The Rwanda project is part of the World Bank's US$ 424m Regional Communication Infrastructure Program, which is designed to improve the regional communications infrastructure and increase the deployment of e-government in Southern and Eastern Africa.
The program also complements the submarine fiber optic cable projects being developed along the East coast of Africa which will link the region into the global communications network.
Speaking during the signing function, Finance Minister James Musoni indicated that the project is set to address the impediments facing the country such as low connectivity, relatively high ICT costs as well as limited access to international broad band.
"We have embarked on a triple-S approach to ensure swift implementation of projects," Minister Musoni said, specifying that this means we have to Scale up, Spread out and Speed up.
"We received the project appraisal in June, negotiations between the government and World Bank were held in August and the signing has taken place in mid-October," the minister remarked, as proof of the efficiency of the triple-S approach.
The World Bank country representative, Victoria Kakwa, said that the project will ensure broadband connectivity to the submarine cable which she said would result in reduced cost of IT-from the current US$ 3000 per megabyte to US$ 25.
Kakwa further remarked that the project is a result of the strong commitment shown by the government in identifying ICT as a main contributor towards positioning Rwanda as a regional service hub.
The project will also support regional integration, she pointed out, as each of the EAC countries will receive a grant from the World Bank earmarked for the regional communication infrastructure program.
Moreover, it will also complement the ongoing e-government project, which is also financed by the World Bank, whose country representative further added that the project will facilitate both the private and the public sectors in service delivery.
She urged the parties involved to implement the project as quickly as possible, highlighting the importance of strengthening procurement and financial management as well as monitoring and evaluation programs so that the at the completion of the project tangible results would be there for all to see.
The project is expected to increase the availability of broadband to over 700 institutions including schools, health centers as well as local government administrative centers. On the other hand, it will increase the availability of high-speed broadband to the country by ensuring that Rwanda is connected to the East coast submarine fiber optic cables.
The Rwanda Information Technology Agency (RITA) has been designated as the main implementing body of the project. Asked which submarine cable Rwanda is likely to be connected to, Nkubito Bakuramutsa, the executive director of RITA, said that they had yet to make a proper assessment of the available submarine cables along the East African coast.
"We will look at all the options and use the best of the cables we might get connected to," Bakuramutsa said, adding that the country might get connected to more than one cable.
The regional communication infrastructure project is to be put in place over five years, but Bakuramutsa said that RITA planned on implementing the project in only three years time.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sam Ruburika
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 27.10.2008
