News

Kigali: Summit settles on key objectives

01/01/2008 -- The Connect Africa Summit that has ended in Kigali, Rwanda, settled on five major goals. African ICT ministers also shortlisted several regional projects to be supported by Connect Africa.

The goals were:

Goal 1. Interconnect all African capitals with ICT Broadband infrastructure and strengthen connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012. Interconnect major African cities by 2015.

Goal 2. Connect all African villages to broadband ICT services by 2012 and implement shared access initiatives such as community tele-centres and village phones.

Goal 3. Adopt key regulatory measures that promote affordable, widespread access to a full range of broadband ICT services, including technology and service neutral licensing/authorisation practises, allocating spectrum for multiple, competitive broadband wireless service providers, creating national internext exchange points (IXPs) and implementing competition in the provision of international internet connectivity.

Goal 4. Support the development of a critical mass of ICT Skills required by the knowledge economy, notably through the estamishment of ICT Centres of Excellence network in each sub-region of Africa and ICT capacity-building and training centres in each country, with the aim of achieving a borad network of inter-linked physical and virtual centres, whiles ensuring coordination between academia and industry by 2015.

Goal 5. Adopt a national e-strategy, including a cyber-security framework, and deploy at least one flagship e-government service as well as e-education, e-commerce and e-health services using accessible technologies in each country in Africa by 2012, with the aim of making multiple e-government and other e-services widely available by 2015.

The African ICT Ministers have also shortlisted some projects under ARAPKE which would be implemented through Connect Africa.

Date: 01/01/2008
Location: Dem. Rep. of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Theme: Access, National ICT Strategies