Kenya’s Geo-Employee- A simple perspective I

Following requests by some   GIS students twitter followers, this is a simple perspective of who pays what and who gives the best opportunity. According to my experience the top honchos are Governmant agencies and non for profits/international NGO’s. In terms of career development they also take top postion in my view. Now to be more specific I will start with government agencies.

Government Agencies

Well in Kenya we have a name for special government agencies tasked with achieving certain goals or objectives. They are better known as Para-statals. Governement may have 100% share holding in some, while in others there has been a drive to float their shares to the Nairobi Stock Exchange. I think out of the more than 50 para-statals, less than 10 are listed on the stock exchange. I have noticed a scramble for skillsets by these kind of agencies. Now if you are thinking let me call my uncle who works at Nyayo Tea eastates in order to get a GIS job, then you are clearly loosing the drift. Para-statals in Kenya kind of have class. An entry level position at one of the parastatals is not the same with that in another. With the passing of the new constitution, new parastatals have been creates while others are in the process of being created. Given their nature, and the fact that they are en-shrined in the new constitution, they top the payment list and perks. So this include Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission, Interim Independent Electoral Commission, National Revenue Authority e.t.c. Following closely to this are the para-statals in the Energy sector. The energy sector is know to employ some of the best brains in GIS is Kenya. Now top of this list is the Kenya Power. Yes! even though we curse them every time power goes off. Sadly most of the software Kenya Power runs is not locally developerd hence they have GIS consultants from Indra. I do know for a fact Indra has been involved in training their staff on their software suites.

For those not aware, KPLC recently commissioned a new GIS system. Read more about it here. After ‘gay-pee-ero-see’, the Geothermal Development Company comes next. Well they are fully government owned but have funding from various international bodies. They recently stuck thermal gold and they also do provide GIS services to other players in the energy industry.So they are bullish at the moment.

KenGen is also known well in the GIS employment industry. Kenya Pipeline that deals with petroleum products is a good employer in terms of reimbursement. So there is a trend of having oil/energy companies taking in the best GIS consultants. Kenya is famed for its wildlife. Second on the list is environmental agencies. The Kenya Wildlife Service tops the list here. Kenya Forestry Service also has a GIS unit. Followed by the National Environmental Management Agency(NEMA). Of course the above all fall under the ministry of environment which is home is Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing (DRSRS).Of course we have the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.I will stop there lest i bite the hand that is soon to feed me with some data..

Then there is the health sector. Only one player here.The Kenya Medical Research Institute though i have not seen any of their GIS work having worked in the health sector. Guess i am ignorant. I do know the guys over at Alliance, had done a GIS system for Kenya’s Department of Defense, but will find more info on Military GIS in Kenya.

What pains me about the above institutions, they are more into traditional GIS. I am yet to come across them sharing their GIS data publicly for public consumption. The other thing i have with these some of these institutions, despite having a large number of GIS staff, they rarely turn up at so called GeoSpatial meet ups. Meet ups create the environment for a thriving sector.  Looking at the attendance list of Kenya’s Geospatial User Group, none of the attendees was from government or any of the above institutions. One of the headaches when dealing with government, you need to understand government lingo. Now let me break it down for you. Gov is more like a big elephant, for it to move you need to know where to prick while at the same leaving everyone else unscathed. That is everyone is happy. The kind of prick that leaves them giggling with laughter rather than combative. So trying to convince them to do a web mashup needs alot of lobbying and politricks.

Now do NOT get me wrong. I am not saying you bribe anyone. What i am driving at is know the people that matter. People who drive the organisation. Have lunch with them, a cup of chai? Make friendships. Show them how your work is likely to take them to a higher job grade. Or be the talk of parastatals. We all win.

Whats great about working of the above firms. Job security is one. You will be always on the governments pay-check. That is why, as a government employee financing that car/house is very easy. Thats why banks love them. In terms of career growth, Parastatals are known to poach from one another. I have seen this play out a lot on the energy sector where someone was working for a consulting firm, the parastatal poaches him/her and on to another recently created parastatal or better paying. In terms of education, government pays for all your education needs. Especially if its inline with Kenya’s Vision 2030. The same case with recommendations for educational purposes. To get a recommendation for a scholarship is very easy, though there is only one problem one has to get through. This is getting a letter from the home ministry to approve your leaving the country, especially if the education is not within Kenya. In terms of benefits, medical cover in some,covers the principal and the dependants. Through government it is also very easy to attend refresher courses, or courses particular to your interest. Getting that masters has never been easier while in government. With the introduction of performance contracts, that bonus is staring at you waiting for you to pick it up.

Now this is a simple perspective. I am drafting a full survey to get different data for GIS students out there. Now if you went to Strathmore University, and have a copy of the CIO survey questionnaire (the Acosta one)you did while in undergrad please drop me a mail. I burnt all my notes and papers after campus. . Well next will be looking at Non-Profit organisations. Sneak preview statement ,” Majority of the attendees at the last Geospatial User Group meeting work for Non for Profits”. Tafakari hayo.