@Peter, thnks your comments and well put.
 
When I post threads and if anyone can make good of them, then even better because not one signle person can cover a large area. However I must disgaree, imho saying that we need to engage the same govt that has so far proved to be using double standards on very important projects that affect national importance, dialogue cannot be possible. They need to heed the calls on this list for local involvement without any delays nor excuses and have the goodwill to invite all the players in the dev sectors and forge a systematic approach towards national ICT goals. Simply claiming that locally developed apps don't exist is immature thinking beyond words. You cannot have a situation where someone from KICTB/Min of Info goes and brags about innovation/local entreprenuership e.g. at iHub or other public tech events and then goes back to the office and signs a World Bank deal with Google to digitize a project. That is total nonsense.
 
And to correct any notions that my threads are anti-western, they are not. What we need is for developed partnerships between the donors and local companies, especially in the CORE of systems ( Not just supply chains, human resources, or even support roles). If we are just creating kibarua computer jobs for ICT kenyans through donor partnerships, then it is no different for those who became farm labourers on their own lands.
 
When my time comes, I'll be ready to walk the talk , but until then I have to air my views on such forums.
 
Rgds. :-)
 


 
On Thu, Jun 9, 2011 at 9:49 AM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
Good people,
Please allow me to express my humblest opinions. We have some kick ass ninja programmers, system analysts, UX designers, database developers, marketers, testers, trainers, tech support and 'thinkers', most of them on this list.

The problem is that we are all in our own little cocoons doing our own projects, rarely do we come together.

Most of us will NOT get out of our comfort zone to go engage the government, what we will do is rant on this list and expect someone else to take our rant/ideas and work on them. For example, I often rant about how government web apps are not optimized for speed or the UI is not user centered, yet, rarely will I go to KRA and tell them, specifically, how they can make the ITMS more user friendly.

So, what I think we need to do is STOP talking all the time, and start walking the talk. Engage the government!