Burundi’s Onatel seeks South African govt help to retrieve scam payment

Burundi’s incumbent Onatel fell for the oldest trick in the book. Three South African businessmen offered the company a substantial loan. But first the alleged fraudsters asked the company to make a 10% “security deposit”. Unfortunately for the Onatel officials, there was no loan: it was simply a face-to-face version of the 419 scam. The promise was of large funds but first it had to pay to secure them. Not a little embarrassed for having fallen for the scam, the Burundi Government and its phone company have been seeking to get help from the South African Government to retrieve the money. Russell Southwood looks at last week’s events and draws parallels with another scam on the continent.

South African businessmen Joseph Lato Tsotesi, Vusumuzi Stanley Mncube and Cyril Morolo (who is a lawyer) went to Burundi and offered Onatel a loan to help the company build a GSM network. They now face charges of fraud and swindling in their native country and possible extradition to Burundi to face charges there. National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi (who is also the current President of Interpol) met the men in an effort to convince them to return the money they are alleged to have stolen.

On 2 November 2004, the three men representing their own investment company offered to lend the company US$10 million. Despite the fact that the sum involved was substantial, Burundi’s Onatel agreed the offer. On 24 November, it signed a second agreement with the South African investment company. This specified that the investment company would lend Onatel the money in two parts: a first payment of $6 million and a second one of $4 million.

Part of the agreement was that Onatel, to secure the loan, would give the investment company a 10% “security deposit” on the first payment of $600,000. Onatel transferred this into the South African investment company’s bank account. There was no mention of escrow accounts. A Consular Official at the Burundian Embassy in Johannesburg said this was the beginning of the problem:”We thought they would get back to us in one, maybe two months. They never did. We wrote to them, asking them to give back the money and up until today we still have not hear from them.”

“This is a very bad reflection on South Africans who go in and out of our country on a regular basis to do business. The amount they took from us is very huge because we are a poor country. They need to face the justice system in Burundi.” Apparently the Burundian Government even contacted President Thabo Mbeki to get help with retrieving the money. All three are now under arrest and appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court where they were each given bail of R30,000. The Burundian Government was granted an extradition order in December last year.

There are some parallels and some differences with a much less publicised scam that took place in a West African country. The incumbent telco was buying from a reputable telecoms supplier. For some reason a separate company was set up and money was paid to that company. It turned out the company was simply a “shell” and the money had disappeared. The suspicion was that the fraud could only have taken place with some knowledge from those authorising the payments. And in this instance the scale of missing funds was much more substantial.

These types of scams only serve to reinforce the impression that Africa is a high-risk place to do business and it is to be hoped that the money is retrieved and that the alleged fraudsters face their day in court.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATING BODY APPROVED IN LIBERIA

The Liberian Senate has confirmed the Chairman and Board of Commissioners of the newly established Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA). The body is to oversee the scopes and operations of the country's telecommunications industry following years of brutal civil conflict.

The Chairman of the LTA, Saah Adulai Vandi as well as Commissioners Lamina Waritay and Anthony McCrithy were nominated to the Liberian Senate by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. By their confirmation, the regulating roles once played by the Postal Affairs Ministry over the years have ended.

Addressing a news conference over the weekend at the headquarters of the LTA, Vandi, and his two colleagues said their responsibility shall be to facilitate development of the telecommunications sector.

The LTA executives noted that the body shall promote efficient and reliable telecommunications services, relying as much as possible on market forces such as competition and private sector investment. They men said that the establishment of the commission will enhance "appropriate and innovative information and communications technologies" to meet the needs and aspirations of the Liberian people. According to them, the LTA will promote efficient interconnection arrangements between service providers and subscribers.

Besides that, the LTA Executives said the regulatory authority will establish and manage a numbering plan and allocate numbers to service providers, resolve dispute between service providers.

(SOURCE: The Analyst)

BTC PRIVATISATION RECEIVES OVERWHELMING SUPPORT IN BOTSWANA

Participants at the recent ended Stakeholders'Consultative Forum on the Development of a Universal Access and Service Policy in Gaborone expressed satisfaction with Government's decision to privatise the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation.

The workshop was organised by the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) to seek input towards the development of the policy aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of communication services throughout Botswana especially to under served areas.

The workshop was opened by the Minister of Communications Science and Technology, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi who briefed the participants pointed out that amongst other things, full liberalisation would lead to better and cheaper telecommunication services, economic growth and prosperity.

Earlier in his welcome remarks BTA Chief Executive Officer Moshe Lekaukau said that BTA was working on a licensing framework designed for a more liberalised and converged telecommunications market. He observed that since the 1996 deregulation, the telecommunications has helped improve the state of the economy and the lives of Batswana in general.

Regarding plans to develop a Universal Access and Service Policy,Lekaukau said the intention was to not only cover ordinary telephone service but recognise the significance of new technologies as well

Making a presentation on the strategy for the privatisation of BTC, PEEPA Chief Executive Officer Joshua Galeforolwe, explained the relationship between the various policy reforms that Government is undertaking, namely regulation, competition and privatisation.

He emphasised that economic regulation enhances private sector participation in the economy, balances the interests of operators and customers, provides certainty through clear regulatory decisions and principles as well as ensuring fair reward for investment.

The participants, numbering about 400, heard that the BTC Privatisation Strategy envisages the sale of about 5% of shares to BTC citizen employees on deferred payment terms via an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP), the sale of between 40%-49% of equity to a Strategic Equity Partner (SEP), allocating 15% to 25% of the shares in the Privatisation Trust Fund for sale to Batswana at a later date, as well as retain 25% to 30% of shares for sale to the general public via stock market listing at a later stage.

Responding to Mr, Galeforolwe"s presentation, the Member of Parliament for Tonota Hon. Pono Moatlhodi said he was happy with the BTC privatisation strategy, particularly the allotment of shares to citizens and BTC citizen employees,this was a positive step towards citizen empowerment. He, however, emphasised that these noble intentions would come to nothing unless Batswana were informed and educated about them. His sentiments were echoed by Councillor Motsamai Motsamai of Gantsi North, who expressed the hope that the strategy would be implemented as explained. He urged both the BTA and PEEPA management to visit district councils amongst other stakeholders in the country to explain these opportunities.

While supporting the BTC liberalisation and privatisation strategy Mr. Tirelo Disele from the Rural Industries Promotions Company said he was uncomfortable to realise that the proposed liberalisation of the telecommunications sector gave the mobile telephone operators the option to build their own fixed line telephony network, saying they should instead be forced to do business in fixed line telephony.

Responding to the call for Batswana to be informed on the proposed BTC privatisation strategy, Mr. Lekaukau asked participants to play the role of ambassadors and take the privatisation messages to their constituents, adding 'this should be a collective effort". With regard to Mr. Disele's advice that mobile operators should be forced to build their own fixed line telephony infrastructure Mr. Lekaukau explained that that in a free market economy such as ours, there was no regulatory provision for coercing the mobile operators to build their own networks, saying economic considerations would dictate whether they use existing BTC infrastructure or build their own.

For his part Mr. Galeforolwe assured the audience that PEEPA heeds their calls for wider public education on privatisation transactions, emphasising that PEEPA will be working on a comprehensive nationwide programme with targeted messages to various audiences using appropriate media to extend coverage. This may include drama, songs, TV and radio broadcasts.

He informed the participants that the recruitment for a Transaction Advisor (TA) is ongoing and should be completed by September 2006.

The BTA will amongst other things carry out the valuation of BTC, draft Information Memorandum, establish and manage data room where all the necessary information on BTC can be accessed by potential bidders, develop bidding documents for the selection of the Strategic Equity Partner, carry out bidding evaluations, draft sale and purchase agreement and see the transaction through to its completion scheduled for April 2007.

The audience heard that the intended liberalisation measures are intended preventing the transfer of a public monopoly to the private sector as a private monopoly following privatisation. This is why Government is giving BTC a service neutral license to compensate for possible loss of revenue.

(SOURCE: The Voice)

GABON TELECOMS PRIVATISATION PLAN LEAVES EMPLOYEES WORRIED

The restructuring of Gabon Telecoms following a government decision to privatise the firm has left many employees unhappy and there has also been a marked drop of the quality of service.

The reform has seen the ending of certain services such as staff trimming, impacting the level and quality of service, PANA news agency claims to have discovered in a survey Thursday.

Lionel Moussavou, responsible for telephone lines subscription, explaining the subject of claims, told PANA that the personnel and workers union want Gabon telecoms identify staff under the social plan and the calculation of their benefits on the basis of their seniority, tenure and qualification.

"One of the reasons for this stoppage noted in Gabon Telecoms agencies is the lack of clarity in the liquidation of the enterprise and the payment of the rights (benefits). This situation is compounded by the announcement of the reduction of their departure allowances," Victorine Tsitsi, an employee at the billing unit, said.

According to her, the payment of benefits concerns a first wave of 338 agents, with the remaining 247 employees to be paid allowances at the latest at the end of November". In fact, privatisation remains the alternative for the development of the company, Moussavou agrees.

He noted: "It is important to restructure the enterprise, for the turnover dropped in three years, from 94.6 billion francs CFA in 2003 to 75.8 billion francs CFA in 2004 and then 63.3 billion francs CFA in 2005". Announced since 2001, the privatisation of Gabon Telecoms has not been carried out due to difficulties related to the trimming staff and legal constraints.

The social plan, negotiated in 2004, between Gabon Telecoms General Directorate, social partners and the privatisation committee, provided the amount of 21.20 billion francs CFA to be paid to 569 employees. This amount was subsequently decreased to 13.16 billion francs CFA for 585 agents.

(SOURCE: Pana Press)

SOUTH AFRICA SNO HAS DATE FOR EAGERLY AWAITED LAUNCH

After five long years, numerous legal clashes, bitter internal spats and public wrangling, the second network operator (SNO) will officially go live on August 31.

At least it should do. But not with all its services at once. And the press conference to announce the launch is scheduled to last only 30 minutes -- which, after five years of waiting, seems a very brief time to perform something of such monumental importance to the country.

News that action is finally happening came on Friday, when the SNO sent out invitations to "this important moment in our voyage" to establish "a vibrant telecommunications environment for SA".

Fittingly for the hi-tech sector's longest-running soap opera, the event will be held at Kyalami's Theatre on the Track. MD Ajay Pandey was unavailable for comment, but a source confirmed the event "will be the launch of the wholesale services".

Even now the final plans are still being thrashed out, with the public enterprises department deciding that a network set up by Eskom will be leased to the SNO rather than sold to it outright. Eskom's network will remain state-owned and be leased to the SNO at cost plus 4%.

On Friday the SNO issued a statement saying it had signed an agreement with the public enterprises department that would give it access to the national high- capacity network created by Eskom and Transnet. The SNO has already paid R256m for a high-capacity fibre-optic network run by Transnet in the heart of the major cities.

The SNO's website has been promising the launch of its international wholesale services by the end of August, and to offer telecommunications services directly to large companies by the end of the year. Consumers will have to wait until the first quarter of next year for any services targeting domestic users. The launch on August 31 is probably the first deadline the SNO has met.

Its wholesale services will target the cellular network operators, internet service providers and value-added network service providers -- the private companies that carry voice and data traffic for big businesses.

They will be able to run their services across the SNO's network, freeing them from their much- disliked dependency on Telkom. The SNO is promising them a "better quality of service and greater value for money than ever before".

In preparation for the SNO's arrival, Telkom has filed a document with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, saying that increased competition is threatening its bottom line. New competition might force Telkom to lower its fees and lose market share. It could also see the defection of some staff to the SNO. Another risk is that government, which contributes 9% of Telkom's fixed-line income, may transfer some or all of its business to the SNO, the document says.

Denis Smit, MD of local research house BMI-TechKnowledge, says Telkom is expecting to lose about 20% of its market share. Smit says the SNO's prospects are still "excellent", despite the lengthy delay in its arrival. The business case for the SNO is fundamentally sound," he says.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

MTN, UGANDA TELECOM OPPOSE FREEING UP TELECOMS DUOPOLY

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has announced that since Monday companies have been able to apply for licences to provide fixed line telecoms services, ending the five year duopoly shared by Uganda Telecom and MTN. According to the new rules, Public Service Provider Licences will cost USD10,000 per annum in addition to a one-off application fee of USD2,500. According to the UCC's policy statement, the fees will also apply to other public service provider companies wishing to provide global mobile personal communications by satellite, internet access, internet exchange services for corporate companies and virtual private networks.

The duopoly telecoms providers in Uganda, South Africa's MTN and Uganda Telecom, have opposed the Ugandan government's plan to open up the telecoms market to competition.

The two providers told Parliament's information communication and technology committee that opening up the telecoms market would not be in the interests of the country. They said that poor economic conditions are holding back the market, and not the lack of competition.

The two organisations said that opening up the market to competition would not address the primary obstacles to achieving high telecommunication penetration, reports the Ugandan Daily Monitor.

Uganda Telecom's Donald Nyakairu said freeing up the sector "could attract new players who are only out to make profits, without much interest in contributing to the sector's long-term growth".

Nyakairu said the regulator should rather set standards that have to be met by the two providers with a provision to penalise failure to deliver on set targets.

In an editorial, the Monitor rejected this notion, saying: "What if the same standards are applied, but to more than just the two players? So we could have five service providers, but with each required to remit/invest a minimum amount of money in infrastructure development.

"That way, we will have ensured a sustainable telecommunications sector, while also achieving the primary objectives for which further liberalisation is being sought -- cheaper and more accessible services. By opening the sector to more players, it is the majority who will ultimately gain."

Members of the parliamentary committee also rejected the proposal, saying that the two companies have dominated the sector for a long period of time and expressing concern that leaving MTN and Uganda Telecom to dominate the market would hinder free competition for better and cheap services.

(SOURCE: Daily Monitor)

ZIMBABWEAN GOVT SET TO CLINCH A TELECOMS DEAL WITH RUSSIAN INVESTORS

Government is soon expected to seal a deal with Russian investors that could see the country a telecommunications technical partner, the Zimbabwe Independent heard this week. The telecommunications deal involves Net*One and Tel*One partnering Russia's State Foreign Trade Company, Tyazhpromexport, in two weeks' time.

(Source: Zimbabwe Independent)

IN BRIEF:

- Globacom among other Nigerian companies has been raided by officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday. This follows the arrest of Globacom's chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga a month ago. According to This Day, a local newspaper, the Commission is investigating, among others, the "curious 25 per cent shares in Globacom, the money from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund which is government money, as well as other issues.”

- Etisalat of the UAE is in negotiations with the Egyptian National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to obtain an international telecom service licence, company chairman Mohammad Omran told Gulf News. Omran says that he expects Eitisalat to have to tender for the licence, alongside ‘international, regional, and local companies’ in an auction in the last quarter of this year. The Nile Telecom consortium led by Etisalat will this month receive Egypt’s third mobile licence, a combined 2G and 3G operating concession, ahead of a planned launch in February 2007.

- Some 6,428 out of 10,355 Nitel staff have rejected the decision of the Presidential task force on Nitel privatisation, which provides for a five-year pension pay off for those to be rationalised. The staff, under the National Association of Telecommunication Employees (NATE) were angered that neither the Task force nor the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) had involved them in the disengagement negotiations.

TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE

- New majority stakeholder in Vmobile, Celtel has begun preparations to rebrand the Nigerian company in the aftermath of the take over. In parallel for the second time in as many years, organisers of the Telecom Awards have named Vmobile Nigeria as the Best Customer Care Operator.

- Celtel Uganda has started activating telephone services in the KaisoTonya area, at the heart of the oil exploration belt. Hardman Oil and Heritage Oil also signed corporate service contracts with the company.

ETC FINALIZED INTERNET BANDWIDTH UPGRADING PROJECT

The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has finalized the implementation of Internet bandwidth upgrading project with a view to providing lasting solution to the traffic congestion witnessed at the international Internet connections due to the rapid growth of Internet users and the ever increasing consumption of international bandwidth.

The Corporation in collaboration with American based Verizon Business/MCI Company has already completed the enhancement of additional bandwidth of symmetrical 34 Mbps (Mega bits per second) for both downlink and uplink through terrestrial connection via Sudan.

Accordingly, the stated upgrading project is believed to ensure smooth and rapid international Internet connections via Sudan using microwave and optical fiber, which currently proved to be effective in alleviating the congestion of Internet traffic at the international link.

The Corporation is also currently engaged in the execution of additional upgrading project aimed at securing swift Internet connection having the capacity of 34 Mbps international link via Djibouti.

The Corporation has also devised a long-term project to be deployed in the coming few months of time envisioning to have high bandwidth capacity of 155 Mbps through terrestrial connectivity.

A bid is already floated for the procurement of additional STM1 link via satellite having the capacity of 155 Mbps so as to build redundancy on the international Internet network as well as to avoid the possible prevalence of Internet connection failures due to various unforeseen reasons.

The congestion of Internet traffic at the international link was earlier witnessed owing to the absence of coping of the Internet bandwidth with the ever increasing Internet service users as the Corporation used to provide Internet services so far with the bandwidth capacity of 58 Mbps downlink and 14 Mbps uplink.

NO MORE ADSL ACCESS CHARGES FROM TELKOM?

The new ICASA ADSL Regulations which were Gazetted last week faced a barrage of criticism for not adequately addressing the price of the service, but it does however look like there may be some good news for ADSL subscribers.

In the ‘Fees and Charges’ part of the regulations it stipulates that “The structure of an ADSL tariff shall comprise of an installation and bringing into services charge, a monthly rental for provisioning and maintenance of ADSL lines and a bandwidth charge.”

Many consumers and analysts were uncertain as to what the phrase ‘monthly rental for provisioning and maintenance of ADSL lines’ referred to with many drawing the conclusion that this fee was related to the current ADSL Access Charge.

ICASA however shed some light on the matter, and explained that this is in fact a monthly charge for the provisioning and maintenance of the physical copper line and infrastructure over which the ADSL service is delivered, currently referred to as ‘analogue line rental’.

The phrase ‘monthly rental’ is therefore not just another description for Telkom’s current Access Charge.

All ADSL users are forced to purchase an analogue line, over which telephony services can be delivered, from Telkom which was a very contentious issue at the recent ADSL hearings.

The new regulations break the ADSL service into two monthly components, namely the ‘monthly rental’ and the standard ISP charges. This means that the ADSL Access Charges, commonly referred to as ADSL line rental, should no longer be charged.

If this interpretation stands it is definitely good news for consumers and a step closer to a one-price ADSL service.

Specific details about the price of the ADSL service were not addressed in these regulations, but ICASA said that recommendations on price will be made after the reception of the COA/CAM reports.

The ADSL Draft Regulations explicitly state that the ADSL ‘connectivity charges shall be levied once off’ and it looks like the current regulations are based on this previous notion.

The current regulations allow for an ‘installation and bringing into service charge’, which refers to the ‘initial charges in respect of costs relating to the set-up and connection of a subscriber to the network for ADSL services’. This may be partly seen as a ‘once-off’ replacement of the current monthly ADSL Access charges.

The ADSL Access Charge makes up the bulk of the price of a full ADSL service, and the eradication of this component can have a positive effect on the price of the service.

(SOURCE: MyADSL)

GOOGLE SEARCHES FOR NEW SA OFFICE STAFF

The company behind the world's most popular internet search engine is planning to open an office in Johannesburg or Cape Town. Google is advertising for a country business manager and two sales positions in a move that threatens local search engines, but could also grow the market for all players.

The adverts are among dozens of international vacancies on Google's website as the company expands its global presence. The business manager for SA must be "a seasoned professional" to drive its sales and operations, with a proven ability to build a team. The other jobs are for an account manager and a person to "educate the market on the rewards of online advertising".

"This shows we have become important, if the largest and most successful internet organisation in the world is thinking about SA, and I'm really proud of that," Mark Buwalda, MD of Ananzi, SA's most popular search engine, said yesterday.

The direct presence of Google could dent the number of people using Ananzi, but "we are only one click away," Buwalda said. If people did not find what they wanted from a Google search they could try Ananzi, and vice versa, he said.

"We always have to be careful but we operate in a global environment. If the largest player in the world is opening up a full-scale office in SA, it's good for everyone," Buwalda said.

Google's new office would be promoting its own search engine and other services, but hopefully it would also be spending money in SA and not repatriating all its profit, Buwalda said.

In July last year, Amazon.com, the world's most successful online retailer, opened a development centre in Cape Town by recruiting about a dozen developers with a salary package that included "meaningful" share ownership.

Google has long recognised SA as a country worth catering for. Last year it created easier means to search in Afrikaans or Zulu and added Sesotho and Xhosa translations of its website. Previously, users had to click on a language-tools icon to view the site in other languages.Now a line offering the four languages automatically appears when Google is called up on a computer in SA.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

MONTHS OF HARASSMENT FORCE EGYPTIAN COPTIC BLOGGER TO CENSOR HERSELF

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the months of harassment by the authorities in Qina (near Luxor, in central Egypt) that forced Hala Helmy Botros to close down her blog, Aqbat Bela Hodood (Copts Without Borders, http://halaelmasry.blogspot.com/ ), about the persecution of the Christian Coptic minority and to stop writing on this subject for other websites.

Botros, 42, who wrote under the pseudonym Hala El-Masry, is now the target of a judicial investigation and is banned from leaving the country.

"We are outraged by the practices used by the Egyptian authorities to intimidate and silence Botros," Reporters Without Borders said. "With relations between Christians and Muslims off-limits in the traditional media, all she did was write posts on the Internet about the fate of the Coptic minority. It is unacceptable that freedom of expression and movement should be restricted in this fashion. We insist that the authorities guarantee Botros' basis rights."

In articles, interviews and video reports online, Botros had accused the political authorities and police of complicity in the attacks against Copts on 19 January 2006 when they tried to restore their church in the village of Edyssat (near Luxor). Houses were burned and the church was destroyed during the violence, in which two Copts were killed and several others injured.

Her posts clearly irritated the authorities as first her phone line was cut and then her Internet connection, forcing her to go to her father's house to continue posting. The authorities also placed her under surveillance. One night, her father was beaten by two strangers who told him, "This is a present from your daughter."

When he went to the police station to report this, the police got him to sign a blank sheet to which they added a statement in which he appeared to accuse her of being responsible for the attack. Botros reacted by filing a complaint against the police officer concerned, Mahmoud Sabri, accusing him of bringing false charges, but the case was not pursued by the authorities.

On 15 June, she tried to fly to the United States to attend a conference about the Copts in Newark, New Jersey, but the authorities removed her from the airplane before it took off, on the grounds that she was banned from the leaving the country. She was questioned for several hours at the airport and ordered to report to a state security court in Cairo on 25 June.

Security agents raided her home on the night of 22 June with the apparent intention of arresting her, but she was in Cairo at the time. Her husband was forced to go with them and to sign a statement guaranteeing that she would report to the court three days later.

Botros went to the court with two lawyers, Mamdouh Ramzy and Naguib Gobraeil, on 25 June. She was questioned about her Internet posts and accused of "spreading false news" and of "disrupting social harmony between the Muslim and Christian communities." She was released the same day after paying 3,000 Egyptian pounds (approx. 400 euros) in bail, but was questioned again the next day.

Fearing for her safety and that of her family, Botros finally decided to shut down her blog. She is being watched by plain-clothes police, her telephone is tapped and her e-mail is being monitored.

(SOURCE: Reporters sans Frontières)

IN BRIEF:

- Mauritel SA (owned by Maroc Telecom) has rolled out a second data link on SAT3 with a bandwidth capacity of 45Mbps. The second link will also provide a redundancy capability. Fibre capacity stands now at 79Mbps: a 34 Mbps link with Telefonica and this new 45Mbps link with France Telecom.

- China has made available to Ghana a concessionary facility of US$30 million to support the Phase One of Ghana's Information Super Highway Project. President John Agyekum Kufuor announced that the Project, which starts from Accra and terminates at Tamale, is designed to ensure effective connectivity to render quality service delivery and balanced socio-economic development throughout the country.

- Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) Line (ADSL) has launched an ADSL service in Francistown. The BTC CEO clarified that in the provision of the ADSL service, BTC would provide the enabling lines to customers, while Internet and related services would be provided by participating ISPs.

ETHIOPIA LAUNCHES AU E-NETWORK PROJECT WITH INDIAN HELP

Ethiopia has been selected as the first country to benefit from the pilot phase of the Pan-African E-network Project, a joint initiative between the Indian government and African Union (AU) to develop ICT infrastructure across the continent.

Under the initiative, India will donate $1bn to connect 53 African countries through a satellite and fibre optic network to promote tele-medicine and tele-education programmes. The project is at "an advanced stage of implementation" in Ethiopia; and South Africa, Mauritius and Ghana have also been short-listed for the pilot.

The e-network initiative is being heralded by the local press as the largest infrastructure project in Africa's history, and the e- education and e-medicine programmes are particularly expected to extend ICT infrastructure to certain rural communities and under- served areas. What is this e-network project, and what might be the rationale behind India's growing ambitions to become involved in African higher education?

The Indian government recently launched the pilot phase of the $1bn pan-African e-network project in Ethiopia to implement a satellite, fibre optics and wireless network connecting each of the 53 AU member states to India. The e-network will connect five universities (two in India and three in Africa) to 53 learning centres for tele- education, and 10 `super speciality hospitals' (three in India and seven in Africa) to 53 remote hospitals for tele-medicine.

The main objective of the tele-medicine network will be to share the knowledge of Indian medical professionals with their African counterparts through online training programmes for nurses, paramedical staff and other health workers.

Five universities will be equipped with tele-education studios including post-production facilities, data centres, and a portal comprising delivery system software (eg content management and digital library solutions), and course content will be delivered to the 53 learning centres across the continent.

India has already set up tele-medicine and tele-education hubs in Bangalore and Ahmedabad respectively. Overall, the network will feature 169 terminals and a `Hub Earth Station' in an unnamed African country to act as the main contact point between Indian and African participants and oversee the delivery of services.

The project was initially announced by Indian President Abdul Kalam during the inaugural session of the Pan-African Parliament in '04, and a memorandum of understanding was signed between India and the AU in October '05 to formalise the project. Telecommunications Consultants India has been appointed as the central agency for implementing the project over the next five years.

What is India's rationale behind the $1bn investment? According to the proposal put forth to the AU, the initiative is mainly premised on philanthropic grounds. The advantages of a South-to-South model of provision are emphasised, including India's own experiences in experimenting with ICT-enhanced delivery to fight against the AIDS epidemic.

The proposal argues that the tele-education programmes are "an open, flexible project with the option to utilise the Indian content or for each state to utilise its own content or customise accordingly." However, the document also urges the AU to rally for more trade opportunities between India and Africa, and maximise local private sector investment.

Participation from African stakeholders is encouraged, with the view to ensuring the sustainability of the programme and utilising the e- network for future initiatives in areas including online learning and e-governance.

Over the past few years, India has increasingly encouraged Indian companies and tertiary education institutions to penetrate emerging markets in Africa. For example, the `Focus Africa' programme — launched in '02 under the five-year export and import policy — initially focused on seven major trading partners in the region (Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ghana), but has subsequently been extended to cover over 17 African countries.

Overall, India-Africa bilateral trade has grown from $967m in 1990- 91 to $9.1bn in '04-05, with Africa accounting for nearly 7% of India's total exports. Although these figures encompass all sectors, agriculture, education and ICT have been identified as the main growth areas in India-Africa trade relations.

The four countries short-listed for the pilot of the e-network are India's main trade partners in the region, and have been widely cited as the priority countries for ICT investment. South Africa and Mauritius might be considered obvious choices given that, while low by western standards, they ranked among the highest GDP per capita on the African continent in '05.

Both countries boast one of the highest rates of computer ownership and internet access in the region, have explicated growing ambitions to expand tertiary capacity through ICT-enhanced provision and have in recent years significantly increased government expenditure on ICT.

Critics have raised questions over India's ability to implement the e-network in more emerging or `untested' markets, including Ghana and Ethiopia. Over the past few years, the local governments have explicitly encouraged Indian companies and tertiary institutions to share their expertise in fields like education and health, and have attracted significant developmental aid in light of their ambitious ICT strategies.

The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT was launched in '03 as a joint initiative between the governments of India and Ghana to become the latter's first Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI). India's national distance learning provider Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) offers programmes in Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar and Ghana in collaboration with UNESCO's Institute for Capacity Building in Africa.

(SOURCE: Times News Network)

SMALLER MARGINS DRIVE DELL INTO IT SERVICES SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Declining margins on technology hardware are driving Dell to muscle into the market for IT services and support, bringing it into conflict with a new range of rivals. Dell's services division has rapidly become its fastest-growing unit, putting it in direct competition with players including Business Connexion, Dimension Data and Faritec in SA.

"Falling margins have been a perpetual feature of the business. The selling price of hardware will continue to go down," says Paul Bell, Dell's senior vice-president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Dell initially responded by developing higher-margin top-end servers and storage systems. Now it is emphasising its ability to offer solutions that couple its products with services. "Services are one of the more important developments for the company. It's economics, but it's also because our customers want to buy that way," says Bell.

Globally, Dell already earns $5bn a year from services, or 10% of its $56bn revenue. Locally, it is also winning 10% of its income from new deals to provide services around its hardware.

Those services include consulting, software development, infrastructure design and systems integration, typically for customers installing Microsoft, Oracle or Linux software on Dell hardware.

By taking responsibility for an entire project, Dell aims to win more sales for its computers and data storage systems. Customers torn between Dell, IBM or Hewlett-Packard (HP) may chose the supplier that can install the hardware and make sure everything is running smoothly.

HP and IBM already keenly focus on services to accompany their products. Dell is a latecomer, as its model of selling directly to customers -- usually over the internet -- did not give it people on the ground.

"Dell was losing out because customers want a supplier to do the whole project for them," Bell admits. "In some cases we'd get the business for the hardware if we teamed up with service partners, and in other cases we just didn't get the business."

Of 17000 employees in the region, 4000 focus on professional services and 1000 companies are using their skills. Its in-house consultants and technicians are being augmented by teaming up with local IT players.

One of its partners in SA is Chisa Technologies, a blackempowered company that Dell has helped to grow by investing in it and mentoring its staff.

Of Dell SA's 200 staff, 28 are in the new services unit. It is hiring two or three more people every quarter, says Dell SA MD Stewart van Graan. So far they have completed infrastructure projects for the revenue service, banks and industrial customers. "It's the fastest- growing area for us and we are building our team," says Van Graan. Its rivals are "anybody involved in infrastructure services".

Globally, Dell has invested $200m in its support services, hiring thousands of technicians, building a global team of 50000 people by augmenting its staff with partner companies, and opening five command centres.

"The services market is much bigger than the hardware business and our share of the business is low, so we should be growing that for a number of years," says Bell.

Analyst Roy Blume, of BMI-TechKnowledge, says the strategy is smart, but he has yet to see it having any local impact. That is partly because Dell is nowhere near as popular in SA as it is elsewhere. Overall, Dell is the world's top supplier of desktops, laptops and servers, but in SA it ranks a lowly fourth.

"A lot of hardware companies are using services to differentiate themselves and move away from the commoditised hardware market. I think Dell will do well but I don't think it will start competing with Dimension Data, Business Connexion and IBM in the near future," Blume says.

"Dell is under pressure because its business model doesn't seem to be working. People are looking for someone who has a services contingent and a local presence to put in a turn-key environment. Dell has realised that to grow its revenue it has to get away from pure hardware and step into more lucrative areas."

One local rival is Faritec, which installs systems based on HP and IBM equipment. "We compete quite a lot with Dell and we are seeing it a lot more today than we did a year ago," says CEO Simon Tomlinson. "But launching a services business is quite difficult for a product company."

The new strategy may extend its reach, yet Faritec does not feel overtly threatened. "Watching out for Dell is not something on our radar screen," he says.

This week, Dell began recalling 4,1-million laptop batteries because they may be a fire hazard. Which allowed Tomlinson to say that Dell would need good service providers lined up to handle the massive workload of recalling the dodgy batteries.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY GROUP EXPLORES BURUNDI

A delegation of officials from Rwanda Development Gateway (RDG), the Centre for Geographical Information Systems (CGIS) and ICT training centre (RITC) is trying to initiate a country gateway in neighbouring Burundi.The team that left 16 August is led by Francis Dogo, the Senior Director, Country Operations at the Development Gateway Foundation DGF, USA. He visited Rwanda first for three days before heading to Burundi.

Dogo is accompanied by Philbert Nsengimana, the Co-ordinator for African Country Gateways and other officials from Rwanda.

Nsengimana, also the Co-ordinator of the Rwanda Development Gateway, said that the visit is in line with the vision of the Rwanda Development Gateway Group to act as a regional hub in its areas of expertise. These are web applications and content development for RDG, Geographic information systems for GIS and ICT training for research.

"We have substantive evidence that our services can be competitive on regional level and beyond. Along with projects like KALISIMBI and hosting EASSY (East African Submarine System) headquarters, this is another major move towards making our country an ICT hub in the Region, in-line with Vision 2020".

Another member of the delegation, Tony Sebera from Rwanda Development Gateway, said that they will meet Burundi government officials and representatives of institutions of higher learning, both private and public and telecommunication companies.

"The meetings will also strengthen the partnership between RDG that is based at the National University of Rwanda and the future Burundi Development Gateway," he added.

Others on the two-day visit are Florent Lasry, a remote sensing specialist from CGIS and Jerome Gasana, the co-ordinator for RITC attached to KIST.

The Gateway is a global initiative and Africa already has thirteen operational country gateways. These are in Kenya, Benin, Mali, Mauritania, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Cape Verde, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia and Mauritius.

Burundi is in the same ranks with South Africa, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Togo that are also negotiating to join the gateway network.

(SOURCE: The New Times)

IN BRIEF:

- Ghana's 120 rural banks are to be computerised and linked to a Wide Area Network (WAN) under a US$22-milion package as part of benefits from the US Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) signed by Ghana at the beginning of this month.

- Toshiba has scaled up its regional presence by appointing a dealer to manage the firm's range of notebook computers. Toshiba's regional sales and marketing manager, Leon Gifford, said Al-Futtaim Technologies will handle sales, marketing and service operations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

- The Ministry of Education of Namibia launched an information communication technology programme known as Tech/na to oversee the implementation of information communication technology in all Namibian educational institutions.

- In Algeria some 100,000 personal computers (PC) have been sold as part of Ousratic, an operation launched last October by the Post and ICT ministry, announced Tuesday in Algiers the president of the operation's follow-up committee, Ouhadj Mahieddine. In a briefing after the concluding of an outline agreement with CETELEM Algeria, Ouhadj considered that Ousratic's results are "appreciable" on both the qualitative and quantitative levels, though it remains "insufficient," he deplored.

- It is estimated that 7 million Egyptians are now using 2.5 million computers, with a demand for 500,000 new computers annually. Furthermore, since 2001 internet penetration in Egypt has increased from an approx 500,000 to 5 million users.

BUSINESS CONNEXION COSTS SHOOT UP

Two cash-intensive projects conducted by technology company Business Connexion had dampened its financial performance, but prepared it to win more contracts in coming years, CEO Peter Watt said last week.

Building new R143m data centres and installing SAP software at a cost of R34m had driven its operating costs up 16% to R767m for the year to May 31, he said. That swiped its profit down to R138m, almost 50% lower than the R273m a year ago.

Revenue of R3,2bn rose 14% from R2,8bn, but diluted earnings a share tumbled from 106c to just 44,6c. Despite the decline, its cash generation of R106m topped up its cash reserves to R743m, and the board has declared a dividend of 15c a share.

Watt said the internal expenses were only partly responsible for the falling figures. Results last year had been inflated by "a number of windfall profits" from selling a subsidiary and settling a tax dispute.

Business Connexion had also suffered a slow second half as no major outsourcing contracts had been won. Several major tenders had been offered but none was granted, and that had absorbed enormous financial and technical resources without any reward.

Watt expects the new data centres to help the company win a new type of contract as customers opt to rent their computer processing power and data storage hardware from a specialist supplier rather than buy the equipment themselves. Such contracts were now being negotiated, although progress was slow as it required companies to break the habit of buying their own hardware, Watt said.

Meanwhile, the SAP software had replaced a clutter of eight systems that had made internal information difficult to find, and running costs should fall thanks to increased efficiency.

Revenue from operations in the rest of Africa rose by 20% but remained unprofitable. A specialised African unit had been disbanded because contracts from other African countries were sporadic, said Watt. Those staff had been reassigned within the company and would be drawn together again when necessary.

Its African operations would probably not grow much above their current value of R300m a year, but the company now needed to look at how to support major clients such as Sasol and Nampak in other parts of the world, said Watt.

The major uncertainty facing Business Connexion is its future ownership, pending a competition tribunal enquiry into its proposed R2.4bn takeover by Telkom. Shareholders overwhelmingly accepted the offer but numerous internet service providers are objecting, claiming the deal would give Telkom a monopoly over data as well as voice communications.

"We are not anticipating an answer until December," Watt said. "We really don't think there is an issue. A lot of people are making a lot of noise but there is a regulator in place so if anybody has an issue about cross- subsidising or unfair competition the regulator will investigate."

Up to 100 staff had left since the bid, citing an unwillingness to work for Telkom. They were only a fraction of the company's 4,500 staff Watt said.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

TELECOM EGYPT FIRST HALF YEAR RESULTS

Telecom Egypt, the largest fixed- line telco in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced that first-half profit rose 7% on subscriber growth. Net income grew to Egyptian Pounds (EGP) 1.1 billion (US$191.5 million), from EGP1 billion pounds a year earlier.

The number of fixed-line subscribers rose 9% to 10.6 million in the first six months from 9.8 million a year earlier, while sales rose 9% to EP4.4 billion pounds from EP4 billion.

"The emphasis of our activities will now begin to shift to subscriber segments where demand for additional telecommunications services is intensifying," commented Telecom Egypt's chairman, Akil Beshir.

Fixed line penetration reached 14.8% in Egypt at the end of June, with Telecom Egypt also reporting a substantial growth in number of ADSL subscribers – from 16,000 in June 2005 to 48,000 in June 2006.

Half year EBITDA increased by 6% year-on-year to reach EGP 2.5 billion, with a 56% EBITDA margin that remains one of the industry’s highest.

(SOURCE: ITP)

COMPU-CLEARING TO PAY OUT ALL PROFIT

Technology company Compu-Clearing is handing out its entire annual profit to shareholders as it is generating more cash than it needs.

Shareholders will receive a dividend of 11c and a capital distribution of 9c, with the total sum of 20c a share soaking up its R7m profit for the year to June 30.

"Very few businesses pay 100% of their earnings out, but we are extremely cash-flush," said CEO Arnold Garber. "We just have too much cash."

Compu-Clearing specialises in software for the freight-forwarding and customs industries.

Since it makes its money from selling services rather than from selling new products, its income is steady, with very little fluctuation from month to month.

Its revenue of R39,7m for the year was up from R37,5m, while headline earnings a share rose 31% from 15,3c to 19,9c. Cash resources rose from R12,5m to R19,6m.

Garber said the growth in profits had been achieved through a combination of stronger revenues, improved cost controls and a reduction in secondary tax.

Some of the savings came by closing its branch operations and appointing business partners to represent it instead.

The same model will be used to try to expand abroad -- avoiding the need to establish a direct presence in other countries.

Some cash reserves will be used to redevelop its systems to serve international markets, and the offshore operations are not expected to contribute to the company for up to a year while the redevelopment takes place.

Two other projects that have been in the pipeline for months are yet to provide any revenue or profit growth.

One is a scheme for Compu-Clearing to arrange foreign exchange financing for its customers by electronically forwarding all their import documents to a bank, which will supply the forex.

That will save customers from having to submit their own documents, although it will force them to take forex from the niche bank Compu-Clearing is working with.

A second new service is an order-planning system for importers, which are not paid for the goods they bring in for several weeks.

To tide them over, they usually take out trade-financing loans.

Compu-Clearing will arrange that funding at a lower rate with a niche bank for a little commission.

Those operations were now being launched but would probably not make any contribution in the next few months, said Garber.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

GILAT ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2006 RESULTS

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd (one of the larger satellite resellers in Africa) reported its results for the quarter ending June 30, 2006.

Revenues for the second quarter of 2006 were $61.0 million, up from $51.4 million in the same period of 2005. Net income for the second quarter of 2006 was $2.1 million or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.1 million or $0.05 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2005. Non-GAAP net income (1) for the second quarter of 2006 was $3.1 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $1.1 million or $0.05 per diluted share in the same quarter of 2005. EBITDA (2) for the second quarter of 2006 was $9.5 million, increased from $5.2 million in the comparable period of 2005.

Revenues for the six month period ended June 30, 2006 were $119.6 million, increased from $104.4 million in the comparable period of 2005. Net income for the six month period ended June 30, 2006 was $3.3 million or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.0 million or $0.13 per diluted share in the same period of 2005. Non-GAAP net income for the six month period ended June 30, 2006 was $5.7 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, versus a net loss of $3.0 million or $0.13 per diluted share in the comparable period of 2005. EBITDA for the six month period ended June 30, 2006 was $18.2 million, increased from $9.9 million in the comparable period of 2005.

Non-GAAP net income, earnings per share and EBITDA for the three and six month period of 2006 exclude non cash stock option expenses in an amount of $1.0 million and $2.4 million respectively, which are not included in the comparable periods of 2005.

Gilat's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board Amiram Levinberg said, "We are pleased to see strong growth in the second quarter. These results were driven by growing sales in our core markets. We were also successful in achieving first orders in new market segments including, business continuity with Cisco and backhaul solutions for cellular and enterprise operators."

(SOURCE: Business Wire)

IN BRIEF:

- Transnet, South Africa's state-owned transport company, said it plans to sell R3.8 billion of preference shares in MTN Group as it focuses on its freight businesses.

BBC WAP USE FLOURISHING IN AFRICA

Africa, in particular Nigeria, is dominating international mobile phone access to the BBC's website. According to July's statistics, 61% of the BBC's international Wap users came from Nigeria and 19% from South Africa.

"Wap is the one platform where African countries continue to appear in the top five in our statistics," said BBC developer Gareth Owen.

Africa is the world's largest-growing mobile phone market with unreliable landlines encouraging the growth. Wap technology - which stands for wireless application protocol - allows people to access basic information on the internet, like news summaries, through their mobile phone handset. According to the BBC's statistics, page views for Wap usage are growing at 100% year on year.

UK users account for 65% of Wap traffic; and international usage for 35%. Mobile phone providers in many African countries have only recently begun rolling out Wap-enabled handsets.

And the large take up of BBC news via mobiles in Nigeria contrasts starkly with the relatively small number of users accessing the internet via pcs - hampered by slow and unreliable landlines.

The BBC's Technology correspondent Mark Ward says that in many places on the continent PC ownership is low but PC literacy surprisingly high.

Internet cafes tend to be very popular, as much a meeting place as well as a place where people access their email, he says.

The BBC receives regular messages of thanks from people in Africa, who say the only access they have to news is via their mobiles. "I'm in Uganda and the only access I have 2 the outside world is this pinhole 2 info cause I don't have access to TV. Thanx," said one texter from Uganda. The country accounted for 7% of BBC Wap usage in July.

Other top countries helping account for the 58m Wap page views in July were Jamaica, Singapore and Israel. In the UK, the BBC has about a 20% share of the market with a reach of 1.2m users monthly.

(SOURCE: BBC)

UGANDA LOCAL BUSINESSES TAKE ON ONLINE MARKETING

Ugandan businesses can exploit opportunities beyond local borders if they utilise opportunities in Information and Communication Technology has to offer, the Minister of ICT, Dr Ham Mulira, has said.

Mulira was speaking at the launch of Look Uganda, an online marketing website at Kampala City Council grounds.

"ICT offers business opportunities that supersede local boundaries," said Mulira.

Local businesses are increasingly taking on online marketing, in an effort to market their products across the globe.

In June Nichoserve launched software, which would enable local companies to set up online shops. Now with a new website to promote local products over the Internet, Ugandan businesses are joining the online marketing bandwagon.

"It is a medium for making our products known to a wider clientele," said Mr Jimmy Segirinya, the Managing Director of Look Uganda Guide. Segirinya said the website (www.look.co.ug) was launched to promote Ugandan products ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Summit.

Some of featured products include property, crafts, cars entertainment products, and clothing among others.

However, online marketing in Uganda is still in its rudimentary form. Companies still lack the essentials for online trade.

"Most companies may not have the capacity to supply to online buyers in the United States or Europe," said Gregory Sebirumbi, a local ICT expert.

However according to Segirinya awareness is better. "Ugandans abroad can for example buy real estates without being duped because all prices will be displayed on the website," said Segirinya.

(SOURCE: The Monitor)

IN BRIEF:

- The Open Higher School (ESA), belonging to the Higher Politechnic and University Institute (ISPU), launched in Maputo the first virtual library in the country. In a first stage, the library will have available 250 documents, including scientific articles, thesis and dissertations, reports, manuals, among others on open and distance education, information and communications technologies, and education and pedagogy.

- Makerere University in Uganda has not made students' examination results available online because it fears that computer hackers could make unauthorised adjustments to them.

BOTSWAN NEW BROADCASTING POLICY DISCUSSED IN PARLIAMENT

Botswana Broadcasting Policy, which aims to achieve a diverse broadcasting system, has been presented to Parliament for approval.

Presenting the policy, communications, science and technology minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi said the broadcasting industry was growing, adding that the time had therefore come to provide a policy framework to underpin laws and regulations. Venson-Moitoi said the draft policy was anchored in the Constitution, which states, “Except with his consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and information without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without ideas … ”

Against this background, she said, a policy had been developed with the aim to achieve a diverse broadcasting system, which serves the needs of the public’s diverse shades of opinions, beliefs, rights, views, interests and tastes. In addition, she said, the policy would promote freedom of expression and public participation as well as reflect, safeguard, enrich and strengthen the identity, culture and character of Botswana.

She said it would also contribute to the growth of the economy and showcase Botswana’s story to the rest of the world. Venson-Moitoi explained that these goals would be achieved by keeping a three-tier system for broadcasting: Public, private and community, as stated in the Broadcasting Act of 1998.

A proposal for community broadcasting services has been incorporated into the Botswana Broadcasting Policy. In particular, she said, a public broadcasting service should be a forum to reflect issues of the communities of Botswana and should be accessible to most of the population, including those with special needs. “The public broadcaster should set the standard for broadcasting in the nation and, most importantly, be funded in a reliable way which protects it against interferences; normally in whole or part through the state revenue,” she said. Regarding private broadcasting services, she said, it should offer news and current affairs programmes, which must be comprehensive, unbiased and independent taking cognisance of the variety of services.

“It shall be necessary to ensure that available frequencies for private broadcasting services be awarded through a competitive process and decisions on applications be made through a transparent process and according to clear criteria,” she said. On community broadcasting, Venson-Moitoi said community broadcasters would be accountable to the community they served through organisational structures, which ensure control by community.

In addition, it should offer community-driven programmes with active participation of the community in their initiation, production and presentation that must include local news and information relevant to the community. “They should be specifically sensitive to the language, traditions, beliefs and culture of their communities and the broader national interests,” she said. She said government expected a community broadcaster to be sustained through local finance. Donor funding, however, would be allowed subject to review every two years.

In respect of relay live broadcasts from outside Botswana, she said, the community broadcasters would be regulated through the licence conditions. “We expect all broadcasters to respect accepted professional standards of reporting news truthfully, being sensitive in using material with violence and sex, ensuring balance in controversial issues and respecting the privacy of individuals,” she said. Local content should be enhanced in all tiers of broadcasting, adding that the broadcasting and production industry would be encouraged to agree on voluntary quotas for Botswana content. “We further propose that the majority of local productions should be outsourced to independent producers,” she said. As a principle, she said, frequencies should be distributed in a fair manner among the three tiers of broadcasting.

“We also need to give priority to signal distribution systems which enable affordable reception to the public, and which give access to all operators,” she added. Regarding ownership, she said: “We wish to limit controlling of ownership of broadcasting services to avoid monopoly over the opinion market.”

She said minimum shareholding by citizens would be defined with the possibility of higher foreign shareholding if it was in the interest of the development of the industry. However, she said, services wholly owned by foreign entities would not be licenced. She informed Parliament that it was also proposed to establish public complaints procedures, adequately publicised and easily understood by the public. She emphasised that the proposed policy would be an important step towards further enhancing Botswana’s democracy.

(SOURCE: BOPA)

PEOPLE

*Craig Butler has been appointed as business development manager at Avaya local office in South Africa. His new business development responsibilities with Avaya will span both the KwaZulu-Natal and Cape regions.

* Selven Govender was appointed as director of sales and marketing at Dex Corporate Solutions, a South African based company.

* James Maclaurin has recently joined the management board of Celtel International BV as its Chief Financial Officer.

EVENTS

- THIRD ANNUAL AFRICAN VOIP FORUM