Shane Cole
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.
The entrance to Kenya's parliamentary complex in Nairobi. | Source: Wikipedia
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.
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13 Comments
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.
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.
[quote name="Constable Odo" url="/t/161642/kenyan-parliament-to-spend-nearly-350k-on-ipads-for-members-staff#post_2459758"]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.[/quote] 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 [I]shit hole[/I]. 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¡
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)
[quote name="BobJohnson" url="/t/161642/kenyan-parliament-to-spend-nearly-350k-on-ipads-for-members-staff#post_2459787"] 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 [URL=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Third-World]OED[/URL], which defines the term thusly: [QUOTE]NOUN (usually the Third World) the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America: levels of literacy have risen in the Third World[/QUOTE][/quote] 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 [I]developing country[/I] as being defined as "a poor [U]agricultural[/U] country that is seeking to [U]become more advanced[/U] 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.