The New Partnership for Africa’s Development e-Africa Commission — which falls under the African Union — will be hosting a ceremony in Cape Town on Monday for the signing of a protocol on the broadband ICT infrastructure network project — including the Eastern Africa sub-marine system (EASSy cable), a statement from the Department of Communications said on Friday.
Spokesperson Richard Mantu said an additional seven countries were expected to sign the protocol following an earlier ceremony held in Kigali, Rwanda, on August 29, during which seven countries, including South Africa, signed the protocol at a ceremony presided over by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The ministers present agreed that the protocol signing period be extended to November 30 2006 to give a chance to other countries that did not sign to do so.
During the last signing ceremony South Africa’s Minister of Communications, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, emphasised that “we will not be connected until all Africa is connected”.
Mantu said the signing would enable a project-steering committee to be set up to fast track the implementation of the broadband infrastructure network, which involved construction of a 9Â 900km submarine cable from Mtunzini, South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan.
The 23 countries involved were Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — I-Net Bridge