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Who Creates High-Tech Wealth in Africa? The Case For (& Against) Government (readwriteweb)

"The government has a big role to play in Kenya," said Paul Kukubo, CEO of the
country's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Board. "We need to
protect the private sector until it can compete."

We spoke in Kukubo's office in the Telposta Towers in downtown Nairobi. Out
the window, the feathery acacias disguise the frenetic activity on the streets
of the capitol, a place and people famous for its determination and energy.

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## Vision2030

"Eventually, the private sector will have to stand on its own," added Mugu
Kibati, the director general of Kenya's Vision2030. But that moment, according
to the two government officials, is some time off. In the meantime, the
government has a lot of work to do.

Governments in Africa, both colonial and post-colonial, have not had an
admirable track record in creating or inspiring the creation of wealth in
Africa, at least not for people outside the elite. But the recent elections in
Kenya, at which the new constitution was adopted, promises to change some of
that. Following an uncharacteristic outbreak of legislative and tribal
violence during the 2007 elections, Kenyans, much more freaked out by what
happened than any observers could be, insisted ...

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