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ICT Policies & Strategies Formulation and

Development in Africa

Alain Nkoyock,

Addis Ababa, 1st October 2005

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Why ICT for Development?• ICTs are an important enabler of growth

through the wealth creation, increased productivity and the creation of opportunities;

• In the information society where progress and power depends on information and knowledge, the role of ICT becomes even more critical;

• ICTs contribute immensely by providing efficiency gains and increased productivity by tackling the barriers of cost, time and distance.

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ICT as an enabler of development• ICTs in the fight against poverty• ICTs for socio-economic development• ICTs for Industry • ICTs for better government • ICTs for Regional Integration • ICTs for local and community development• ICTs for greater access to information about

livelihoods• ICTs for crisis prevention and recovery

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The Starting Point

• ICT is good for social/economic development• There is a growing digital divide• There is an untapped ICT market in

developing countries

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ICT: A Cross-Cutting Theme• Interrelation of many social, societal and organizational problems, in

the information age, • Need to be solved jointly by means of multidisciplinary projects,

interdisciplinary communications and/or trans-disciplinary concepts and methodologies

• Informatics, Cybernetics and Cyber-Technologies (ICCT) are, by definition and by nature, transversal to many disciplines and, as such, are special means for the multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary approaches required

• ICCT are helping in the solutions of an increasing social, societal and organizational problems, but they are also generating new kind of problems and raising unfamiliar questions

• The processes of answering these questions and finding possible solutions to these kinds of problems require as much as of scientific/engineering approaches, as of conceptual/reflexive studies

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The Need of ICT Policy• Most countries therefore develop national ICT policies in recognition of

the enormous potential of ICT. • To avoid being left behind, several nations develop such ICT policies

addressing several core issues for keying into the benefits of an ICT–driven world.

• The aim is to be a creator, a producer and not a consumer or mere passenger.

• It is usually a proactive indication of the seriousness government attaches to the role of ICT in society.

• A national ICT policy can be seen as an attempt to develop a pro-people ICT road map of the country.

• Lack of a coherent and comprehensive policy often leads to redundancy, waste of resources, ineffective ICT diffusion and development and an inability to tap into global opportunities.

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What is National ICT Policy?• Help guide the country in its use of these tools

and to help secure the benefits of the information economy for all

• National decisions that need to be taken based on the best information and intelligence available and in consultation with stakeholders to help secure beneficial and realistic outcomes from the considered use of ICTs for all citizens

• Need to be planned in order to marry the opportunities and needs of people with the possibilities that are available through the use of ICTs.

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Contrasting ICT Policy Issues• The Developing

World:– Alleviating Poverty – Health – Education – The Cost of Telephone

Calls – The Banking System– Physical Logistics

• The developed World:– Electronic Commerce– Universal Service– Electronic Gambling– Technology Neutral

Taxation– Privacy of the Individual

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E-Strategies Definition• Plans based on the selection of scenarios and

options for applying ICT to national development

• Apply specifically to the following sectors: e-commerce, e-government, e-learning, e-health, etc.

• Are defined in terms of development objectives and outcomes

• Need to be consistent with national poverty reduction strategies as well national development strategies and initiatives.

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E-Strategies Formulation Areas• E-strategies for Infrastructure Development• E-strategies for Human Capacity Development• E-strategies for Policy Development• E-strategies for Enterprise Development• Building the capacity of Small, medium and micro

enterprises (SMMEs) to use ICTs• The importance of the national e-strategy agenda• Developing action plans• Some tools for identifying priorities for ICT policy

development (OOPP, UML, etc)

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ICT, ECA & AISI: Historical Steps• PADIS (Pan African Development Information System):

1979 -> Objective: Establishment of a centralized development information Db at ECA (AA) with national development information Dbs at national participating centres in Africa countries

• CABECA (Capacity Building for Electronic Communication in Africa: 1992 -> Objective: Establishment of electronic communication nodes in 24 African countries.

• AISI (African Information Society Initiative): 1996 -> Development of National Information and Communications Infrastructure (NICI) in Africa (among others).

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What is AISI?– An Action Framework to Build Africa's

Information and Communication Infrastructure – Aims at supporting and accelerating socio-

economic development imperatives of African countries

– Focuses on priority strategies, programmes and projects (information networks, regional databases, etc)

– Main e-strategies: NICI, RICI, SICI and VICI

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What is an NICI Plan?• An instrument to implement the global AISI visions

of developing the information infrastructure, human resources and content at national level;

• An African response to facilitate the digital inclusion of Africa and integration of the continent into the globalization process;

• An exercise aiming at developing national ICT policies, strategies and plans which serve as roadmap for the countries participation in the knowledge economy.

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Aims of a NICI Plan

• Improve the nations Information and communication infrastructure;

• Improve the nations ICT policies and regulatory frameworks;

• Improve the nations Human resources;• Improve the nations Infostructure.

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NICI Plan Components– The policy;– The Framework;– The implementation plan.

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NICI Process

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NICI Plans in Africa, 2005

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• Long-term Vision • - is absolutely Essential• Short-term prioritization • -(start small, scale fast)• Human resource development • - for all sectors of society• Private-sector funding model • -is not yet mature• Donors need to fund • -beyond “pilots”

Lessons learnt

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Lessons Learnt• Incoherence between NICI Plans - UNDAF &

PRSP• ICT- led Development Vision Vs. MDG• Projects identified in NEPAD STAP are those

identified by RECs• Implementation phase awaited• Many initiatives with mitigated results

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AISI: ECA’s Subsidiary Bodies• ATAC:• PICTA:• CODI:• African Stakeholders Network (ASN) of the UN ICT Task

Force:• African regional EPolNet Node:

– Launched in 2003 (CODI III);– Mission: channel demand from African institutions and

individuals, such as policy experts, programme managers and legislative drafters seeking e-strategy expertise;

• GKP: Network of networks– 2002: GKP annual meeting held in ECA– Mission: develop GKP strategy for 2005: global and

regional networks and partnership mechanisms in Africa

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What is RICI?• A facility for harmonizing national strategies at the sub-

regional levels by RECs for consistency in regional economic integration goals in the area of ICTs

• Allows for harmonization of national regulatory frameworks as countries deregulate and liberalize their telecommunication markets

• Provides a framework for the development of information and communication infrastructure that can facilitate regional economic integration goals of the African continent.

• Provides an impetus for strengthening capacity at the sub-regional level in ICT for development and building a critical mass to facilitate regional integration through ICTs

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Benefits of RICI• Policy and Regulatory Integration:

– The creation of regional strategies would enable Africa to build economy of scale for developing its infrastructure and content and increase Africa's ability to negotiate globally.

• Regulatory integration at the regional level:– would create and strengthen the community/associations of regulators to facilitate

cross-boarder interaction, market enlargement and harmonization policies at the sub-regional and regional levels.

• Strengthen regional institutions:– to participate effectively in global ICT, as well as of decision-making bodies such as

ICANN, WTO, WIPO, ISOC etc.• Infrastructure Development:

– This will include the setting up of sub-regional backbones, exchange and interconnection points, with human resource development requirements.

• Mechanisms for sharing bandwidth within the sub-regions:– should be looked into as part of the facilitation of sub-regional and regional

interconnectivity.• Economic Policies:

– Establishing common tariffs for ICT products and services across borders as a key component of the harmonization process at sub-regional and regional levels.

• Potential for cost sharing in executing joint projects at sub-regional and regional levels:

– particularly the financing and strengthening of sub-regional and regional backbones to enhance connectivity in the region.

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ICT & RI: Old/New Initiatives…

• ECA: AISI/RICI Plan (Regional Information & Communication Infrastructures) :- Etat des lieux des pays- Stratégies & politiques réglementaires- Intégration technologique

• NEPAD• AU: Programme 18

• RASCOM• PANAFTEL• SAT3• COMTEL• AfricaONE• FLAG• AFRILINK• African Satellite

(AFSAT) • AFROSAT• ARABSAT • AMTT/IRD • SHARE

ICT Policy Infrastructure/Connectivity

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Millenium ICT Goals & MDG• Goal 1 Food security-related obj.• Goals 2 e-Education• Goals 3 Networking and Capacity B.• Goals 4, 5, 6 e-Health• Goal 7 Information for decision-

making –Geo Info.• Goal 8 WSIS

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COMESA/EAC: Institutional Progress

• Common ICT Policy and Model Legislation

• Regional Association of ICT Regulators (ARICREA)

• COMESA Telecoms Project (COMTEL) and Institutional Mechanisms to achieve Interconnectivity

• E-Commerce, Trade & Investment

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COMTEL Project Summary• COMTEL – First Pan-African Carriers’ Carrier Regional Terrestrial Fibre

Optic Cable Backbone Network• COMTEL Project conceived by National Telecom Operators (NTOs)

and facilitated by COMESA to provide interconnectivity Services for 21NTOs

• Signed Protocols and Agreements for the establishment of COMTELInvestment Company (CIC) in 2000, a Private Limited Company asthe vehicle through which the NTOs shall collectively invest in COMTELCommunications Company (CCC) and the commitment by NTOs andGovernments

• CIC in conjunction with the Strategic Equity Partner (SEP) and NewInvestors, will fund and carry out the COMTEL Project

• NEPAD Priority Flagship Project in STAP, to attract Private EquityInvestment in ICT to underpin the African Continental Infrastructure gap

• Anderberg-Ericsson Consortium appointed by COMESA and NTOsas the SEP to Fund, Construct, Manage and Operate COMTELNetwork for 10 years

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RSA Lesotho

Swaziland

BotswanaNamibia

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Angola

D R Congo

Malawi

Tanzania

Rwanda

Burundi

Nairobi

Uganda

Ethiopia

Sudan

Djibouti

Eritrea

Egypt

Madagascar

Mauritius

Seychelles

Comoros

Comtel fibre

Non Comtel Comtel Microwave

Cairo

Khartoum

Abu Simbel

Asmara

SEAME 3/ FLAG

Djibouti

Addis Ababa

Kasala

Kenya

SEAME 3FLAG

Mombasa

Kampala

Dodoma

Beira

KisumuTororo

KigaliBujumbura

Dar es Salaam

Kinshasa

MatadiSoyo

Luau

Benguela

Luanda

Namibe

Windhoek

Lubumbashi

Lilongwe

BlantyreLusaka

Livingstone Harare

GaboroneBeite Bridge

Bulawayo

Maputo

MozambiqueMababane

Toliara

Antananarivo

SAT 3

SAT 3Mbeya

SAFE

Goma

Bukavu

Dogola

Huambo Ndola

Nacala

COMTEL Project

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ECCAS – COMESA - SADC: SAT3 Submarine Fiber Optic