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More Eastern and Southern Africa Information and Communications technology (ICT) Ministers to sign Protocol to roll out New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) ICT Infrastructure Projects To Connect Africa
12 October 2006
The NEPAD e-Africa Commission under the auspices of the African Union (AU) will be hosting a signing ceremony of the protocol on the NEPAD Broadband ICT Infrastructure Network Project, including the Eastern Africa Sub-marine System (EASSy) cable. Ministers responsible for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) from Eastern and Southern African countries will sign the protocol.
The signing ceremony will be held as follows:
Date: 16 October 2006
Venue: Radisson Hotel, Beach Road, Granger Bay, Cape Town (South Africa)
Time: 09h00
An additional seven countries are expected to sign the protocol following an earlier ceremony held in Kigali, Rwanda on 29 August 2006, during which, seven countries including South Africa signed the protocol at a ceremony presided over by the Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The Ministers present agreed that the Protocol Signing period be extended to 30 November 2006 to give a chance to other countries that did not sign, to do so.
During the last signing ceremony South Africa's Minister of Communications, Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, emphasised that "we will not be connected until all Africa is connected."
The signing will enable a Project Steering Committee to be set up to fast track the implementation of the NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network, that among other things, involves construction of a 9 900 km long submarine (EASSy) cable from Mtunzini, South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan.
The 23 countries involved in the network are Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Media is invited to this signing ceremony
Enquiries:
Samuel Mikenga
Cell: 072 529 6769 (South Africa)
E-mail: smikenga@eafricacommission.org/ s.mikenga@paris.com
Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871 (South Africa)
E-mail: Albi@doc.gov.za
Richard Mantu
Cell: 072 488 1520 (South Africa)
E-Mail: Richardm@doc.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Communications
12 October 2006
Source: Department of Communications (http://www.doc.gov.za)