Infrastructure in Africa: The role of NEPAD

 

By Anthony Mugeere

Formally embraced as the “vision and strategic framework for Africa’s renewal” at the 37th Summit of the Organisation of African Unity in July 2001, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is one of the continental bodies tackling the major obstacles to Africa’s development.

Although it is very much geared to reducing poverty levels and scaling up development, its promoters cast the net wider while formulating its ‘holistic’ programme of action that embodies the vision of its founding fathers, notably South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

Prominent among the three key priority areas for the Pretoria-based continental body is “building and improving infrastructure--including Information and Communication Technology (ICT)”.

In addition to the e-schools project geared to enable African schools have access to ICT, NEPAD is also actively involved in the development of an e-governance framework incorporating the public service sectors, election commissions and local governments of Africa.

President Abdoulaye Wade, one of its promoters, is also the brain behind the Digital Solidarity Fund initiative—a voluntary drive to raise funds for extending ICT services to rural areas.

But the most recent ICT infrastructure project in which NEPAD is presently involved is the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) to provide affordable and reliable connectivity among African countries and the outside world. The overall development of the NEPAD ICT Program and implementation of the partnership is undertaken by the e-Africa commission.

Over the last one year, NEPAD has held a number of meetings involving various stakeholders to discuss the progress made on EASSy so far. In the latest meeting held on April 6 2006 in Pretoria, South Africa, NEPAD cut the fatherly figure of the continental body spearheading EASSy. Although the project consortium is still firmly in charge of the implementation process, NEPAD has positioned itself as the regional power broker.

One of the major outcomes of the Pretoria meeting was that the World Bank insisted on a clear role for NEPAD to avoid possible conflict of interest with other stakeholders, notably the private telecom operators. NEPAD was thus asked to stick to policy and leave the construction and management of the project to private operators.

 

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