Gc Mulaku

ASSESSMENT OF KENYA'S READINESS FOR GEOSPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE TAKE OFF

Abstract Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GDI) is a concept that is a reality in most developed countries today. This concept is however only just beginning to take a foothold in most developing countries. This paper reports on a study to access Kenyas preparedness for GDI take off by evaluating the achievements made thus far in the basic components of GDI: data, technology, policies, institutional framework and people. It is observed that the relatively lukewarm political support and absence of a long-term strategic vision are serious constraints to GDI diffusion. Similarly, the lack of sustainable funding policies and strategies, coupled with the absence of a concise implementation strategy greatly undermine the development of GDI in Kenya. Most geospatial data sets are still in analogue form, are not regularly updated, and their consistency across organizations still needs to be verified. In addition, the absence of an active GIS professional organization greatly handicaps GDI development in Kenya. Nevertheless, despite this largely negative picture, the GDI status in Kenya compares well with those of most other African countries.

GIS in education planning: The Kenyan School Mapping Project

Abstract School mapping consists of the building of geospatial databases of educational, demographic and socioeconomic data for educational institutions in order to support educational planning and decision making. Such databases contain data such as the geographic location of schools, the numbers of existing schools of different levels in the public and private sectors, their capacities, physical condition and facilities, enrolment and the number of teachers and their attributes. Also often included are data on related natural features and infrastructure such as rivers, roads, economic and administrative centers, medical facilities, religious facilities, etc. This paper describes the Kenyan School Mapping Project, whose objective was to collect such data for all Kenyan learning institutions and to integrate them in a GIS database that could be queried to provide useful information for educational planners, other professional users and average citizens. Results show that at the time of the project, there were nearly 73000 learning institutions in Kenya, ranging from early childhood schools to universities; useful information products on important educational indicators such as schools distribution, enrolments, pupil-teacher ratios and gender parity indices have also been generated from GIS analysis of the data. These results have demonstrated the utility of the database for its stated purpose and therefore shown the project to be a useful model that can be emulated by other developing countries.

Reviewing the status of national spatial data infrastructures in Africa

The paper reviews the status of National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) in Africa, based on a survey conducted between April and October 2014. Web searches and data from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs E-Government survey of year 2014 were used to supplement the survey data. Using the SDI-Readiness methodology, the SDI-Readiness index is computed. Of the twelve countries reviewed, Senegal (0.69), Rwanda (0.65), South Africa (0.64) and Ghana (0.61) have higher indices; while Tanzania (0.33), Zimbabwe (0.33), Botswana (0.35) and Malawi (0.38) have lower indices. Countries with higher SDI-Readiness indices, which is a proxy for the capacity and willingness to develop an SDI, have a better chance of success in developing their NSDI. Lower indices implies that a lot more effort is required by the respective countries. Although all SDI components should be given equal prominence, the study suggests that more emphasis should be placed on improving the human and financial resources if Africa is to succeed in NSDI development.

Re-alignment of a guyed tower

Abstract Towers are typical structures that can be found in many urban and rural landscapes the world over. From their basic design, they are usually exposed to severe environmental loads. It is therefore prudent to carry out periodic maintenance that includes checking that they are correctly aligned. This paper describes a method that was used for the re-alignment of a guyed tower in Limuru, Kenya. Angular and distance observations, made from two observation points detected a vertical misalignment that was larger than the acceptable tolerance of 1/400. An iterative re-alignment procedure was then applied, resulting in an acceptable final misalignment of 1/520.