@Mark Mwangi, of the very few friends I have at KRA (although none is a commissioner :-), all of them have the same pattern, and that is they are VERY intelligent folks based on my standards. So, if we extrapolate to commissioners, I would assume that they too, have something between their ears. That said, I am almost certain sure that there are KRA devs on this list, although probably keeping a low profile. I am sure they know what illnesses the KRA systems suffer from, if only there was an anonymous way for them to share their information... @Adam and @Phares, over time I have noticed an interesting pattern; the best time a young techie can leave for greener pastures abroad is when they are straight out of college/university, since, at this time, they have little or no ties tying them here. But, at this time, they are probably mediocre in their chosen craft and getting a job any other place other than Kenya is pretty difficult. By the time they are good enough to work at Amazon, they will most likely have acquired ties to tie them here. The second time they will get a chance to go elsewhere is when they have become so good in their craft that any employer out there is willing to go the extra mile to accommodate the techie and his or her ties. On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 5:19 PM, Mark Mwangi <mwangy@gmail.com> wrote:
Guys follow the money. Any of these systems locally made? Anyone personally know someone implementing and/or worked on it? Do we know how much was spent on it?
I suspect a cycle at work here. Deliver horrible performance on the launch of a new system. Blame everything but yourselves for the failure and promptly replace the IT lead after ignoring his spec requirements. Replace him with someone else as you lead the search for 'better' software. The commissioners are easily muddled by tech jargon and since they don't have to present returns on investment, the matter is pushed to the next financial year/Govt coming in.
On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 1:59 PM, jeremy sinja <jeysinja@gmail.com> wrote:
I have no clue why they keep changing systems when clearly They are not conveniencing anybody even the staff! Budgetary constraints might be the issue which is pathetic like three days ago i was at their community offices, work was at standstill
On 3/6/14, Peter Muchemi <pmuchemi@gmail.com> wrote:
A few years ago, they put an ad in the papers requesting management trainees for all courses except IT related!
On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 1:50 PM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
@Sinja, what happened to the system they acquired from... was it Chile? On Mar 6, 2014 1:33 PM, "Adam Nelson" <adam@varud.com> wrote:
The problem is that 3 smart people is not enough. An organization that size probably needs 20 smart people, and a budget for supplies, and support from the rest of the organization, and smart people in every other department so they can get stuff done within the bureaucracy.
I'm sure it's not just a technical deficiency, but more like a budget/organizational problem.
-- Kili - Cloud for Africa: kili.io Musings: twitter.com/varud <https://twitter.com/varud> More Musings: varud.com About Adam: www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson
On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 1:16 PM, jeremy sinja <jeysinja@gmail.com> wrote:
They have rolled out a new system. Yes I know, AGAIN! Unforseen faults in the system has been a challenge
On 3/6/14, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote: > A couple of many-months ago, there were two KRA techies on this list, > although not necessarily working on those tax systems, and from my > interactions with them, the knew their stuff pretty well. > > And many many many years ago, one of the guru system admins at the > University I was learning at was poached by KRA to work at their > wilson > airport *dev* base. > > Based on those two flimsy observations, I would offer the opinion > that they > *may* have the skill. > > > On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 12:09 PM, Kevin Njoroge <nknkevin@gmail.com
wrote: > >> Hey Adam, >> Somebody ought to explain this, really, because it makes the really good >> administrators and our profession in general, look bad. >> >> It is not once I have been confronted and asked to explain this. >> When I >> do >> explain what the possible causes are, I am asked, "why don't you >> tell >> them >> what to do?" >> >> If it is a budgetary problem, they as a department can take it up >> with >> top >> level management. But if they are to succeed, they need to build a case >> in >> conjunction with all the other departments, diplomatic style. >> >> If they don't know what to do, they need to consult from more experienced >> guys. >> >> -- >> Kevin Njoroge >> about.me/nknkevin >> >> On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 11:55 AM, Adam Nelson <adam@varud.com> wrote: >> >> That site is riddled with problems and it definitely makes the department >> look like it's made up of rookies ... but what can you do? >> >> >> -- >> Kili - Cloud for Africa: kili.io >> Musings: twitter.com/varud <https://twitter.com/varud> >> >> More Musings: varud.com >> About Adam: www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson >> >> >> On Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 11:46 AM, Kevin Njoroge < nknkevin@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> > For a while I have noticed accessing kra.co.ke and iTax systems >> > has >> > been >> > having issues. Although it's not as bad as it was months ago, it still >> > happens. I figure they changed a lot of things which is >> > commendable, >> > but >> I >> > still have to ask: >> > >> > - Is it that they have low bandwidth on their servers such that it is >> > difficult to access it when everybody is on it? Or is it that someone >> > hasn't noticed that they need to increase the number of requests that >> > the >> > server can handle at any one time? >> > >> > It's funny that error 503s still happen since they (the KRA server >> admins) >> > should be expecting a lot traffic to their sites. Somebody break >> > it >> > down >> > for me because this baffles me. Is it a budget issue (they are not >> > being >> > given the resources they need), a competency issue (they don't >> > know >> > what >> to >> > do) or a security issue (they are limiting requests to prevent hacking) >> or >> > what? >> > >> > Also, I think the KNEC and KPLC website and server admins should learn >> > something from this because when a major update comes from those >> companies, >> > error 503 from their sites becomes the order of the day , which I >> > think, >> > makes them look like rookies (no offence). >> > >> > -- >> > Kevin Njoroge >> > about.me/nknkevin >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > skunkworks mailing list >> > skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke >> >> _______________________________________________ >> skunkworks mailing list >> skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke >> ------------ >> List info, subscribe/unsubscribe >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks >> ------------ >> >> Skunkworks Rules >> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 >> ------------ >> Other services @ http://my.co.ke >> > > > > -- > Regards, > Peter Karunyu > ------------------- >
-- Kind Regards. Makhanu Sinja +254 (0) 72168 0868 | Twitter:@iMakhs <http:www.twitter.com/iMakhs>
Support and Resistance rule the markets. All of them.
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-- Peter Muchemi Software Developer Electra Software Ltd http://www.software.co.ke +254 722 320986
-- Kind Regards. Makhanu Sinja +254 (0) 72168 0868 | Twitter:@iMakhs <http:www.twitter.com/iMakhs>
Support and Resistance rule the markets. All of them.
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-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
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