Kenya’s hopes of laying a fibre optic cable along the east coast of Africa have been shattered after delegates attending the third preparatory committee of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) failed to reach a compromise.
Governments present for the negotiations disagreed on the language and provisions of the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action. The two documents are still in square brackets -‒ a United Nations convention for flagging unresolved text.
“Our development dream has been shattered,” said Francis Wangusi, the head of
Kenyan delegation to the committee.
It was on the two WSIS documents that Wangusi hung his hopes to revitalise the telecommunication sector by establishing cheaper and faster means of connecting
to the world. The East African coast will not be able to emulate the examples set in west and southern Africa where optic fibre cables are already in place.
The African Group proposed in a submission to Prepcom 3, the establishment of a
new Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) that would assist poorer countries establish solid information communication technologies (ICT). The New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) initially proposed the fund to benefit African nations, but it was soon transformed in a global fund for all developing nations.
When he left Nairobi, Wangusi was instructed to push for the fund, on which to lay the cornerstone of the information society in Kenya.
If governments agreed on the text and the language of the two documents, he argued, there would have been a concrete basis to move ahead with the task of bridging the digital divide.
Asked why so much emphasis was placed on this fund, the director of the Communications Commission in Kenya (CCK) said that WSIS was a turning point in
bridging the gap and any funds coming from the meeting would only be committed
to developmental issues.
While Kenya’s hopes may have been dashed at this meeting, Wangusi said the government would embark on a strategic plan aimed at wooing private investors to set up the fibre optic connection. To achieve this goal, Wangusi admitted that the government faced a gigantic task of reforming its taxation regime and restructuring its policies to attract international investors.
“I am sure other African governments will bank on the private sector to bridge this gap. We cannot give up though I hoped we would come up with conclusive implementation elements,” he added.
Wangusi blamed the failure to agree on the rigidity of the developed nations, mainly the United States of America and European Union. He wondered why developed nations opposed every move taken by African representatives while at the same time always expressing their willingness to bridge the gap. He termed the position taken by developed nations as harsh and unfair to Africa. “It is depressing to labour so hard yet go home with intangible results,” he concluded. – Highway Africa News Agency