Tariffs to go down as EASSY is delivered

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Friday November 19, 2010 00:00

 

Speaking during an ICT conference in Gaborone this week, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mabua Mabua said after the system has been delivered, tariffs will go down and a further reduction will be expected when the West Africa Cable System is also delivered.

In 2008, government invested US$100 million in Africa's second biggest submarine cable project to bolster its plans to link with Europe via the east and west coasts of Africa.

The EASSY project currently under construction runs under the Indian Ocean from Mtunzini in South Africa to Port Sudan in Sudan. The country wants to link Europe through terrestrial and undersea cables via east and West African coasts to ease communication problems.

At the conference, Mabua also spoke about government's intentions to aggressively implement the e-government programme in the coming financial year.

Addressing the conference, Mabua said at various ICT fora held this year, ICT stakeholders deliberated on the future of ICT.  But he said there has been very limited execution and implementation.

'The difference with this conference is that we have the Swedish here, who are one of the leaders in the world in ICTs, and the Namibians, our neighbours and with comparable geography and economy,' he said.

Mabua said participants from the three countries would share experiences on cross- cutting issues like regulatory and policy structures and framework, innovation and research, human resources and capacity building. 

Emphasising the relationship between Botswana and Sweden, he said the Swedish assisted the country in putting up the first digital microwave system into connecting all major locations in Botswana.

'The Swedish assisted us in establishing our BTA.  We have collaborated with Namibia for participating in the West Africa Cable System (WACS) for a landing station at Swakopmund at a cost of US$75 million.  Their participation in the forum is more than exciting.'

Mabua urged ICT stakeholders to focus on execution and implementation next year.  'We are all running out of excuses.  We all have limited time left and therefore, let us utilise the remaining time in delivering the services to the public, the business community, the education system and take our nations to another level,' he urged.

Meanwhile, Mabua also revealed that Botswana Telecommunications Corporation could be privatised by as early as the beginning of next year. Mabua said the exercise will entail selling 49 percent of the shares to citizens and citizen investors. 

The ICT conference was organised by the Swedish Trade Council together with the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) and Botswana Innovation Hub.