Please wake up to the reality that some people will always argue in support of Konza,no need thus to waste time and bandwidth debating merits and demerits of Konza. The people I expect will always go to any lengths to defend Konza are:
• People who have bought land near Konza for speculation purposes
• People who think they have an opportunity to reap big from construction / planning contracts.
Note that those countries that have developed similar cities (India, S. Africa, US, etc.) were not in our league when they developed their plans. None of them exports unprocessed raw materials for instance. All of them have reasonably well developed infrastructure – road, rail, energy. You cannot ‘copy’ a city in India and ‘paste’ in Ukambani. We need to sort out the basics first.

@limanika, Good point. The same people opposing the laptop for school children as a waste of money are the same supporting Konza. The acts and deeds are worlds apart. The machakos City will soon overshadow Konza as they are rivaling for resources and the county may have more mileage over the National Govt in that case.

@Gathige..very true. Any reasonable investor will choose Machakos or Kajiado over Konza any time.

If he is not restrained by finances, he will choose areas near CBD such as Karen, Gigiri, Upper Hill, Muthaiga, or along Thika road.
As it is, Konza subscribers are at 80% local. Am sure these local must be entities related to Ministry of ICT mainly to tag along and make Konza look like it has subscribers but in reality, will not invest a dime there.

Its interesting you support the laptop project but who is likely to employ these lads and ladies upon graduation? ... Are we setting ourselves up for brain drain later?

To some what I'm about to say may seem contrary to what I write on wazua. but it isn't

Those saying that laptops for 6 year olds are going to help this country in 14 years are totally lost and don't understand how online business and IT works.

It is not about IT its about time. Everyone can calculate how many cows they have and how much profit they expect to make 10 years from now considering costs and profit margins.

However, one person will use sticks drawn on the ground and another will use excell.

One person is coming up with decisions faster. It's not that one is sharper than the other.

Our children will not become computer gurus because they have a laptop when they are 6 years. They will become computer gurus because they got a good education. I know of very stupid jungus and their having laptops when young could not hide the fact that they didn't understand the elements of algebra.

The gov't is behaving like the guy who knows that it is important to have sharp kids so his solution is to sleep with every girl in the village instead of teaching 2 children to be very sharp.

I am sorry. Just because you have a laptop does not mean you can make a computer program.

The situation is made worse by the fact the person supposed to learn how to use the laptop is going to be taught by a person who has never seen a laptop.

If the plan is to solve the education system. The solution is not buying hardware but investing in the education system.

This situation is made worse by the fact that technology doesn't wait for you to have 16 meetings and 10 years to become sharp.

Case study is ghafla.com

Whether Kenyans know it or not, this is a success story that all our kids in school should be taught over and over again.

Ok I know. In one post I say they suck and in this I say they are great.

The guys of ghafla did not wait for tech to come to them they went out and did it. As the gov't was busy building konza dreams and laptop fantasies, these guys have gone ahead and captured the attention of every hormone driven teen in the country.

I guess we should have told them to wait first to get a 10gb serve with 20TB upspeeds before they started.

Laptops are putting the solution to the education system in hardware rather than concentrating on having people why 1 to the power of 3 plus 1 to the power of 2 is not the same as 1 + 1.

Laptops will never solve that. Good teachers will.

Just the same way as big buildings will never make us tech savvy but people will.

Whilst Kenya was building houses in Konza, Ghafla was building a tech and media empire. You tell me how that divide will look like 12 years from now when laptop kis are going to college and Konza is renting its first shop space.

Time is what IT buys. We are busy buying laptops and houses.

You are sorely mistaken. Laptops in standard one will not make Kenyans more qualified. Kwani what is so special about a mere laptop that will suddenly make Kenyan kids capable of creating a solar cell or a micro-chip ?

And Im sorry but most of these kids dont have the technical acumen to start inventing solar cells as you claim.

Secondly if Kenya wants to create graduates who are at par with those in China then they should focus their efforts at places like UoN and at national schools like Alliance and such. These are the places where government should focus on upgrading facilities because to put simply, this is where the brains are. Giving lap tops to all standard one kids many of whom will end up being manambas and shamba-boys is a waste. Heck even in China, the vast majority do not become scientists. The govt must channel its resources appropriately.

Not every Kenyan kid will get a white collar job when they grow up. Other talents need to be enocuraged including jobs like carpentry, sewing and even sports and music.

Thirdly I am worried that this whole lap top mambo is to give tender business to one of Ruto or Uhuru's cohorts. Remember how one of Michuki's business sidekicks supplied seat belts for matatus. This may be another kusema na ku-tender scam.


And fourthly, I strongly believe that many of these laps tops will be stolen by teachers and end up being sold on the black market.

@alma. Check this video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=526xslmO6Ds

Its about how to make a simple solar cell.

Now picture a Kid in Turkana checking out this video on their 2,000kes kindle.

They can then learn to make a simple solar cell and help themselves out of poverry.
Such info is not in any school carriculum.
The idea is for these kids to teach themselves.

Its easier for kids to learn through the net than wait for their teachers who are mostly analogue. Same situation extends till kenyan universities.

@alma.Lets agree that the kindles/laptops will help some of the kids to gather more info than thru the usual analogue textbook means.
Here am speaking thru experience. A std 1 kid with access to the net is light years ahead compared to one without it.
My std 1 son can navigate a comp better than i can and no one taught him how to.

@a4 i have used ghafla as a case study. The next case study is YOU.

Believe it or not you are a case study on using IT. Yet your website is one of the worst websites I have ever seen. Honestly. And I think you know that too.

But look at your thread on Ask the architect.

I found that thread when I was not in Kenya and would read it over and over again. You had a horrible website ( read no laptop) but your information ( read knowledge and information) was there for us to see.

You have built your business through IT but the IT would have been useless if you did not come out as someone who knows what they are doing.

I know there are some architects who hate you. But the fact of the matter is that you marketed yourself to death even if your IT skills were horrible.

It's the same story with these kids. As long as the fellow doesn't know that A is for Apple and B is for dog not Burukenge, that laptop is useless. It will be used for every other reason other than learning algebra.

Our education system is not failing because of lack of tech. It's failing simply because tisha wanjiku on Churchill is really not a joke but a real life experience.

Let us not mix IT with learning.

Worse, lets not mix computers in gov't with corruption free zones. A corrupt person will only use the computer to make his corruption faster and more efficient.

Our standard 1 kids don't need laptops, they need to learn and get a decent education.

As we speak, I think you know that our education system has been failing each and every year. Laptops won't solve that.

Just as Konza won't suddenly make Kenyans sharp and computer geniouses. In fact, Konza will make every Kenyan an employee of a call center based in Ghana and India.

This I promise you.

Laptops for kids is a useless project. If they want a breed of computer hackers, train those in high school, not kindergateners.

Konza project, another nonsensical project. You want technology companies to invest here, provide basic infrastructure in existing towns and cities cheaply and sustainably.

Jubilee SUCKS!