Plans to lay an undersea fiber-optic cable off eastern Africa could be the beginning of the end of crackling long-distance calls, slow dial-up Internet connections and universities without e-mail.
Four projects are in the works to link 22 eastern, central and southern African countries to the world's network of submarine cables and 21st century communications. They would enable cheaper international calls with no static and fast Internet access.
The first cable could be finished as early as March.
At the moment, the Indian Ocean's eastern African seabed is the only one in the world without a submarine fiber-optic cable, forcing the region to rely heavily on limited and expensive satellite links. As a result, countries along the coast and in its hinterland have some of the highest communications costs in the world.
Even though fiber-optic links would drive down communication costs for businesses and consumers, it also could be a big opportunity for entrepreneurs.
''We think in general that the high price of satellite communication is creating a high-price, artificially low-demand market and because of that we think there is pent-up demand,'' Brian Herlihy, vice president of New York-based Herakles Telecom LLC, which is leading one of the projects.
A 2005 study by a U.N. task force found that 90 percent of calls between African countries are routed by satellite through Europe or North America at a cost of US$400 million a year. Direct calls would be cheaper, though the study did not say by how much.
The cost of laying the fiber-optic cable -- stretching up to 8,000 miles (about 13,000 kilometers) along selected points in the Indian Ocean -- is estimated to range from US$100 million to US$200 million. Individual countries will spend even more laying fiber-optic cables inland and connecting their networks to the submarine cable.
State-owned and private African telecommunications companies, the World Bank and other international financial institutions, governments and foreign private investors are funding the projects.
The oldest, the four-year-old Eastern Africa Submarine Cable Systems, or EASSy, was conceived by a group of East African businessmen in November 2002.
The cable can ''contribute to the expanding intra-Africa trade by providing better communication in the region,'' Abiodun Jagun, a researcher in information communication technologies at the University of Manchester, said in a February paper.
Competition among companies rolling out the new cables could drive prices down even further and deliver results faster.
One project would not necessarily cancel another out -- India, for example, has several submarine fiber-optic cables linking it with the international telecom infrastructure.
Ethiopia, the most populous country of the region, thinks the rival cables offer it choice and the opportunity to negotiate favorable prices.
''The more alternatives, the better,'' said Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who leads the Horn of Africa nation of 77 million. The landlocked country will be linked to the undersea cable through neighboring Djibouti or Kenya.
Monday, 4 June 2007
Zimbabwe: EU to Shift Sugar Policy
MAJOR changes are on the horizon for sugar, one of the world's most highly protected agricultural commodities, according to a report by the International Food Research Policy Institute.
It says low-cost producers of sugar such as Zimbabwe and Malawi stand to benefit immensely from the proposed liberalisation of world sugar trade by the European Union.
The United States has, however, maintained its protectionist measures that favour sugar producers in that country, restrict access to sugar markets, distort global competition and prices for many competitive low-cost producers and exporters.
"A recent shift in EU policy . . . could significantly reshape sugar markets in both industrialised and developing countries," IFPRI noted.
"More open global trade in sugar would benefit some poor African countries that are low-cost producers of sugar, including Malawi and Zimbabwe.
"Other countries, such as Mauritius and Swaziland, would be hurt economically due to loss of preferential market access.
"In order to be competitive in global sugar markets, developing countries would have to produce sugar efficiently and massively, meaning they would have to engage in large-scale, high-tech production, calling into question the opportunities for smallholder farmers."
Initiated in 2006, the European Union's sugar reforms focus on cutting subsidies to farmers and closing obsolete sugar mills.
Over time, these policy changes could cause sugar production in the EU to fall by one-third, IFPRI said, shifting the EU from a net exporter to a net importer of sugar.
Reducing EU protectionism will also have a ripple effect across the globe, increasing world sugar prices and providing new opportunities to low-cost producers, such as Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, South Africa, and Thailand.
Conversely, countries that currently have preferential access to sugar markets would experience economic losses.
The report said further: "The full impact of these reforms is uncertain, including how the EU will cope with future challenges, such as the full liberalisation of sugar imports from the least developed countries in 2009. Neverthe-less, the changes are significant and could influence US sugar policies."
Currently, US policy protects sugar producers and processors from competition by limiting imports and excluding lower-cost producers from open access to the market.
This keeps domestic sugar prices artificially high. However, 40 countries have been given preferential access to US markets, including certain high-cost producers, such as a number of Caribbean countries.
As EU reforms proceed, IFPRI explained that the U.S "could come under pressure to change its sugar price support programme".
"Potentially, the US could end sugar subsidies and institute a buyout, as it has for peanut quotas and tobacco price supports. Restrictions on imports and domestic production could be relaxed and tariffs lowered.
"Although these changes would bring sugar prices down, their impact on developing countries would vary.
"The potential impact of policy changes on farmers in both developed and developing countries is huge, but more open global trade in sugar would result in more winners than losers."
Last year, Zimbabwe produced over 440 000 tonnes of sugar and was able to meet its export quota to the EU.
It says low-cost producers of sugar such as Zimbabwe and Malawi stand to benefit immensely from the proposed liberalisation of world sugar trade by the European Union.
The United States has, however, maintained its protectionist measures that favour sugar producers in that country, restrict access to sugar markets, distort global competition and prices for many competitive low-cost producers and exporters.
"A recent shift in EU policy . . . could significantly reshape sugar markets in both industrialised and developing countries," IFPRI noted.
"More open global trade in sugar would benefit some poor African countries that are low-cost producers of sugar, including Malawi and Zimbabwe.
"Other countries, such as Mauritius and Swaziland, would be hurt economically due to loss of preferential market access.
"In order to be competitive in global sugar markets, developing countries would have to produce sugar efficiently and massively, meaning they would have to engage in large-scale, high-tech production, calling into question the opportunities for smallholder farmers."
Initiated in 2006, the European Union's sugar reforms focus on cutting subsidies to farmers and closing obsolete sugar mills.
Over time, these policy changes could cause sugar production in the EU to fall by one-third, IFPRI said, shifting the EU from a net exporter to a net importer of sugar.
Reducing EU protectionism will also have a ripple effect across the globe, increasing world sugar prices and providing new opportunities to low-cost producers, such as Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, South Africa, and Thailand.
Conversely, countries that currently have preferential access to sugar markets would experience economic losses.
The report said further: "The full impact of these reforms is uncertain, including how the EU will cope with future challenges, such as the full liberalisation of sugar imports from the least developed countries in 2009. Neverthe-less, the changes are significant and could influence US sugar policies."
Currently, US policy protects sugar producers and processors from competition by limiting imports and excluding lower-cost producers from open access to the market.
This keeps domestic sugar prices artificially high. However, 40 countries have been given preferential access to US markets, including certain high-cost producers, such as a number of Caribbean countries.
As EU reforms proceed, IFPRI explained that the U.S "could come under pressure to change its sugar price support programme".
"Potentially, the US could end sugar subsidies and institute a buyout, as it has for peanut quotas and tobacco price supports. Restrictions on imports and domestic production could be relaxed and tariffs lowered.
"Although these changes would bring sugar prices down, their impact on developing countries would vary.
"The potential impact of policy changes on farmers in both developed and developing countries is huge, but more open global trade in sugar would result in more winners than losers."
Last year, Zimbabwe produced over 440 000 tonnes of sugar and was able to meet its export quota to the EU.
Malawi meeting to finalise African subamarine cable
Information and communication ministers from about 20 African countries have been invited for a special meeting that is expected to iron out controversies surrounding the ratification of the NEPAD ICT broadband network (NIBN) project. The project includes the Eastern Africa Sub-Marine Cable System (EASSy) submarine project and Central Corridor Trade and Transport Facilitation Project. EASSy) is an initiative to connect countries of eastern Africa via a high bandwidth fibre optic cable system to the rest of the world. It is considered a milestone in the development of information infrastructure in the region (Wikipedia).
Rwandan state minister for energy and communications Albert Butare told HANA that ministers are expected to meet in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi by the end of June to try and reach a consensus on whether the project can proceed without some member countries signing the protocol.
The ratification for NIBN should be completed by June 30 2007, according to the project time schedule. There are currently disputes and no working consensus among some members over ownership of the US$280 broadband infrastructure.
"The coming together of all member countries including those that have not yet appended signature on the protocol for the establishment of the special purpose vehicle (SVP) to own and manage the system," Butare said. "This meeting will give room for the tabling of discussions and provision of concrete solutions to difficulties in this project," he added.
A special purpose vehicle will be a body corporate created by all EASSy members to fulfill narrow, specific or temporary objectives, primarily to isolate financial risk, which usually could include bankruptcy and some other specific taxation or regulatory risks.
Edmund Katiti, the NEPAD policy and regulator advisor said during a ministerial conference, on this multi-million broadband network, in Kigali recently that countries that have not signed may accede to the protocol once it has come into effect.
"Eleven countries including Kenya have not yet signed the protocol citing widespread irregularities in regulatory framework," Katiti said. Kenya declared the protocol illegal as it commits the signatories to modify their regulatory framework to accommodate the provisions thereby overriding the nation's laws and over ruling all regulatory agreements in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Kenya argued that it cannot allow going back to the era of monopoly and controls due to a poorly designed protocol. At the first protocol signing in Kigali, only seven countries Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi and Tanzania signed.
The NEPAD e-Africa commission that is spearheading the venture has announced that the eleven countries including Kenya that have not signed the protocol risk being thrown out of the project. Dr Henry Chasia, the deputy executive chairperson of the NEPAD e-Africa Commission, the countries that have not signed won't until the critical mass required for the project to take off has been achieved.
Chasia told HANA journalists in Pretoria, South Africa in February that countries that have already signed the protocol had agreed to all conditions and had been asked to nominate companies that would invest in the project - an event that nominated 12 companies out of the required 60.
Rwanda's Butare expressed the hope that with the Malawi meeting, all member countries will put an end to the ongoing wrangles that have crippled the progress of the sub marine cable system as well as forge a way forward on its quick implementation.
The Malawi meeting follows another meeting of ICT ministers which was held in April in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania which agreed to open dialogue for all member countries. The 9 900 km EASSy network is to be built on Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Technology and is an initiative to connect countries of eastern and southern Africa via a high bandwidth fiber optic cable system to the rest of the world. -
Rwandan state minister for energy and communications Albert Butare told HANA that ministers are expected to meet in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi by the end of June to try and reach a consensus on whether the project can proceed without some member countries signing the protocol.
The ratification for NIBN should be completed by June 30 2007, according to the project time schedule. There are currently disputes and no working consensus among some members over ownership of the US$280 broadband infrastructure.
"The coming together of all member countries including those that have not yet appended signature on the protocol for the establishment of the special purpose vehicle (SVP) to own and manage the system," Butare said. "This meeting will give room for the tabling of discussions and provision of concrete solutions to difficulties in this project," he added.
A special purpose vehicle will be a body corporate created by all EASSy members to fulfill narrow, specific or temporary objectives, primarily to isolate financial risk, which usually could include bankruptcy and some other specific taxation or regulatory risks.
Edmund Katiti, the NEPAD policy and regulator advisor said during a ministerial conference, on this multi-million broadband network, in Kigali recently that countries that have not signed may accede to the protocol once it has come into effect.
"Eleven countries including Kenya have not yet signed the protocol citing widespread irregularities in regulatory framework," Katiti said. Kenya declared the protocol illegal as it commits the signatories to modify their regulatory framework to accommodate the provisions thereby overriding the nation's laws and over ruling all regulatory agreements in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Kenya argued that it cannot allow going back to the era of monopoly and controls due to a poorly designed protocol. At the first protocol signing in Kigali, only seven countries Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi and Tanzania signed.
The NEPAD e-Africa commission that is spearheading the venture has announced that the eleven countries including Kenya that have not signed the protocol risk being thrown out of the project. Dr Henry Chasia, the deputy executive chairperson of the NEPAD e-Africa Commission, the countries that have not signed won't until the critical mass required for the project to take off has been achieved.
Chasia told HANA journalists in Pretoria, South Africa in February that countries that have already signed the protocol had agreed to all conditions and had been asked to nominate companies that would invest in the project - an event that nominated 12 companies out of the required 60.
Rwanda's Butare expressed the hope that with the Malawi meeting, all member countries will put an end to the ongoing wrangles that have crippled the progress of the sub marine cable system as well as forge a way forward on its quick implementation.
The Malawi meeting follows another meeting of ICT ministers which was held in April in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania which agreed to open dialogue for all member countries. The 9 900 km EASSy network is to be built on Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Technology and is an initiative to connect countries of eastern and southern Africa via a high bandwidth fiber optic cable system to the rest of the world. -
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