Statement by HON. Mathias Keah, EBS, MP,
Assistant Minister for Transport & Communications,
Head of Kenya Delegation

The Chairman of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, Mr. Nasr Hajji
Honourable Ministers
Yours Excellencies, the Ambassadors
Heads of delegations
The Secretary General of ITU, Mr. Yoshio Utsumi
The Directors of ITU Bureaux
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

Mr. Chairman,

Allow me on the outset to congratulate you on your election as Chairman of the 16th Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). May I also on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf express our sincere gratitude to the Government and people of the Kingdom of Morocco for the hospitality extended to us since our arrival in this beautiful city of Marrakech, and the excellent facilities provided to make this conference a success.

Mr. Chairman,

This Conference is being held at a time when nations, especially those from the developing regions, are seeking to take advantage of the technological opportunities in order to overcome the challenges brought about by the digital divide.

It is already clear, at this early stage of the 21st Century, that information and knowledge are the critical resources in any country's socio-economic development. Every sector of the economy is increasingly becoming dependent on electronic data transfer. In the new environment of the globalised market economy, the need for more and instant knowledge and information cannot be overemphasized. We live in an age of interconnectivity and interdependence, where technology has traversed geographic boundaries in the transaction of business.

Mr. Chairman,

The communication infrastructure in Africa ranks as the least developed in the world. When compared with the other continents, the indicators for network size, profitability and quality of service is not encouraging. The tele-density of Africa is as low as 2.5%, on average, compared to other regions. The tariffs, too, particularly those of international telephone services, are comparatively high. The development of network infrastructure and the deployment of new technologies and services have been severely constrained by the chronic under investment in the sector.

The picture, Mr. Chairman, is not encouraging but, the future of Africa's info -communication is bright. Our Governments in Africa are now putting more emphasis on the development of communications infrastructure so as to attract facilities as well as meet the investor and customer demands.

Likewise, the sector is also witnessing unprecedented growth due to the increased liberalisation and emerging multi-operator regimes.

This, therefore, goes to underline the fact that the dismal record of the past may not necessarily affect future development of info-communications in the continent. There are a number of positive developments in the industry and the challenge, particularly to ITU at this reform stage, should be to enhance the capacities of the developing regions, such as Africa, to promote their participation in the dynamic global information society.

Mr. Chairman,

Kenya, for instance, liberalised its telecommunications sector in 1999 and considerable growth has been realized in the provision of various services in the country. The mobile telephone subscription levels have increased from 20,000 to over 1,000,000 in barely two years.

On the Internet front, the Government has licensed Internet Service Providers with over 700,000 Internet users. Although the penetration of the Internet services in the country is still low, my Government continues to promote the growth of cyber cafés to enable more Kenyans gain access to the Internet resources.

On the other hand, despite the decline in the flow of investments in the fixed networks, the telephone network in Kenya has recently gone through a major expansion and modernisation exercise. Currently, the level of digitalisation stands at over 70%, notably a significant improvement within a short period.

In a move to enhance rural connectivity, my Government is formulating a strategy to ensure that all the players in the market meet universal service obligation.

In an effort to bridge the digital divide, E-learning projects have also been launched. One such project is the Kenya Education Network, whose ultimate goal is to connect to the Internet, all universities, secondary schools and other educational institutions in the country. Kenya has completed the first phase of the project, with over 30 universities and tertiary colleges in the country already connected through the Internet.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to assure you of my Government's commitment to the initiatives being undertaken, both at the regional and global level to bridge the digital divide. These include the preparatory activities of the World Summit on Information Society, the e-Africa Commission under the auspices the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the Africa Connection strategy by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), RASCOM project, and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) ICT harmonisation programme, amongst others.

Recently, Mr. Chairman, Kenya was honoured to play chairman for the African Telecommunications Union's Conference of Plenipotentiaries, where African members developed 22 common proposals to be tabled at this conference. It is my hope that the proposals will be adopted to enhance the activities of ITU.

In 1982, Kenya was honoured to host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference; a privilege that we highly appreciated. Kenya has actively participated in the ITU activities and will continue to positively contribute to the success of the Union and in this regard, Kenya is presenting herself for re-election to the Council of ITU.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, we look forward to fruitful deliberations and hope that the resolutions of this august meeting will spur the activities of the Union amidst the challenges ahead.

I thank you all for your attention.