The M-PESA REVOLUTION

The M-PESA revolution

Rewind to 2007, 6 years before the launch of the M-PESA on 6^th march 2007. Do you remember how difficult it was to transfer money? You may not but I have a few memories of my own.

Remember money-order service offered by the postal corporation? Do you remember how money had to be send via relatives or a bus driver? Do you remember how it was queuing to settle  Electricity and water bills? Basically I am referring to the old dark days before the M-pesa sun rose and its rays lit Kenyan lives. M-PESA is big and we love it dearly.

Since its inception, M-Pesa  has seen phenomenal growth with statistics available in the official Safaricom web site revealing that as per 1^st march 2012, M-Pesa had 14,652,593 million active M-PESA users http://www.safaricom.co.ke/mpesa_timeline/timeline.html

  This was about 4 days to the service’s 5^th birthday

I would like to explore some of the things that M-PESA can do.

1)    P2P transfer (person to person) this basically covers the transfer of e-money from one person to another. It has even changed the way we speak. Such phrases like can u m-pesa me…I will m-pesa you, have found way into our daily conversations. It is effective and fast, think of that relative who is stuck in a bus terminus somewhere because, matatu operators have decided to increase the fare arbitrarily, you m-pesa. Think about that person who is stuck in an outpatient clinic but can not afford the consultation fee of 100ksh, you m-pesa

2)    Cash in deposits and cash out withdrawals. M-PESA has a vast network of agents. This ensures that it is easy to deposit money into your m-pesa account as well as withdraw. The success of m-pesa largely relies on the availability of reliable M-PESA agents. Unlike its competitors, the m-pesa agent foot print is almost in all corners of Kenya.

3)    Buy Airtime and data bundles. Long gone are the days when you had to have a physical recharge voucher in order to top up your phone. The dynamic feature assures the account holder availability of airtime whenever, wherever they are. The beauty of this, you can purchase airtime for your own number as well as another person. A recent inclusion into the dynamic fold and ever-growing array of services offered under m-pesa is the purchase of data bundles for Safaricom numbers.

4)    Pay bill services (C2B: customer to business). Personally, I hate queues. Once you have deposited money into your m-pesa account it is very easy to settle bills. For example Kenya power bills, Nairobi water, selected hospitals and clinics, bars, Air tickets and all this is from the comfort of your sitting room or office. It would take less than two minutes to settle that bill, whereby in different circumstances you would have to queue for hours on end to do the same.

5)    Bulk payments (B2C; Business to customer) This is revolutionary solution tailor made for businesses who need to send money to their employees, shareholders etc. An example would be a company that has a large number of casual laborers. The account administrator loads the numbers to be paid  and the corresponding  amounts, and Voila all wages are paid at the same time. No queues and time consuming signing of books at the cashier’s office.

6)    IMT  (international money transfer) It is possible to remit funds directly from the diasporas into a customer’s m-pesa account. The sender visits an appointed IMT agent in the specific country e.g. Western Union. The agent then deposits the funds directly into the m-pesa customer’s account. It sis a real-time process.

7)    ATM withdrawal. I should have covered this under agent deposits and withdrawals but I felt that it needed more bone. In the absence of an m-pesa agent, for example late at night or by choice, an m-pesa customer can withdraw funds from a partner banks ATM. Some of the banks include equity and Diamond trust bank. 

How do I become an M-Pesa agent? 

http://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Resources_Downloads/m-pesa_agent_requirements_-_for_external_use.pdf

M-Pesa tariffs

http://www.safaricom.co.ke/personal/m-pesa/m-pesa-services-tariffs/tariffs

*This information is obtained from the Safaricom agent bulletin magazine (Lugha ya M_PESA : April-June 2013 edition)

*Safaricom website   www.safaricom.co.ke

Teachers strike....the government's point of view

The government of the Republic of Kenya must be appalled by the looming teacher’s strike. It is a real shocker some very lazy individuals decide to lay down their tools at whim at the detriment of the education sector. Who do they think they are? The government has no money to finance more chalk eating. The treasury has a god given mandate to ensure that our members of parliament are paid well.

You know, if you pay an MP well, he can have more mistresses, travel more, driver a bigger guzzler and off course decide to donate e some money to teachers. Basically teachers are greedy, self-centered lot who have forgotten that we don’t need them? Who needs that many teachers anyway yet we can use laptops to teach via Skype?

Who cares about whether they strike or not? Our children just like any other Kenyan who is not a thankless leech that thrives off the government’s donation we will take our children to high cost academies. You know, good education is important and it comes at a price.

So, strike, we have already paid teachers well and they do not deserve any other additional coin. We have realized that teachers are a noisy bunch that deserves no attention at all. Who has ever died of poor education? They demand for more money and yet they are still demanding for the recruitment of more noise makers. What a god-forsaken noisy bunch. It beats logic for one to claim for better pay and yet demand for the work load to be reduced.

Why would a teacher demand for more yet they only teach a minimum of 28 lessons per week? Extra work? What extra work is there in preparing or lessons, marking assignments and just doing what we pay them to do. The problem with teachers is that they are too ambitious. Why on earth would they need commute allowance. A simple thing, they should buy a black mamba bicycle. For a meager 10 thousand shillings their travel woes would be solved for the next 10years.

Medical cover? Didn’t they listen to mwalimu Dida? Why would they over eat yet they know it would make them ill. Mwarobahini (neem tree) is sufficient cure for more than 40 ailments. If a teacher decides to contract any disease not covered within the broad-spectrum cure  of mwarobaini, shida yako. How on earth do you choose a disease not among the 40 electives offered?

Who says you must go to an hospital, as teacher you can select a good mganga, one of those guys that cure mapenzi, kufura  nguvu za kiume na kike na umaskini.

Hardship allowance kitu gani! What hardships?  The government does not create hardships, hence it is not obligated to assist in any way that may seem to mitigate the situation. The work of the government to pay you enough to remain alive, while ensuring proper balance with m.ps salaries.We can not afford to disappoint MPs, can  we? How do you think we finance hiring of the hustler’s jet? We must keep the number 1 hustler happy and well massaged.

if you are leaving- a poem

IF YOU  ARE LEAVING

If you are leaving

Make haste and close the door behind  you

Let not your shadow unnecessarily hover

Do what you must and accord me peace

For if you are leaving

You should do so quickly

And lest you mistake me

Feel like I lay in wait for this day

Hearken to what I have to say,

“I let you go, not that I love  you not,

Rather on the  contrary…I really do.”

Insanely, I may  detain you

Heavy shackles clasp on ankles

My tears may wet your feet each dawn

Wiping dry the dew!!!!

Your awe striking beauty

May greet me every morning

But all I know is vain

Mortally I feel I have fallen out of favour

Conceal not your face

I crave for the emeralds in your eyes,

The sparkling balls that sparked my joy

And ignited flames of aspirations

Oh! Embers of life’s dreams

Pout not your lips,

As though you have chewed red pepper

That luscious curve… allow me to see

And the teeth-clear white enamel

All brilliance that held my life together

When hope waned

If you are leaving,

Please do say that

Before I nurse false expectations

Or  kill me with suspicions.

Just close the door behind you

Don’t wave good bye

Don’t hesitate

For I may cling on you

If you are leaving,

Embrace me not

Oh that familiar bosom

No goodbye kiss

For I may not let you

But forget me not

If you are leaving!

Confusion- a poem

Confusion

Twinkling crystal like eyes

Buoyantly floating in their waters

Shallow puddles of shiny tears

Glistening threateningly

On the verge of glaciating

Beautiful eyes

Flashing lights of uncertainty

Against a décor of a serene visage

Tactfully concealing

The shattered utopia, of your soul:

Once a silent avalanche

Looking at me perplexedly

An unfathomable yearn

Gnawing at you

Defiling your innocence

A thing you treasure and cherish.

Nostalgically reminiscing,

Sunrise years- the dawn of your life

When everything was black and white

But today-

It’s an unclear haze

Hues you can’t name

Friendship, company, love

For you are a good girl

Angelic in disposition

Scurry back!

You’ve thought

Forge ahead

You’ve considered

Sit back and wait

You’ve settled

For you are no longer sure!

Mr. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s feedback on laptops for schools

Mr. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s feedback  on laptops for schools

It's not because I am not an IT expert, it’s for the simple reason that I am realistic.
In our beloved nation, Your Excellency, we have more pressing issues that the life threatening
Need for laptops.

The ideas are noble in both concept and intent, but basically, it’s just a want and not a need.
I share your enthusiasm for a tech savvy nation but unfortunately I must beg to differ when it comes to the mode of execution.

I concur that you are a very busy man; that is why when you are travelling from statehouse to any destination all traffic as to be cleared off the roads, thirty minutes before you agree with the deputy president on whether you should wear matching suits or not. In essence, this simple act to ascertain your comfort ends up costing the nation a lot of money in the form of the subsequent traffic jam.

Anyway, I am sorry for digressing. I would like to point out a few issues that I feel really matter.
We have a very big problem, lack of classrooms. As you may have heard, I know you are very busy to watch news; the free basic education problem is grappling with a biting need for classrooms. In some parts of this nation, pupils attend lessons under trees. You and I know that is not an ideal situation unless they are studying nature, or the importance of trees in providing shade. Dear Mr. President, unless you are thinking of encouraging online learning from the comfort of the pupils homes, please before delivering laptops to schools, build classrooms.

My digital president, I would like to bring to your attention that our primary schools have insufficient desks. You may not feel the folly of squeezing four or five tiny primary school pupils on a desk suitable for two pupils. This is not a major problem because our culture encourages sharing. Even our 14 seater vans can magically accommodate 22 passengers. So I know as per our policy makers its healthy for pupils to share desks and eventually assist each other during exams…masomo  ni harambee boss

Educational standards encourage a ratio of 40 pupils per teacher. The people who mooted this policy a damn daft, insane and have no idea of how hard hit in the department of professionals.  No matter how we try, in our nation, we can never get sufficient number of high skilled professionals. If you doubt me, remember a certain government minister suggesting importing nurses from china. I hope alijua vitu za china hazikai and many of them are imitations, like nokla, eyephone, samsang, soni,. And perhaps na-arses, dokt-arse, teach-arse. Dear Mr. President, I know it’s a time tested and proven practice in Kenya to have atlest 80 – 100 pupils per teacher. After all, the weather is unforgivingly cold this days and we need to maintain human contact for warmth. Same can e argued upon based on the number of April/May babies.

For a person who claims to understand how busy you are, I really need to get hold of myself and get to the pertinent issues. I cannot give you the satisfaction, after all poly-trickians survive on words.

Who owns the laptops? As per my understanding, every standard one pupil would be given a laptop befitting their stature. In my opinion, this should be a Chinese toy laptop. The moment you roll out the programme, who is the owner of the laptop? The school,the pupil,the government. In my time, many of our parents -I know you don’t know that, consult hustler DP-  could not afford text books. We where a bit lucky though because some of our secondary schools could purchase about 10-15 text books per 50 students. A no mean feat. At the end of the year, we had to return the books to the store so that our juniors could use them too. My question is,  will the standard one pupils keep the laptops upto standard 7/8. Will the laptops be relevant in 2022 when the pupil is in standard 8? Are we saying that the curriculum content will remain largely the same for the next 8 years?

While at it, kindly clarify where the laptops will be kept (laptop storage and security). Do we have strong rooms in school or the pupils will have to take them home. By the way I suggest that every pupil should carry the laptop home because our security system is among the best in the world. No one can steal a laptop for a pupil. The pupils are so responsible such that they can’t detour on their way home and start playing a game of hide and seek. A brilliant one, I hope the laptops come equipped with guardian app to walk the pupils home daily.

Support staff. Being a digital president, you must know that laptops, cars, cups,plates and sometimes spoons break. Who is going to repair the laptops? Do we have sufficient support staff? If so we will pay for the routie maintenance and service? He government? The underfunded schools or the poverty stricken parents? Every well-meaning parent can save about 1000ksh shillings from their 100ksh daily budget to fund repair of laptops. Who can’t do that?

Power! Are this laptops solar powered,? Do they require electricity? Could they be running on steam, firewood or dry cells from china? If they are electricity powered, what about the areas not part of the national grid. If they are solar powered, when do they get charged?

In a very indirect process, I intended to inform you that, this is an ill-conceived pledge . I propose this,

Introduce computers and finance the project in all secondary schools. As a government, you should finance building of at least 2/3  computer rooms/labs in each secondary school. The labs should meet all necessary requirements for a computer center. Then proceed to avail at least 120 computers per school. In essence you would be financing a project that supports three different lessons/ streams in tandem.  It is cheaper and the success will be felt sooner than waiting for the first batch of lap top babies to clear form 4 in 12 years’ time!

Dear MPS

I have unfortunately for the past few weeks indulged in a futile pursuit. I had bestowed upon myself the duty of uncovering the psyche of a Kenyan MP.Had i heeded to the inner voices that keep persuading me, perhaps i would not be disillusioned as I am. We, unfortunately handed over our nation to a buch of hearless, greedy kenyans who worry more about the thickness of their wallets than the millions of Kenyans liveng in poverty.

Life to a very large chunk of the Kenyan population is defined by the minutes that pass - not even a day at a time - and yet, our Mps are clamouring for more money. Dear Mps, there is a kenyan right now who is about  to deliver under a tree because the roads to the nearest dispensary (which by the way is 100 kilometres away) is impassable or rather does not exist.

Dear Mps, i know 532,000 ksh is very little for your honorable job. i know you bare the weight of this great nation o your sturdy shoulders,  I too know that you can only  doze off better in parliament if you take a sumptous 2500ksh lunch in a lowly hotel called Laico regency, the Stanley just like any other kenyan who chooses to eat  chapati choma because they have better things to spend their 5032 ksh salary on.

532,000 shillings only! Serem must be sick to the core. Does she really know  how much you need to run  your house and maintain a papers lifestyle? Does she know that the price of Suits has gone up? She must be really drunk with power. How can she pay a whole member of parliament 532,000 ksh yet other less deserving Kenyans are being paid 5032 ksh per month? How does she expect you to send your children to international schools yet, the government funded public schools are to lowly for men and women of your calibre. She must get serious and understand an Mps kid can not risk contact with a jigger infested desk mate.

Dear mps, ths discussion is too long..we can finish later...