|
News Analysis: Africa determined to improve ICTs to propel development
ADDIS ABABA, Feb 02, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
The 14th African Union (AU)
summit ended here Tuesday in the Ethiopian capital, with leaders
of the African Continent agreeing to give priority to Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) development, and pledging
joint efforts to boost the sector's growth.
In the "Addis Ababa declaration on Information and
Communication Technologies in Africa", the leaders undertook to
intensify activities to harmonize telecommunications and ICT
policies and regulations, and to promote the knowledge economy in
Africa.
They agreed to strengthen cooperation for the development and
interconnection of broadband structures, the deployment of
Regional Internet Exchange Points and the improvement of rural
area' access to the Internet. The leaders will also work on
providing favorable regulatory environment that is conducive for
the sector's growth, the document said.
Agreements reached at the summit showed that African leaders
have realized the unparalleled importance of ICTs in bringing the
continent into prosperity, and reflected their political will to
develop the sector, analysts say.
The world is rapidly evolving into an information-driven
society, while the global economic growth is depending more and
more on the dissemination and application of knowledge and
technology.
Africa, a continent largely underdeveloped with a vast low-
income and illiterate population, would have to actively integrate
itself into the global trend if it is to thrive. ICTs are
intangible yet precious assets in this pursuit.
According to Abdoulie Janneh, United Nations Under-Secretary-
General and Executive Secretary of Economic Commission for Africa,
ICT devices provide "a wealth of information that have enhanced
the education and knowledge stream of children, leading to their
further understanding of Africa's development challenges, human
rights issues and the science and technology underpinning ICTs."
To this end, measures such as implementation of ICT-based
distance education projects and provision of extensive internet
access to the general public would greatly help equip the
population with information and knowledge, and thus empower them
to catch up with the global development.
Meanwhile, development of the agricultural sector, major pillar
of Africa's economy and the key to poverty eradication, could also
achieve breakthroughs with efficient utilization of ICTs. This was
echoed by the newly appointed AU Chairperson, Malawian President
Bingu wa Mutharika, who said in his acceptance speech that ICTs
can play a major role in the development of agriculture and food
security in Africa, as they would enable farmers to access
important information on agricultural products, advanced
technologies, research findings as well as market.
It is fair to say that Africa has made major strides in its
ICTs development. According to statistics of the International
Telecommunication Union released in 2009, strong and continued
growth in mobile cellular subscriptions and impressive rise in
penetration rate has been achieved in Africa in the past decade.
Rapid growth in the number of Internet users was recorded at
the same time. Between 2003 and 2008, Africa recorded an annual
growth of 47 percent in mobile cellular subscriptions and 30.6
percent in Internet users, both figures doubling that of the world
in the same period.
The situation, however, is far from satisfactory. Behind the
impressive growth lies the sharp reality of low absolute figures
and penetration rates, compared to the rest of the world and even
to other developing countries.
"Internet growth and speed is still limited in Africa where we
have only one fixed broadband subscriber for every 1,000
inhabitants. Europe in comparison has 200 subscribers per 1,000
people," Janneh said when addressing the opening of the summit.
A major barrier dragging access enabling efforts is the
exceptionally high price for ICTs services in Africa, especially
the price for fix-broadband. This can be vividly illustrated by
the fact that currently, the fixed broadband prices for most
African countries represent more than 100 per cent of their
monthly Gross national income (GNI) per capita, according to the
ITU report.
The high price, which is beyond the reach of most African
people, is largely attributed to laggard technical infrastructure,
lack of competition between operators, strict market entry
regulations and high tax rates imposed on operators, analysts say.
Infrastructure is the fundamental basis for ICTs development.
Laggard technical infrastructure such as inadequate fixed
telephone line penetration, which climbed from 1.0 percent to
merely 1.4 percent for the past decade ended 2008, has made
efforts to popularize broadband connection ever more difficult.
In this regard, the ITU report has suggested "infrastructure
sharing" as a solution, saying it is a good way of minimizing
duplication and sharing facilities. Decision makers should
consider creating a trusting environment among operators and
formulating policies that promote infrastructure sharing, while
encouraging operators to compete on services, rather than on the
infrastructure level.
Meanwhile, it is imperative for African governments to
deliberate on policies that can boost investment in the ICTs
sector, encourage competition among operators and put in place
accountable regulators, with a view to benefit the lower-income
segments of the society.
As Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula put it, Africa must
be held onto the communication highway if it wants to rise from
abject poverty and rural backwardness and catch up with the rest
of the world. Today, as consensus and agreement were reached, it
should be noted that it is equally important for the continent to
take immediate and concrete steps on the follow-up of the ICTs
development strategies.
In this regard, Mutharika, in his speech upon acceptance of the
AU presidency, has appealed to participants for "action, action
and more action," saying Africa should "go beyond decisions,
resolutions and declarations," and "begin to act and implement our
decisions."
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
TMCnet LOGIN
Webinars
