me; the sail that catches the wind beneath my wings and keeps me flying when all engines fail; she is my radar that keeps me in the clear blue and not [...]

• Outstanding shot on The Constant Gardener

  Posted: January 3, 2010, 2:24 am by alkags

• 1000 word rant: we live in wild times.

  Posted: December 31, 2009, 3:00 am by alkags

  Nairobi Kenya; 31 December 2009 “I never saw a wild thing feel sorry for itself. A small bird will fall frozen from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.” – DK Lawrence. We live in wild times. We live in the age where the word may have gone full circle. In Somalia, young men, many [...]

• Leaders Must Blog honestly if they want to Lead. Simple.

  Posted: December 29, 2009, 11:37 am by alkags

  I woke up this morning and was spooked to find two messages from two leaders – one, a leader in the public sector and the other a popular business leader – saying that in 2010 they want to blog more and that they shall look to me for help. I am a blogging advocate. I advocate [...]

• Last night I cried

  Posted: December 28, 2009, 7:14 pm by alkags

  Last night I cried. My tears flowed freely and as they did my bondage tightened and I was more powerless, purposeless, restless. Last night as I cried, my sobs shook me to wakefulness and I saw my predicament more clearly and felt my impotence more profoundly. Last night I cried and cried. And cried. But I was still in [...]

• She’s dancing in the wind

  Posted: December 15, 2009, 5:46 pm by alkags

  (Originally published 10 August 2006) It was time. She was alone. She has lived well. Her dress is long and white Her dreadlocks are long and tied. The light slowly comes on and she knows he’s here The time to dance has come. She’s ready. Her skin is glowing and her spirit is willing She smells nice today, she feels good today He [...]

• Antacid

  Posted: December 11, 2009, 7:29 pm by alkags

  Like the famed flames of the jehanum, That they ferociously sing about In Kibera, Kisumu ndogo and Majengo Like the angry, piercing glare of the sun That makes minds wonder and bodies falter In Lokitaung, Garbatulla and Tarba Not unlike the penetrating, soul bearing stare Of the great departed Lenana, Kimathi, Kenyatta Who saw your past with a fleeting glance Oh crap. As I burn [...]

• I want…

  Posted: December 11, 2009, 10:17 am by alkags

  I want… Listen to me, You blankfaced, unquantified, unnamed stranger, I want… Why don’t you look at me You uncaring, unknowing, faceless acquaintance? I want… I dare not ask you, My true, longlasting, long standing, long suffering friend, I want… Money.

• when I grow up

  Posted: December 1, 2009, 8:32 am by alkags

  You could say a lot about him. He’s always been a little slow, mentally. He does what he’s told unless he is so told in a disrespectful way. He is fast approaching 40 but he has the mind of a teenager and his experience is just that. But you know, he’s the only man I [...]

• Invitation: Launch of Living Memories

  Posted: November 9, 2009, 2:31 pm by alkags

  Friends, We shall be launching my book, Living Memories, with an on-stage rendition – Living Memories on Stage, This Wednesday 11th November 2009 at the Louis Leakey Hall at the Nairobi Museum. The event is organised by The Nairobi Museum in Collaboration with Storymoja. Gate fees: Kshs. 400 About the book: LIVING MEMORIES Living Memories is a [...]

• learnings from living memories

  Posted: October 14, 2009, 10:32 am by alkags

  This can be thought out more and perhaps articulated way better but someone asked me a question this morning which prompted me to place this answer as to a couple of my learnings as I research the book and think about what it means. So I am putting it here for whatever its worth. AK —– start [...]

• The age of the superstar leaders

  Posted: October 11, 2009, 2:43 pm by alkags

  One worries that the world is going from fickle to extreme fickle in how it handles its issues. With the global economic bust, the world reconfigured itself and has now the opportunity to be “sensible and responsible” – both considered bad words by my generation. One of the best things that the world saw happen, [...]

• What’s good about your Africa?

  Posted: October 4, 2009, 9:07 pm by alkags

  Sometimes when we are talking about Africa, we forget to notice the good things that are ongoing – and only talk about what is going wrong. Yes, the questions of governance and so on are necessary to discuss, even focus on. But if we forget to celebrate when we do right, we shall then be [...]

• Will there be literature in Heaven?

  Posted: October 4, 2009, 6:58 pm by alkags

  I was wondering about something. Can literary people praise? I have heard it said on numerous occasions that literature thrives in despondence, trouble and carnage. A bout of pain, yields eloquence in poetry; a disaster here or there gives rise to treatises and commentary; from a corrupt government, satire will thrive… and so on. But [...]

• kenya original! to licence porn or not?

  Posted: October 1, 2009, 8:03 am by alkags

  I spent time in traffic today, sitting in my air conditionless car baking in the solid heat. As I sat there in a less than good mood, traders walked up and down the highway selling their wares to the unmoving traffic. From toolboxes and wipers to pictures of jesus carrying a lamp on his shoulders [...]

• what we were and what we are

  Posted: September 28, 2009, 9:00 pm by alkags

  A couple of days ago I spent a stimulating evening with my grandparents and we got talking about their parents – particularly my grandmother’s father, who died many years before I was born and of whom I know little. Somehow, the conversation turned to morals and of girls in particular of the time and I [...]

• finally, wordpress on blackberry

  Posted: September 27, 2009, 8:23 pm by alkags

  I have finally been able to install wordpress on my blackberry after many many trials. So trying it out….

• Meeting culture our way

  Posted: September 9, 2009, 11:17 am by alkags

  What is it in our culture that makes us do some things in our professional life? We don’t keep diaries and so on the day of the meeting we have to call each other up to re-confirm that we are meeting otherwise we completely forget?

  We then spend the first half an hour waiting for one person or the other, “let’s give them another five minutes” – as we discuss the politics of the day. Its so bad that if you want a meeting for 5.30 you invite people for 5. We even develop a vocabulary for that: “5 for 5.30,” we say.

  And then when we do meet, the meeting goes on for 3 hours with all manner of discussions – including Ali’s failure and the reasons behind his move as we discuss the office alarm system, Mau, Ruto and Raila as we discuss the landscaping of the back garden – all peppered with little anecdotes about our growing up in some rural area or other!

  I remember someone mentioning to me that in Japan meetings are held while standing. They start on time and a three hour meeting in Kenya would take 15 minutes there.

  But then there is the fact that we use those to catch up on each others life and to insert the colour of African stories in each other’s worlds.

  Maybe its not too bad afterall? Or maybe it is but, “who cares!”

  Al (having a meeting with myself in the car in traffic!)

• Slam Poetry

  Posted: August 22, 2009, 5:52 pm by alkags

  Tags:   

  http://www.alkags.com/Documents/audio/slamaugust09.mp3

  I Performed this yesterday at the Slam Africa Callenge.

• Leadership Thoughts

  Posted: August 19, 2009, 6:11 pm by alkags

  Occassionally, I spend some time with members of my team and share some of my own learnings with them as part of a leadership mentorship model. I figure that if I empower them to also take leadership and to shine, then they will remember me when they become my bosses in future or at the very least, they will be successful leaders that will have been mentored in part by Al Kags.

  Today, I wrote on my favoured white board some of the lessons I have picked up on leadership and I thought it a good idea to share them here as well, for what its worth.

  (Its all in points form – a tree if you like)

  Leadership

  • Initiative
    • Taken not given
    • Even when given, it must be taken
  • Deliver
    • Get things done. Period.
      • on time
      • on budget
      • on scope (plus value)
    • Never have excuses
    • Take Full and Complete Responsibility until you get the desired outcome. When you seek input follow it up to completion
    • Always find solutions and offer them
    • Use your judgement always
  • Communicate Always
    • Describe clearly and simply the concept
    • use only necessary words – enough to convey and illustrate the idea without boring or goring people.
    • Do not over prove
    • When there is a problem, take ownership and offer solutions
  • Pause
    • listen
    • Think.

  BONUS POINT: Use 48 laws of power, Lao Tzu, Sun Tzu and Proverbs

• Living Memories has a site

  Posted: August 8, 2009, 10:05 pm by alkags

  I have finally set up a web site for my new book, living Memories. Do visit it and have a look at excerpts from the book, what others have said about it and comment on what you feel should be done. living.alkags.com

• Exit: Innocent, Enter: man

  Posted: August 8, 2009, 5:56 pm by alkags

  It’s a cold night. I’ve just finished watching this romantic comedy that’s not exactly, a joke. I’ve watched a transition quite like that transition between boyhood and manhood, where the veil of innocence drops (not so) gently and gives way to the tough skin of cynic malevolence.

  I recollect the path that I have come these many years and I feel my own romantism come away. I find that while I once was a believer in the noble, I am now certain of the opposite. There is no great truth, no prize, no happy ending.

  Its a far cry from something I wrote as a youth, an ideal I steadfastly held onto, even when everyone said it was a lie. I was the high priest of the value of the possibility. I was the great Don Quixote. It was possible, whatever we imagined with our minds. If we only invest in people, this world would be a great place and you would earn every respect from them. Wars need not happen and there is no justification for murder, adolatry, sin.

  Sadly, I have no veil to cover my face now. The turban must come off my head. The beads that cover the large holes in my ear jangle as I (finally) look up.

  Now, I discover, I am fallible, and naked and only just a man.

• Living Memories

  Posted: August 6, 2009, 2:20 pm by alkags

  Finally, my book, called Living Memories is out, published by Storymoja. The book, which is a collection of stories told by old people aged over 65 years old of what their lives were like in the colonial eras – specifically the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

  The book was first presented at the Nairobi Storymoja Hay Festival and was well received.

  Book is available in bookshops around Nairobi and on Amazon in a few days.

• Eight steps to mediation: my education

  Posted: July 17, 2009, 8:37 pm by alkags

  Today, I had the opportunity of watching conflict resolution at its best from a man, whom having known and worked with him only a few weeks, I have gained an enourmous respect for. He clearly is a learning man, a wise man, who in the use of his knowledge and experience has acquired an eminent quality about him.

  The setting was a hot, dry, desolate village in Mwingi, on your way to Ukasi, which is the last frontier town before Garissa and the vast northern frontier. The village, 20 or so kilometres off the highway was a collection of measly shops that basically opened in the morning and in the evening; has a market day once a week and is generally desolate with a few old men sitting in the shade listening to an AM radio channel, a few goats and chicken and little else going on.

  The general facts of the case were generally simple: a community NGO that constituted of several community based organisations was in the middle of serious wrangles as one of the founder chairpersons had been found as a result of an audit to have presided over some misused funds. The NGO, which until the last few months had a sterling record of accountability and was attracting the support of numerous donors, was falling apart as there was a bit of a coup, where the chairperson was ousted and outwitted and she was generally in disgrace.

  In her fight to protest her innocence, the chairlady had had a property bungled and generally manhandled and her life had been threatened by the outraged villagers. All in all, it was a fairly emotional conflict, in which the NGO officials had involved the donors through letters from both sides claiming that they were the right office holders.

  I was part of a team led by my colleague, Gladys, to go and see whether the community can be assisted to come back together and move on with the projects that had stalled in the wrangles. And here, my colleague, Tom, showed me what conflict resolution and mediation is about.

  We met in the District Officers compund with the twenty-odd people seated on rickety benches and stools in a circle, which my colleagues, myself and the chief completed under an acacia tree.

  This is what I learnt:

  1. Listen keenly, but listen for the issues, not the stories/ details
  The two chairpersons, the old and the new, both gave a chronology of where the organisation had come from before the group. We listened keenly, but I soon noticed from Tom’s notes that he was listening out for the major issues and not the detail. So instead of noting the accusations, for example, he noted that the NGO had a constitution and that the people had not been following it or referencing it in their actions.

  2. Use the priviledge of your being an outsider.
  What Tom did, is that after the leaders had spoken and given both sides of the story, he quickly took control of the meeting and gave his observations, nary allowing anyone to interrupt him as he went.

  3. Take a positive approach and focus on what points that are agreed
  Tom basically stayed away from the accusations and counter accusations and instead focused on the areas that the different groups agreed upon. He did this by asking leading questions that ensured that they would all say emphatically “yes” to. For example, “Do you all agree that this organisation has a constitution that should be followed?”

  4. The issue is a small one
  Since everyone had agreed up until this point to all the questions put forward, Tom then said, “So we agree on everything except one or two minor issues. And they are so small that we shall have resolved them in a minute or two.” By this time, everyone had relaxed and there was the occassional smile.

  5. Let’s agree to move forward
  Having given background that they all agreed that the organisation was doing good work, that they agreed on almost all the issues and so on, Tom then asked them to agree that they must look to the future and not at the past because “good things were in the future”. Of course, everyone said yes. Tom then said that on the basis of the agreement bygones were now bygones and if everyone did not agree, then they would have to be specific as to what they wanted done and not look at history.

  6. Delicately deal with the issues, always being positive, always facing forward
  The people around the table quickly noticed that they had been cornered to not discussing the actuall points of conflict and laying their accusations on the table and hesitatingly pointed them out – not too strongly because they had already agreed to get along.So apologising profusely, people would say, “I know we agreed that we shall not look at history, and really the issues that were making me angry were very small. It was only that she went and did not consult us and did things from far away… but I apologise for even looking back at the past we have resolved to leave behind. Looking forward is my goal…” and so on and so forth. And a response would be given in the same stance, with many neutral people emphasising that we have agreed to look forward and history must be left behind.

  7. Have a token ceremony to commemorate successful resolutions
  As the people began to speak in congruence, Tom said, you see, we are going to agree in a minute and to show that we have agreed I have brought two bottles of water for each of us to sip from as a sign of our agreement.”

  8. Help.
  The issues that Tom had identified had a lot to do with governance and he then proposed as a way forward key steps to resolving them, and he promised them key technical assistance such as helping them craft a strategic plan that they can work towards.

  9. Find a clear way forward and a firm timeline
  Finally, based on positive sentiments all round, Tom proposed with a firm but gentle voice that the team implement the agreed way forward in a specific time and report within that time that they were ready.

  Following that, people drank soda (the water promised) and the meeting was quickly brought to a close, as hands were shaken all round as everyone seemed to get along. Of course follow up will be key.

• When I grow up…

  Posted: June 29, 2009, 12:36 pm by alkags

• 16 days… and its a revolution!!

  Posted: June 26, 2009, 6:59 pm by alkags

  Well, its been 16 days since I had a new team and boy! do these guys have spirit! We have been working at least 16 hour days – and they haven’t complained (which they easily could have) – for the last 16 days – including saturdays.

  And we have achieved a great deal these past 16 days.

  Its great to have a team like I do. Here’s to Mbiu & Mutheu.

• Thank God I’m a man 2

  Posted: June 23, 2009, 4:13 pm by alkags

• Thank God I’m a man.

  Posted: June 23, 2009, 4:09 pm by alkags

• Working Fast and Well

  Posted: June 22, 2009, 4:57 pm by alkags

  Today I had a long conversation with my colleague in communications about how it is not enough to do the best that you can. In today’s world, winning requires speed and effectiveness.

  Too many times we spend time struggling to do the best work that we forget that time is of the essence an therefore spend too much time agonising on fine tuning things that we need to finish and move. To this extent, we come close to analysis paralysis.

  What is worse is that sometime – in many cases, we end up not doing the best because whet we did requires such drastic redoing that perfection is elusive.

  My colleague, Simon of the Mbiu ya Mgambo blog and I agreed that, we shall agree with ourselves to be crazy and do things fast and well – not necessarily perfection but well.

  Perfection, is in many cases as a mirage – elusive.

• How now Negative news???

  Posted: June 20, 2009, 3:10 pm by alkags

  It simply infuriates me when I see the newspapers putting positive news in hidden inconsequential places and negative new in front and loudly.

  The Daily Nation today has an article that Kibaki and Raila have joined forces to push Agenda for through by the end of the year. The article goes furtherto say that ties between the two have been building in the last three months and that they were working together more and rallying their supporters behind the cause.

  WHY IS THAT NEWS ON THE BACK PAGE??

• It looks like i’m sad but I’m not.

  Posted: June 10, 2009, 11:56 pm by alkags

  It looks like i’m sad but i’m not.
  Sure, I wanted more from you, the
  best that you could be now, the suit,
  and the mindset to match, the flight,
  and the sassy style to catch, but you
  got yourself in this way and i sighed, and now,
  it looks like i’m sad but i’m not.
  i’m happy with you, because I know that,
  you will be the best that you could be, and
  fly and sing and shine because you are,
  the best that I know you to be, I know
  you are going to win the race, though
  alone, you will no longer run, i shall
  let you.

• am talking to catherine

  Posted: June 10, 2009, 9:54 am by alkags

  about blogging and its

• Eliminating Hunger: What think you?

  Posted: June 6, 2009, 2:46 pm by alkags

  Eliminating Hunger: ensuring food security – film presented at the DFID conference

• My first Blog post on ScribeFire

  Posted: June 6, 2009, 2:37 pm by alkags

  My first post on scribefire.

• I am proud of my madaraka.

  Posted: June 1, 2009, 6:01 am by alkags

  Its 4 something in the morning and its Madaraka day. On this day many years ago, something happened at Uhuru Gardens that was magical for people. The Union Jack went owdown and the Kenyan flag went up – and just like that, Kenyans could from then on make decisions about their destinies and what they want to be in life. For a lot of men and women, that day was the day that they could finally exhale the fear that had been resident in their hearts for decades, It was the day that they could finally stop being worried about whether they were free to walk the streets, or till their land, or have Nyama Choma with their families. Finally, they had madaraka.

  That first Madaraka day was very much like the day that a young man or woman moves out of his or her parents house to their own little bedsitter to start their own household. It was similar to the day that a father, or mother finally gave their child their own key to the house so that the starry-eyed youth could come home and go as he pleases. That day, spectacular as it was, was like the day that a young couple first take charge of their home and begin to define the way they and their future families will live.

  All these decades later, we have celebrated Madaraka day, keeping a firm eye on that first Madaraka day and remembering the victory of the time – in a word, freedom.

  And yet, all these years later, we are still grappling with our sense of identity and we are still telling ourselves in a preachy, insincere way that we are capable of forging our way into the future. We have television shows that are geared towards making us proud to be Kenyan by tapping on the old stories that reside in the museums and the statues. It is as if our sole reason for being was to attain our freedom.

  Perhaps that is the point. So our ancestors fought for freedom for all these years and many of them were killed, many more gave up their homes and all of them lost the comforts of home and family so that we could attain self governance. The question is, so that we could do what with that freedom?

  My our freedomwn take is that that freedom was worked so hard for, so that we could speak freely – not only of the problems that we have, but also to celebrate our successes and achievements. It was so that we could congregate openly and without being curtailed, so that we could agitate and activate for our rights, but also so that we could fellowship with one another, enjoy each other’s company and have fun.

  In other words, our gift of self governance – and our Kenyan-ness by extension – was achieved so that we can labour freely and with enterprise and thereafter enjoy the fruits of that labour. Too often, we hear the statement made, that we should be proud to be Kenyan and historical reasons are given as to why that should be. With all due reverence and respect to the founding fathers and mothers of our nation, it is all very well that their sweat and blood was shed to attain for us to have Madaraka. And there is a cause for pride in their sacrifice. Just in the same way that I am proud of my parent for having done all that he and she could to ensure that I grew up drug free, educated, healthy and of sound mind and judgement. But such historical reasons are increasingly fragile as reasons for me to be proud to be Kenyan.

  I am proud to be Kenyan. Because in Kenya we have the most amazingly designed matatus in the world – the only ones of its kind. I am proud that the boys in rugby have excelled globally and the lads and lasses in athletics have made me famous for speed (even though I cannot run any distance very fast myself). I am proud that I live in a place that is clearly developing – although in a very canternkerous and chaotic way. I am proud that Kenya is beautiful but I am more proud of the people that wake up early everyday and make sure I can eat comfortably, walk securely and on cleaned paved roads.

  I am proud that Kenyan women are the most beautiful in the world and Kenyan young people are the most enterprising – despite having little to no support from the business and political class who make heavy rhetoric on youth matters. I am proud that I have an opportunity to serve my people and then adjourn to the bar, where I can sample choice Choma.

  That pride is not from my ancestors but could not have happened were it not for those people who were adults in 1963. But while I pay homage to them this Madaraka day, I shall toast my everyday self for being a hustler.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Of Private Battles and Publicity

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 3:00 pm by alkags

  Farrah Fawcett is battling with anal cancer that has aggressively spread and in what she calls her private battle she is having to go through chemo, radiation and much more.

  Being as sick as I am lying in bed watching Larry King as they chronicle Farrah’s battle, I wonder whether it is appropriate for us to have such a public discussion about her illness.

  Of course there is something to be said of a star being a star to the end and there being something to say for the learning of the illness that others will have, but it cannot be the best, surely.

  I wonder.

• Men come together and pray.

  Posted: April 29, 2009, 8:06 am by alkags

  Today I was in Church – mavuno Church for Gideon’s Torch, a fellowhip that they have there for men. I feel so good to have gone for it and keep the company of God and other men.

  I had been meaning to go there for a long time and I had not succeeded to wake up. Today, I did. I am so glad I did.

  Men who like to keep God’s company should make some time to go.

• buzz, buzz, buzz

  Posted: April 25, 2009, 2:51 pm by alkags

  Buzz, buzz, buzz,
  help me please,
  i don’t want to fuss,
  but she won’t do what I please,
  i’ve held her when she was a fuzz,
  when afraid, I gave her a kiss, 
  now she wants to buzz,
  away she wants to flee

  then I don’t know what i has.

• Simple rules: How to work, when you don’t like your job.

  Posted: April 21, 2009, 6:10 pm by alkags

  I was asked today on my Facebook page, what one should do if they dont like their job very much. I thought the question was interesting because I suppose many of us get to start feeling that at a certain point.

  My response was and is (and this is not easy, I can say from experience), as follows:

  1. Shine. Do your job the very best you can. produce the best possible results expected. Wow your boss – even if they do not show it or appreciate it.

  2. Start looking for another job. Look hard. Look quietly, but look hard.

  3. Do your job the best that you can. Make your boss look good as you do it. Since you know you will be moving o sooner or later, don’t bother with getting the glory or having the appreciation of your boss. They will know you were valuable when you are gone. Maybe.

  4. Do your job the very best that you can.

  5. When you find another job, give notice, finish your tasks and handover amicably everything that you owe. If you have debts for the company, write them post dated checks or work out a payment plan.

  This is invariably true: Your boss, regardless of how highly you think/thought of him, will never value you as you should valued. They will never care as much as you would like them to. They will never be your friend until you are their level – and they need something from you.

  You know when things are not working – when the chemistry isn’t their. Could be your fault, could be theirs. Who cares? Just move on and leave negative baggage there.

  Note the emphasis.

• Connected Government: the nirvana

  Posted: April 6, 2009, 6:28 pm by alkags

  This last week we had the Connected Government Summit in Mombasa, a forum that had the objective of bringing Permanent Secretaries, CEOs of parastatals and other government strategic level officers together to meet with private sector to discuss partnership.

  The partnership agenda is one that has been close to the heart of the Kenya ICT Board, where I spend my days. The premise is that it is only through synchronized collaboration that transformation can truly occur in the country in the country.

  What I call synchronized transformation would essentially look like this:

  First the government agencies would collaborate to understand the underlying issues from a service perspective: not so much what the ministries’ functions are but the services that people are looking out for. For example: I want to register a company that will own a hotel that will be built in the Amboseli national park and its rooms will be built on trees.

  The Narok County Council (ministry of Local Government), Ministry of tourism, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, ministry of environment and public works are all involved in some way. These organisations would work together to develop a project that would be an online/ mobile interface for me to make the necessary applications and go through the processes – assigning them to the relevant offices without my needing to know where the applications need to be.

  They would then as a group interact with the large private sector companies (Cisco, Microsoft, HP etc) who would form a coalition and bring in the necessary international consultancy expertise to ensure that the solution is a globally competitive one.

  Once they agree on the solution design, the private sector coalition would bring in their local partners to the table to be involved in the implementation – in order to build their capacity for large scale transformation projects of this nature.

  Of course this is but only one way that these partnerships can be developed but the point is that synchronized collaboration is the way to go with the partnership agenda.

  The people who were there agreed on important key points – and deloitte is working on the full report which can then be shared across the country – and these are:-

  1. Private Sector & Public Sector agree that they can work together in a structured way to implement transformation projects in Kenya.

  2. The Public Private Partnerships regulations gazetted on March 10 2009 provides a structured framework for Private sector and public sector to work together.

  3. Many of the projects have not been fully conceptualized fully – the opportunity is there.

  4. A mechanism for understanding citizen needs is going to be further developed by the private sector players present and public sector players present to work together.

  5. The Summit recommends that the PSs adopt a project management office (PMO) that will bring together all projects in government to ensure cohesion of the projects.

  6. The private sector and the private sector has agreed to work together to establish a Local IT economy by buiilding the capacity of smaller companies and by working with them in the PPP projects.

  This is an exciting time.

  I propose that you buy from the Government and read the gazetted regulations on PPPs that were published on March 10th this year.

  I would also suggest to the various ICT Communities that for the engagement to work at a high level, some collaboration is necessary for them – they should work together in an association. These from my perspective would include:-

  1. The local integrators and vendors
  2. local computer and phones assembly
  3. Programmers and developers
  4. etc.

  This would bring things together nicely.

  Related blog post: http://paulkukubo.com/?p=79

• Connected Government: the nirvana

  Posted: April 6, 2009, 6:28 pm by alkags

  This last week we had the Connected Government Summit in Mombasa, a forum that had the objective of bringing Permanent Secretaries, CEOs of parastatals and other government strategic level officers together to meet with private sector to discuss partnership.

  The partnership agenda is one that has been close to the heart of the Kenya ICT Board, where I spend my days. The premise is that it is only through synchronized collaboration that transformation can truly occur in the country in the country.

  What I call synchronized transformation would essentially look like this:

  First the government agencies would collaborate to understand the underlying issues from a service perspective: not so much what the ministries’ functions are but the services that people are looking out for. For example: I want to register a company that will own a hotel that will be built in the Amboseli national park and its rooms will be built on trees.

  The Narok County Council (ministry of Local Government), Ministry of tourism, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, ministry of environment and public works are all involved in some way. These organisations would work together to develop a project that would be an online/ mobile interface for me to make the necessary applications and go through the processes - assigning them to the relevant offices without my needing to know where the applications need to be.

  They would then as a group interact with the large private sector companies (Cisco, Microsoft, HP etc) who would form a coalition and bring in the necessary international consultancy expertise to ensure that the solution is a globally competitive one.

  Once they agree on the solution design, the private sector coalition would bring in their local partners to the table to be involved in the implementation - in order to build their capacity for large scale transformation projects of this nature.

  Of course this is but only one way that these partnerships can be developed but the point is that synchronized collaboration is the way to go with the partnership agenda.

  The people who were there agreed on important key points - and deloitte is working on the full report which can then be shared across the country - and these are:-

  1. Private Sector & Public Sector agree that they can work together in a structured way to implement transformation projects in Kenya.

  2. The Public Private Partnerships regulations gazetted on March 10 2009 provides a structured framework for Private sector and public sector to work together.

  3. Many of the projects have not been fully conceptualized fully - the opportunity is there.

  4. A mechanism for understanding citizen needs is going to be further developed by the private sector players present and public sector players present to work together.

  5. The Summit recommends that the PSs adopt a project management office (PMO) that will bring together all projects in government to ensure cohesion of the projects.

  6. The private sector and the private sector has agreed to work together to establish a Local IT economy by buiilding the capacity of smaller companies and by working with them in the PPP projects.

  This is an exciting time.

  I propose that you buy from the Government and read the gazetted regulations on PPPs that were published on March 10th this year.

  I would also suggest to the various ICT Communities that for the engagement to work at a high level, some collaboration is necessary for them - they should work together in an association. These from my perspective would include:-

  1. The local integrators and vendors
  2. local computer and phones assembly
  3. Programmers and developers
  4. etc.

  This would bring things together nicely.

  Related blog post: http://paulkukubo.com/?p=79

• Fibre!!!

  Posted: March 9, 2009, 9:25 am by alkags

  Kenya is finally connected via Fibre Optic Cable. Seacom Engineers are currently working to connect the undersea cable to the national grid. 

  For those of us who work in ICT and who have been saying, it is coming, it is coming, this is a big joy. The next few weeks will see local companies being able to roll out new products with more bandwidth at lesser rates - I know that mos marketing managers are working overtime right now to put things together for this. 

  Sigh. What Absolute Joy.

• Its out turn to eat: the return of fear? or just fear of libel suit?

  Posted: March 4, 2009, 11:24 am by alkags

   (Pic:Amazon.co.uk) The Book by Michela Wrong has cause trepidation among booksellers in Nairobi.

  This is a open letter by Philo Ikonya about the return of fear in Kenya. I wonder what the bookshops are afraid of - or what we should be afriad of. I am yet to hear of any bookshop being  persecuted for reading the book Its our turn to eat by Michela Wrong about John Githongo’s ecapades as he blew the whistle on one of Kenya’s biggest scandals.  I want to say, that when I find it, I will buy it. When I buy it, I will read it. I will read it wherever I can - in public and private and I will not hide. I am a firm believer that we do not need to fight the same wars that Kenyans had to fight in the eighties and the nineties for our freedom to read what we want and say what we want.  I dare anyone to try and prove me otherwise by curtailing my right to read the book. I will not hide the book. I will not be afraid of anyone. Don’t be afraid to be seen. Don’t be afraid to be heard. Don’t be afriad to know. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN: THE REASON On the other hand, I have just learnt that the issue that is causing fear in the book sellers is actually LIBEL. There is a legal precedent of booksellers being sued for propagating libelous content. In the Kipyator Nicholas Kiprono Biwott vs Clays Limited and Ors (Civil Case No. 1067 of 1999) [2000] KEHC 2 (20 December 2000), Nicholas Biwott was paid $125,000 by Bookpoint Ltd., for selling US Ambassador Smith Hempston’s book that contained what the Kenya High Court found to be libelous content against him.  Unless the booksellers had proof - or a court of law found the issues raised in the book to be true - booksellers in Kenya, who operate under Kenyan legal jurisdiction would have difficulty selling the book. Suggestion therefore: [www.amazon.co.uk] Speaking to me, a bookseller explained that the considerations that he has to make are commercial. “Why should I insist on selling a book like this one that will make me a couple hundred thousand shillings, and risk being sued for millions by one - or more - politicians who would claim to be libelled?” ____________ The Letter by Philo Ikonya____________
  Dear All,   I am sharing this in order to seek advice, opinions, ideas of actions, thoughts even on the law in Kenya as it stands about books ….please let’s think together online and share and act.

  John Githongo, who inspired the book, Its our turn to eat

  I am aghast, and so is International PEN Kenya Chapter, at the return of fear in our bookshops and bookshelves both at home and in our streets. It is not acceptable in a country in which we have so vehemently defended our various freedoms that John Githongo’s book-Our Turn To Eat By Michela Wrong, whose genesis we all know so well and a book which has content that tells us so much more about our quagmire in graft should be a hush hush affair in terms of availability for those who would like to read it. After all, if it is a matter of spilling beans.. both the beans and the broth have been spilt all over the world… who is still feeling overly sensitive even about the BBC tapes.

  Michela Wrong, British journalist who authored the book

  This book must be easily available to all Kenyans if only just to see the different angles of the cancer of corruption that remains the single most important factor that requires our focus so that we can have even a ‘good’ constitution. The days of fear of expression are long gone. The book should be available and those who want to take legal action can do so….

  I visited a friend who had it and would not disclose in which place it was available for fear of consequences even to me who is not a stranger to the person. I have seen a news item backpage of  Daily Nation recently telling us that bookshops are afraid to stock this book for one main reason- past legal suits that cost them up to the amounts of 10m for apparently stocking books that they say defame, almost always politicians.   I am not going to buy this book secretly from a shelf or from a friend and am not going to pretend that I do not have it in my house when and if I do because that will be abdicating my space to fear. I will not make do with reviews and even serialisations…I will not be afraid of reading it on a bus as someone else told me. What I want is to see this book being freely sold in Kenya. If the book cannot be placed on bookshelves we would like to know why and who said so. Someone owes us an explanation and we deserve it as much as those whom I saw demanding apologies and taking rather stern stands on an explanation about why the Standard was raided on 2nd March (JM’s day) three years ago.   sincerely,   Philo Ikonya President International PEN Kenya Chapter

• Inside Kenya’s remand prisons - so similar to colonial days!

  Posted: February 24, 2009, 2:32 pm by alkags

  Despite the encouraging news about improved conditions, Kenyan prisons still have a long way to go. This verbatim account narrated to AL KAGS by an inmate who spent 12 days in the Industrial Area remand prison, Nairobi, explains why.

  (originally published in the Standard in 2004)

  “1911. Kenya Prison Industrial Area”

  Inscribed at the entrance to the Industrial Area Minimum Security Prison nearly a century ago, these words remain defiantly legible. We drove into the imposing gate of the prison at 5.30pm on January 9 in a dark green “Maria” (prison lorry) with a metal-sheet panelled chassis except for small lofty meshed window.

  I stood at the back of the lorry along with the other ‘inmates’, our hands barely managing to hold on to the window mesh for support. If I think of it, I doubt that I could have fallen even if I held on to nothing; we were so deftly packed that one could not move an inch. The whole atmosphere in the back of that lorry — a smelly, sweaty, dirty conglomeration of arms, legs and bodies of various builds — still sends shivers down my spine.

  We alighted under tight security and were hurriedly prodded, pushed and pulled into a small compound made of concrete slabs. Looking around me, the word “colonial” sprung quickly to mind. Orders were barked and there was more prodding and shoving by officers in differing uniforms — some in the standard prison uniform (light brown top and trouser with a green belt and black boots) and others in jungle green combat jackets and greenish brown trousers and boots.

  I found that we were to be sorted and counted and I quickly learnt the meaning of a new word: Kapa. It reminded me of Pavlov training his dog and discussing conditioning thereafter. So there we squatted in several rows, five men to a row, to enable the warders perform a headcount.

  Remand section

  We, the inmates, were from court, and had to be separated at that point. Those who had been found guilty and sentenced were to go to the prison side of the complex and those whose trials were still pending were to be shown to the remand section. I belonged to the latter group. We were sorted in these categories from the records, which again made it clear that many of these warders still had issues with reading and writing.

  After the complex sorting exercise, we were herded into the main compound and activity area of the prison. A burly and very smartly dressed officer was there to meet and welcome us. Obviously he was of some higher rank than the rest. He was very composed and almost seemed nonchalant — like he had done this very often and he was going to say and do the same things he has said and done over and over.

  The officer asked us to “kaa kama mabusu” (sit like prisoners) — Kapa! As before, we squatted in rows of five men each. The new lesson regarding this manoeuvre is that it has to be done with the maximum of speed. A slow man would be encouraged with a blow or two.

  I doubt the welcoming officer (he did not introduce himself) would have had any significant impact in my memory except when he clearly stated that “mambo ya jela hayawezi kubadilika” — that the age old practices of jail cannot change. He reminded us that the Industrial Area Prison was erected in 1911 and, as we must have heard outside, not much has changed in terms of conditions and practices. He talked of the food, how inmates are handled, and the general concepts of human rights as a waste of time and energy for us to try and nose about. So in that way, we knew about the horrible food, poor sanitation and mistreatment of inmates by warders.

  Who were we to change anything that no one has bothered about since 1911? He posed the question and fell theatrically silent — to allow us to ponder over the question and let it sink. The officer then admonished us to concentrate on our pending cases — of complainants and witnesses and attending court as required.

  It was about 7:30pm when we were moved to the remand halls. I was shown into J8, a large rectangular hall with mattresses — or more accurately some semblance of bedding arranged everywhere. A cop standing by the open heavy metal door guarded the people. When I eventually walked in, I did not realise that I would not see the sun again for nine days.

  When things finally settled down, I began to examine my new surroundings. Sure, there was life in the room but one would be more accurate to call it that. Here was humanity trying to survive. There were about 150 men in the room; some were asleep, some all smiles and seemingly comfortable, and still some all too obviously mentally unsound. It was clear that most of the residents were at some stage of one disease or another. Space was definitely an issue.

  I had read in the press that things were a lot better in the Kenyan prison. The Minister in charge of the prisons, fondly called Uncle Moody, had delivered thousands of beddings to prisons around the country. We watched news about new mattresses and beddings, and even a television set, delivered to the prison and we were assured that the same was done in prisons across the country.

  I found very old pieces of blankets and worn-out mattresses as thick as foolscaps were scattered around the room. Indeed, the floor was bed for many.

  I was to quickly discover that there is thriving commerce in remand. Whatever little there was in the remand cell (hall is more like it) was for sale. I was quick to learn that with money one can live a very nice and comfortable (sic!) life in a GK prison.

  According to prison rules, to have possession of money is illegal in there. But there is a well-co-ordinated money trade that goes on inside the prison. There is a system to things. Since money is necessary to have in there, it is smuggled in with the help of the guards. They take 25 per cent of whatever amount is brought for the prisoner by his relatives outside. The money is handed over by the guards to the senior inmates who, less their levy, hand it over to the prisoner. Some-times the prisoner receives no money at all.

  The money is used primarily to get better food from the kitchen in the evenings. For Sh50 or Sh100, one gets a good quantity of better quality food smuggled in from the kitchen by the prisoners who work there. In addition, because of the scarce bedding, most inmates get to sleep on the bare floor. To sleep on the threadbare mattresses — in the area called “state house” — one needs to cough about Sh1,500 and you have it for the entire time you are there or you could rent it at about Sh100 or so a day.

  One learns before too long how to get money smuggled in and how to hoard or hide it and buy special food from the kitchen.

  Rude awakening

  I had hardly settled in when some of the men, all well built and obviously familiar with the system, demanded to have my spectacles. Interestingly, they immediately began to hassle over who among them deserved to have the spectacles. It was escalating to a full-blown war. Not wanting to be involved in the brawl, I handed the glasses over to one of the men who put it on immediately — and then quickly removed them in shock. I happen to have very bad eyesight and my specs are of high specification. It is painful for a person of normal eyesight to keep them on. They were returned to me immediately and no more interest was shown in me.

  Sanitation

  There was an awful smell in the air and I recognised it from my earlier sojourn at the Kilimani Police station cells. It was the miasma of stale urine, body sweat, an unattended toilet and dirt. Since I was pressed to relieve myself, I walked in the direction of the stench.

  I ended up in a room that had about four toilets and a broad sink. Pools of water or urine were all over the floor. I tried my best to walk on the dry spots on the floor knowing fully well that this was the war-zone of disease. The mess got worse with every step I made closer to it. The moment I walked into the loo, my urgent need to relieve myself vanished.

  I found the sewerage system must be obsolete or non-existent in the room. I later learnt that water was extremely scarce in Industrial Area prison and in other prisons as well. Cholera, dysentery and other stomach based diseases were commonplace here. Such was the shock to my system that I never once felt the urge to relieve myself. I wondered what happens to those who have to be in remand for months and even years. Do they have some sort of switch-off mechanism that allows them to preserve themselves or perhaps they acquire the strength to ignore the abominable environment enough to do their thing?

  No medical attention

  I remember an incident that happened while I was there: There was a man, about 6ft tall and very slim who had been sick for about five days. His absence from “Kapa” was noticeable. He was curled under his blankets most of that time, sick and hopeless. On this particular evening, he was found in the toilets face on the dirt and in the puddles having very strong seizures. We dragged him back to “bed” and tried to keep him warm. At the same time we yelled for the warders to come over and help.

  We called and banged on the door, “Afande! Afande! Mtu anakufa hapa! Saidia”! (Warder! Help! Someone is dying here!). The men in other cells heard our cries for help and joined in. For 30 minutes we called in a united bid to save a life — all 600 or so of us on two floors of the building. I have never heard such a racket in my life.

  Eventually, a corporal swung the door open and found us huddled around the dying inmate.

  “Mnataka nifanye nini” (What do you want me to do)? he sneeringly asked. Take him to hospital, someone replied. He looked at us with a disgusted look on his face and left. Much later, he commissioned four men to carry him out. Rumour has it that he died that night.

  About three people died of congestion and illness every day I was there.

  There is a news-mill much like the rumour mill of Nairobi that lets inmates of both remand and the prison know about these incidences. News of a death always flew about when it happened. Most of the deaths happen in prison where the convicted felons are kept not in remand.

  I firmly believe now that he that sends you to a Kenyan prison is in fact condemning you to die surely, gradually and most painfully. There is no such thing as rehabilitation. The notion that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty is not in practice. This was remand not prison.

  That first night I spent crouched by the wall, not sleeping, just watching. I stayed awake most nights with short periods of disturbed dozing until sometime early in the morning, when a bell would sound. We all would arise and rush to “Kapa”.

  Typical Morning

  The morning “Kapa” session is as interesting as it is chaotic. A stampede ensues at the sound of the bell as all prisoners in the room rush to squat in their place. Many fall and are trampled in the rush. The men are all shouting at the top of their voices at the same time and it is a confused and panicky environment to be in at the time. In less than a minute, though, everyone is in position and at “Kapa”. The sile-nce once the rows of five are complete is palpable.

  Prayers usually followed the Kapa session. Several men loudly shout their prayers asking God to come to their rescue, as if to ensure that their prayers get out of the mostly unventilated room. They sing and clap vigorously with bold and selfless faith early in the morning before falling to their knees and offering their heart-rending prayers.

  I once shed a tear in observing the seemingly very sincere manner in which they called upon a father that is not seen. I am sure that if I was God, I would grant their wishes quickly considering how moving the whole scene was.

  Many men cry early in the morning. It may be the realisation that morning has come and they are in gaol — that it is not a dream.

  Food

  Breakfast is always porridge without sugar. The porridge is very light and lumpy and it was always undercooked. We queued in long lines and waited for our turns to be served. Somewhere along the line, one is handed a metal container that looks like it can carry a healthy serving of a meal. My hopes for a good amount of porridge were dashed on the first day after a tiny amount was poured into my metal container. One finds oneself nursing the little porridge with a lot of care and attention.

  Lunch is ugali and vegetables or ugali with beans. The ugali is just porridge left to harden and it is lumpy and uncooked. I hear that it is cooked partly with the brawn that is a by-product of maize milling. One can taste it and see it in the uncooked lumps. Nonetheless we ate; it was that or death from starvation.

• Oh, Frustration

  Posted: February 24, 2009, 10:09 am by alkags

  We complain constantly in Kenya that we are bringing up a generation of people who have difficulty reasoning. We blame the education system, the politicians, the government and “the establishment” (whatever that is) - anyone but ourselves.

  It occurs to me that one other person that we have neglected to blame is ourselves. In recent days, I have been trying to encourage a CEO friend of mine to blog - as a way to communicate his thoughts and ideas and influence thinking. Sure enough, he said, lets set it up!! And we did.

  Since last year, he has been unable to put anything on his blog despite the fact that a lot of lessons and experiences are coming his way.

  I wonder: is it that we allow ourselves to get complacent in passing along information because we do not value the contribution of our ideas and experiences in the apprenticeship of future generations to support a better, transformed future for our people?

  As I sigh and give in to the idea that it is unlikely that my friend will actually in fact blog regularly - or perhaps even do a memoir - because of its low priority in his larger scope of things, I wonder how Africa’s values of documentation will improve in order to influence her leadership of the world.

  I wonder what the way to inspire African professionals and leaders to write more and document more their ways of thinking to support the growth of the body of knowledge that will stimulate innovation, prosperity and a better culture in future generations, because that is the larger issue.

  In the old days, especially before the advent of colonialism, the body of knowledge was passed on from generation to generation through a culture of apprenticeship, oral literature and so on.

  Sigh.

• Is it unreasonable…

  Posted: February 19, 2009, 1:35 am by alkags

  … to see more discussion on what we want in Kenya rather than what we don’t want? I’m afraid, I have been very unclear lately about whether Kenyans have a vision for their country - as opposed to only identifying what they don’t want.

  I am aware that I am lonely in speaking in this vain and I am perceived by some to be unsupportive of the efforts to have a more accountable leadership. This is fine.

  I do feel though that there is a subtle difference in meaning between wealth creation and poverty alleviation. Or between the Kenya I don’t want and the Kenya I do want. Or between the leader I don’t want and the leader I want. I feel that not enough has been said by Kenyans to our leadership with regard to how we Do want them to behave and what we Do want them to achieve and where we Do want them to take us…

  And if it has been said, then it has been drowned out by the voices of the kind of leadership we Don’t want and how we Don’t want them to behave and what we Don’t want them to achieve. I feel that I have not seen specific goals from any citizens that our leaders need to attain - you know specifically rather than generalisations that amount to “be good”, “work harder” or “behave yourself”. I wonder whether what these generalisations mean is assumed to be obvious to all.

  I do know that we are spending (both leadership in parliament, media and citizenry) way too much time policing each other to see that we so not steal, that we do not do the wrong thing and so on, that we have slowed almost to a crawl in the move towards transforming Kenya and her people to a prosperous, gainfully employed and positively oriented country.

  Is it unreasonable to want to see more positively framed arguments from Kenyans - such as what we want to achieve as a people and then laud those who achieve it so that others can aim to be more like them and we can get the services that we desire? Can we not create in ourselves a condition of positive affirmation as a nation - find reasons to build each other up rather than pull people down?

  Is it unreasonable to expect the pundits in the Kenyan middle class to be better informed about the things that ARE being achieved (because if there were none, the Kenya would be another Somalia) and positively offer intellectual direction towards the place Kenya needs to be so that the political class can develop the language and tone that it needs to have in order to lead this country to the next level?

  Is it unreasonable to expect that the wonderfully talented writers, can decompose these positive affirmations and visions into wonderfully woven words that form the tapestry upon which our society begins to imagine a new Kenya and how they can get to it? Can this not be done through stories and columns and opinions?

  If positive affirmation has been known to transform previously negative (lazy, bad attitude oriented) people to highly positive and productive individuals, can our society not achieve the same?

  I believe so. Am I alone?

  (::::: Additional edit in response to keguro :::::)

  I agree that we must acknowledge that sometimes, we don’t hear or read or pay attention as much as we should. I expect that this is true for me.

  I wonder, though, if Utopia isn’t in fact what we must steadfastly aim for - especially those of us in the intellectual class? And therefore that our yearning and dreaming and visioning and speaking on the Kenyan that we Do want should far outweigh the rants and criticisms of the Kenya we Don’t want - so that when a general search on Google blogsearch of “kenya” would yield more positive affirmation rather than negative criticism?

  I wonder if the cerebral class of Kenya should not (deliberately so) be as fervently focused on the Kenya that we Do want rather than the Kenya that we Don’t want - much in the same way that many christians
  make efforts to focus on their yearning for God and Heaven even when the devil and hell are significant factors weighing upon their faith?

  I submit to you that the progress that we shall see as a country resulting from this change of tone and focus - even from our leadership, media and citizenry shall be phenomenal. I go further to suggest that a keener focus on Utopia would lead to a straighter-standing-higher-head-holding populace in Kenya.

  Drawing a parallel (which I must be careful to do, being less intellectual than most), I submit to you that Barack Obama was able to become America’s first president because he was able to sell to them the “change that they could believe in” (in there, the desired state of the nation) rather than “the situation that they must not be in” (in there, the undesired current situation).

  I am suggesting that a change in tone can yield better results.

  After all, we have been riding on the criticism train for close to fifty years that we have been governing ourself. Why should we expect different results from ourselves or our children (who by the way, are
  learning that the way to survive in politics is to know how to manipulate the system and navigate past the criticism-driven, intellectual-led leadership input from the public)

• Scandals define me. Not!

  Posted: February 18, 2009, 3:57 pm by alkags

  I wonder if Kenyans have not developed an unhealthy disrespect for the country’s institutions. When one reads the paper on a daily basis, one finds that the tone with which Kenya discusses Parliament, the
  presidency, the cabinet, the police, the army, the judiciary and the civil service, is distinctly flippant and - I dare say it - disrespectful.

  It would seem that Kenyans have decided that the few hundred thousand civil servants in various offices are lazy, nincompoops who spend their days either stealing public resources or reading the paper - or running their own businesses. There is a decided suspicion that we have cultivated a suspicious disposition towards these people, who work for the public.

  Of course, there is something to be aid in that the reputation that civil service have got is earned over years of paper-reading-personal-business-running-public-resources-looting-extrajudicial-killings-perpetrating
  practice. But I wonder now, whether it is a majority of the civil servants, who are corrupt and lazy. I wonder if it is not the few whom we yell about and give a lot of media coverage that have slapped that reputation on the rest of the civil service who go about the business of public service with dedication?

  As we focus on the elements that stole maize, I wonder if there isn’t a majority there, who have worked hard, checking, carrying, storing, weighing, transporting and distributing that maize to the needy people in the way that they are supposed to without stealing and without mismanaging our resources?

  As we focus on those deplorable elements in the police force that I
  watched in KTN last night killing a suspect in cold blood, isn’t there something to be said for the anonymous copper who followed the rules and conducted careful and thorough investigations and made proper arrests - and despite the offer of a bribe did his job?

  Those who work in the media will be familiar with the principle, “if it bleeds, it leads”. No stories are interesting if they don’t have dimensions of theft, death, intrigue - the makings of holywood movies. The news themselves are organised so that they will feed our natural inclination to see the worst in ourselves and those around us. So reporters spend inordinate amounts of time seeking the juiciest of stories, filled with intrigue and harrowing details of anguish, ignoring as they go the news that would allow us to say, this is a great country to be.

  My particular line of thought at this point does not purport to defend the honour of that silent majority of the civil service who are prejudged until they do something to fit their mould. I am going through a chicken and egg argument that is trying to understand - which came first? 

  Through our offhand lamentations of a corrupt civil service, a political class filled with thieves and so on, even in front of children, we have inculcated in ourselves and our children such a healthy disrespect for the institutions and the offices that serve us, that it is not implausible to argue that these qualities then make the office.

  A senior civil servant that I met in Garissa yesterday asked me, “I don’t steal public resources and I have a lot of opportunity here in the forgotten north. But no one would believe me anyway in Kenya so why should I remain true to my calling - especially if I shall not be recognised for what I do - and on the contrary I’m assumed to have stolen - or to be a thief in waiting?”

  Why indeed not, I wonder. The conditions in which civil servants in the north eastern province have to execute their work - providing security to vast spaces filled with armed clan feuds, little to no water, and a hungry populace is not an easy one. But then when you and I make an off-hand remark, or take the tone that “ah, civil servants are lazy and corrupt,” do we not include him?

  When our children grow up, and all we have told them is how not to be, neglecting to tell them to be like so-and-so, who is an upstanding politician, or civil servant, what will they do with the offices in the civil service when they get there?

  Incidentally, it must be said here that all countries have their scandals - including Obama’s US (remember Illiniois recently? or Guantanamo bay?) but these scandals do not come to define, the nature of whole groups of workers in the US government - in the same way that maize scandals, Anglo Leasing, Triton fuel scandals, Goldenberg, drugs scandals, and the extra-judicial murders by trigger happy police cannot define those of our people - and they are our people - who wake up at 4am because they live in housing they can afford far from their stations and brave the journey to their offices and dedicate their day in the service of all Kenyans.

  No, those scandals - significant and atrocious though they are - cannot define me or my people.

• More respect for grass. The solution for food security.

  Posted: February 15, 2009, 12:00 am by alkags

  I have long held that in the search for competitiveness for Kenya, we must come to the point of admitting that the traditional sources of national income - agriculture, tourism and pastoralism - will not be the source of Kenya’s competitiveness. But there is something to be said for basic national subsistence - or food security in a phase.

  It was mentioned to me this evening that a healthy respect for grass may indeed be Kenya’s and Africa’s long sought solution to food security. 

  Its like this, the harvesting - and nurturing and storage of grass is the key to ensuring the survival of our cattle. I was told today that when it rains, grass grows very fast. It is recommended that the grass is cut (before it grows seeds), collected, dried and stored for use in the dry months. Ideally, people who deal with cattle must inculcate the culture of storage of the fodder - enough to last them for long periods of time when there is drought or shortage.

  Scientific thought has been given this subject, it was suggested to me: Cattle in their grazing are quite wasteful. If the grass were cut and stored and taken to the cows in a controlled environment, a great deal of grass would be saved hence increasing efficiency and health of the animals.

  The manure from the cattle would go a long way in strengthening farming where farming is a stronger economic activity and therefore food security would be faster achieved.

  Food for thought?

• Demo

  Posted: December 9, 2008, 12:58 am by alkags

  Test TEST

  Test Yourself

  If you still can’t see the changes you made, and the file is in the right place with the right name, and you are sure it’s the right file, then go through these steps:

  1. Make a backup of the file you are working on and check that the backup is in a safe place.
  2. Make a big change (such as setting the background in your style.css as #ff0000 or even red).
  3. View the changed web page in your browser. Make sure you clear the cache to be sure you have the new version.
  4. If nothing changes, delete the file (and only that file) from the server and try to view the file again. If nothing continues to change, you and WordPress are looking at completely different files. It’s time to get out your detective hat and start tracking down what is going on and where your files went to.

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes