African telecommunications regulators face many challenges, not the least of which are a lack of capacity, resources and experience, as well as the risk of political interference and the application of regulatory tools that do not necessarily work for a Third World market.
This is the view shared by Mphoeng Tamasiga, director of market development and analysis at the Botswana Telecommunications Authority, with the GSM Africa CEO Forum, held this week in Sandton.
"There is no standard regime for regulators to follow and too often, African regulators find themselves using a model that has been developed for a First World market, which is not necessarily suited to the developing world," says Tamasiga.
"Too often regulators are also under-funded. Financial independence is crucial, as there are times when the optimum option is not chosen, simply because it is unaffordable. Also, if a regulator relies on government funding, it leaves itself open to political interference."
He says the key factors that a regulator should focus on include dispute resolution, research and development, information collection and dissemination and the role of consumer "watchdog".
"While consumers and new operators are impatiently waiting for an end to monopolistic environments through a liberalisation process, they need to understand that such processes need to be conducted in an orderly fashion, because if it is rushed, it may cause more problems than it solves."
"True regulation in an African context is really less than 10 years old, so our regulatory bodies are still finding their feet and learning as they go," says David Kapitolo, head of regulatory affairs at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Southern Africa.
"Telecoms as an industry is the ideal vehicle for sustained economic growth, which is why regulation is essential - it is the way in which we ensure that the correct fruit is borne from the industry."
He says there is a need to harmonise the regulatory environment in order to provide a more conducive atmosphere for international investment.
"Ideally, we would want to see this harmonisation take place across the entire African continent, in order for all of Africa to benefit from this," says Kapitolo.
"The first step in such a process is to establish harmony in each particular region, which is where regional and sub-regional bodies come into play, as they are the organisations that will be called on to get each region`s telecoms environment working efficiently and correctly."
In response to Tamasiga`s statement that too often, emerging markets use regulatory models designed for established markets, he says the reason for this is because much of their funding comes from the First World, which is why these principles are adopted.
"If we want true African regulators, with an African focus and African ideals at heart, we need the African operators to be prepared to help out in terms of funding the regulators - we need you all to play your part."
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