The following is just in from Ewan McPhie,
from Bridges.org. It is an
announcement about the new initiative called the "e-Africa Commission",
which in turn is being sprung out of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD) which, in my last post, I reported
was heavily promoted by its backers at the recent World Economic Forum meeting
in New York.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Africans join forces to bridge the digital
divide
A special commission to drive Africa's technology strategy will be
unveiled today as delegates from around the world gather in Midrand, north of
Johannesburg, to discuss ways of bridging the digital divide between Africa and
the developed countries.
The gathering is the second International Telecommunications Union meeting to
be held in South Africa. Delegates will discuss how African countries can
accelerate technology development.
The new body, to be known as the e-Africa Commission, is the first initiative
of the recently launched New Partnership for Africa's Development.
The commission will be made up of representatives from South Africa, Nigeria,
Senegal, Egypt and Algeria. Its members will be drawn from governments, the
private sector and other organisations specialising in information
and communication technology.
Lyndall Shope-Mafole, head of international affairs at the Department of
Communications, says the e-Africa Commission will be responsible for developing
continental e-strategies.
It will serve as the primary advisory body to the Presidential Implementation
Committee of the New Africa Initiative.
The information and communication technology
sector is one of the New Partnership's four priority areas. The others are
health, education and debt reduction.
The partnership's acting chief operating officer, Smunda Mokoena, says the
technology sector is crucial for the knowledge-based economy of the future.
Rapid advances and the diminishing cost of technology have opened up
opportunities for Africa, he says.
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2001/11/11/politics/pol07.asp
