Communications on NEPAD e-Africa Commission meeting with stakeholders on
East African Submarine Cable

1 February 2006

Tshwane (Pretoria), 1 February 2006. The Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) Task Team of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
e-Africa Commission is meeting with ICT Policy Makers, Regulators, and parties
that are signatories to Memorandum of Understanding of the East African
Sub-marine Cable (EASSy) at the CSIR Convention Centre in Lynnwood,
Tshwane.

The meeting brings together the signatories to EASSy MoU with government
officials from the region to exchange ideas concerning the development of the
EASSy cable.

The EASSy project was launched three years ago, and its main objective is to
build a broadband ICT Infrastructure for terrestrial and submarine cable
networks for East and Southern Africa.

In his opening remarks, Executive Deputy Chairperson of NEPAD e-Africa
Commission, Dr Henry Chasia, said Africa has not developed to the same extent
as the rest of the world in many fields. One factor limiting the growth of
Africa’s development, he said, is the lack of availability of affordable,
diverse, distributed, and reliable communications services.

“Communications is an enabler of economic growth, which leads to people
development and empowerment, and to human well-being,” he said. “However,
telecommunications services and facilities in most of Africa are expensive,
inadequate, and unreliable. In order for Africa to take its rightful place in
the global economy, telecommunications on the continent must be world standard,
available, accessible, and affordable.”

Today’s meeting follows a meeting of Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Communication Ministers held in Johannesburg on 7 October 2005. This
meeting resolved that NEPAD e-Africa Commission urgently convenes a meeting of
officials and regulators from the SADC countries, to develop a policy and
regulatory framework within which the broadband network infrastructure,
including the EASSy cable, in East and Southern Africa can be constructed and
operated.

For more information about NEPAD e-Africa Commission, please contact:
http://www.eafricacommission.org

Enquiries:
Samuel Mikenga
Communications Manager: NEPAD e-Africa Commission
Cell: 072 529 6769
Tel: (012) 841 4523

Albi Modise
Acting Chief Director of Communications
Department of Communications
Tel: (012) 427 8017
Cell: 083 490 2871

Issued by: Department of Communications
1 February 2006