African countries retreat from Nepad

In the wake of objections from incumbent telecommunications operators, the participation of Zambia and other eastern and southern African countries in the Nepad broadband project is on a knife-edge as the countries look to fibre optic alternatives, says Computerworld.co.za.

Although Zambia's Ministry of Communications and Transport signed on to the Nepad broadband project through the Kigali Protocol, the government has not ratified the project after the Zambia Telecommunications Company raised objections.

The government of Botswana last year said it was investing about $100 million in the East Africa Submarine Cable System project instead of the Nepad broadband project.

A new law being promulgated in Kenya spells out tough penalties for criminals using cellular phones or the Internet to perpetrate crimes, reports IT News Africa.

The Kenya Communications Amendment Act 2008, which details offences and penalties to do with ICT, prescribes heavy fines and even jail terms for offenders.

The act states that “Any person who publishes or transmits or causes to be published in electronic form obscene information commits an “offence”, and further outlines other forms of illegal acts using ICT.

Concerns over mounting electronic waste in Africa have led to the development of a framework to help the continent deal with the problem, says Monitor.co.ug.

E-waste, unwanted electronic goods such as computers and mobile phones, needs to be disposed of or recycled carefully to avoid health problems and environmental contamination from component toxic materials such as lead and mercury.

In some African countries there have been fears that the use of electronics is rising with no parallel increase in safe disposal methods.