IT FOR AFRICA: RWANDA LEADS THE WAY

UNCLAS KIGALI 001062 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C DEPARTMENT PASS USTDA: EEBONG DEPARTMENT PASS USTR: WJACKSON DEPARTMENT PASS COMMERCE: RTELCHIN DEPARTMENT PASS OPIC: BCAMERON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ECON PGOV EINV ENRG ETRD EPET BTIO RW SUBJECT: IT FOR AFRICA: RWANDA LEADS THE WAY ¶1. Summary. Rwanda hosted the Connect Africa Summit October 29-30. Six African presidents, 53 communications ministers, and 19 corporate executives attended the summit which was intended to accelerate broadband and wireless connectivity in Africa. Dr. Hamadoun Toure, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),declared that this conference will be "the Marshall Plan for information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure development in Africa." A total of USD 50 billion was pledged to help build African ICT infrastructure. Multinational companies promised to invest while donors such as the World Bank committed to increase substantially their aid flows into ICT. The Connect Africa Summit contributed to President Kagame's attempt to position Rwanda as a high-tech visionary, as the summit was well-attended and generated hopeful promises. End Summary. ¶2. Governments, along with private sector companies, development banks, and international organizations gathered in Kigali on October 29 and 30 for the Connect Africa Summit. The summit was designed to mobilize the human, financial, and technical resources required to expand the development of ICT infrastructure and solutions in Africa. The summit was co-sponsored by the Government of Rwanda (GOR),the ITU, the African Union, the World Bank, and the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development in partnership with the African Development Bank, the African Telecommunications Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the Global Digital Solidarity Fund. Heads of State in attendance were Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi, Ismael Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, and Pierre Nkurunzinza of Burundi. SUMMIT GOALS -------------- ¶3. The Secretary General of ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, opened the conference. Toure explained the goal of the summit was to discuss implementation of the resolutions reached in earlier meetings rather than developing new recommendations. He labelled the Kigali Summit "a Marshall Plan for ICT infrastructure development in Africa." Toure called upon participants to explore and invest in broader ICT ventures that would eventually connect the "highly unconnected" African continent to the global economy. He said the meeting provided a "vital opportunity" to bring about greater cohesion in the continent's ICT strategies, and to strengthen partnerships between governments and the private sector for rapid realization of tangible results. Several heads of state, in their opening remarks, underscored the point that investors create wealth, and that this Summit provided an opportunity to form partnerships. As a counterpoint, Dr. Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel Corporation and the Global Alliance for ICT and Development (in his presentation on the importance of ICT in development),estimated that an increase of 10 percentage points in mobile penetration could increase the annual growth rate of GDP by up to 1.2 percentage points. ¶4. Participants debated the factors vital to advance ICT investment and boost growth in Africa. These included the expanding broadband infrastructures, providing rural connectivity solutions, establishing business-friendly policies and regulatory environments, developing an ICT skilled workforce, and striking the right balance between private and public investment. ¶5. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who is also the chairman of ICT in Africa, said this should be the last meeting that brings people together without getting to the heart of implementing previous resolutions. Malawian President Dr. Bingwa wa Muthalika echoed the same sentiment saying the success from this landmark meeting would depend upon agreements forged between governments and private companies. OBSTACLES IDENTIFIED -------------- ¶6. Rwandan Minister of State for Infrastructure Albert Butare stated more than USD 8 billion has been invested in telecommunications infrastructure across Africa in 2005, yet huge obstacles still remain. These challenges included shortage of skills among users and public servants, lack of a culture (sometimes mechanisms) for sharing information, lack of requisite legislation, and the tendency for public information to be kept out of the public realm. ¶7. Ambassador Sha Zukang, Undersecretary General for Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations, argued that barriers to the adoption of mobile communications, such as high consumer taxes levied in African countries have to be lowered or removed to stimulate growth. High license fees and other regulatory bottlenecks, such as international gateway monopolies, constrain the competitiveness of African businesses. Ambassador Sha reported that more than 70 percent of internet traffic within Africa is routed outside the continent, driving up costs for business and consumers. Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza painted a grim picture, explaining that there are only 50,000 connected computers in his country. This represents a 0.07 percent rate of internet penetration for Burundi as opposed to an average rate of 62 percent in the developing world. RWANDA'S ROLE -------------- ¶8. ICT is a crucial cornerstone of President Kagame's strategic plan for Rwanda's development, and the GOR has acted accordingly to build technical institutions, provide scholarships for science and technology study abroad, and host several conferences focused on technology. During the summit, the GOR made a public offer to provide up to 100 ICT scholarships for students from East and Central African nations starting in 2009. The Rwanda Information and Technology Authority (RITA) Secretary General, Nkubito Bakuramutsa, confirmed that Kagame has set specific targets for RITA, including the creation of an internet backbone throughout the country by the end of 2008 - a goal which Bakuramutsa admits is extremely aggressive. ¶9. In January of this year, Kagame reminded heads of state at an African Union summit that Rwanda had set its science and technology spending at 1.6 percent of GDP, bringing it in line with typical many developed nations (as opposed to other African nations, which average less than 0.5 percent). African leaders at the summit picked up on this Rwandan signal of leadership. Burundi President, Pierre Nkurunzinza, for example, in his remarks at the Summit expressed his recognition of Kagame's vision for development and announced that he will eliminate all taxes on ICT tools and reduce costs of acquiring licenses in the country in order to quicken the process of achieving connectivity. SUMMIT OUTCOMES -------------- ¶10. The Connect Africa summit ended on a high note with government and private sector delegates agreeing to work together to develop Africa's interconnectivity. In his closing remarks, Dr. Toure said several projects had already been signed. ¶11. Microsoft promised support to help accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Millenium Development goals on ICT in Africa. One of the company's vice presidents, Michael Rawding, announced that Microsoft will mobilize human, financial and technical resources required to expand the development of the ICT, infrastructure and connectivity. According to a joint statement issued at the end of the Summit, the two parties agreed to support programs providing skills development and capacity building along with the delivery of relevant applications and services. This includes delivery of a new online program for all stakeholders to showcase and track the implementation of development projects. The online platform, GlobalView, will be hosted and maintained by the ITU, and will be open to all stakeholders - governments, industry, international and regional organizations, as well as civil society - allowing users to check status, identify gaps and avoid overlap in collaborative efforts to achieve the Millenium Development goals. ¶12. Dr. Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Director of Operations for Africa, announced that the World Bank Group will double its commitment to ICT on the continent to USD 2 billion by 2012. Donald Kabaruka, African Development Bank (AfDB) President (who also hosts the Secretariat of the African Infrastructure Consortium which brings together major donors and financial institutions active on the continent) announced that AfDB will also scale up funds to develop ICT initiatives in Africa. Under the Summit Communique issued, the ITU and AfDB will actively mobilize partners and financing to close ICT broadband infrastructure gaps between major centres in Africa. The AfDB and the ITU will jointly undertake feasibility studies and develop project proposals in consultation with stakeholders in the region. ¶13. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) said its member companies would invest USD 50 billion in mobile phone telecommunications in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years. GSMA's investment will be used to extend the reach of GSM mobile networks, enhanced with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technologies, to provide several mobile multimedia services, including Internet access. (Note: Founded in 1987, GSMA is a global trade association representing over 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries of the world. It also includes more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as associate members. End Note). ¶14. Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecommunication company already engaged in infrastructure projects in Rwanda, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ITU to jointly promote technical development in developing countries. Following the summit Bakuramutsa explained that the MOU commits the parties to cooperate in improving interconnectivity between regions as well as developing local telecommunication expertise. As a first step, the two parties will use Huawei's existing training centers in India and Nigeria to provide telecommunications training to Rwandan engineers and technicians. Bakuramutsa also reported that Huawei donated telecommunication equipment worth USD 130,000 to RITA to provide quality broadband services in support of the Connect Africa Summit. ¶15. Carnegie Mellon University announced a scholarship program to help build capacity in the technology sector. Dr. Pradeep Khosla, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University, promised 150 scholarships for Rwandan ICT students over the next five years, 30 starting in January 2008. ¶16. Comment. Rwanda's dream of becoming the "Singapore of Africa" - an information-technology hub for the resource-rich nations of Eastern and Central Africa is a point of pride for the GOR, a matter of concern for some, and a curiosity for just about everyone else. The Connect Africa Summit contributed to Kagame's attempt to position Rwanda as a high-tech visionary. Prioritizing science and technology has enabled Kagame to attract the interest of top technology executives around the world, including at this event. All speakers, panelists, and participants agreed on the importance of ICT adoption for economic development in Africa. As most of the heads of state mentioned in their opening remarks, however, recognition of the importance of ICT is not a new development, and it remains to be seen whether the promises made at the summit will materialize. Government officials and business leaders see high-tech as the best way to lift the world's least-developed continent into a better position to compete globally, but others argue that the money could be better spent on things like potable water and reliable electricity. ARIETTI