Row hits East Africa ICT project
Apr 13, 2006
A World Bank loan offer of over $100m (about sh183b) is causing a dispute between the bank and the companies promoting the East African Submarine cable system (EASSy) project.
By Davis Weddi
and Agencies
A World Bank loan offer of over $100m (about sh183b) is causing a dispute between the bank and the companies promoting the East African Submarine cable system (EASSy) project.
The World Bank made an offer to attribute a loan covering 50% of the costs estimated at $230m (sh420.9b). The offer comes with conditions for consortium members to adopt Open Access principles, an idea that is gaining momentum with Africa’s governments, regulators and civil society.
Balancing Act, an electronic publication, said in November last year, “The World Bank offer has split the consortium members. The larger members who have the capital to make their contribution see the offer as “a diversion†that will prevent them from raising the rest of the money quickly.â€
The EASSy project is a fully-integrated multi-technology network of a 9,900km undersea fiber optic cable for telecommunications that will link East Africa to the rest of the world. It was launched three years ago and is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
Vincent Waiswa, a leading ICT policy advocate in Africa, said companies that instigated the project and invested in it before the closure of the window of opportunity to invest are motivated by profit.
and Agencies
A World Bank loan offer of over $100m (about sh183b) is causing a dispute between the bank and the companies promoting the East African Submarine cable system (EASSy) project.
The World Bank made an offer to attribute a loan covering 50% of the costs estimated at $230m (sh420.9b). The offer comes with conditions for consortium members to adopt Open Access principles, an idea that is gaining momentum with Africa’s governments, regulators and civil society.
Balancing Act, an electronic publication, said in November last year, “The World Bank offer has split the consortium members. The larger members who have the capital to make their contribution see the offer as “a diversion†that will prevent them from raising the rest of the money quickly.â€
The EASSy project is a fully-integrated multi-technology network of a 9,900km undersea fiber optic cable for telecommunications that will link East Africa to the rest of the world. It was launched three years ago and is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
Vincent Waiswa, a leading ICT policy advocate in Africa, said companies that instigated the project and invested in it before the closure of the window of opportunity to invest are motivated by profit.