[UgaBYTES] Summary of the UgaBYTES Mailing list
Mahmood Ddamulira
ddamulira at ugabytes.org
Mon Sep 22 14:06:52 GMT 2008
Hey, Folks,
*Summary of the UgaBYTES Mailing list *
*PAY PAL on UgaBYTES List*
Any transaction is guided by money. It is should flow freely to enable
business to grow. But Kibuuka John in a discussion he started (subject: We
need pay pal in Uganda) on the ugabytes list believes e-transaction are not
succeeding in Africa due to lack of free and cheap means of payments. He
urges that "at the beginning of this year, I signed up for a visa card from
Crane bank. They mentioned that with this card you should be able to pay for
things/services online. After collecting a secret number from my bank, I was
able to verify my pay pal account. I was able to pay for a domain name using
this online account but the bank charges were even much more than the
service I was paying for! Follow the link *
http://ugabytes.org/nod/?q=node/401"*
Kiringai Kamau and Peter Burgess couldn't agree more. To Kiringai technology
infrastructure in Africa and the backend needed to promote plastic money is
close to non-existent. He adds, "My digital company Octagon Data Systems has
jointly with another company in Chennai (it seems there is something about
digital money that is only coming from this City!) has evolved a device that
will address the confusion of the digital money - the solution is in its
pilot in the Dairy sector in Kenya and will soon roll out through the VACID
Telecentre Model." Read more….
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002523.html
*
Peter notes, "Sadly, however, the mainstream banks serve only a tiny part of
the population, and it is getting smaller rather than bigger. These banks
have a business model that makes it impossible for them to serve anyone in
the vast Bottom of the Pyramid ... and while they might have quite low cost
technology, it is by no means the best (least cost) available ... and they
also have a terrible problem in that the profit expectations of their
investors are a huge cost of them doing business. In other words ... don't
expect these institutions to do much for society except profit from it."
Read more….
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002520.html
*
Davis Weddi, however notes, "There is no real need for this petition,
because many individuals and companies are already using pay pal in Uganda.
It is up to you to sign up and get a pay pal account if you have good Banks
like for example Barclays or Stand chartered.
Read more…
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002511.html
*
You can contribute further on the subject by joining the mailing list….
*http://lists.ugabytes.org/mailman/listinfo/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org
*
Telecentre.org announces winners of the Curriculum Commons Grant
New Delhi, India: telecentre.org, a global community of people committed for
improving the capacity and sustainability of community Telecentres around
the world, had announced a telecentre.org academy Curriculum Commons Grant
of Rs 50 lakh (USD 125,000) for improving the quality and standard of
grassroots knowledge workers, commonly referred to as Telecentre managers.
The grant was announced last month at the inaugural address of the eINDIA.
Follow the link below
*http://www.ugabytes.org/nod/?q=node/395*
*SUPPORT CENTRE FAQ UPDATES
*
Hallo All,
I would like to share with you the following statistics from the
Support centre. There are now 261 FAQs and visits in excess of 444,271.
CATEGORY NUMBER OF FAQs
Management 25
Training 7
Technical Trouble Shooting 144
Social Enterprise Tools 19
Content and Services 5
Marketing & Fundraising 10
Evaluation 5
Knowledge Sharing 46
TOTAL --------------------------------------------------- 261
To visit the support centre website click this link;
*www.ugabytes.org/supportcentre *
Statistics by Francis Mwathi
Roles and Responsibilities of Telecentre Committees
It all started with Mark Farahani informing discussants informing us about
the new formed board at Kilosa, but still needed to get more experience on
the functions and roles.
He then went on and asked anyone to give highlights although each
Telecentre differs from one to another from various angles, say ownership
etc. In Uganda I still remember Nakaseke and in Tanzania Sengerema as our
giant Telecentres can we have your experience please.
*In response to the question about the roles and responsibilities of
Telecentre committees:
*
In ideal situation, it matters a lot what the Telecentre is doing, the type
of ownership (community or private) and why the committee is started in the
first place. These issues would determine the roles and responsibilities of
the committee at the end of the day.
Meddie Mayanja (Canada). Read more….
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002507.html
*
This is an interesting discussion. In some places, the committees have
moved a step forward in defining the charter of the Telecentre it governs,
ensuring that the minimum service standards are met by those who staff these
centers.
Shaddy (India). Read more…..
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002508.html
*
I go along with Shaddy more than Meddie, though of course it's always a mix
and depends on local context. The committee should be the voice of the
community, ensuring that the centre is meeting their needs and functioning
correctly.
Polly Gaster (Mozambique). Read more…..
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002513.html
*
I have been out of circulation, not promising much that I am back but this
discussion is important to me for one reason that roles and responsibilities
among staff and the board, otherwise called governance, in Telecentres is
taken differently by different people.
Kiringai Kamau (Kenya). Read more……..
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002521.html
*
Kiringai - I like your enthusiasm on this issue.
And in respect to your conclusion, I would add that if issues such as those
raised in the article (Francis Mwathi shared with us) arise because the
committee can not function well - to support Telecentre activities it's a
major problem.
Meddie Mayanja (Canada) .Read more………
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002537.html
*
The topic on the roles and responsibilities of Telecentre committees is very
interesting. It provides us with what kind of structures community
Telecentres have at local level.
Dean Mulozi (Zambia) .Read more…..
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002515.html
*
I do agree its an interesting discussion but let me define the two groups
(staff and committee). The committee is the owner or the founders of
Telecentres.
AHMED M. M. EISA (Sudan) .Read more….
*
http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002509.html
*
<http://lists.ugabytes.org/pipermail/ugabytes_lists.ugabytes.org/2008-September/002509.html>
Best,
--
Mahmood Ddamulira
Ass,Programme Officer - Technology Management
UgaBYTES Initiative
Plot 2218 Ggaba Road, Kabalagala
2nd Floor, Kangave House
P.O. Box 6081 Kampala, Uganda
Mob: +256 772 368 472
Off: +256-414-267247/ 370163
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