/ 10 August 1999

US OFFICIAL TO GABORONE

THE chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission, William Kennard, arrives in Gaborone on Tuesday for Wednesday’s annual general meeting of the Telecommunications Regulators Association of Southern Africa. Botswana holds the chairmanship of TRASA. A statement from the US embassy in Gaborone says Kennard hopes to emphasise US commitment to private-sector involvement in telecommunications. The statement notes United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding over the past five years of some $15-million to restructure regional telecommunications, and to encourage private-sector led growth in the sector.