'We are not giving up on NEPAD'

04/03/2007 
Kenya’s sudden exit from the EASSy project has set tongues wagging – and the controversy has not been helped by South Africa apparently unilaterally changing the project’s name to The Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network (NBIN). Wairagala Wakabi from the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) recently spoke to Uganda Telecom’s Donald Nyakairu, and NEPAD’s Dr Edmund Katiti, to get their views on the power plays unfolding.

[These interviews took place just prior to the announcement that Kenya had withdrawn from EASSy and that the cable project had been renamed].

'NEPAD shouldn't grab EASSy from us'

Donald Nyakairu, Uganda Telecom's legal counsel and chairman of the EASSy finance committee, has accused the NEPAD e-Africa Commission of trying to hijack EASSy from the operators. This comes at a time when 12 countries have endorsed the NEPAD regional infrastructure plan, of which EASSy is a component, as well as uncertainty as to when construction of the cable will begin. CIPESA spoke to Nyakairu about the current stand-off between the operators and the Commission.

Q. Who among the MoU signatories is likely to jump out of the e-Africa Commission arrangement?

I am not sure any of the MOU signatories will join the e-Africa Commission arrangement. We, however, feel that the e-Africa Commission should join us to develop the project rather that reinventing the wheel.

Q. What are your current views on the ownership and financing mechanisms for the cable, as suggested by the e-Africa Commission and the protocol some states have signed?

We have our own financing methods which are also supported by the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) like the International Finance Corporation, African development Bank, Development Bank of South Africa and KFW. This is through direct investment into the system or through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which will borrow from the DFIs.

Q. Are you happy that the Commission continues to use the name EASSy? Now that some of the MoU signatories seem to be parting ways with the Commission, will you build your own cable and call it EASSy?

EASSy is our name which we developed in 2003. We do not expect the Commission to use it.

Q. Kenya and South Africa have unveiled plans to build their own links to the international fibre optic system. How will this affect EASSy? Will it not render EASSy less competitive?

If EASSy is developed, these other initiatives will not take off. Kenyan operators and South African operators are MOU Parties.

Q. Why is the consortium opposed to Open Access as suggested by the protocol? Do you not agree with the e-Africa Commission that the cable will deliver cheaper and more accessible bandwidth only if it is run on Open Access principles?

EASSy is based on an Open Access system through the SPV, and its membership is open to licenced telecom operators who are allowed to carry international traffic.

Q. In this scenario, what's the best way for east and southern Africa to go about investing in marine fibre and making its bandwidth affordable, accessible, and managed to the satisfaction of various stakeholders?

EASSy makes commercial sense. All other efforts which will involve governments will take us back to the days of State control.

Q. Why do EASSy consortium members seem to be giving up on NEPAD's e-Africa Commission, and what is your planned way forward?

We have been [working on EASSy for a long time], and we signed an MOU amongst ourselves and contributed to the pre-development costs. We are currently over 29 operators. We are not giving up on NEPAD.


NEPAD insists it has a mandate over EASSy

CIPESA spoke to Dr Edmund Katiti, the Policy and Regulatory Affairs Adviser at NEPAD's e-Africa Commission, about the status of the cable and how the Commission will engage dissatisfied telecom operators.

Q. Some EASSy consortium members appear to be giving up on the e-Africa Commission. What is your planned way forward?

The Kigali Protocol defines categories of entities (companies) that can have shareholding in the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that will develop, own, operate, and maintain the regional ICT broadband network for Eastern and Southern Africa, which comprises a submarine segment and a terrestrial segment. The SPVs will be companies that are open to just about any corporate entity that wishes to invest in the opportunity. Therefore, the SPVs will be formed in the near future, whether one or two telecom operators choose to stay out.

Q. How many signatories of the EASSy MoU have pulled out of the project and what reasons have they given?

We are not aware of any telecom operator pulling out of the Eastern Africa Submarine cable project. However, a meeting of prospective shareholders in the SPVs that will own, develop, operate, and maintain the submarine segment of the ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network for Eastern & Southern Africa is being planned in the coming months. That will be the time to know which companies are interested in the network.

Q. What is the e-Africa Commission doing to attract more members and when do you hope construction of the cable will begin?

The NEPAD e-Africa Commission is in the process of recruiting consultants that will prepare a Project Information Memorandum that will be used to interest prospective shareholders and lead them through negotiation and signing of a shareholders' agreement. Construction of the cable should begin in the middle of this year.

Q. With 12 members countries having signed the Protocol, when do you think the protocol will be signed and when will financing for the project be secured?

Twelve countries signed the Protocol and it will come into effect when seven of them have ratified it. After this, the countries that did not get to sign the Protocol may accede to it. The financing of the project will be organised by the shareholders in the SPVs mentioned above.

Q. Donald Nyakairu, chair of the EASSy finance committee, says the e-Africa Commission should not hijack EASSy because it means it has 'hijacked' it from the consortium. Will you stop using this name now that some of the MoU signatories seem to be parting ways with the Commission, and are suggesting they could build a different cable?

The Eastern Africa Submarine cable project was adopted and incorporated into the ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network for Eastern & Southern Africa, developed by stakeholders in June 2004, and is a key component of that network. In November 2004, the agreed network was adopted by the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee as a NEPAD flagship project.

In this context, The NEPAD e-Africa Commission, acting within its mandate as NEPAD's task team for the ICT sector, is coordinating efforts of the governments of Eastern and Southern Africa to put in place a policy and regulatory framework under which this regional ICT broadband infrastructure network should be built.

It must be pointed out that the network goes beyond the submarine cable as it is intended to "connect African countries to one another, and in turn, to the rest of the world". It should benefit land-locked countries as much as the coastal ones. The network will be developed, owned, operated, and maintained by the SPVs mentioned above. The Commission and governments of the region will remain responsible for policy and regulatory issues.

Q. Kenya and South Africa have unveiled plans to build their own links to the international fibre optic system. Will this not render EASSy less competitive, or even unviable?

The NEPAD e-Africa Commission is coordinating efforts of the governments of Eastern and Southern Africa to put in place a policy and regulatory framework under which a regional ICT broadband infrastructure network should be built. This network will consist of a terrestrial segment and a submarine segment, and is meant to achieve certain developmental objectives, the most important of which is to lower the cost of communication. Any other initiative that has similar noble objectives should be welcomed.

Q. In this scenario, what's the best way for east and southern Africa to go about investing in marine fibre and making its bandwidth affordable, accessible, and managed to the satisfaction of various stakeholders?

The best way is to ensure that the region has affordable and accessible broadband connectivity is to get the countries of the region to ratify and/or accede to the Kigali Protocol that binds them to jointly develop a regional network that will offer affordable and accessible broadband connectivity on open and non-discriminatory basis.