Access – Africa’s Key To An Inclusive Information Society

Speech by
His Excellency Paul Kagame,
President of The Republic of Rwanda,

Your Excellency
John Agyekum Kuffuor,
President of the Republic of Ghana;

Your Excellency the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana;
Your Excellency the Prime Minister of Tunisia;
The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa;
Secretary General of International Telecommunications Union;

Excellencies;
Distinguished Delegates;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

On behalf of my Government, the people of Rwanda, and on my own behalf, allow me first of all, to convey our deep appreciation for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to us by the Government and people of the Republic of Ghana.

Excellencies;

We are meeting here as a follow up to the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society held in December 2003 in Geneva, and to launch preparations for the second phase, scheduled to take place later this year in Tunis.

But we are also meeting to share experiences, and to evaluate how far we are from building an inclusive world information society.

The Geneva Declaration stressed the need for a common vision of the Information Society for ourselves and future generations,
and for global solidarity, partnership, and cooperation in order to bridge the digital divide, and to ensure equitable and sustainable development.

But as we speak now, Africa continues to trail globally such as GDP per capita, teledensity, human development index, literacy, child mortality, and life expectancy.

This alarming situation dictates that we, in Africa, grasp the reality that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
and socio-economic development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, and that we must present a unified viewpoint
on matters to do with the digital divide.

The facts speak for themselves:

With poor infrastructure and high costs of access to information and knowledge, we cannot compete freely and fairly in the digital world.

And unless the asymmetries and imbalances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are removed, we cannot fully integrate into the world economy.

Experience has shown that the development of ICTs has a knock-on effect on productivity and economic growth, job creation and employability;

That ICTs are a tool for enhancing innovation, competitiveness, modernisation, and for ushering in other opportunities that can help us attain the Millennium Development Goals.

We, in Rwanda, recognise the many benefits and potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and we intend to harness that potential to effectively deal with the many problems we still have and to meet the needs of our people.

This is particularly true, given our geographical location, and the fact that we are a landlocked country. It is in view of that
that we believe we have in place a set of integrated initiatives to increase the accessibility, affordability, and availability of ICTs.

Through a variety of public-private partnerships, we are now developing broadband through a fibre optic network in our capital Kigali, and we are aggregating our efforts and creating a favourable investment climate to expand this infrastructure to other parts of the country.

We now use ICT applications in government operations and services. For example we use them in education and training,
in business, in health; we use them as an instrument to enhance unity and reconciliation, to strengthen the participatory justice system we call Gacaca, and as an instrument of empowering our women.

This year, we will be undertaking the assessment of the implementation of our first National Information and Communications
Infrastructure (NICI) Plan, before we embark on the second one.

The first NICI Plan (2001-2005) laid the foundation for the development of Rwanda’s Information Society and economy.

It focused on the development of human resource capacity, infrastructure, and the use of ICTs to support key sectors of the economy.

The second phase (2006-2010) will lay emphasis on developing Rwanda’s production capacity in ICTs as an economic sector,
while at the same time emphasizing its use to develop other sectors of the economy.

The results have been encouraging. But if we must increase access, and contribute to a genuine information society, action plans alone will not deliver the desired results.

One of the lessons we have learnt is that, as far as NICI plans are concerned, it is more beneficial to work within the framework
of regional groupings, and have a willingness to cooperate across boundaries.

In my view, as far as Africa is concerned, only regional integration will contribute to the development of the Global Information Society, as it will yield economies of scale, generate demand and capital, while at the same time strengthening bilateral ties. Here, our hopes are pinned on NEPAD to promote regional ventures, and a good example is the East African Submarine Cable system.

Secondly, we have learnt that we must build a strong and stable relationship between business and governments.

This partnership between business and governments, and that between nations will enable us to create the much needed regional telecommunication interconnectivity and regional internet exchange points.

As things are now, African countries are not adequately reaping the benefits which accrue from being neighbours.

Another lesson that we have learnt is that, although it is important to emphasize the use of ICTs in education, training, and human resource development, we need to scale up the investment in ICT research and development, and to encourage innovation and creativity in ICTs.

Only this will enable us to compete in the global market in the future.

Excellencies;
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen;

For long, the argument has been that the necessary conditions for the establishment of ICTs are not yet in place in our developing countries.

The sad fact is that we do not have the luxury to wait.

For while we wait and prevaricate, others are making fast advances in ICTS and other technologies, which, collectively, constitute what is critically needed for development.

What I believe is needed is a paradigm shift amongst our populations, and even our governments, in terms of embracing ICTs.

In countries like India, both the urban and the rural populations have identified ICTs as the way forward for their socio-economic emancipation.

In Africa we have to leapfrog, and always bear in mind that human society advances according to the levels of its knowledge base.

Of course, the Information Society is global in nature, and ICTs are much more than a local issue.

That is why we need a broad international commitment to act in concert, on the basis of mutual interest and partnership.

In this respect, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support we have received from the United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa, for the development of our ICTs.

Equally, I would like to thank Prof. Clement DZIDONU, for his contribution in the development of our NICI plan.

If we continue to work together, and take the necessary actions now, that enhance digital solidarity and partnership among our nations, and involve our private sector, civil society and other stakeholders, we will be able to create last mile infrastructure
that reaches everyone of our citizens, promote access to ICTs on our continent, and narrow the digital divide.

This is the only way we can make a tangible difference in the lives of our people, and ensure that we are on the right track for our socio-economic development. Once again, thank you President Kuffuor for your kind invitation and for the warm hospitality.

And I thank you all for your attention.