Not sure if you’ve already received his notice from Afrispa/Bellanet about the meeting but in case you haven’t it is very pertinent to your dialogue. What it does not include is an agreement, according to an interview with the South African Communications Director General, Lyndall Shope Mafole on SAFM radio current affairs programme on 30 October from Kigali, amongst the Ministers to ensuring that all cable landing on the continent must have a majority African shareholding.With the capital shortage on the continent this is likely to inhibit investment and competition in international bandwidth and in most countries retain the high cost of incumbent provisioning.

“The Connect Africa Summit justed ended in Kigali with the following five major goals;

Goal 1. Interconnect all African capitals with ICT Broadband infrastructure and strengthen connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012 as well as 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 bradband 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 implenented through Connect Africa @ http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/bgdmaterial/flagship-11.html

It is important that we all engage and ensure that these ICT goals are met by 2012 and the larger MDGS by 2015.

Thank you and sorry for cross-posting.

Eric M.K Osiakwan
Executive Secretary
AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org)
Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031
Fax: + 233.21.258811
Cell: + 233.244.386792
Handle: eosiakwan
Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North
Office: BusyInternet – 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North
Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/
Slang: “Tomorrow Now”