[LUG] Fwd: [Idlelo2] FOSSFA & MICROFINANCE SOFTWARE

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 02:46:18 -0800

It appears that Bill Kagai is not permitting this message to be posted to the IDLELO2 list. 

Please forward it to people involved in FOSS in Africa if you think the issues are worth discussing.

The point is that the FOSSFA Secretariat must be accountable for its (lack of) stewardship of FOSS in Africa.

It's role was to coordinate FOSS, not to redirect monies and projects to itself.

I expect better results when FOSSFA moves to South Africa. I think that should have been where it should have rather started.

-- G.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Guido Sohne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: January 16, 2006 10:35:49 AM GMT+00:00
To: Bill Kagai <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [Idlelo2] FOSSFA & MICROFINANCE SOFTWARE

On Jan 16, 2006, at 5:28 AM, Bill Kagai wrote:


With regard to developing software for Microfinance Institutions,
FOSSFA did develop the software specs which are available on the
fossfa.net portal. As for the actual development, the FOSSFA Council


And let the specs fall into disuse and gather dust? So what's the point?

Was that the only lucrative part of it?


in its meeting during Idlelo1 decided that actual project
implementation should be left to its member organisations whilst the
Secretariat concentrates on advocacy and policy related activities.


I don't recall the Council making any such decision. I seem to recall that *you* make decisions and then claim that it is the Council decision. Even when on the mailing list, the nays outnumber the yeas, you can still come out and say the Council decided yea. So who makes decisions? The Council? I think not.

And I thought the Secretariat's role was to coordinate activity? So what have you been coordinated? Trips to various conferences? Press releases and statements on paper? Any real work? Or unless your organization is the one that does the work, right?

What about all the money spent by FOSSFA? How much of it is in areas that are one time only such as conferences, and how much is in projects that will actually live on? How would you account for your stewardship? Oh, I forgot that Circuits and Packets has done much work on some things! Created Ngoma Linux amongst other things. Where is that now?

Isn't it just easier to take someone's Linux distro and rebrand it as Ngoma than to do real work to make some original software that is ACTUALLY NEEDED?


Idlelo2 will thus create an excellent opportunity for networking and
forming a consortium to take the microfinance software project to the
next level.


I am looking forward to the new Secretariat. I am confident that they will have energy, vision and will draw upon the vibrant OSS community and expertise in South Africa.

I hope that FOSS in Africa can make up for the time lost. So you've blown two years worth of time wrt Microfinance Software ...

Great job!

-- G.


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