In Africa today, there are roughly a thousand externally funded projects involving related aspects of telecommunication, audio-visual and computer technology, one expert estimates. To bring some coherence to this situation and assert their own development priorities, 22 African countries* are at different stages of devising policies and implementation plans for national information and communications infrastructure (NICI). The aim is to use new technology to accelerate progress at national and sectoral level.
NICI plans are a key part of the African Information Society Initiative which African ministers adopted in 1996. In doing so, they committed their governments to initiating a process that requires active private sector and civil society participation. NICI planning involves the legal framework, the physical infrastructure and the equipment used to store, process, transmit or display data as text, voice and image. More importantly, the process involves consulting a wide range of people on their needs, in the public and private sectors, civil society organizations, as well as students and the general public.
Several sponsors are pushing the NICI process forward, starting
with African governments. Their partners include the Carnegie
Corporation of New York, ECA, the International Development Research
Centre (IDRC) in Canada, the UN Development Programme, the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the US Agency
for International Development and the World Bank. 
Photo: Antonio
Fiorente
Ten countries began working with ECA on developing NICI plans in 1997: Burundi, Ethiopia, Mali, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Tunisia. The other 12 come in two groups. Of the other 12, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda have worked, also since 1997, with the IDRC's Acacia programme, which focuses on community development. The remainder -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritania and Nigeria -- started their NICI process only last July, with IDRC assistance.
Elements common to the NICI process in different countries include needs assessment, raising awareness, preparation of plans, policy coordination and programme implementation. Other recurring issues include gender and youth, community participation, research and training.
ECA says the following major "stakeholders" should play an active role in developing NICI policy: the government and parastatal companies, national and international private firms, regulatory bodies, state and private telecommunications firms, civil society organizations, academia, research centres and information technology experts, and international and regional organizations.
Countries should set up a NICI development team of experts from different relevant sectors to consult these "stakeholders," ECA says. Among its duties, the team starts with the sectoral priorities of the country's development plan, then compiles the needs, priorities and aspirations of the "stakeholders" as related to information and communication technology (ICT). Then it assesses ICT projects in the country and evaluates the national status of ICT in four areas. One is policy, covering such issues as regulation, gender and equity, environment, and the role of the private sector. Another is infrastructure, including physical and electronic equipment, facilities and services. The third area is "infostructure," tackling issues of content (databases, websites) and applications (to make the technologies more accessible to all, including the illiterate). Last, and perhaps the most important, is training and research. The NICI process moves towards completion with a strategy for short-, medium- and long-term implementation that also defines the responsibilities of the "stakeholders" and the partnerships needed.
According to ECA, the NICI process challenges African governments to develop "clear vision and leadership" in applying new technologies to development priorities and to promote the required organizational change. The private sector must in turn be innovative, while civil society has to make sure that NICI plans meet the needs of "disenfranchised groups."
Privatization under way in Africa's telecommunicationsAt least 17 countries have fully or partially privatized their national telecommunications company, usually after separating the postal function. Foreign investors often come from the former colonial metropolis -- Portugal Telecom in Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Principé; and France Télécom in Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar and Senegal. One exception is Telekom Malaysia, which has invested in South Africa, Guinea and Ghana. Usually offered guaranteed monopolies for 5-10 years, foreign investors have paid relatively high prices for their equity. European telecommunications firms are typically valued at $1,000 to $1,500 per phone line, but for its investment in Senegal's Sonatel, France Télécom paid nearly $5,000 per line. Other options for raising capital and improving national phone services include:
|
