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ECA Press Release No. 02/2005 UNDERDEVELOPED INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE IS AFRICA'S ACHILLES HEEL - ECA'S AMOAKO Accra, 4 February 2005 (ECA) - Underdeveloped infrastructure remains the “Achilles heel” of Africa’s information society, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr K.Y.Amoako has warned. Speaking at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Africa Regional Preparatory Conference in Accra, Ghana, he bemoaned the outdated telecommunications infrastructure on the continent which hampered the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). “Infrastructure development continues to be the Achilles heels of Africa’s information society,” he said at the meeting that took place from 2-4 February 2005. He called for speeding up the pace of national legal and regulatory environments to bring about the effective introduction of ICTs in various fields. “The other unresolved issue is financing mechanisms for the information society,” he added, urging a bold and innovative approach in this regard: “Africa needs to show that it is ready to carry more of its own load in this area.” African leaders present at the conference elaborated on the situation in their countries. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame said the second phase of his country’s ECA-sponsored National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plan was aimed at “increasing access and contributing to a genuine information society as action plans alone will not deliver the desired results”. Touching on Rwanda’s efforts to move on from the traumatic impact of the 1994 genocide, he said ICT applications were now being used by the government to enhance unity and reconciliation and strengthen the participatory justice system known as “Gacaca”. “As things are now, African countries are not adequately reaping the benefits which accrue from being neighbours,” he pointed out. “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.” For his part, Ghanaian President J.A Kufuor underlined the strides made in his country through a strong ICT policy and plan. Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi highlighted the preparations currently underway for the second phase of the WSIS summit to be held in November 2005 in Tunis. The opening ceremony was ushered in by a spectacular display of Ghanaian traditional dancing and drumming, a video show on ICT challenges and keynote addresses by high-level representatives of government and international organizations. For more information
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