In this article, I want to address the concerns, comments and questions I
received in form of a feedback as other readers might have pondered these issues as well. Like
the previous article, I will list a number of recommendations for the government, and this time I
will add the tasks expected form higher education institutes and private ICT affiliated companies.
Let me begin by clarifying the choice of the title of the articles. Reiterating what was stated in
the first part of the article, the individual talents of the professionals, the infant but dynamic
private companies and IT groups [1-5] in addition to the opportunity to do immensely more in
the field led me to believe that ICT is present in Ethiopia. On the other hand, the unsatisfactory
service from Ethio-Telecom (ET), absence of government support for private companies,
deficiency in coordination with higher education in addition to lack of essential policies makes
ICT almost non-existing. The fact that Ethiopia ranks at 154 out of 159 countries in ICT
Development Index serves as prove [6]. Hence, the title is a reflection of the opportunity past the
apparent problems.
Though not mostly mentioned in Ethiopia, one of the categories in the Millennium Development
Goal for 2015 includes ten ICT focused targets set by the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) [7]. They are:
Connect villages with ICTs and establish community access points
Connect universities, colleges, secondary schools and primary schools with ICTs
Connect scientific and research centers with ICTs
Connect public libraries, cultural centers, museums, post offices and archives with ICTs
Connect health centers and hospitals with ICTS
Connect all local and central government departments and establish websites and email
addresses
Adapt all primary and secondary school curricula to meet the challenges of the
information society taking into account national circumstances
Ensure that all of the world’s population has access to television and radio services
Encourage the development of content and put in place technical conditions in order to
facilitate the presence and use of all world languages on the Internet
Ensure that more than half the world’s inhabitants have access to ICTs within their reach
According to the information provided by various offices, the Ethiopian government is working
on various projects that are focusing on targets 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 [8,9]. The hospitals, libraries and
public offices might be trying independently to implement local ICT connections that fit in the
other targets, but there is no national organized effort in those targets. It is clear that with half of
the targets plans left out of the government’s plan, the country is destined to fail on achieving the
MDG goal when it comes to ICT. The question now is Are we doing well on the targets we set?
Are we seeing the positive effect of ICT on the areas we implemented?
Aiming to meet the selected targets, the government started three big projects SchoolNet (target
7, partially), WoredaNet (target 6) and AgriNet (target 3) in 2003. These networks needed a high
speed transmission of high volume video, audio, and information data over ET’s existing
networks which didn’t meet these high demand requirements. This led to a modernization of the
national data transmission by installing an up-to-date national optic fiber network that can handle
next-generation networks. [9] After the upgrade of the backbone network structure the projects
resumed separately until they were completed in 2007.
Currently, all of these projects are up and running however, whether they were able to meet their
targets and how they are benefiting the country are left for a research. Except some internal
studies by the Ministry of Education, there was no local university which looked into the
effectiveness of the systems, to identify improvements gained, weakness observed or points to
be considered for further modification. These three projects include ideas from a variety of
knowledge where the universities can use as a reality for education and also research in areas
such as Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Communication Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Science and Educational Sciences.
Not surprisingly, foreign professionals such as Takewuchi[10] , were able to do a research on
case studies of these projects. The higher education institutes need to take the initiative to use
these projects as a learning and research tool to build a knowledge in the listed areas.
One of the bigger players in the telecom industry I didn’t address in the previous article is the
Ethiopian Telecommunication Agency (ETA) whose mission is licensing internet service
providers, monitoring and spectrum allocation, tariff approval, customer protection, adjudication
of disputes, drafting of standards and assistance in drafting policy. While ETA is the policy
setting branch, ET is the business side corporation of the government. As part of its outreach
program, it posts quarterly reports on the telecommunication industry of the country though they
focus mostly on quality of the service rather than the quantitative data. Their annual reports are
on the other hand quantitative and describe current status of ongoing projects and problems
encountered. Some of the problems ETA identified are lack of skilled human resources coupled
with low ICT literacy, low level of Internet service and poor connectivity, lack of organized data,
limited or no public awareness on the role and potential of ICT, undeveloped private sector and
legal and regulatory constraints. [8]
The solution to these problems lie in four stakeholders which I listed above namely, the
government, private companies, highly qualified professionals and higher education institutes.
None of these issues can be solved without the coordinated effort of these four entities. For
example, if one sees lack of man power, the problem can not be left to be solved by the higher
education institutes alone as the graduates are supposed to implement government guided ICT
policies. Similarly the private sector also hire the professionals from the institutes so they are a
stakeholders in shaping the studies and the direction of the teachings. The qualified professionals
are the center of the activities driving all the other three stakeholders. I encourage the
government to organize an independent national think tank or task force that organizes the task
of each player in the industry, establish consensus on the direction of ICT and provide top level
monitoring of the activities.
While some readers of the previous article defended the government’s action so far and also
recommend I read the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) to see what is planned, I want to
reemphasize that my concern is the direction ICT policy is going not lack of focus for ICT.
Expectedly, I have observed some worrying points for the plan ahead in the GTP when it comes
to the telecommunication industry. While discussing telecommunication, the GTP presented a
number of essential objectives and three basic strategies to attain those objectives. The strategies
are improve institutional capacity of Ethio-Telecom (ET), enforce policies to prevent illegal
telecommunication activities and use domestic ICT production. The effort to upgrade the status
of ET to an international competent corporation is commendable and so is the plan to have
domestic ICT production. However, instead of devising a policy to improve telecommunication
activities, the government seems focused on controlling everything under one office, which is
ridiculous. The government is indicating there is no plan to have other players in the
telecommunication industry besides ET and policies will focus on protecting the needs of ET.
Personally, I was against partial management handover of Ethio-Telecom to France Telecom and
thought of the move as putting a latest tech rooftop over a typical Ethiopian mud house. Seven
months into the takeover, around 8000 people are on the verge of losing their jobs [11], the
service of ET is deteriorating and ET is looking like a bright day thief filling government’s
pockets with money [12]. I would like to reiterate that without a fully liberalized policy the
telecommunication sector will be without the necessary infrastructure, competitiveness and good
service to the people.
At the later section of the GTP there is an interesting section on development of ICT which
seems to agree to the directions I stated above that includes higher education institutes, private
sector and the government. There is a plan to jump start ICT related businesses by establishing
an ICT park in Addis Ababa. This ICT park is planned to be the central hub of ICT related
business, knowledge and research driven by the private sector. As the government’s approach is
to aim high in the GTP, it is reflected in the ICT targets as well but if we can achieve even half of
that amount it is good. A few points which are missing in the GTP are plans for regions to
advance and develop their own ICT parks, lack of a defined office to implement the plans, lack
of framework to use skills of local and diaspora Ethiopian professionals. I have received a few
feedbacks from some diaspora professionals who tried to contribute for the betterment of ICT in
Ethiopia. But sadly, they were trapped in the bureaucracy of the tight policy that they gave up
their dreams of giving back to the nation.
A few of the comments I got were questioning the need for developed ICT in Ethiopia where
80% of the population is a farmer living in the countryside. The answer is economic progress is
possible with ICT and in the 21st century I am compelled to say only with ICT. One must
understand that improvement in ICT doesn’t mean one computer and internet in everyone’s house
but rather to be able to provide the services if needed and to educate people to use these
resources to improve their living conditions. A recent study by world bank showed a 10%
increase in wireless coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa showed a 0.8% increase in GDP. [13] Many
countries are role models for reducing poverty by using ICT and I don’t see any reason why we
must not invest in this crucial technology for economic development.
A few weeks ago CNN was reporting about the business potential of Africa and one of the
conclusions of the report was Africa needs to advertise itself to change its image of war and
famine [14]. Any investor or a tourist wants to know about a country from a desk in his office
and what best way is there to present that information other that via internet. While countries
which have identified this have worked well to advertise their country in a new light, Ethiopia
remains far behind. If one compares google search results of ‘visit Ethiopia’ to, for example, ‘visit
Botswana’ or ‘visit Rwanda’, it is a pity that no official tourism office is welcoming tourists to the
rich destinations of the country.
There is a lot more to do when it comes to ICT in Ethiopia and with a coordinated effort by the
government, the private sector, higher education institutes and professionals the nation can enjoy
the benefits of ICT.
—
The writer can be reached at [email protected]
[1] CyberSoft PLC, Ethiopia : http://www.cybersoft-intl.com/
[2] EAS Software Technologies : http://www.et.eassoft.no/cms/index.php?lang=eth
[3] SOTA IT Solutions : http://www.sotaitsolution.com/
[4] iceEthiopia : http://www.ice-ethiopia.org/
[5] ICT-ET: http://www.ictet.org/
[6] International Telecommunication Union Report: http://www.itu.int/ITUD/
ict/publications/idi/2010/Material/MIS_2010_without_annex_4-e.pdf
[7] International Telecommunication Union Report: http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itud/
opb/ind/D-IND-WTDR-2010-PDF-E.pdf
[8] International Telecommunication Union Report: http://www.itu.int/md/dologin_md.asp?
lang=es&id=D06-DAP2B.1.3.7-INF-0004!!PDF-E
[9] Cisco Systems, Inc. :
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/optical/ps5724/ps2006/prod_case_study0900aecd80
10d326.html
[10] University of Manchester, MSc Thesis : http://eduict4d.
com/thesis/ICTs_for_Development_in_Ethiopia_A_Case_of_the_SchoolNet_Project_EN.p
df
[11] EthiopiaFirst Website : http://www.ethiopiafirst.info/news/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=407:ethio-telecome-lay-off-over-9000-employees-offormer-
etc&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=1
[12] Deutsche Welle : http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6568380,00.html
[13] African Brains : http://www.africanbrains.net/2011/04/06/will-mobile-innovation-makeafrica-
the-first-post-pc-continent/
[14] CNN – Marketplace Africa :
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/05/24/africa.attractive.investment/index.html?
iref=allsearch
