NEPAD “training the trainer” seminar for journalists across West Africa

By Louis Napo Gnagbé, media manager, NEPAD Secretariat

NEPAD’s fourth “training the trainer” seminar for African journalists – organised in collaboration with the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) and Deutsche Welle Academy — will be held in Accra, Ghana, from 7-18 April 2008.

The first seminar was held in South Africa in July 2006 for SADC countries ; the second was held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in December 2006, aimed at French speaking countries ; and the third was in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in November 2007 for East African journalists.

The Accra seminar will include 12 West African English-speaking journalists, from Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The objective of the seminars is to create an understanding of the importance of training as a means of increasing the quality and effectiveness of the media in Africa in a time of growing international competition and technical innovation.

The aim is to equip the trainers with skills and techniques to use in training their colleagues.

NEPAD has trained over 30 trainers from Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The course places the emphasis on teamwork. By including radio and television, participants are also given a chance to broaden their experience in these fields.

Based on practice not theory, the course enables the participants to develop, plan and evaluate training courses backed by modern teaching methods. Source : NEPAD, april 4, 2008

Calendar of events

 31 March - 4 April, AU Ministers of Agriculture meeting, Nairobi, Kenya.
 27 March-8 April, Water sector framework conference, Boksburg, South Africa.
 7-8 April, 10th African Partnership Forum meeting, Tokyo, Japan.
 18 April, Africa power and electricity congress and exhibition, Sandton, South Africa. Source : NEPAD, april 4, 2008

NEPAD TV schedule

 The next NEPAD TV programme on the SABC Africa channel (DSTV Channel 286) is :
 9 April, 8pm-9pm (SA time) African Views This phone-in panel discussion will be led by African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Executive Director, Dr Bernard Kouassi .The topic for discussion will be : implementation of thepeer review mechanism in Africa. The panel will include specialists on the subject of governance. Source : NEPAD, april 4, 2008

First meeting of prospective shareholders in the NEPAD ICT broadband network SPV

The first meeting of prospective shareholding entities in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will develop, own, operate and maintain the NEPAD ICT broadband infrastructure network, was held on 28 March 2008, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The network is made up of UHURUNET (submarine segment) and UMOJANET (the terrestrial portion).

The aim of the meeting was to discuss the formation, registration and business model of the SPV, and its role in BAHARICOM — the company that will own and operate UHURUNET. The meeting also reviewed progress on feasibility studies for UMOJANET.

The NEPAD e-Africa Commission, tasked with developing ICT policies, strategies and projects, and managing the development of the ICT sector in the NEPAD context, is coordinating the NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Initiative.

Said Dr. Henry Chasia, the Executive Deputy Chairperson of the NEPAD e-Africa Commission : “We are now moving into a new phase that will result in the construction of the UHURUNET submarine cable and associated networks. We have agreed on joint actions needed to construct the UHURUNET and UMOJANET fibre-optic cables. We have also agreed on the roles of the SPV in these networks. All parties have resolved to ensure that UHURUNET is constructed by 2010.”

Estimated to cost US$1.4 billion, the 45,000 km UHURUNET is an international, NEPAD-led, fibre-optic submarine cable network for Africa, with a capacity of 3.84 terrabits/sec. When completed, it will surround Africa with landing points in each coastal and island African country.

UHURUNET will connect Africa to Europe, the Middle East and India and will also interconnect with other international cable systems. The initial funding of US$30 million required to secure the manufacturing slot has been commited.

UHURUNET will be owned, operated and managed by BAHARICOM, a private company with African and international shareholders that will exclusively serve the wholesale market. The SPV will be the single largest shareholder in BAHARICOM.

Major step in interconnecting Africa It is envisaged that once implemented, the NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Initiative will provide quality and affordable telecommunications connectivity to the whole of the African continent.

The network will be a major step in interconnecting the African continent and thus helping to bridge the digital divide. It will also increase the efficiency and effectiveness in the way Africa does business within the continent and with the rest of the world.

The first meeting of the SPV shareholders was attended by 22 representatives of telco and non-telco entities from countries that ratified the Kigali Protocol : Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania. The meeting was also attended by representatives from NEPAD, the Southern African Development Community, BAHARICOM and the Pan-African Infrastructure Development Fund.

The meeting followed the coming into force of the protocol on policy and regulatory framework for the NEPAD ICT broadband infrastructure network (Kigali Protocol) in February 2008, after being ratified by a majority of the countries that had signed the Kigali Protocol.

More about the Kigali Protocol The Kigali Protocol was negotiated by a wide range of stakeholders and was accepted and signed by 12 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. It took account of the NEPAD network principles in the development of a policy and regulatory framework for the region, as well as the structure of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

The inaugural signing of the NEPAD ICT broadband infrastructure network was held in Kigali, Rwanda on 29 August 2006, where the first seven countries signed the protocol ; Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Subsequently, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia, signed the protocol. Source : NEPAD, april 4, 2008

 Photo : Louis Napo Gnagbé, media manager, NEPAD Secretariat