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JPM was sworn in today . I spoke to a few people and what seemed common across all opinions was the gratefulness for peace. I interpreted this to mean that no matter who people vote for and what happens thereafter, the only implication is the effect all of this has on oneself. The public sector feels as such: You can't touch it, hold it, directly influence it, but it has a way of touching you in almost every way possible. 

On the 25th of October, around 8am, for the first time in my life, I voted for my government. It felt envigorating, after all this time doing research and making conclusions about Tanzania's public sector. Results have yet to be announced as of today, and Zanzibar has nullified her votes due to an unauthorized victory announcement from the opposition, but this is Tanzania's most fiercly contested elections in history. Whatever the result may be, I cannot help feeling that the next 5 years will be very prosperous for Dar-es-Salaam (not sure about the rest of our country). Whether this prosperity is works to the benefit of our people or not will probably be decided by what kind of administration is voted in over the next day or two. Mungu ibariki Tanzania.

“Conservatism, however, is too often a welcome excuse for lazy minds, loath to adapt themselves to fast changing conditions.” ― Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams

I return, about 6 months later. No, I didn't forget about my blog, nor the people that may (read: may never) read it. Oh no. What I may have forgotten is how valuable an activity blogging can be.  Where I work now , time is of the essence. Here's an Edward Said nightmare: We are trying to sell to people who have very little to spend; they need to be in many places at once, and are not as mobile as society may think they are. They are sensitive to change, but are demanding about their aspirations. So when it comes to our products, services and sales routes, we are constantly moving, shifting, trying.  That leaves me with little time to think and do the things I write about here.  I used to think this situation was a binary choice and, therefore, a problem. However, I have come to think of the "binary" in a different way: It isn't about time; it's about ideas.  A friend once told me that I would either spend the rest of my life building someone...

HH will be addressing the Canadian Parliament tonight. We are without a state, but we're lucky to have networks in the political economies of the states we live in. His Highness the Aga Khan to Address Canadian Parliament  (AKDN) Aga Khan to address special joint session of parliament on Thursday, February 27  (CNW) Spiritual leader Aga Khan to address Parliament on Thursday  (Canada.com)

Governments cannot possibly deal with all street-level issues that arise on a daily basis. So they appoint representatives, such as local authorities, to deal with or channel such issues so they get attended to. This presents a paradox. How can an institution interested in national, long-term, wide-reaching policy work with an institution that is interested in street-level, shorter-term policy? A few variables are at play, such as: (1) The number of people who you consider constituents; (2) The level of resources required during implementation; (3) The amount of time it would take for implementation; and (4) The number of changes possible in a given timeframe. I'm sure this paradox is a daily consideration for those policymakers who mediate between the national government and local government authorities. But a presentation this morning at Twaweza on declining access to water amidst rising population (thanks Ruth!) got me thinking twice about this set up. Perhaps what ...

I have been thinking about this article and about TZ's involvement with the EAC. There's been a lot of speculation that we're holding the rest of the region back from the next step in the process (common market, then monetary union). There's also been speculation that TZ is willing to continue . This has come after a series of postponed general assemblies, unannounced meetings by some heads of state, etc. Not sure whether the politics is indeed holding things back (in general), or whether broadcast media is pervasive on this series of power showcases that actually tiptoe around important issues. If it's indeed the politics holding things back, we've got to get real. This isn't about the heads of state, this is about people and getting bolder in global business. If it's broadcast media, then we ought to look at the kind of tastes we have for news, because broadcast media is likely to be producing what the public wants to know. And I think we can a...

One of my friends sent me this link to an essay by George Orwell from 1946. In it, Orwell critiques modern uses of English words. Particularly, he makes the argument that while words will always carry their meanings, their combination in sentances is poor and remains poor because we imitate eachother. It's worth reading the essay for yourself. So far, my favorite extract from this essay is this: In the case of a word like democracy , not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite diffe...

I was browsing an archive by UCL of George Orwell 's work today, and came across this: Ghastly feeling of impotence over the India business, Churchill’s speeches, the evident intention of the blimps to have one more try at being what they consider tough, and the impudent way in which the newspapers can misrepresent the whole issue, well knowing that the public will never know enough or take enough interest to verify the facts. This last is the worst symptom of all – though actually our own apathy about India is not worse than the non-interest of Indian intellectuals in the struggle against Fascism in Europe. The exact writing can be found on Folio 85 in this political diary . Another archive is Orwell Diaries 1938 - 1942 . The mentions of airpower and propaganda is particularly intriguing, considering the current state of affairs in the world today.

Barack is in Dar today and tomorrow. The country has seen crazy amounts of media focusing on his visit. To me, this is awkward. It's not awkward because it's overhyped. It's awkward because from what I know about leadership, security and communication today, a lot of it is engineered. Imagine you're in Barack's shoes: Your trip to Tanzania was tentatively scheduled about a year ago. You have an adviser who has at least 10 arguments why the US is politically and economically invested in the East African region. You have an agent who is advising you on the method of your travel; everything from the suit you will wear to the wheels of your car. You also have a media analyst who has been studying the country's most common and least common media topics. The set up can be further illustrated. My point is this: Barack isn't the only guy visiting Tanzania. He comes with an entourage, indeed a country. This comes with a complex set of co...

"The third law states that all forces exist in pairs: If one object A exerts a force FA on a second object B, then B simultaneously exerts a force FB on A, and the two forces are equal and opposite: FA = −FB." ( Source ) Could this be applied to intangible forces as well? I was reminded of Newton's 3rd law as I was reading about how the M23 rebels seized Goma in DRC , which was previously controlled by the ruling government with support from the United Nations. 

Originally published on Vijana FM | 22nd July 2012 On a recent album release by Nas called Life is Good , Anthony Hamilton sings “The world is an addiction / serving up a fix”. The track goes on to discuss the dangers of selling out in pursuit of irrational dreams; indeed, “you gain your life just to lose your soul”. Sometimes I wonder if Tanzania is losing her soul. Perhaps – as time passes – it is me growing more conscious, or media becoming more pervasive to drama. But it seems like this country is chasing grandeur that is alien to her history and at odds with what she needs today. Her history and her needs; what do these mean? For the purpose of this post, I am pointing to Tanzania’s historical pursuit to be an independent nation-state, free of international dues and reliance on help. I am also referring to her current state of affairs, mainly consisting of an inefficient system of education coupled with an unbalanced system of trade. There are a few example...

The problem with contemporary information systems for the public sector is that they rely on older models of "new public management" that rose around the turn of the century. New public management was a field where the affordances of technology were combined with the objectives of public administration. Two concerns follow from this  theoretical combination: First, how has the distribution, production and consumption of new media and information technology systems evolved since the year 2000? Second, how are public values  translated into technology rules? The challenge of contemporary information systems for the public sector lies in these two concerns.

Power is exercised between people and in their production of subsistence. In mediated contexts, people and their production are still important sources of power, but the systems through which their interactions are mediated are in turn founded in their respective perceptions of, interests in, and structures around power. 

By coincidence, I got a copy of The Guardian on Sunday and a small booklet titled "Time" fell out of it. It was a complimentary copy of a guidebook bringing to the forefront the question of why we race through time in our physical world. The timing of this coincidence could not have been any better (no pun intended). An extract of one of my favorite articles within this guidebook: "What is striking about this arrangement is how much it differs from the vision of time put forward by all the major religions. They have always pictured free time differently. For them, there is nothing inherently wrong with having an appointment. It does not, by itself, spoil time. The key detail is that we should have an appointment with something important – which for them means something related to the needs of our souls. Here, in particular, religons differ from the secular world. Most people today picture an appointment as something they might have in an office with a few people around a...

1. Is it possible to create an international political party? If so, where does this leave the role of "international" ideologies (such as democracy, capitalism, etc.) and institutions (the UN, the World Bank, etc.)? 2. Is all the information circulated within Government public domain? Thanks Nabil, Inayat, Muntazir, Ayham and Hamza for the (as always) good company.

This is a follow-up from this post ( Goodbye Mubarak ) and this post ( Better, worse or no change? ).

The New York Times Redefining the Meaning of No. 1 By DAVID J. ROTHKOPF Published: October 8, 2011 David J. Rothkopf is the author of the forthcoming “Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government — and the Reckoning that Lies Ahead.” HERE in America, we seem to be more interested in finishing first than we are in figuring out what race we ought to be in. The refrain is insistent, from President Obama on down. He, like others in both parties, urges us on — to build or educate or invest or cut the deficit — so that “America can be No. 1 again.” We want to be No. 1 — but why, and at what? The size of our economy is one measure of success, but it’s not the only measure. Isn’t the important question not how we remain No. 1 but rather, what we want to be best at — and even, whether we want to lead at all? But we are Americans and we seem to think the rest of the world looks best when framed in our rear-view mirror. We outstrip the world by many measures but lag, sometime...

I found this article on the WSJ yesterday. The reason I found it interesting was because it juxtaposed the incumbent president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who is Africa's first female president and former World Bank economist, with George Weah , a former national football star still very popular among the youth. Roosevelt Tule, a political science professor from Liberia's capital mentioned:"The Nobel Peace Prize is not quite known in Liberia, except among academia... What Liberians expect is basically food on the table." In the last election, Weah was scrutinized because of his lack of higher education. Since then, Weah went back to school and returns as a candidate for Vice President. Do our systems of " open governance " account for open opportunity? Or do they claim to mimick systems of open opportunity but only provide opportunity to those with the loudest voice?

"It's all part of the de-ideologising of mainstream discourse. You know who's ahead three points in the polls, but you have no idea why you should care." Read more from Ted Rall's opinion piece on Al Jazeera here .