IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The third African Ministers e-Governance Forum opened on Wednesday in Kigali focussing on using ICT to enhance transparency and efficiency in pubic institutions.

The forum brings together ministers charged with science and technology from seven countries — Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Malawi, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Rwanda. Officiating at the opening of the forum, Rwanda Prime Minister Bernard Makuza urged participants to come up with mechanisms to address the existing skills gap in Africa.

Ethiopia was the first country to participate in the Indian taxpayer-funded project, called the Pan-African e-Network, and Nigeria is scheduled to go online in June.

The palm wine tapper had no choice than to pick his call atop the tree, which came from one of his customers in the nearby city of Kailahun District, Eastern Province of Sierra Leone.

The latest agreements between Saudi Arabia and South Africa, as the continent’s gateway, bode well for Africa in the fields of technological advancement and green energy alternatives, but Africa and the world’s 5G plans are set to come under fire at United Nations COP 27

With Saudi’s smart city, The Line, setting the pace as part of the Neom Mega City Project, and South Africa’s aspirations for three smart cities – Pretoria’s Mooikloof Mega City, the Eastern Cape’s African Coastal Smart City and Lanseria Smart City (interfacing Gauteng and Madiberg municipalities) – already well underway in the planning stages, things are looking rosy for South Africa’s chances for keeping up with world developments.

The chief of media relations and public information of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Sanjay Acharya told Highway Africa News Agency (HANA), that the ICT industry takes the lead of those commitments.

Leslie believes that the economies of the region are going to have to be broad-based to meet the demands of young people going into the job market, saying that the digital field - despite it being the fastest growing arena - "will not absorb them all".

African Information, Communication and Technology experts, Governments, civil society, youths, the media, private sectors gathered in Accra last week to explore ways of bridging the ICT divide. Experts, meeting at African Regional Preparatory Conference of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), in Accra, deliberated on the need to revolutionise the ICT sectors in Africa and bridge the digital divide.

For a country that has prioritized ICT as a tool to enhance development, there is a sigh of relief as the submarine cable will give Rwanda a cheaper broadband provider compared with broadband from satellite which is costly.

As more people move to urban areas, there is a growing need for cities to become more efficient, sustainable and liveable.

Smart city initiatives explore how advanced technologies such as data analytics, the internet of things and artificial intelligence can improve city operations and public services, reduce energy consumption, and enhance overall quality of life.

This is just a sampling of the exciting age of technological innovation that is opening up in Africa. But developing information and communication technology (ICT) is posing a huge challenge -- in Nigeria, growth is so fast that networks can barely cope, and poor connectivity and congested lines are frequent problems. Across the continent, there is a huge backlog in the provision of broadband Internet.

Smart cities are the future, there is no doubt about this.

With numerous challenges both existing and emerging, exacerbated by growing populations and dwindling resources, it is essential for municipalities to more effectively control and manage many areas. These include water and electricity, traffic flow, parking, refuse removal and sewerage to name but a few.

The summit, being held at the Gaborone International Convention Centre this October 15-17, will also be hosting a record number of ministers and officials from various African ministries of education, ICT and science & technology.

It has been organised by AfricanBrains, part of The Brains Network, and is being held under the Patronage of The Botswana Ministry of Education & Skills Development. It will feature a welcome address by Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi.

This is according to the 2012 Global Information Technology Report, and it is a sentiment that is mirrored by MTN Business.

"South Africa has for many years been seen as the gateway to the African continent and while certainly in many cases it still is, other African countries are fast finding their own momentum," says Johnny Aucamp, GM of strategic relations and business development Africa at MTN Business. "In fact, looking at the latest 2012 Global Information Technology Report, one could go as far as to say that in many cases, Africa is fast-tracking the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to advance the progress of society and business."

The figures highlight the acceleration of growth in African mobile and internet markets outside of SA in less than a decade, says the International Telecommunications Union.

Growth in Nigeria has been particularly strong, but Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Cote d'Ivoire have also accounted for the change in distribution of mobile connections.

Andrew Rugege, the Director of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) regional office for Africa, made the call Friday at the closure of a three-day annual ITU Regional Development Forum in Kigali.

"If we want to ensure equitable access to ICTs in our countries, we need to build broadband infrastructure that covers the whole country, connecting all villages coupled with affordable services," he said.

Convergence Partners has unveiled a new infrastructure fund dedicated to the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Africa, with a first close of $145 million.

The Convergence Partners Communications Infrastructure Fund (CPCIF) is targeting a final close of $250 million, and will target communications infrastructure and related services and technologies across sub-Saharan Africa.

The New Times reports Rwandan Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi called for more commitment toward projects that will change the continent.

At the event organized by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and hosted in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications, Ghana, National Communications Authority and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Ghana’s Minister for Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu called on African governments to pay attention to ICT infrastructure for economic development.

The mobile revolution in Africa has had a powerful impact on job creation and community development. Now, off the back of this technological leap forward, countries are beginning to make progress towards transforming major cities into smart cities.

Nairobi, Cape Town and Kigali are touted as some of the most advanced cities on the continent currently. They are beginning to connect to the internet of things (IoT) and make progress towards becoming truly smart cities. The continent is at an advantage when it comes to implementing smart cities technology, according to Deloitte, because of rapid urbanisation, a growing middle class, a prevailing entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to leapfrog older technologies to implement the new.