Exclusive interview with Dr. Jabulani Dhliwayo of NEPAD COUNCIL

By Joyce Wangui, Highway Africa – Grahamstown, South Africa

A high-level ICT conference dubbed NOVATECH 2008-The ICT Africa Market place took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between 13th and 15th February 2008. NOVATECH was the first stage of a dynamic process for the promotion and support of the ICT sector in East Africa and the Indian Ocean region. It was organised by Pro-invest-a joint programme of the European Commission and the group of ACP states (Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific) in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and NEPAD COUNCIL- a non-profit organisation that brings academia together to research about ICT in Africa.

NEPAD COUNCIL has had a series of ICT Africa conferences in different African countries. The outcome has been fruitful as the delegates were able to deliberate on cross cutting issues surrounding the ICT sector in Africa. These include broadband fibre optic networks, wireless networks, Internet connectivity and ICT policy and regulation.

Highway Africa News Agency ICT journalist Joyce Joan Wangui interviewed Dr. Jabulani Dhliwayo, President of NEPAD Council and below are the excerpts.

Highway Africa: What is the relevance of NOVATECH 2008 Conference?

Dr. Dhliwayo: First, NOVATECH offers a platform for intense information and interaction between participants from Europe and the region (East Africa & the Indian Ocean). During NOVATECH, companies have the opportunity to initiate talks on potential partnerships, intermediary organisations and professional associations will express their joint support programmes in favour of the ICT sector and regional economic organisations and institutions will be able to express their policies regarding ICT.

This unique information exchange and interaction platform between participants from Europe and from the EAIO region, to initiate negotiations and potential partnerships, was the opportunity for the delegates to discuss their projects and ambitions in terms of research and also their experiences in the ICT sector.

Being an ICT Africa market place, companies and other players in the market use the forum to showcase their products in order to, one, exhibit a range of products that exist in a country and two, to lure investors in the ICT sector.

Highway Africa: What are some of the highlights of this year’s NOVATECH-ICT AFRICA?

Dr. Dhliwayo: One of the most unique features of NOVATECH 2008 was the Business to Business meetings among participants. It emerged that over 750 BtoB meetings were scheduled which led to 70 Partnership Memoranda (PM) between the different companies, Institutions and organisations to discuss different types of partnerships: These include Sub-contracting, equipment supply, technical assistant, distribution, export advice among others.
It is imperative to note that, the EU companies that forged partnership with East Africa & the Indian Ocean companies are eager to invest in the ICT sector. African companies present at NOVATECH proved beyond reasonable doubts that Africa is not the Dark Continent it is perceived to be by the west.
Secondly, the quality of thematic workshops is worth mentioning. 6 thematic workshops were organized in close collaboration with leading associations and professional organisations in the ICT sector. They touched on various cross cutting issues such as:

1. ICT Skills, Training and Awareness: critical success factors
2. Network infrastructure technologies: pre-requisites for progress
3. E-applications: expanding opportunities
4. Mobile and wireless communication technologies: trends and future
5. Outsourcing: How to match demand and supply
6. Institutional and regulatory framework for ICT development: How to create a conducive environment

NEPAD Council has previously held ICT Africa conferences. What prompted your institution to partner with Pro-invest in order to come up with NOVATECH 2008?

Our collaboration with the EU based Pro-invest was to inject as many resources as possible. NEPAD Council is a non-profit organisation that conducts ICT awareness programmes in different African countries. We felt incapacitated to hold such a huge ICT conference unilaterally and hence requested Pro-invest to mobilise funds and resources for NOVATECH. The presence of Pro-invest was very pivotal. Besides strengthening the capacity of Intermediary Organisations (IOs), it also supports the development of company partnerships. NEPAD Council and Pro-invest helped mobilise the companies present at NOVATECH to better present their ICT initiatives to potential investors during the conference.

In the recent past, Africa has made remarkable progress in as far as ICT development is concerned. What can be attributed to the above?

Most governments have prioritised the need to recognise ICTs as an engine for growth. In most countries, government and the private sector have fully realised the importance of ICTs in bringing about rapid economic development and social transformation. Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritius have particularly shown a great deal of political will in formulating ICT policies that are in line with bridging the digital divides in their countries. In Kenya for instance, the ICT bill has paved way for the government to ‘relax’ its rules on regulations and licensing of telephony and telecommunications services. The willingness by most governments to collaborate with the private sector has also led to the proliferation of ICT services in many African countries.
Secondly is the upsurge of undersea and terrestrial fibre optic cable projects. This includes the East Africa Sub-marine system (EASSY), an undersea cable that will run from South Africa all the way to Port Sudan-thus interconnecting different countries. The TEAMS (East Africa Marine Systems) project initiated by the Kenyan government is set to connect the East African countries using a fibre optic cable and lastly the SEACOM project. These cables are expected to provide a high bandwidth that will significantly reduce the interconnectivity costs, hence making calls cheaper. Most African countries rely on satellite connectivity which comes with a huge price tag, hence locking out the poor. For instance Telkom Kenya- a telecommunication provider - pays about $2 million per year to Intesalat for the latter to provide satellite services to the sector.
According to Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, the Executive Secretary of ECA, most African countries have liberalised and de-regulated the telecommunication sectors and this offers a lucrative African market for investors. “Africa’s mobile lines and market have been the fastest growing of any region over the last 5 years. The total number of mobile subscribers at the end of 2003 was just short of 52M and the mobile access stood at 6.2% - twice that of the fixed rate. In many instances, the liberalised ICT environment is spinning new industries in Africa, creating Technology Parks, call centres, cyber cities and a growing software development sector who can tap into the global $260 billion software industry.  It is also anticipated that African software companies have the potential to become the single largest contributor of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Could you highlight some of the challenges facing the ICT sector in the East Africa & Indian Ocean region?
The region has yet to fully harness the benefits of ICTs for social and economic transformation. While ICTs have yielded some positive results, much more remains to be done in terms of effective implementation to tackle Africa’s development challenges in a fundamental way. The issue of digital divide is hampering the development of the ICT sector. In many countries, vast opportunities only exist in the urban areas while the rural areas are branded as grey, for ICT investment: hence are often locked out.
Monopoly, particularly in the telecommunication sector has been cited as an impediment to the growth of the sector. Many governments prefer to fully own telecommunications and mobile sectors while locking out the private sector, consequently hindering investment.
Another challenge, which I mentioned in my speech, is the lack of investor confidence in the ICT sector in Africa. The developed countries are reluctant to invest or forge any partnerships with African ICT companies. Their perception is that Africa is a basket of miseries such as poverty, disease, starvation and war. Lastly most telecommunications services in the region rely on satellite connectivity which is very expensive.

How does NEPAD Council address the above challenges?
NEPAD Council has over the years reversed the trend of Africa’s perception vis-à-vis ICTs. Often we conduct ICT awareness programes that are aimed at showcasing the ICT initiatives in the continent. We have offices in the USA, Germany and South Africa where NEPAD Council members conduct ICT awareness workshops aimed at disseminating information regarding the sector and also luring investors. For instance, NEPAD Council has endorsed and is promoting a satellite project, SWANSAT, to launch at least 12 satellites for telecommunications worldwide. SWANSAT wants free landing points and rights from the African Union in exchange for subsidised bandwidth and video channels for the African continent. NEPAD Council is working with the African Union to have this initiative realized.

Why is your institution so involved in ICTs?
NEPAD Council is involved with in a wide array of activities including a rural agricultural initiative in partnership with the University of Fort Harare in South Africa, the Africa Journal of Animal and Biomedical Science in collaboration with Makerere in Uganda, trade and investment initiatives such as the Europe-Africa Business summit in Germany.

However, ICT is one of our main area of focus.  I believe that incorporating ICTs in every other sector will cure the ills of poverty and under-development in Africa. In most cases, ICT triggers development through its applications such as e-government, e-commerce, e-banking, e-health, e-education among others. For any company, institution or organisation to leave a mark on society, it has to incorporate the use of technologies in its daily activities.
As NEPAD Council, ICT is the epicentre of many of our activities.

Name any African country that has made tremendous achievements in harnessing the benefits of ICTs and why?
Kenya: I always use Kenya in my examples because the country has tried to leapfrog the technological advancements. The government’s commitment, through the ministry of Information and Communication is impressive. The government recently launched an ICT board, mandated to make Kenya an ICT hub in the region. Besides, the country has numerous ICT initiatives aimed at reducing poverty. For instance flower growers are able to use ICTs to sell their produce. Initially, these farmers got ripped off by middlemen who guised as brokers but later the farmers were acquainted to internet courses that enabled them to sell their produce at reasonable prices. Kenya is also doing well in harnessing internet banking. Rural residents can now receive money from their urban relatives using mobile phones.