Re: digital villages excitement!
warigia bowman
I think you could just go to Sagana, There is enough good and bad stuff going on up there that you could report on it.
or baringo/eldoret/nakuru would be very interesting. we are here to support you.
Yours, wmb
Hi Warigia,
Its been a tight few weeks here, haven’t been able to do something on digital villages mostly because of the travel involved.
Just touching base to say I’m still keen on it.
Regards,
Terryanne
From: terryanne chebet [mailto:tch...@royalmedia.co.ke]
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2011 10:56 AM
To: 'warigia bowman'; 'dv-pr...@googlegroups.com'
Cc: 't.ch...@gmail.com'; 'wain...@madeinkenya.org'
Subject: RE: digital villages excitement!
I’m really looking forward to doing this.
Thanks for all the insights.
TC
From: war...@gmail.com [mailto:war...@gmail.com] On Behalf Of warigia bowman
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2011 3:09 PM
To: dv-pr...@googlegroups.com
Cc: tch...@royalmedia.co.ke; t.ch...@gmail.com; wain...@madeinkenya.org
Subject: Re: digital villages excitement!
Thanks Wainana
As always, your comments are really on point.
Yours, RigiaOn Sat, Sep 3, 2011 at 1:21 PM, Wainaina <wain...@bungesms.com> wrote:
Where the rain started beating us.......
1). TELCOS & DVs
“For the last three years we have been talking about rolling out digital villages in the country but it has not picked up due to delays in financing that we were to get from the World Bank. However we have now asked the telecommunication operators to roll them out as a way of meeting the universal access Fund obligation”, said Bitange Ndemo, information permanent secretary at CCK. (April 2010) - http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2010/04/kenya-rolls-out-digital-village-project
*The problem with the above approach by Dr. Ndemo is that the telcos such as Safaricom have not helped to build any digital villages in Kenya. Giving a Safaricom marketing poster and a router (for use in subscribing to Safaricom's internet service) does not constitute support for Digital Villages. Some of the DVs listed by Safaricom are only places they have passed through to sell their idea but no support has been offered - not even a router and a poster.
2. Pasha Community Online - http://pasha.co.ke
I appreciate the work by the two over-worked officers at the ICT Board but the hurriedly crafted Pasha website - http://pasha.co.ke/ - is not up to standards. It comes up as dishonest effort to cover-up the failure to deliver.
The same apparently dishonest approach has been used by Safaricom has they respond to queries on the project. Going back to the first statement by Dr. Ndemo, we need a change of policy. There should be no exemption of telcos such as Safaricom or others etc from the Universal Service Provision Fund on the basis of them implementing DVs or such other programme.
Regards,
Wainaina
On 9/1/11, warigia bowman <war...@aucegypt.edu> wrote:
> Dear Terry
>
> Here is what the story actually looked like.
>
> You can also find an article I wrote on the promise of digital villages many
> years ago.
>
>
>
> Rigia
>
> **************************************************************
>
> Dear colleagues
>
> Here is an article I wrote which appeared in Smart Company in the Daily
> Nation on Tuesday. Victor Gathara and I will be writing a more comprehensive
> report in the coming months. I had put in some compliments to the ICT Board
> staff and the Safaricom staff, but those were edited out by the nation.
>
> Yours, Rigia
>
> BY WARIGIA BOWMAN
>
>
>
>
> Plans are afoot to improve access to computing and Internet infrastructure
> in rural Kenya, thanks to an initiative between the government and the
> private sector. In April 2010, the ICT Board, which is part of the
> Ministry of Information and Communication, promised to connect each
> constituency by setting up a digital centre, complete with five computers
> and Internet connectivity, under the Pasha Centres programme.
>
> Kupasha is Kiswahili for “to inform”. The Pasha Centre project is being
> supported by $4 million (about Sh36 million) in revolving World Bank funds
> administered by Family Bank.
>
> Indeed, the Kenya Communication Amendment Act 2009 stipulates that the
> Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) should levy telecoms operators a
> universal access fund of one per cent of their total revenue to be used for
> rural connectivity.
>
> Access to portals
>
> According to the regulator, 90 per cent of Kenya’s 6.4 million Internet
> users (2010) are in Nairobi and Mombasa. Both the digital villages and the
> pasha centres are to offer services such as access to government portals
> like NSSF, identity and driver licensing services, Teacher Service
> Commission information, HELB loans and information on farming, as well as
> access to e-health and e-learning.
>
> This all sounds fantastic and exciting... on paper. Unfortunately, the
> reality on the ground is different. A multi-sectoral group of academics,
> private sector consultants and civil society activists have visited 20 per
> cent of all pasha centres in Kenya, as well as 15 digital villages, over the
> past two months.
>
> What the group found is a matter of concern to anyone interested in rural
> connectivity in Africa.
>
> The number of digital villages and pasha centres that are actually open for
> business is only a fraction of the reported total. The ICT Board provided
> the research team with the list of all approved centres.
>
> Only 37 have actually been approved, although each of Kenya’s 210
> constituencies is entitled to one. Of these, only two in the sample of 10
> had actually received all of the money awarded to them and had opened for
> business.
>
> In addition, Safaricom provided the research team with a list of 147 digital
> villages, not 500. On the list of 147, the identifying information was
> incomplete and vague.
>
> The team visited pashas and digital villages in Malindi, Embu, Meru,
> Muranga, Maragwa, Nyeri, Isiolo, Samburu, Oloitoktok, Machakos, Wote and
> Mbumbuni. It was, however, yet to visit and evaluate pashas in Western,
> Kisii and Nyanza regions.
>
> Overall, the conditions in the ICT Board run pashas were better than those
> in the Safaricom-run digital villages, although the pashas also needed
> improvements.
>
> Owners were, on the whole, fairly well educated IT experts, good
> businesspeople and visionaries. The two pashas (Mbumbuni and Maragwa) that
> had actually opened offered a range of services, including photocopying,
> printing, typesetting, printing photos, browsing and IT training.
>
> Most of the centres had heard of e-health and e-learning, but did not
> really know what these terms meant and had received no training from the ICT
> Board in these areas, although the topics were mentioned at one training the
> pasha owners received in late May.
>
> Further, owners had little knowledge of what government services they could
> offer other than the registration of KRA pin details and downloading of
> police abstracts. Most had received little or no support regarding branding
> and marketing, and one of the open facilities was making a serious financial
> loss.
>
> However, it is easy to criticise and hard to build. In that spirit, here are
> some constructive suggestions.
>
> First, the MOIC, CCK and ICT Board should work together to implement the tax
> of one per cent on all telecommunications operators this year.
>
> Based on a quick back of the envelope calculation, this will amount to
> approximately Sh4 billion per year. Part of this money should support extra
> staff on the pasha centre project.Right now, there are only two people
> working on the pasha project at the ICT Board.
>
> Second, tariffs must come down. Every pasha owner and digital village
> operator we spoke to said tariffs were too high. Indeed, the ICT Board had
> promised pasha operators free connectivity for a year.
>
> Regardless, operators and digital village operators must be given highly
> preferential rates by telecommunications operators.
>
> In addition, pasha owners and digital village operators need support and
> training in marketing, branding, and proper use of government portals.
>
> Owners need to be sensitised on the wealth of information with regard to
> farming and husbandry, including Kenya Seeds, www.infonet-biovision.org,
> icow, and www.nafis.go.ke.
>
> Finally, Safaricom should expand the resources it invests in each digital
> village.
>
> There are many other reforms needed, but if the government and
> telecommunications operators can pay attention to these few suggestions,
> Kenya can attain true rural connectivity.
>
>
>
> Dr Bowman is an ICT expert in the American University, Cairo
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:49 PM, warigia bowman <war...@aucegypt.edu> wrote:
>
>> Hi terry
>>
>> The article came out in smart company tuesday and has caused an uproar.
>>
>> I hope you are still going with the story.
>>
>> I am also going to send you notes from my meeting with safaricom!
>>
>> Rigia
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 28, 2011 at 11:30 AM, warigia bowman
>> <war...@aucegypt.edu>wrote:
>>
>>> stay in touch and check out democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
>>>
>>> Yours, Rigia
>>>
>>
>>
>
On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:53 PM, warigia bowman <war...@aucegypt.edu> wrote:
Dear Terry
Here is what the story actually looked like.
You can also find an article I wrote on the promise of digital villages many years ago.
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1621502&show=abstract
Rigia
**************************************************************Dear colleagues
Here is an article I wrote which appeared in Smart Company in the Daily Nation on Tuesday. Victor Gathara and I will be writing a more comprehensive report in the coming months. I had put in some compliments to the ICT Board staff and the Safaricom staff, but those were edited out by the nation.
Yours, Rigia
BY WARIGIA BOWMAN
Plans are afoot to improve access to computing and Internet infrastructure in rural Kenya, thanks to an initiative between the government and the private sector. In April 2010, the ICT Board, which is part of the Ministry of Information and Communication, promised to connect each constituency by setting up a digital centre, complete with five computers and Internet connectivity, under the Pasha Centres programme.
Kupasha is Kiswahili for “to inform”. The Pasha Centre project is being supported by $4 million (about Sh36 million) in revolving World Bank funds administered by Family Bank.
Indeed, the Kenya Communication Amendment Act 2009 stipulates that the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) should levy telecoms operators a universal access fund of one per cent of their total revenue to be used for rural connectivity.
Access to portals
According to the regulator, 90 per cent of Kenya’s 6.4 million Internet users (2010) are in Nairobi and Mombasa. Both the digital villages and the pasha centres are to offer services such as access to government portals like NSSF, identity and driver licensing services, Teacher Service Commission information, HELB loans and information on farming, as well as access to e-health and e-learning.
This all sounds fantastic and exciting... on paper. Unfortunately, the reality on the ground is different. A multi-sectoral group of academics, private sector consultants and civil society activists have visited 20 per cent of all pasha centres in Kenya, as well as 15 digital villages, over the past two months.
What the group found is a matter of concern to anyone interested in rural connectivity in Africa.
The number of digital villages and pasha centres that are actually open for business is only a fraction of the reported total. The ICT Board provided the research team with the list of all approved centres.
Only 37 have actually been approved, although each of Kenya’s 210 constituencies is entitled to one. Of these, only two in the sample of 10 had actually received all of the money awarded to them and had opened for business.
In addition, Safaricom provided the research team with a list of 147 digital villages, not 500. On the list of 147, the identifying information was incomplete and vague.
The team visited pashas and digital villages in Malindi, Embu, Meru, Muranga, Maragwa, Nyeri, Isiolo, Samburu, Oloitoktok, Machakos, Wote and Mbumbuni. It was, however, yet to visit and evaluate pashas in Western, Kisii and Nyanza regions.
Overall, the conditions in the ICT Board run pashas were better than those in the Safaricom-run digital villages, although the pashas also needed improvements.
Owners were, on the whole, fairly well educated IT experts, good businesspeople and visionaries. The two pashas (Mbumbuni and Maragwa) that had actually opened offered a range of services, including photocopying, printing, typesetting, printing photos, browsing and IT training.
Most of the centres had heard of e-health and e-learning, but did not really know what these terms meant and had received no training from the ICT Board in these areas, although the topics were mentioned at one training the pasha owners received in late May.
Further, owners had little knowledge of what government services they could offer other than the registration of KRA pin details and downloading of police abstracts. Most had received little or no support regarding branding and marketing, and one of the open facilities was making a serious financial loss.
However, it is easy to criticise and hard to build. In that spirit, here are some constructive suggestions.
First, the MOIC, CCK and ICT Board should work together to implement the tax of one per cent on all telecommunications operators this year.
Based on a quick back of the envelope calculation, this will amount to approximately Sh4 billion per year. Part of this money should support extra staff on the pasha centre project.Right now, there are only two people working on the pasha project at the ICT Board.
Second, tariffs must come down. Every pasha owner and digital village operator we spoke to said tariffs were too high. Indeed, the ICT Board had promised pasha operators free connectivity for a year.
Regardless, operators and digital village operators must be given highly preferential rates by telecommunications operators.
In addition, pasha owners and digital village operators need support and training in marketing, branding, and proper use of government portals.
Owners need to be sensitised on the wealth of information with regard to farming and husbandry, including Kenya Seeds, www.infonet-biovision.org, icow, and www.nafis.go.ke.
Finally, Safaricom should expand the resources it invests in each digital village.
There are many other reforms needed, but if the government and telecommunications operators can pay attention to these few suggestions, Kenya can attain true rural connectivity.
Dr Bowman is an ICT expert in the American University, Cairo
On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:49 PM, warigia bowman <war...@aucegypt.edu> wrote:
Hi terry
The article came out in smart company tuesday and has caused an uproar.
I hope you are still going with the story.
I am also going to send you notes from my meeting with safaricom!
Rigia
On Sun, Aug 28, 2011 at 11:30 AM, warigia bowman <war...@aucegypt.edu> wrote:
stay in touch and check out democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
Yours, Rigia
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