President Jacob Zuma has called on African countries to speed up the roll-out of ICT services.
Speaking during a meeting of heads of state and government, at the African Union, held in Addis Ababa, Zuma said development would not be possible without the roll-out of ICT infrastructure and services around the continent.
“For Africa, information and communications technology is not simply about science. Nor should it merely be viewed as another economic sector. We need to appreciate that the development of ICT is political,” says Zuma.
He called on African countries to revisit decisions taken at the Connect Africa summit in 2007. African countries took a resolution to connect all African capitals and major cities through broadband infrastructure, and strengthen connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012.
Countries also resolved to connect villages to broadband services by 2015. Shared access initiatives, such as community tele-centres and village phones, were also to be accelerated. Regulatory measures, which would promote affordable and widespread access to broadband ICT service, were also to be drawn up and implemented.
“In addition, we were to support the development of a critical mass of ICT skills. We need to frankly examine the progress we have made in this regard. We need to identify the obstacles and find the means to overcome them,” said Zuma.
He also noted that, while resources and funding were scarce, countries needed to find innovative ways to implement continental and regional ICT priority projects.
SKA support
Zuma hailed SA's bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project as an example of how the continent could improve cooperation in technological development.
SA is in a race with Australia to host the 1.5 billion-euro SKA radio telescope. Work on the SKA is due to start in 2013, subject to successful funding proposals. It will be constructed in a phased manner over seven years. Operations will start in 2015, provided a significant portion of the array has been commissioned.
The mega telescope would be located in the Northern Cape, with remote stations in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, Ghana and Zambia.
The telescope will be about 50 to 100 times more sensitive than any other radio telescope on earth, and will be used to explore astronomy, physics and cosmology. Large-scale investments in infrastructure are also expected to contribute to economic growth in the region.
“Hosting the SKA will underscore Africa's capability in science and innovation... The requirement for ultra-high-speed Internet across Africa to operate the SKA will lead to improved ICT infrastructure and access for millions of people,” he commented.
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