John Oyuke
16 May 2005
Nairobi — Africa could soon have a Sh3.8 billion satellite network built by the Government of India.
In a proposal to the African Union (AU), an Indian technical team says the project aims at facilitating communications among African leaders. It will also help the continent address education and health challenges.
The proposal identifies increased frequency of communicating between African leaders and the AU Commission as one of the benefits.
It will also offer telemedicine and facilitate distance education in the 53 countries that are members of the AU.
The project will also provide connectivity between India's leading universities and hospitals with their African counterparts and help set up remote diagnostic and educational centers.
The Indian scientists said enhancement of South-South cooperation would help Africa to address its numerous education and healthcare challenges at grass roots.
Telecommunications is considered key to economic development with the potential to increase the levels of productivity in other sectors of the economy.
Mrs Shashi Tripathi, India's secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, presented the proposal to the AU Commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare, last week.
Konare said a task force of African experts would soon be established to consider the proposal and make recommendations for consideration by the AU's policy organs.
The proposal to build the continent-wide satellite network comes at a time when African states are awaiting the realisation of the Regional African Satellite Communications Organization (Rascom) target they set during a meeting in Abidjan in May 1992.
Rascom is an intergovernmental commercially run organization, whose capital is open to the private sector.
The non-existence of direct links between African countries has meant that Africa states communicate among themselves through Europe or the United States.
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