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Africa: ICT policies need to meet regional requirements Print E-mail
Wednesday, 06 June 2007

The African Union (AU) is calling on member states to adopt ICT policies that meet regional needs and not just the needs of individual countries.

Esam Abulkhirat, at the AU’s Human Resources Science and Technology Department said that inter-country ICT projects will be successful only if member countries harmonise their policies. Most African countries have already adopted, or are in the process of developing ICT policies.

Differences in the pace of ICT adoption are hindering implementation of regional projects, Abulkhirat said. Examples of countries out of step with the region include Ethiopia, which bans text messages, and a number of other countries that prohibit VoIP.

Eastern and southern African countries are investing in undersea fibre optic cables that are expected to increase ICT capacity and usage in the region. According to Mark Matunga of Microsoft, the lack of basic infrastructure - including electricity and telecom network access - has been a hindrance to the effective use of ICTs in education.

Source: SciDev.Net - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News.