Kenyan parliament to spend nearly $350k on iPads for members, staff
The Parliament of Kenya is set to join a growing trend toward paperless governance with the purchase of some 450 iPads to be used by representatives and staff in the East African nation's National Assembly and Senate.
Buying the tablets will help Kenya's national legislative body cut back on the more than half a million sheets of paper it uses every week that parliament is in session, according to a report from Kenya's Standard Digital News. Rather than printing volumes of schedules, notices, bills, and the like, Members of Parliament and Senators will be able to access the documents digitally.
As noted by the publication, prices for Apple's slate range from Sh55,000 ($640) to Sh70,000 ($815) in the former British colony. The outlay, which will amount to around $350,000 depending on the outcome of the procurement process, is a hefty sum for a country with a nominal per-capita GDP of less than $1,000.
Kenya's lawmakers believe the cost is justified, not only by the decrease in paper use but by an expected increase in productivity.
"This will make life easy for honorable members because even in terms of getting the correct Standing Order that you may want to refer to, you only need to do a search on the Standing Orders on the relevant point," MP Gladys Wanga is quoted as saying at a December hearing authorizing the acquisition.
Neighboring Uganda handed out iPads to its MPs late last year, and Britain's House of Commons began an iPad trial in 2012.
Buying the tablets will help Kenya's national legislative body cut back on the more than half a million sheets of paper it uses every week that parliament is in session, according to a report from Kenya's Standard Digital News. Rather than printing volumes of schedules, notices, bills, and the like, Members of Parliament and Senators will be able to access the documents digitally.
As noted by the publication, prices for Apple's slate range from Sh55,000 ($640) to Sh70,000 ($815) in the former British colony. The outlay, which will amount to around $350,000 depending on the outcome of the procurement process, is a hefty sum for a country with a nominal per-capita GDP of less than $1,000.
Kenya's lawmakers believe the cost is justified, not only by the decrease in paper use but by an expected increase in productivity.
"This will make life easy for honorable members because even in terms of getting the correct Standing Order that you may want to refer to, you only need to do a search on the Standing Orders on the relevant point," MP Gladys Wanga is quoted as saying at a December hearing authorizing the acquisition.
Neighboring Uganda handed out iPads to its MPs late last year, and Britain's House of Commons began an iPad trial in 2012.
Comments
(A number of articles I've read classify Kenya as a third-world country based on things like education, wages, sanitation, etc.) I'm not personally denigrating the country in any way.
I can't believe a third-world country would go with an Apple product when Android tablets are being practically given away for free and are claimed to be just as good if not better than iPads. The news media is always harping about how people in third-world countries can't afford any products Apple makes and that poorer people never aspire to anything from Apple. I'm really blown away by hearing about this iPad order from that government because Android devices are usually the choice in those countries. I know there will be a lot of haters calling the Kenyan Parliament stupid because they could have bought twice as many Nexus 7 tablets for that same amount.
(A number of articles I've read classify Kenya as a third-world country based on things like education, wages, sanitation, etc.) I'm not personally denigrating the country in any way.
Kenya may be ranked as a third world country, but their politicians are some of the best paid in the world.
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2013/10/infographic-kenyan-mps-salary-compared-with-the-world/
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Kenya-MPs-come-second-in-global-salary-ranking-/-/539546/1924534/-/24knfiz/-/index.html
So this deal is worth slightly less than the annual salary for two MPs.
1) Do you know what 3rd-world means? It means not aligned with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It's a term that came about during the Cold War. It's outdated in every way and typically used today by bigots who think they are finding a nice way to call a place they've never been to a shit hole.
2) Where is the "news media" claiming that the Kenyan government can't afford iPads? Where are these articles about Kenya you read classifying it as 3rd-world? It sounds like you're the one getting the ball rolling, Teckstud.
3) You blown away by this? No, just more false concern. Your entire post is a weakly veiled concern troll post denigrating Kenya and their people. Well done¡
1) Do you know what 3rd-world means? It means not aligned with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It's a term that came about during the Cold War. It's outdated in every way and typically used today by bigots who think they are finding a nice way to call a place they've never been to a shit hole.
If you're going to be self-righteous about it, at least tell the whole story. "Third world" originally meant anyone who was unaffiliated - not aligned with either NATO (first world) or the Soviet bloc (second world). Its colloquial meaning has changed dramatically, however. I point you to the OED, which defines the term thusly:
NOUN (usually the Third World)
The OED definition is not only outmoded by useless. Think about. What country isn't developing, so why peg all states on those continents as being 3rd world except to disparage them against nations on other continents. If you use the OAD3 you have developing country as being defined as "a poor agricultural country that is seeking to become more advanced economically and socially." What nation isn't trying to become more advanced economically and socially, and why aren't wealthy nations with very little agriculture to be included if this colloquial meaning is no longer aligned with the Cold War?
A fitting topic on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
I don't think he's being self-righteous, just outraged—justifiably.
However, Odo is no Tekstud, at least as I remember the latter. Odo's just our resident nattering nabob of negativity.
That's about 600 hundred iPads, much smaller than the LA Unified School District deal.
Looking forward to the $4 Billion iPad deal with Turkish president.
The iPad Air with its 64 bit architecture, retina display and iOS 7 simply blows everything else away.
Pearson iBooks and iPad Curriculums do wonders for getting kids engaged in learning.
I actually took a look at the High School Geometry iBook from Pearson. Simply amazing...
I wonder if Alex Lindsay has something to do with it...
(Note: I'm not implying anything bad about it, Alex and his team have done great work with iPads in education in Africa, maybe officials took notice.)
Being classified as "Third World" does not mean they don't know better.
Not all purchases are based on price. Seems an easy enough concept to grasp. For instance, I could go collect a bucket of free water from a dirty lake (since it is free) but choose instead to buy bottled water. I'm sure the Kenyan officials went through a similar cost/benefit analysis and came to what many would call, a logical conclusion, hence a good purchase.
One could read this to mean that rather then competing on who has the most advanced fighter jets, Third World countries may be trying to outdo each other on iPad purchases. If so, what a wonderful change in what shows a country's affluence. Maybe peace will break out all over Africa!
Making a government more efficient (e.g. using the iPad) is not necessarily a good thing, it depends on the government in question. If a government is repressive or incompetent a bit of inefficiency can be the people's best friend (well, their second best friend, the best being the ballot box).
Any consolation but we constantly refer to NZ falling into third world status. I did smirk (not LOL) about paperless governance. Bureaucracy breeds paper.