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August 05, 2008
23:41
Protecting ICT consumer interests
From: REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG

Read This Entry & More At REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
Who is an ICT consumer? A friend of mine asked. Hmmm….. had not thought about it that way, but I guess it refers to anyone who is an end user of ICT services and products.

Is the CCK capable of protecting consumer interests as well as those of big telcos? That was another question I could not answer, because it is only the regulator who can answer and or demonstrate its capability.

Its disempowering to know that we all have complaints against providers at one time or another but lack the proper mechanisms to channel them. Why has CCK not made adequate use of technology, why not have an online forums or blog in its site that we can rant and pour out the frustrations?

I think someone needs to tell CCK about the call completion rates and the call drop rates because I do not think the guys there do a good job of monitoring the GSM companies.
I recall they bought some equipment to measure the call drop and completion rates at some point, I think its two years ago, but it seems it has not been put to proper use.

22:23
The Price of Passion
From: Words Much Like Poetry

Read This Entry & More At Words Much Like Poetry
NOTE: This is a previously published work (Mom Writer's Literary Magazine - Online Issue, Spring 2007). It was written a number of years ago, at perhaps the lowest point in my life. I would like to share it, though (as it was my first publication, I'm quite proud of it). It was written in a style which is completely varied from the tone I now use in my poetry, so please forgive the few revisions I have made. To view the poem as it was originally published, please visit
[www.momwriterslitmag.com].

Thank you!

is this the price of passion,
a life filled with remorse, needless struggle and all-consuming pain
a life filled with self-pity, self-loathing and never-ending strife?
i grieve for what never was and what shall never be.

what has my life become?
a river of tears that scathe my face with their heat,
their constancy,
i am alone in my fears, alone in my pain,
alone in my strife

he caused it, little one.
caused the stress, the tears which sap my strength
robbing me of any chance that i had of being a real mother.
where does that leave me?
i have become my mother's daughter,
and no amount of tears, of shame
can cause the man that is your father, little one,
to offer me respite.

forgive me it is all i can do to keep us alive,
i could never harm you, little one,
yet i fear that i already have.
i lack independence, lack stability,
i can offer you nothing.
what did i do to deserve this?
o, but i know what i did,
though i never thought i would pay for it
with the rest of my life.
i have suffered so long now
and there is no end to my pain in sight.
i wish the morrow would bring better tidings,
a better life.
i fear the suffering that awaits such an innocent creature,
such an innocent child
if nothing is done to improve our quality of life.

my soul screams with the injustice of it all,
and i find, once more, that i wish for death.
but i have already done so much in this life,
i fear for my immortal soul.

is this the price of passion?
destitution and a life lacking pride,
lacking the courage to raise my tear stained face to the sky,
hear me, o lord!
bring me respite, an end to this ache which causes my soul unrest
i have not the strength for such struggles,
i have not the strength to watch my life crumble,
crumble beneath the weight of the world,
i have nothing left in me and there is no heart left
in this place in which i was born,
what's more i cannot watch the man that i love
turn from me yet another time.

laughable that i consider him before myself,
a man who is selfish and unworthy,
for what kind of man tells such a frail creature as i,
"be strong."
the very struggles i endure, he himself cannot,
he cannot bear the kind of life that i live,
would rather die than see himself shamed.
a little sacrifice on his part would go a long way.
but, either he cannot or will not,
i fear it is simply that he will not.

see what my life has become,
i despise the world for its lack of caring,
i despise myself for living so long.
how is it that my body does not buckle under such weight,
how is it that, despite the death of my soul, my body still lives?
o, but i know.
it is the price i must pay for passion.

16:30
In Proud Support Of Omar Al-Bashir
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
In line with the African Union.

The chairman of the African Union Commission, a Mr. Ping, has pretty much purchased a good quality rope, handed it to the International Criminal Court and politely requested it to go hang itself. This after visiting the lavish gold-tiled presidential palace of Sudan; precisely the abode of a most wanted criminal, Omar al-Bashir.

Now, I have never been to Darfur but I hear that our blackest of 'bradas' are being bludgeoned to death by the Janjaweed under the remote controlled supervision of Omar al-Bashir, a man accused of war crimes, genocide and an assortment of crimes against humanity by the ICC. Well of course the situation on the ground is more complex but for our purposes, let us visit the AU's decision to chastise the ICC for issuing a warrant to arrest al-Bashir….even if the backdrop includes Darfuri infants being split in two parts.

Why do we Africans choose to respect (fear) our leaders/older generation so much? Why are we so powerless to address the abuses and excesses heaped upon us by our political leaders? As a whole, we black Africans have succumbed to the lowest level of supreme idiots. We are competing with sheep to see who's more sillier. How can we be so silent and very impotent when it comes to doing what is right in Darfur. So the ICC, with much evidence and fortitude, identifies and then indicts a murderous leader who has killed hungry weather-beaten African boys and girls for sport….and what do we do?.....like a jukebox choir, we cry foul in continental unison. Folks, those who do not condemn violence condone it.

In the case of Kenya, we are also going to bed with the Chinese so we cannot just start shouting curse words at Sudan. But what of other African countries? Yaani these so called leaders are just seated somewhere when a fella is exterminating a substantial portion of his citizens.

Why are we so gallant and courageous in our fight to win the Nobel prize in ineptitude?

15:03
An Opportunity to Make Real Money in Africa
From: White African

Tags: Africa

Read This Entry & More At White African

Just today Google has shown that they are willing to invest in African mobile phone businesses. Does Google’s purchase of an equity stake in Mobile Planet mean the big web/mobile money will start flowing throughout Africa? Not necessarily, but it made me think of a conversation that I tend to have a lot in my travels.

The topic of conversation usually turns to this; what type of web or mobile application can you build to make some serious money in Africa? Though there are many answers to that question, as I believe there are many options for successful web and mobile companies in Africa, there are only a few that I think of as “sure things”.

Any entrepreneur is looking to either a) create a company with solid cash flow and grow it, or b) create a solid company with value and then sell it (or have an IPO). On the web that takes some well-known paths, and the most common is option “b” where the entrepreneur’s sell their company to a larger web entity (Amazon, Google, eBay, Nokia…etc).
A “Sure Thing” Formula
Create a Jabber-based chat application that works on the mobile phone and the web, grow it to a 1-2 million users within a region, sell to Google.

Why does this work?
You build your chat application with Jabber since it can interface with Google’s GTalk. Jabber is free, and also happens to be the what a couple other major applications are built on (see South Africa’s Mxit). Google is trying to grow in Africa, and I assume would be extremely happy to pay a very healthy amount of money to acquire an application with millions of active users that is built on the same protocol as their own chat system.

Challenges
The formula for this particular idea is built on two premises. First, that you can actually get a couple million users within an African region using your chat application. Second, that Google wants more users on their platform(s).

The first challenge is born from the fact most mobile phone users in Africa don’t use data enabled phones, so they can’t run a Jabber application on their phone. Mxit’s answer to this in South Africa was to show that for 10% of the cost of a normal SMS, you could send a message through their system (which happens to be a highly ~~bastardized~~ customized Jabber app). Your goal is to get people who don’t have a data enabled phone to upgrade to one.

The second challenge is beyond your control. You’ll never know if Google wants to buy you out until they come knocking. However, if let’s just say you shouldn’t have to many problems monetizing a system that has 1-2 million users on it anyway…

Your goals to overcome these challenges is found in tapping into communities and spreading your app virally to gain critical mass with speed. Once it spreads, the first application like this to reach a decent amount of saturation will be the winner, even if it has some faults (see Twitter).
Opportunities
Though chat is the core of your application, that is both web and mobile phone accessible, it’s not the only value added service that you can provide. With some creativity, you can add services that allow more people to tap into, including locally relevant events, news, marketplaces, personals, jobs, etc…

On top of these services, you’ve got the advantage of building on an open source platform that other services use as their core.

Lastly, and most importantly. If you were to reach even 500,000 users you would have an incredibly viable opportunity for advertising revenue. The ability to target specific advertisements, or sponsorships, through the platform make it a marketers dream. Basically, you might not need, nor want, a buy out after all.
In Summary
Is it really a “sure thing”? No, every business move has inherent risk and depends on execution of the strategy.

Is it a good basic idea that could be built into a real product with a solid exit strategy? Yes, undoubtedly so.

We’ve already seen the booming success of Mxit in South Africa. There’s no reason to believe that you couldn’t have a margin of that same success in East, West or North Africa with the same type of service. If you build it with an end-goal of Google integration in it at the end, you also set yourself up for a real possibility of a buy out.

12:04
Tips from an African Woman Who Started and Sold a Business for Six Figures
From: The Displaced African

Read This Entry & More At The Displaced African

Podcast

Download audio file (Susan discusses her business.mp3)

Things Covered and Sources of More Information

1) How she started her nursing agency business

2) How long did it take to pick up and how it picked up (NB: For a nutshell description of a care manager, please click here. You can also find more information on care managers here )

3) Why did she choose the aged care/disability care industry? I spoke a bit about this when I gave my opinions on Melbourne.

4) Tips for anyone thinking of following in her footsteps

5) Tips on recruiting good workers. For more information on police checks check out this article.

6) Tips on insurance, the law and other bits and pieces that must be in place to work in the aged care/disability care industry

7) Discussion of the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme

Things to keep in mind when selling a business for six figures

9) Valuation process and the importance of documentation

As always if you like this podcast, subscribe to the Displaced African podcast. At the moment it’s not syndicating the latest podcasts, but as soon as that is fixed you will receive all the latest podcasts direct to your favourite mp3 player.

Websites Mentioned

1) Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

2) Centrelink

3) A list of Australian insurance brokers

4) New Enterprise Incentive Scheme

5) Job Network

6) To get a rough idea of how incident reporting can be applied check out this page which has incident reporting forms for people that have fallen.

8:03
Media opportunity: 2008 Highway Africa Awards
From: bankelele

Tags: highway Africa

Read This Entry & More At bankelele
The 2008 Highway Africa takes place in September 2009 in South Africa. The deadline for nominations is August 15 in categories of (1) individual / student, (2) Non Profit / Non Corporate and (3) Corporates.

7:17
Christian Science Monitor feature on Kenya
From: Kenyan Pundit

Tags: kenyaelection07

Read This Entry & More At Kenyan Pundit
Interesting series that will be looking at the role of African elders in resolving the Kenyan post-election crisis. Part I is here.

5:36
Saving Mau Forest: Ogiek Community Voluntarily Accept Outside Resettlement
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
Yesterday, PM Raila Odinga received a large delegation of Ogiek community leaders in his office. As usual our mainstream media have given the momentous occasion little publicity. The hide-attired Ogiek delegation comprised of representatives from the Ogiek Peoples National Assembly (OPNA), Ogiek Welfare Council and the Ogiek Peoples Development Programme (OPDP) whose executive chairman Daniel Kobei doubled as their spokesman.

At the end of the meeting, the PM called a press conference attended by local and international press in which it was announced that the Ogieks were ready to move out of the controversial MAU forest on condition that the government resettles and compensates them adequately. Sadly, the NMG did not even bother to publish this story in its Nation newspaper. For those who have been following the protracted Mau saga, this announcement constitutes one of the most significant coups by any official of the government of Kenya since independence in the efforts to reclaim the forest and puts the PM in frame for international environmental honours.

The Ogieks who number about 20,000 people are not squatters but are in actual sense the only indigenous dwellers of the Mau Forest. They have since colonial times suffered eviction, persecution, harassment, intimidation, death threats and even murder from successive governments and their agents under the excuse of 'protecting the environment'. That the PM has persuaded them to peacefully leave their ancestral homeland and appreciate the importance of preserving this water catchment area is a great achievement indeed. No other government officials or Rift Valley MPs were present in this historic meeting and surprise, surprise….no tear gas canisters were unleashed on hapless Kenyans!

To put other Kenyan communities in perspective; can the proud Luo, for instance, ever accept to be evicted from the shores of Lake Victoria or perhaps are the populous Kikuyu ready to accept to be moved away from the Mount Kenya region even if it is for preserving the environment? You and I know this is an impossible dream.

Although the Mau Task Force is still working on modalities for handling the Mau crisis, it is not lost on political observers that Raila is already making inroads on the ground and is successfully working with grassroot communities in resolving the impasse. It should therefore not surprise anyone when a delegation of Kipsigis or Maasai community leaders or elders visits the PM in the near future and agree to be relocated from the Mau.

Whereas it is the right of any Kenyan community to public appointments, journalists attending the PM/Ogieks function were shocked to learn that no single individual from the Ogiek community has been nominated to parliament or appointment a minister, PS or even an MD of a public corporation, although quite a number of them are educated and qualified for public service jobs. The Ogiek never feature anywhere on the national radar apart from when they are resisting attempts to evict them from their homeland.

It will be interesting to hear what the so called Kipsigis and Maasai MPs have to say about yesterday’s meeting which was devoid of any political agenda. Meanwhile, the PM marches on……..

3:31
2nd Slam Africa -Kenya ,15th Aug
From: Kenyanpoet

Read This Entry & More At Kenyanpoet
The 2nd Slam Africa is On!
Tim Mwaura took it the first time round,
Now,
Spoken Word Artists compete to be the
2nd Slam Kenya Champion
When: Friday, August 15, 2008 Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm Where: Daas Ethiopian Restaurant Street: Woodvale Grove (Electric Avenue), Westlands City/Town: Nairobi, Kenya

3:31
Earth Tremors Return To Nairobi
From: You Missed This

Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
In the midst of all the news and incidences unfolding in the country at the moment, an interesting development has been quietly taking place in the Kikuyu area in the outskirts of Nairobi.

-------------------------
Also inside Kumekucha today:- Are you lovesick?
Small Buisiness Kenya: Overcoming resistance from buyers
-------------------------

Residents are complaining of constant earth tremors in the area that are so serious that some buildings have been badly affected. Recently a church in the area was shut down because serious cracks had started emerging on the walls so much so that the church members were certain that it may collapse at any time. Experts from the government were brought in to inspect the building and promptly shut it down. To allay the fears of the public they announced that they were shutting it down for further inspection. However it is clear that they firmly agreed with the verdict of the public about the imposing structure.

Interestingly many buildings in the area are semi-permanent structures and it was not immediately clear to this blogger how seriously they have been affected by the constant earth tremors that have swept through the area in recent weeks.

One possible reason why the tremors have been downplayed by the press is probably to stop panic setting in.

A certain Dr Awuor has predicted that the city of Nairobi will be swept by a major earthquake. Last year some unknown persons started forwarding text messages via mobile phones saying that a serious earth tremor was expected in few minutes, which spread fear and panic in the city centre causing workers in high rise building to abandon their work stations in great fear.

1:50
Presidency For Dummies (African Edition) - Scandals
From: tHiNkEr'S rOoM

Tags: Africa Presidency corruption Scandals Graphix

Read This Entry & More At tHiNkEr'S rOoM

Chapter 13: Silence, worth a thousand words

Technorati tags: Africa, Presidency, Corruption, Scandals
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