Its always easy for a losing team to find someone or something to blame; thats why I was shocked Robert Green did not blame the Vuvuzela for his howler against USA. Green has taken some beating and he owned up to his mistake, continuing the English weakness in the goalkeeping position.

The funniest was Patrice Evra, French Captain, who blamed the dull and comma inducing draw on the Vuvuzela. He argued that their feet could not move smoothly because of the deafening noise.

During the Confederations cup, Xabi Alonso was leading the chorus for those who think the Vuvuzela should be banned, I cant wait to see how Spain will perform and whether the gadget will be banned.

In all the hulla ballooo, it has sounded like the "Africans" are the ones responsible for all the noise, but look again around the stadium and at least around Sandton, and you will get the idea how the gadget is popular.

The visiting fans have even learnt the rhythms and are busy blowing it everywhere; it has become the annoying sound we all want to hear, after all its the world cup.

BBC has indicated that it will cancel the noise with a high tech device or whatever it is; either way, we have been watching South African soccer with all that noise, maybe BBC pundits should learn how to shout like the other pundits.

My conspiracy theory mind thinks that either way, people will look for something negative just because this world cup is a success and is in Africa!

When FIFA announced that South Africa will host the 2010 world cup finals, it was instant jubilation for the country and indeed the continent.

Many countries especially around southern Africa saw it as an opportunity to attract international attention by hosting training camps given the weather is almost similar. This was a legitimate expectation because in 2006, small towns and cities in Europe got lots of attention by hosting teams.

But as time went on and the rebels in Cabinda decided to attack an African team, it became clear that teams would not be pitching tents in any of the countries, preferring to be based in Europe than Africa; even some African countries had to go to europe because teams could not accept to play practice matches locally.

Portugal and Brazil did many of us proud by playing games against Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, I think it was specially nice that Brazil played in Zim, at least they were not scared of Comrade Bob Mugabe. Can you imagine if it was England?

So, it was clear that the immense benefits would be to South Africa, and all sectors, especially tourism, had invested heavily in ensuring that football fans did not go home after the matches, but proceeded on safari.

Largely, it may look like other African countries did not benefit much but I think the benefits are there. On my flight from Nairobi to Jozi, there was a huge contigent of Chinese soccer fans, who were in Kenya on Safari and a smaller Swiss fan base, which was in the country for three days (I was eavesdropping on the conversation with SAA crew over Yellow fever certificate).

I am sure southern Africa countries will get visitors after the world cup and maybe others will venture further north of the Limpopo river to experience what Africa has to offer. Am sure much of the benefits will be felt later; maybe with increase in tourism numbers but some benefits such as marketing the continent as an investment destination will be harder to audit.

Ends

This is the press release...will comment on it later..

The Kenya ICT Board is pleased to announce the launch of a Ksh 300 Million grant to promote the development of local digital content and software applications. The process kicked off with a ‘call for proposals’ in today’s Daily Nation newspaper.

The main purpose of this grant is to propel the emergent lucrative but yet underexploited local content industry to growth. The grant which targets the local content developers including software developers, film, animation, advertising, publishing, gaming and education professionals and all content creators, will provide the funding required for the development of quality applications relevant to the Kenya government and private sector.

Digital content, a major contributor and driver of economic growth in developed countries, can be broadly categorized as content accessed from electronic devices like personal computers, game consoles, mobile phones and digital TV. The internet offers the most common form of distribution of digital content. Digital content can include anything from internet based marketing, gaming, online education content and services.

Worldwide, digital content activities are transforming traditional industry structures and business models. Local examples include mobile payment systems like M-Pesa and Pesa Pal and government e-services like online PIN registration. Thus the digital content industry has vast potential as a major contributor to our economy and society through employment creation, capital investment and export earnings, provision of skills and capabilities to traditional as well as new and emerging industry sectors. At the same time it is also significant as a means of expressing Kenya’s unique cultural identity.

With over 3.4 million users of the internet in Kenya, research indicates that the importance of the internet outstrips those of several key developed countries. Even so, the latent demand for local content is underlined by the fact that surveys show that lack of local content is the main reason many Kenyans shy away from accessing the internet. On the launch of the grant facility, the CEO, Kenya ICT Board Paul Kukubo, commented,

“We are pleased that we are launching this grant at a time that the ICT industry is growing and access to the internet all over the country has vastly improved. The future for content industry is bright. Talent, creativity and skills are key drivers of competitiveness in the content sector and we expect that this grant will enable Kenyans everywhere to develop world class locally relevant content and get this industry to rapidly match the lucrative opportunities for talented content developers in developed nations.”

Kenyan content developers have already demonstrated their ability to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurial in their creation of content that is relevant to our people.

The increase in locally developed software applications, websites, films and animation has been extraordinary over the past few years. However, despite evidence of commercial potential, it is not currently competitive in attracting funds and investment capital. This content grant will give content creators in the country a chance to demonstrate their talent, in both the artistic, social and business environment and propel investor confidence in the sector in the long term.

Speaking at the press conference, the Deputy CEO, Victor Kyalo commented, “It is important that with the landing of the fiber optic cables that we as a country produce local digital content, not just ‘access’ other peoples content. It is very positive that Kenyans embrace and appreciate ICTs, but more important is that there are more Kenyan made e-Products available in the market.

We want this grant to motivate the local content creators and software developers to originate, create, and adapt quality content that the country needs .We intend this content grant to be a driver for the long term development of content and recognize that private and public sector need to pool resources to meet the capacity challenges this lucrative sector faces.”

The Government attaches high priority to addressing skills shortages because of the threat they pose to productivity and economic growth. To address this, the Kenya ICT Board has a number of initiatives purposed to build skills in the ICT sector. Among these are a Centre of Excellence for the BPO sector, an incubation program for software developers and a software certification standard that will give international accreditation and competitiveness to our local developers. Additionally, the board is creating organic growth within the ICT sector by training entrepreneurs (over 1000 already trained) to run digital villages all over the country. All these coupled with the improved infrastructure, has put Kenya in the forefront of potentially explosive growth in the content and software development sub-sector.

About the grant

The content grant is divided into two major sections: US$1.5Million for private sector applications and US$2.5M for government applications. The latter will be used to propel the utilization of ICTs to improve government service delivery . The government has in the past few years firmly embraced ICT to become more efficient and responsive in the delivery of its public service - from processing ID cards, driving licenses, registration of companies, revenue collection and currently, the digitization of records at the Ministry of Lands and the judiciary, with more government departments to follow. This is all in line with Kenya’s vision of becoming a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life by 2030.

The private sector grant of US$1.5M is open to firms and individuals to develop applications that would be of benefit to the general public or improve the delivery of existing private sector services.

The first round of grant allocation will award a maximum of US$ 50,000 per firms and US$ 10,000 for individuals. The Kenya ICT Board expects to make at least one call for application per year over the next three years.

The content funded by this grant will build capacity within the ICT sector create efficiencies, build social capital, increase utilization of ICTs by local communities and demonstrate to the world, Kenya’s talent for creation of digital content.

Key dates

Call for proposals: June 2, 2010

Deadline for proposals: July 19, 2010

Successfully grantees announced: 15 August, 2010

Disbursement of grant money: October 2010

When I heard that KQ had embraced technology, I thought it would make my travel life easier. I had stopped flying Kenya Airways because of overbooking and bumbing me off flights and in the process scuttling my plans and causing me monetary loss; and they didn't care.

But on some routes, you can't avoid KQ, you are stuck with it and whether you like it or not, I dont think they will change soon, so we have to get on with it.

There is something painfully wrong about missing a flight, except in some of those acts of nature like the volcanic ash and stuff. When it happens to you, it is understandable to want to yell at the airline staff who in most cases are not to blame but the airline itself.

Take Kenya Airways, it is well known that KQ has a penchant for over booking and canceling flights. In their effort to make sure that all flights are full, KQ doesn't mind inconveniencing traveller.

But what I don't understand is why Kenya Airways booked me on an 8.10 flight to Kigali this morning, while there is actually no such flight. I learnt this from a passenger who tried to book the flight a month ago but was told there is no such flight; they were stopping the flight from today. So, a bunch of us who were on the 8.10 flight wondered why we booked it or why KQ has it on their schedule anyway.

The funniest thing is that at 5.30 am, I got an sms from KQ, just as I was about to leave, telling me that the flight had been cancelled and that I would be on the 10.50 flight.

So, I religiously came to the airport 2.5 hours before time, even though they say 2 hours before. I am so afraid of KQ overbooking crap that I would do anything to be there on time.

Getting to the airport am told that we cant get on to the flight because the other people who had not left their telephone contacts were at the airport and filled the flight. So, why dint they just let me come and I would not have been in this mess.

I was feeling that KQ had finally embraced technology but it has taken it the other way round; it is using technology to punish passengers. Beware; your day will technically be wasted because your plans are disrupted.

I know Kenya Airways is better than most airlines in Africa and its good to be patriotic but not at the expense of my plans. If it was a natural calamity its ok but human error? KQ can do better.

THe funniest part is that no one will compensate you, cancel your meetings but even the taxi, you have to haggle KQ to reimburse or give you transport back home.

Then this KQ rep said we were to get vouchers worth $150 but now it seems they have reneged; we are getting nothing now. Explanation; flight was cancelled, its not overbooking.

Time wasted!

Long before Kenya was connected via fiber optic, we were used to the slow internet. We were used to waiting 10 minutes before attaching a file, and we were ok with that.

I remember this friend who could always whine whenever in Nairobi, complaining about the slow internet and I always suggested that "if you cant get used to it, pay more money or go back to your country."

But its totally understandable to be frustrated if you are used to the fast internet and you go to a place where sending an email or uploading a blog post is a futile exercise. You can get petulant and thats bad.

Just ask Henry Addo, a developer at Ushahidi, he thinks that the fast internet in Nairobi and availability of free wifi hotspots has spoilt me. I am getting frustrated with the connectivity at the Kofi Annan center and my hotel connectivity is not good either.

Henry has made a point of smiling every time, saying that I should get used to it and I cant remember when I last wrote a post that says am happy with the many fiber optic cables in East Africa.

So, as Ghana waits for Glo or main one cables to land, I think the frustration of Sat-3 will continue.

That is why we need to be happy that our connectivity woes have eased a bit in Nairobi, you have to come to Accra to appreciate that!

There are times when you travel to a new country and you get a culture shock, learn new ways of living and in some cases experience new things that you never know existed. In Africa, people keep saying about African traditions this and that; don't be fooled, the same things you see in hollywood movies, they are in Africa too.

So, you can understand some of the shocks when the villager in me goes places with narrow mindedness and comes out with an alternative view. Some of the things were alien to me and some are funny experiences due to language barrier.

Here we go:

Meeting transexuals in Africa

When the guy walked into the room, I was attracted, he was handsome and looking hot in locks and was well dressed. It was only that the meeting had already started otherwise I would have whispered to my friend next to me "that guy is hot" as it happens at times.

But you know that people who come late for meetings at times have the agenda of attracting attention.

Anyway, after sometime, the handsome guy came to talk to my neighbor, and I was shocked to see her in close range because it was clear that she was a woman, the locks aside. But when I looked again, her chest was flat; I remember wondering; what happened to the chest?

I worked hard not to stare through out the day but as I came to realize, there are so many people who find themselves with the wrong bodies and the result is hormonal treatment and other ways of rectifying the situation.

People hate and say all they can, but I like talking to people because you learn a lot, and for people open about their status, they are probably the most open even in some of the topics that we are pretentious about.

So, you can imagine the village in me and some of the questions that may be considered offensive but you have to ask, but in the end, you learn that people have experiences that can change your narrow world view.

American food portions

I was young and naive when I went to the US, we were a group of five, so when we checked in to the hotel, we decided to get some food around the corner. I was with a Nigerian guy, who had been to the US before, so he knew his way around.

When we went to the Chinese take away joint, I ordered chicken wings and rice. In my mind, the chicken wings are supposed to be a small meal. You can imagine my shock when I went back to the room and realized that I had five huge drumsticks, I thought I had taken the wrong order!

I called my friend's room and told him how I thought I had taken his order or something like that, because I had no wings, just huge pieces of chicken that looked like a whole chicken.

He laughed for a minute and then told me "you are so naive".

There are a couple of other things that I did on that trip that demonstrated my naivety; like it was winter and I went into a cocktail meeting with a jacket and a very small top underneath, that meant I could not take off the jacket because when I was leaving my room, I never thought I would have to take off the jacket. How dense!

Language barrier; Spanish, French, Arabic

Its bad that when English speakers visit other countries, they want the others to at least speak some English and give some directions. You will always get some wrong ones who don't care.

The funniest experience was in Tunis, when I went into a large shopping mall and after walking around, I wanted to use the ladies, but when I got there, there was this Mama who was holding me back, she was mumbling some words but it was in Arabic and French. Others were coming and going in and wondering why the mama was holding on to me, blocking me from entering.

After some time, the mama showed me a coin, and another tourist told me that I had to pay to get in. she must have seen the confusion on my face. After I paid, we all laughed...

But the best was the shopping experience in Argentina, for many, any black person is from Brazil so I resulted to saying am Brazilian until I met one Brazilian who spoke in Portuguese and I had to own up.

Anyway, there was this shop, looked like a family business because it was a grand ma and two teenagers most likely grandkids. No one in the shop spoke English and I could only mutter a few Spanish words apart from Hola.... gracias..

The grandma was very excited to see me, the kids stayed aside to let the conversation go on....we were haggling and she was showing me stuff and was explaining that I need stuff for my baby sister and brother. The kids were only laughing because it was more gestures and half sentences and she would get me what I need. It was a huge shop and I bought most of my stuff there; forget that communication was more non verbal and full of laughter; especially when we could not get what the other was saying.

Arab Hospitality

There is so much that is said about Arab culture and how they treat women; much of it is true but throughout the brief travel in Arab countries, I have experienced a side of hospitality that is hardly spoke about.

When shopping in the market and demonstrate that you have a few things to buy, you are offered tea, and they will give tea, for as long as you stay there. Even the way they treat you, they are good people.

The Racist bastards

One of the toughest things to withstand is racism, I have witnessed it in various ways; some spoken, others not.

Whether its the airline crew who treat you a certain way just because or the shopkeeper in the west who treats you differently from the person in front of you who was white or tells you to put the money on the counter because God forbid you make contact.

We like to wish it away but once in a while you experience it and its not cool. Some of it is blown out of proportion, but the best thing is to treat people as individuals, don't assume they will be racist or nice just because they are white or black or in between. Sometimes even black people treat me badly, just because am from another country; the thing is complex.

Best lesson; treat people as individuals and don't assume anything!

Strangers who became friends

Its always nice when you meet someone and you hit it off, whether you start discussing the weather and end up with football, some of those networks can help if you need it in that country.

In my travels, I have met very good people and we have ended up being very good friends. South Africa is always home because I make several trips there annually and I have people who ensure that I know some of the best places to get entertained. The fact that I look South African has also worked for me, especially when I wander around in some of the places they tell you not to go.

I am sure there are also people who have visited Kenya and surprised us, like this guy I saw taking Ugali and ketchup...when I asked, was told he was a vegeterian ...and British.

Someone told me how he hosted two backpackers, where he stays the water is erratic so people shower from basins. After a week, the guy and the chic were asking how to shower from a basin, meaning all that time..... no shower.

Governance, democracy and role of media in promoting development in Africa dominated discussions on the first day of Pan African Media conference.

Democracy and coverage of politics and less policy development took center stage as politicians and media practioners at the conference traded excuses regarding who is to blame.

"In many cases, politicians have policy and development issues to discuss but the media always focusses on politics for commercial reasons; because that is what sells newspapers," said Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Raila was responding to the question whether politicians are to blame for over reliance on politics and why Kenya is more obscessed with politics compared to the other countries in East Africa.

The conference was discussing serious issues but there was a moment of laughter when the chief guest President Kibaki acknowledged the role of social media in development, trying his best to show that he was still in touch with tech developments.

“The advent of citizen journalism has become possible because of tools such as SMS, blogs and social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Myspace,” said President Kibaki.

In his speech, the President challenged the participants to examine how new media can be used to promote democracy, fight against corruption, nepotism, and environmental challenges.

The Pan African Media Conference was organized jointly with Highway Africa and Africa Media Initiative.

Nation Media Group founder Aga Khan addressed the conference, talking about freedom of the press and the responsibility that comes with it. He noted that media independence does not mean taking sides with the opposition.

"Let me sound a word of caution. Freedom, in any area of human activity, does not mean the moral license to abuse that freedom.  It would be a sad thing if the people of

Africa in the name of freedom, were expected to welcome the worst of media practices, whether they are home-grown or imported," said Khan.

When Khan started the Nation Media at the age of 24 and at that time, he had no journalism training. But he demonstrated commitment to journalism by announcing plans to establish a new Graduate School of Media and Communications based in East Africa.

The school, will have its first campus in Nairobi by next year and later be integrated in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Aga Khan University to be created in Arusha.

"The Aga Khan University is planning to establish a new Graduate School of Media and Communications, based in East Africa and dedicated to advancing the excellence of media performance and the strengthening of ethical media practices throughout the developing world," Aga Khan said in his speech.

The proposed Graduate School of Media will offer a Masters Degree program, serving recent university graduates as well as media owners, managers, and mid-career journalists.

"This new School will also work on the cutting edge of media technology, embracing especially the new on-line world - its complications and its potentials. The rapid spread of mobile phone technology supports this view - as do recent advances in broadband availability - including the new SEACOM undersea cable development," Khan said in his speech.

The conference was addressed by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, ex-Presidents Joachim Chissano of Mozambique and Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, and Information and Communications minister Samuel Poghisio.

A friend of mine sent me this job advert for qualified developers; deadline this Friday..

Ever thought of moving your office to the beautiful islands of Seychelles?

We have a one-of-a-life-time opportunity for professionals to join our young and dynamic software team to design and develop world-class software systems for the local and international tourism industry.

We are a leading Information Technology company in Seychelles with over 20 years of experience in developing and supporting software and other IT solutions to over 300 customers in the banking, offshore, tourism and other sectors of the Seychelles economy.

.NET Systems Analyst & Software Engineer/Programmer

Job Summary:

•Analyze, research, design, develop, test, implement and support computer software applications.

Requirements:

•C# and VB.NET Frameworks

•2 years minimum commercial experience in .NET languages (ASP.NET, .NET XML Web Services and other .NET Integration technologies, .NET LINQ)

•2 years experience working with SQL databases (MS SQL or others).

•Experience with Object Oriented Design and concepts.

•Building reputable technical skill with SOA Application Design and Implementation

•Degree in Computer Science subject or equivalent.

•Have strong and proven analytical/problem-solving skill

•Ability to speak and write English fluently.

Preference will be given to candidates with the following knowledge and experience in:

•MS SQL 2005 upwards, .NET framework 3.5, .NET RIA Services, LINQ, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Expression Blend, Microsoft Silverlight, WPF, WWF & WCF, SharePoint & MOSS

Contract: 1 - 2 years

Package: Work permit, air fares and accommodation provided.

Salary: All salaries are negotiable and commensurate with work experience and qualifications.

All applicants must be extremely customer-focused, reliable, professional team players.

Please mail or email a CV to:HR Department

VCS (Pty) Limited

PO Box 1000

Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles.

Email to: hr@vcsinet.com

Tel: +248 676000Fax: +248 324056

Desire for foreign accents stymies local content.... forget that some have never tracelled out of the country.

The desire for hollywood content and media personalities with foreign accents has led to low local content in African media.

Wachira Waruru, Royal Media Services managing director told the Pan African Media Conference that television stations in Kenya are flooded with foreign content that does not add value to African culture.

“It is sad to say but our media owners are the biggest obstacles to the development of local content on our screens,” said Waruru, who heads the media house with the highest local television content in Kenya (Citizen TV).

Regarding appreciation of the local people, Waruru said media houses hope to appear "more sophisticated" employing individuals with foreign accents.

“We do not need hollywood to survive; let us refocus our energies on developing local content for our viewers and listeners for this is where the future of this industry lies,” he said

Waruru was speaking at a breakfast session on culture and open doors; other parallel sessions included topics in New Media, reporting change and crisis in Africa and environment, media and Africa's responsibility.

Media regulation and the role of vernacular stations in conflict situations was brought into sharp focus as media practitioners examined their role in conflict situations.

Joseph Odindo, Nation Media Group editorial director narrated how various vernacular stations were indicted for fanning flames of violence during the post election violence in Kenya.

"How do you deal with the culture of hate speech? Vernacular radio stations reach the grassroots and are well placed, potent ways of mobilizing the public but what happens when they fan flames?" posed Odindo.

He also explored options such as regulation and banning of such stations but was quick to add that this is not the sole solution. He argued that participants should find a way to inoculate the insect without resulting to drastic measures such as banning.

During the height of the violence in Kenya, Odindo was torn between using blood spattered pictures and showing the reality to the public and pushing them not to live in ignorance.

Mathatha Tsedu, one of South Africa's leading editors spoke about South African media's treatment of Nigerians where Nigerians arrested with crime related issues make headlines yet other criminal activity in the country does not always make headlines.

"In South Africa, if a Nigerian is arrested with 2 grammes of cocaine, the story makes headlines, but if its South African the story is not a headline; there is a level of targeting foreigners," said Tsedu.

During the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, Tsedu said the Daily Sun characterized the attacks as "alien attacks" and the paper was considered to have used derogatory statements and issues were raised with ombudsman.

In the afternoon session, journalists tackled the issue of press freedom, whether having leaders who are holding on to power means that the media in that country is muzzled.

Ends