III. Components of an African Information Society Framework

41. Building Africa's information and communication sector requires developing and improving four major components:

1. Institutional framework and legal, regulatory and management mechanisms.
2. Human resources
3. Information resources (infostructure)
4. Technological resources (infrastructure)

Institutional framework

42. The African Information Society Initiative cannot be realised without the appropriate institutional, legal and regulatory framework and mechanisms at the national level as well as at the regional level. It is essential to address the legal, regulatory and institutional practices in African countries which inhibit the development of national information services and connectivity to the global information infrastructure.

 43. Within an institutional framework, some of the major obstacles which inhibit the development of national information services and connectivity to the global information infrastructure are identified below.

 (a) Financial

1. the high cost of telecommunication services which constitute the major obstacle preventing the establishment and use of value added services;
2. high levels of taxation for value added service providers, which are particularly harmful for businesses which are in a start-up phase or are not yet profitable;
3. high levels of import duties on information technology and communication equipment.

 (b) Regulatory

1. lack of adequate regimes for type approval certification of equipment;
2. prohibitions on the creation of private telecommunication networks (whether based on user-owned or leased facilities) and/or on obtaining the required interconnection with the public networks;
3. difficulty in obtaining licenses to access international telecommunication carriers.

 (c) Business environment

1. lack of appropriate legal framework for the creation of enterprises or associations providing value added services;
2. lack of needed services for prospective and established value added services, such as information technology consultancy, training, information strategy planning, support services, etc.;
3. difficulty in obtaining capital for start-up and expansion.

1. lack of appropriate enabling environments for the creation of African information products;
2. underdeveloped intellectual property rights provisions;
3. restrictions on freedom of expression, including measures to ensure law and order or national security, which may be inappropriately applied to electronic information services;
4. lack of adequate management and coordinating mechanisms for the implementation of the AISI at the national, sub-regional and regional levels;
5. lack of understanding of the importance of the development of information and telecommunications infrastructure and insufficient commitment to the use of information and communication technologies.

Addressing the Obstacles:

Role of Government

44. The role of government is to provide a vision, a strategy and an enabling environment to develop national information and communication infrastructure and to ensure that all sectors of society can benefit from it. To fulfill its role in achieving these objectives, it is recommended that each African government establish or assign a lead national agency to be responsible for broad based coordination and collaboration within government as well as with other sectors. As part of this process Government should be:

1. Promoting the use of information and communication technologies in government in particular and society in general to improve the effectiveness of government service delivery and stimulate the information and communication industries. Special support should also be given to the less well resourced sectors of public concern such as the academic and research organisations;
2. Developing national policies and plans for adopting information and communication technologies within the government or public agencies and follow up their implementation;
3. Establishing a framework and mechanisms that ensure the participation of all sectors in implementing the national information and communication infrastructure and co-ordinating and harmonising the multiple efforts of the different players, including the private sector, non-governmental organisations and the media. Especially important is to encourage the participation of all the major government ministries. This may involve the formation of joint boards (government, industry, labour and consumer associations);
4. Liaising with other countries, international organisations and regional bodies to ensure coordinated and harmonious development at regional and international levels;
5. Developing the legislative/regulatory framework to address issues of cost and accessibility of telecommunications, universal service objectives, intellectual property, privacy, free-flow of information and the convergence of broadcasting with telecommunications;
6. To ensure smooth implementation of the National Information and Communication Infrastructure in African countries, governments need to address the legal and regulatory issues which currently constrain the use of these new technologies. This may require modification in laws and regulations in different areas such as communication, intellectual property, privacy and the free-flow of information as described above.

45. The urgency of these issues is likely to require the immediate establishment of mechanisms for adopting ad hoc regulations to allow experimental networks and pilot projects to feed in to the institutional reform process.

 46. The major tasks of government in this respect include (but are not limited to):

Telecommunication

To facilitate the implementation of AISI, African governments will need to ensure the establishment of adequate communication infrastructure through encouraging the liberalisation of national telecommunications and public broadcasting services. This can be done by providing enabling legislation and incentives for private sector collaboration in the development of this infrastructure, and by setting up a strong, independent regulatory body to regulate public/private sector partnerships, including the involvement of the international private sector. In particular it will be necessary to safeguard the goal of "universal service" and to review fiscal policies (such as tariffs, duties and license fees), in accordance with the "African Green Paper" which also aims at providing guidelines for telecommunication policy development).

Intellectual Property

 47. Intellectual property is becoming a major factor influencing the development of information use and its protection. African countries therefore need to adopt a legislative framework that strikes a balance between the commitment to intellectual property as an international necessity and the provision of basic intellectual needs to the poor. Governments should establish and enforce copyright laws, as well as spread awareness to the public about intellectual property rights and at the same time provide schemes for reducing the negative effects of these laws on society. These activities should be carried out in cooperation with the two existing African intellectual property organisations - OAPI and AIPO who can also be assisted in contributing to the global debate on Intellectual Property Rights issues.

Privacy

48. The government has an important role to play in securing citizens' privacy through adopting laws to protect its people against invasion of their lives through the new technologies. African governments should therefore formulate clear policies regarding electronic recording of personal data and means for controlling its use. It is recommended that a working group of representatives from African countries develop appropriate policies for privacy protection.

Free Flow of Information

49. African governments should encourage the free flow of information within their countries and to/from the rest of the world by ensuring that laws and regulations protect the freedom of speech and ensure easy access to information and the provision of value added services.

Role of the Private Sector

50. In developed countries, the private sector has assumed a vital role in establishing the Information Society. It is crucial in Africa that a critical mass of local business ventures arise, capable of supporting and using the information infrastructure. Public policy, in concert with private initiatives must collaborate in achieving an African information society. The private sector in Africa has to play a major role in realising the African Information Society by:

1. Stimulating growth and assuming market leadership in developing national information and communication infrastructures through investment in relevant areas;
2. Seizing the new business opportunities that arise from the implementation of the AISI.

51. To achieve this, the private sector can contribute, through the appropriate mechanisms, to empowering the four main private sector components:

(a) Entrepreneurs and business managers: support for managers of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME's) in information and communication fields;<

1. The Environment: establishment of a legislative and organisational framework that eliminates constraints and supports business development in this area;
2. Investment Promotion Agencies: encouragement of agencies that can provide finance, marketing and promotional activities to entrepreneurs;
3. The Market: enlargement of the consumer base through provision of improved and greater ranges of information related services.

Role of Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs)

52. Voluntary organisations and consumer and labour groups should play a catalytic and coordinating role with government and private sector, providing a balance to a market oriented service industry and helping to ensure that Universal Service objectives are realised. Specific support for participation in the AISI should be given for:

1. Voluntary organisations which can provide a vital voice in making known the needs of poor and disenfranchised groups such as the rural communities, the homeless, the aged and the sick, and contribute to developing their capacity to make use of the services offered;
2. Consumer associations, which voice public concerns and needs and national associations of information and communication technology user groups which will be a particularly important force for defining priorities in developing the African Information Society.
3. Labour associations, which are responsible for promoting the concerns of the workforce to employers and government.

53. All of the above associations should work actively with the government in the formulation of its vision, strategies and plans for information infrastructure development, for example, through the joint boards proposed above. A pan-African meeting of NGOs may need to take place to formulate the vision and strategies for their participation in the development and use of an African informatics infrastructure.

Role of the Media

54. In addition to being an essential means for information dissemination, the mass media plays a critical role in spreading awareness in Africa of the importance and benefits of the information revolution. Newspapers, radio, and television provide an easy, accessible, and cheap means of carrying information to the end user. Communities in Africa do not have to wait for the Internet to receive much of the information it carries. The mass media can access many of the existing sources of information and provide broad channels of communications to the poor and to remote areas. Media organisations should therefore contribute to the AISI by:

1. Creating awareness about an AISI for the community at large.
2. Providing ways and means for disseminating information resulting from an AISI.
3. Opening channels for communication which reach out to all citizens.

Proposed Regional Programme: ECA to initiate and co-ordinate the AISI

55. The African Information Society Initiative needs to be well coordinated and monitored at regional and sub-regional levels to ensure that all related activities taking place in Africa within its framework complement each other.

56. To successfully implement the African Information and Society Initiative on a regional basis it is recommended that ECA take the lead in coordinating with other related regional initiatives, organizations such as The United Nations System-Wide Special Initiative for Africa, the Organisation of African Unity, the African Development Bank and with existing sub-regional groupings and projects such as SADC, COMESA, IGADD, ECOWAS, UDEAC, ECCAS, UEMOA, PATU, RASCOM, UMA and URTNA. This will also be particularly important in making sure that international support is given to those countries in most need.

57. To carry out its task the ECA would:

1. Act as the regional executing agency for the AISI in charge of following up and monitoring its implementation and co-ordinating the implementation of the regional AISI activities;
2. Handle the fund-raising activities for financial support of the implementation of AISI projects in conjunction with the various regional and sub-regional bodies listed above.

58. Implementation of the 'African Information Society Initiative' would envision the following process for achieving the programme:

1. Adoption of this report by the ECA Conference of Ministers;
2. Mobilisation at regional and global levels of government and generation of commitment by Heads of State for AISI at regional and global levels through:
3. Referral of this Action Plan to the United Nations General Assembly, the OAU Council of Ministers, the ECA/OAU/ADB Joint Secretariat, the Africa Regional Telecommunication Development Conference (Abidjan, 6-10 May 1996), and the Ministerial Conference on the Global Information Society, sponsored by the Government of the Republic of South Africa (13-15 May 1996).
4. Facilitation of co-operation between African states and between Africa and the rest of the world through member states adopting regional and sub-regional programmes and by calling on intergovernmental bodies, such as the OAU and the ADB, to establish inter-organisational committees to promote and co-ordinate activities.
5. Facilitation of co-operation within African states through establishment of high-level multiministerial co-ordination committees and active cross-sectoral associations of users and service providers.
6. Requesting the ECA to set up a mechanism for monitoring progress, linking in to other initiatives and involving all potential partners from the government, the private sector, labour, academia, civil society, international organisations, NGOs and the media.

59. It is recommended that an African Technical Advisory Committee be established within the institutional framework required for implementing the AISI. The committee would be constituted of a number of experts from the region who would meet yearly under the auspices of the ECA. They would be in charge of:

1. Advising ECA on regional programmes and projects
2. Monitoring implementation of AISI
3. Evaluating results
4. Recommending and initiating regional projects

Proposed National Programmes

Programme 1: Development of National Infrastructure Plans

60. One of the most important steps for each African country to take in joining the 'African Information Society' is to develop a National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plan as outlined in Annex II. This should subsequently be followed by development, management, marketing and funding of five year plans - (1997-2002); (2002-2007); and (2007-2012).

Programme 2: National Sectoral "Infostructure" Development

61. Great efforts will also be needed in building the information resources - 'infostructure' - in each of the member countries. Taking into consideration the major problems and challenges African countries are facing, a number of specific projects in the areas outlined above under 'Challenges and Opportunities', are proposed for implementation. These projects will contribute to building the information base needed for planning, decision making, business development, exchange of information, providing value added information services, and finally building Africa's information society. Other projects could be identified to meet the specific requirements of each country. Brief descriptions including objectives and goals of potential projects are attached in Annex III.

B. Human Resources

62. Africa's social and economic development is to a large extent determined by the size and quality of its work force - its human and intellectual capital. The success of economies of the future will be more than ever determined by the quality of their human resources as the importance of natural resources steadily diminishes. Preparing Africa for the information age primarily necessitates appropriate investment in its human resources - training, education and promotion will be the cornerstones of Africa's new society.

63. Development of human resources also requires having a new profile of management/labour forces; the ability to adapt, adopt and exploit new technologies and to manage the change; and creating new job markets where skills and knowledge learned can be applied.

(a) Needs within the Information Society at large

64. Decision makers need to have a good understanding of the ways to use new information technologies in decision making; they need access to a wide scope of national information sources covering different sectors as well as access to regional and international information resources. They need knowledge on how to search, extract and use available information resources; and awareness of the need for equitable access to technology.

65. Businesses need to have access to national regional and international market information, to value added information services; they need knowledge of how to best use the available information resources to improve and develop their businesses and knowledge of how to conduct secure low-cost transactions through the information and communication networks.

66. Students need access to national, regional and international electronic information networks, including electronic libraries; knowledge of how to use the new communication and networking technologies; access to appropriate labs, facilities and resources to best utilise the new technologies which amplify the learning process in a wide range of subject matters; and access to self teaching and training packages and tools, including distance learning resources, in different subjects. They also need to be able to share knowledge and experience with students of the same level in other African countries and elsewhere.

67. Skilled workers need easy and simple instructional tools, including distance learning resources, to help them learn individually and jointly with other workers; they need knowledge of new techniques and developments in their areas of specialisation and the possibility of sharing their experiences and building links with other workers in other agencies in their own country or in other African countries.

68. The general public needs to upgrade its level of computer literacy to be aware of the importance of information availability and usage; and be able to use new technologies to communicate as easily and cheaply across town as across countries. They also need to know how to exploit information to enhance their well-being.

(b) Needs within the information and telecommunication industry

69. Information systems specialists need to learn how to design and implement information systems in different applications and national sectoral databases; to capture data, build and administer databases and decision support systems; and to build World Wide Web (WWW) based information servers on the Internet.

70. Information service providers need to know how to analyse user needs and identify what information services their users require; to access information available from national, regional and international sources; and to establish systems for updating data on a regular basis.

71. Telecommunication and networking specialists need to learn how to plan, design, install, operate and maintain communication and information networks.

 (c) Proposed programme for information society readiness

72. The following proposed programmes aim at building readiness for the information society among decision makers, the private sector and the public as well as among skilled students and professionals. A major goal of the programme will be to encourage the adoption of new educational paradigms involving the concepts of 'lifelong learning' and 'lifetime entrepreneurship', 'learning while doing', 'just in time open learning' and the constant exploitation of information for problem solving and analysis.

 (i) Programme 1 : Stakeholder awareness programme

73. The stakeholder awareness programme should aim at building informed decision makers in the private sector and the public sector through increasing their knowledge of information, and information and decision support systems; of national and international information resources, methods of searching and retrieving on-line information through Internet and other international information networks, electronic mail and "knowledge networks"; the potential social, economic and cultural impacts of the new information and communication systems; and the need for training to adapt organisational structures and work process to make efficient use of the electronic resources and electronic venues.

 74. Such awareness programmes should be designed and implemented at the level of Africa at large, at sub-regional level for a group of countries and at national levels in each of the member States. Such seminars and workshops should be modular in nature, capable of being scaled up to sub-regional and national levels, and adapted for use down to the school, neighbourhood and village. They should contribute to sustained capacity for awareness promotion. They should also be conducted frequently to take account of rapid developments in information and communication technologies.

(ii) Programme 2 : Educational programme

75. The educational programme should aim at preparing students in schools and universities to deal with the new information and communication technologies. As with the stakeholder awareness programme, it should be modular in nature and capable of being scaled upwards or downwards. This programme should include developing frameworks for academic qualifications in information and communications technology studies; developing the Technology Based Training (TBT)/learning packages required in different subject areas and adapting available packages to the needs and context of African countries; and training the teachers and students in how to use the software.

76. The regional programme should be made up of a series of national programmes tailored to each country, based on national needs and resources available. Exchanging and sharing experiences among African countries should be done through distance learning and virtual education projects. New educational tools and techniques, adapted to the African context, should be developed and utilised.

 (iii) Programme 3 : Competence development programme for professionals and skilled workers

77. The Competence development programme should aim at improving the performance of professionals and skilled workers in all occupational sectors. Particular attention should be given to the training of information and telecommunication specialists.

 78. The general programme should focus on training professionals and skilled workers in different areas, such as health, industry, tourism, trade, transport, etc., in using the new technological tools and techniques in their areas of expertise to better perform their jobs.

79. The Information Specialists programme should focus on training telecommunication and networking specialists, information systems specialists as well as information services providers and specialists.

80. The programme should comprise the following activities: building the infrastructure required, including 'centres of excellence' in information and telecommunications technologies, training centres, labs, and associated communication and networking facilities; development of technology based learning packages; training the trainers and teachers; training the professionals and specialists in information and telecommunication technology.

81. The professional development programme should have regional components and national components. The regional components should provide (sub-)regional centralised training facilities for more advanced training and for training of trainers. National programmes for each country should address the broader needs of competence development in the country. Distance learning and computer (multimedia) based training methods should be used to accelerate the process and to maximise the utilisation of the educational and training resources available regionally and internationally, including those developed within the framework of the ITU's "Global Telecommunications University" and other similar initiatives, for the benefit of African countries.

C. Information resources - "Infostructure"

82. Communications infrastructure supports both access to content and access to an electronic venue (space) where real social and economic activity occur. The quality of the data and information, knowledge resources (databases, archives and libraries) which are made available via this 'infostructure' ranging from indigenous to global information sources, and how they are used, will ultimately be the yardstick by which the benefits of the AISI will be judged.

83. The opportunities for building a wealth of information sources could have substantial positive impact on Africa, allowing it to:

1. Enable African decision makers to make much more informed socio-economic planning decisions;
2. Make African people producers of indigenous information and knowledge and not simply passive consumers of imported information;
3. Export information and knowledge and to participate pro-actively in the development of the global information infrastructure;
4. Provide African researchers and scientists with access to information on Africa generated from within the continent;
5. Enable African researchers and scientists to collaborate on an equal footing with their peers around the world irrespective of distance;
6. Promote Africa's cultural heritage, including the modern cultural sector of its rich and growing film and music industries.

Recommended Actions

84. To build this content, decision makers, planners and information specialists will need to:

1. Identify the priority information and communication technology application areas with the highest impact on socio-economic development at national and regional levels;
2. Make special efforts to capture data which is difficult to obtain or is unreliable and ensure timely and accurate provision of information for decision support systems;
3. Develop and use software and data that addresses the variety of languages used in African countries and its oral traditions;
4. Encourage the development of value added information services including electronic publishing and networking facilities;
5. Support initiatives which build local content;
6. Develop a range of methods for information dissemination, including printed materials developed from on-line resources such as flash reports and indicator bulletins;
7. Encourage the development of the 'information brokerage' sector which can act as an intermediary between the knowledge bases and the users.

Proposed programmes for developing national information and knowledge resources

85. In order to establish, develop and improve the information resources required for building the African information society the following programmes are suggested:

Programme 1 : Building National Information Resources

86. This programme aims at building the national information sources of data and information on the African continent and ensuring their coverage of all sectors of the economy. The programme should include:

1. Building issue-based local and sectoral databases in accordance with national priorities;
2. Establishing mechanisms for the continuous gathering, up-dating and processing of data;
3. Maintaining national databases and information resources.

Programme 2 : Provision of Value Added Information Services

87. This programme aims at providing imperative value added information services to ensure information availability to the public sector and enhance the competitive advantage of the private sector in Africa. The programme should include:

1. Providing an enabling environment for the growth and sustainability of African information service providers;
2. Ensuring Internet connectivity and African participation in the information content of the Internet;
3. Providing value added information services in key areas of the economy such as trade and commerce, employment opportunities, tourism services, legislation, etc.

Programme 3 : Development of electronic libraries

88. This programme aims at providing empirical information sources and helping to close the resource gap by making textbooks and periodicals electronically available, especially for schools, universities and research centres. This can be provided through building national electronic (on-line) libraries and providing access to international on-line resources. It would require:

1. Automating national libraries and making them accessible on-line;
2. Providing mechanisms for the exchange of information among existing libraries in ministries, municipalities, universities and schools.

D. Technological Resources "Infrastructure"

89. Effective information and communication systems require reliable, low cost and widespread technological resources such as computers, software, and all the components of the telecommunications infrastructure for processing data and information. Developing these underlying support systems upon which to build the African information infrastructure will require great changes in the technology resources currently available to most Africans.

 90. It will be necessary to upgrade and develop the physical and logical telecommunication infrastructure and network at the national level, in addition to improving continental interconnectivity and providing gateways to international telecommunication networks. However it is here where technological advancements offer Africa cost-effective and appropriate technologies to `leap-frog` over several generations of intermediate technologies still in use in the industrial world.

Recommended actions

Infrastructure Requirements

91. In line with the relevant resolutions of the Regional African Telecommunication Development Conference (Harare, 1992) and the Buenos Aires Declaration (WD-94, Buenos Aires, 1994) it is recommended that African countries greatly increase accessibility to telecommunication networks and services and to the GII, in particular for people in rural and isolated areas, using affordable telecommunication systems, matched to the low level of financial resources in Africa. This involves, inter alia:

1. Using new low-cost terrestrial wireless and satellite communication systems to provide access for rural and isolated areas;
2. Ensuring national, regional and international interconnectivity and interoperability of telecommunication networks;
3. Building reliable access networks to the global information infrastructure, including the Internet;
4. Installing cheap, simple and robust technologies using flexible, modular, and scalable network designs for coping with increasing users and traffic;
5. Establishing low cost access from every major town, or distance independent tariffs for calls to the nearest access point;
6. Using simple interfaces for the non-literate and those unfamiliar with computers;
7. Developing broad band services and bandwidth-on-demand facilities for low cost multimedia applications;
8. Improving network reliability and flexibility by providing redundant links and duplicate equipment;
9. Using modern network management systems to optimise and monitor the use of the networks;
10. Establishing a clear set of standards and criteria by which to evaluate any national information and communication initiative project;
11. Using hardware, software and applications that take into account training and maintenance requirements for durability and ease of use;
12. Using voice based systems where possible to provide for the low literacy levels, oral traditions and diversity of languages in Africa;
13. Using software that supports multiple languages and translation systems to allow on-line dialogue between people using different languages;
14. Installing access systems in public places (kiosks and community tele-centres) and mobile or easily transportable systems to bring the information infrastructure closer to the general population;
15. Providing hard-copy output capabilities so that users can take away the results of their information queries or commercial transactions;
16. Exploiting broadcast data systems to provide low cost information dissemination in areas without adequate telecommunication infrastructure.

 Improving the reliability of electricity supply to maintain reliable communications networks by using low cost integrated solar power and battery recharge systems.

Proposed Programmes

92. In order to develop and upgrade present communication facilities on the African continent the following programmes are suggested:

Programme 1: Developing & Upgrading National Telecommunication Infrastructure

93. This programme aims at developing and upgrading the national telecommunication infrastructure in member countries through:

1. Upgrading the physical telecommunication infrastructure in countries that lack the facilities required;
2. Extending the geographical coverage of the physical infrastructure and adding new capabilities and services;
3. Adapting and adopting new technologies to satisfy current demand within the context of individual country circumstances;
4. Creating basic national networking services such as e-mail, FTP, WWW, etc.

Programme 2 : Continental Interconnectivity

94. This programme aims at interconnecting the African countries through:

1. Developing national data communication hubs so as to improve regional and continental connectivity;
2. Adopting a regional strategy and plan for the further development of the Pan African Telecommunication Network (PANAFTEL);
3. Providing easy and direct dial-in and dial-out facilities between African countries;
4. Establishing the necessary interconnectivity between the telephone and data networks in the African region;
5. Providing data communication gateways and bridging facilities between Africa and the rest of the world;

Programme 3: Pilot projects

95. This programme aims at creating a test bed for new technologies, innovative partnership arrangements and tariff and charging mechanisms through the implementation of a number of small, quick impact pilot demonstration projects in some African countries, as proposed in the Buenos Aires Action Plan.

Programme 4: Integrated Rural Development

96. Shared rural public access telecentres, kiosks, mobile computing and telecommunications resources will be established at selected locations with support from international donors.

97. The tasks laid out are formidable. However the information revolution is one that Africa can not afford to miss. The economic and social costs are less than any other preceding structural change, while the price of being left out is an insurmountable development gap between "information rich" and "information poor" nations. If a swift response is not made the opportunities lost will see Africa's people relegated to second class status in the new world order. Finally the group of experts believe that Africa can make it: all that is needed is hard work with vision, strategy, determination and cooperation.