Ashok,
Those laptops are not free. The govt will buy them (just like the Passats) from those companies at govt prices and terms... with your tax money. So, the companies will be selling 500K more computers than otherwise. And this will be sustained for 5 years....

I love Uhuruto and I'm rooting for them, so this is where we tell the king that their "transparent" clothes are no clothes at all. Of course, the courtiers will tell them how great looking their gowns are, how bold, handsome & digital they look etc etc.

There's a wide chasm between "getting man on the moon" and "sending money to China". If we're determined to throw precious foreign exchange at our Chinese, Korean & American friends, at least let's ensure that we carefully invest the peanuts we get in return, where we have the best return.

This is where politics is funny. If any of your managers made such decisions with your money - our treasury coffers are reading negative - they'd get the sack at the double. It's not a poverty mentality, it's just plain old frugality, diligence and good stewardship. As a national character, these qualities will guarantee our prosperity, and contrast with procrastination, wishful thinking & guesswork.

This is why I like this 'bold' promise. As Ndemo alludes, the better outcome is more than assured: a 50+-seat computer lab at EVERY secondary school, complete with a self-learning curriculum and material. This is what will transform our society within the next 5 years, and hugely positively impact the lives of the Std. 1 pupils, who, BTW, should be playing with each other, and sleeping as much as they can.