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| NEPAD E-AFRICA MEETS STAKEHOLDERS | |
01 Feb 2006
NEPAD E-AFRICA COMMISSION MEETS STAKEHOLDERS ON THE EAST AFRICAN SUBMARINE CABLEwww.eafricacommission.org Tshwane (Pretoria), February 1, 2006. The ICT Task Team of NEPAD e-Africa Commission is meeting with ICT Policy Makers, Regulators, and parties that are signatories to Memorandum of Understanding of the East African Sub-marine Cable (EASSy) at the CSIR Convention Centre in Lynnwood, Tshwane. The meeting brings together the signatories to EASSy MoU with Government officials from the region to exchange ideas concerning the development of the EASSy cable. The EASSy project was launched three years ago, and its main objective is to build a broadband ICT Infrastructure for terrestrial and submarine cable networks for East and Southern Africa. In his opening remarks, Executive Deputy Chairperson of NEPAD e-Africa Commission, Dr Henry Chasia, said Africa has not developed to the same extent as the rest of the world in many fields. One factor limiting the growth of Africa’s development, he said, is the lack of availability of affordable, diverse, distributed, and reliable communications services. "Communications is an enabler of economic growth, which leads to people development and empowerment, and to human well-being," he said. "However, telecommunications services and facilities in most of Africa are expensive, inadequate, and unreliable. In order for Africa to take its rightful place in the global economy, telecommunications on the continent must be world standard, available, accessible, and affordable." Today’s meeting follows a meeting of SADC Communication Ministers held in Johannesburg on 7 October 2005. This meeting resolved that NEPAD e-Africa Commission urgently convenes a meeting of officials and regulators from the SADC countries, to develop a policy and regulatory framework within which the broadband network infrastructure, including the EASSy cable, in East and Southern Africa can be constructed and operated. Ends For more information about NEPAD e-Africa Commission, please contact: www.eafricacommission.org www.eafricacommission.org |
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