Assefa ICT

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INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONTECHNOLOGYINETHIOPIA:CHALLENGESANDPROSPECTSFROMANA2K PERSPECTIVE

AMANASSEFA

Introduction

Information communication technology (ICT) is so profound aphenomenon that it has truly revolutionied the !ay !e live and !or"# Itis $y no means an e%aggeration if its impacts in terms of magnitude areanalogied to that of the impacts of the industrial revolution that s!ept&estern Europe three centuries ago# ICTs are proving to $e highly potentforces in terms not only of $ringing alternative and unprecedentedtechnical solutions' much more $eyond the technological frontier theyhave also stimulated a deeprooted cultural transformation part of !hich

is fundamental# To name one out many ICTs have for instance ena$led!or"ing from home !ithout any need to go daily to the o*ice#+Certainlysuch and other similar conse,uences of ICTs !ould gradually invite amassive transformation of culture and !ays of thin"ing# -n the legalfront the onset of ICTs has also demanded the rede.nition several of ourlegal relationships/ and in some respects ICTs have also $een sopo!erful as to unseat legal principles that have $een in place for

0ecturer of 0a! Faculty of 0a! Addis A$a$a 1niversity#+The !riter !ould li"e to ac"no!ledge his former student Ato 2enehun 3irile !ho isno! a graduate student at the 0a! School of the Addis A$a$a 1niversity for theunlimited research assistance he had e%tended in the course of this research# Clearly !e are in an age of ecommerce elearning egovernment and etc4 leavingvirtually nothing to stay outside the em$race of ICT# 5ery soon it !ill perhaps notanymore $e uncommon to get hired in an e!or" an emerging synonym fortelecommuting and also "no!n as tele!or" or 6!or"athome7 8o$# There are indeedlots of de$ates on !hether this !holly di*erent approach to employment relationship isa !ise approach# 3ut !hat is important to note is the fact that the face of the !orld is

changing rapidly as a result of ICTs $ringing in ne! culture and ne! !ays of doingthings# Seefor instance an online article in the &all Street 9ournalhttp:;;online#!s8#com;pu$lic;article;S3++?@////= or a &ashington ost online ne!s article posted onhttp:;;!!!#!ashingtonpost#com;!pdyn;content;article;/D;=;+/;A/D=+///


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centuries#@Nothing less than total societal transformations is in order asa result of ICTs one dare say#

&hat is more as shall $e discussed in the su$se,uent part ICTs havealso proven to $e indispensa$le tools in the sharing and dissemination of

"no!ledge# The degree to !hich ICTs have aided information access issimply e%traordinary# A fair proper and e,uita$le use of ICTs certainly!ill ena$le the !idest distri$ution of information and "no!ledge acrossthe $oard to as many people as possi$le# -ne may deem as fair ande,uita$le if and !hen the use of ICTs is accessi$le to as many people aspossi$le for !hich purpose one may need to see the cost of availa$ility ofICTs and also the level of ICT education# The propriety of ICT use may $egauged $y !hat portion of a nation7s population is a!are of the di*erentapplications of ICTs#

Hno!ledge is also one category of information that has $ene.ted fromthe emergence and development of ICTs# Hno!ledge is rec"oned to $ethe most determinant factor of today7s successful economies alsoaccounting for the di*erence $et!een the rich and the poor $oth at acountry .rm and individual level# As the A/H persepctive espouses the!ider dissemination of "no!ledge is "ey for the meaningful e%ercise ofpolitical po!er and economic social and personal development# Itensures success to the so many human activities and values and theproper harnessing of "no!ledge is undou$tedly a gate!ay to a $etterindividual life as !ell as community life#

Accordingly the challenge that each nation faces at present is ho! toguarantee an environment in !hich "no!ledge could continually $egenerated and disseminated# The mi% of policies strategies and toolsthat could $e developed !ill certainly vary depending on the particularconte%t and realities of each nation#

The o$8ective of the present study is to assess the policy and legalframe!or"s in Ethiopia pertaining to ICTs from the perspective of ho!much they are suited to assure a fair and e,uita$le dissemination of

"no!ledge# Speci.cally this paper aims at e%amining the ma8or playersin the government structure !hich underta"e tas"s related to ICTs as!ell as the policies that guide their actions# The speci.c ,uestions that!ill $e as"ed in this regard are: !hat government agencies are entrusted

3 It is a settled matter that the old oine principles applica$le to .nding 8urisdictionand choosing the $est la! in conJict cases are not convenient and !or"a$le even if thealternatives are still !anting# See generally Kin!oodie Lennessey and erlmutterInternational Intellectual roperty 0a!0e%isNe%is //

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http://www.bestwebbuys.com/International_and_Comparative_Patent_Law-ISBN_0820554685.html?isrc=b-searchhttp://www.bestwebbuys.com/International_and_Comparative_Patent_Law-ISBN_0820554685.html?isrc=b-search


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!ith this tas" &hat legal instruments are place that esta$lished them&hat po!ers have they $een given that helps them in realiing theirtas"s and !hat have they done so far and also !hat do they have in thepipeline 3ut to do so it !ill $e imperative to d!ell upon some$ac"ground issues that !ill hopefully shed light to the area that this

paper deals !ith# First of all it !ill $e important to give a $rief accountof !hat the access to "no!ledge perspective is all a$out !hich is !hat istreated in the su$se,uent section# Some hard facts a$out the status ofICT penetration in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular is alsoin order# In relation to the latter some data relating to averageteledensity internet su$scription rates and the rate of internet use isprovided# Attempt !ill also $e made in particular !hen !e come to thesection dealing !ith Ethiopia as to the level of private $usinesses7involvement in ICT related activities and also the level of ICT relatedhuman resource capacity of the nation#

!c"#round I$$u%$: T&% Kno'(%d#% Econo)*+ ICT$ !nd t&% A2K

,%r$,%cti-%

The economies of successful countries $oth developed and developing ischaracteried as highly dependent on the continuous generation use andre.nement of "no!ledge# As much as the economic development of thepast t!o centuries is depicted as capital and la$our intensive thepresently e%isting successful economies are claimed to $e "no!ledgedriven hence the term 6"no!ledge$ased economies7#> &hile theindustrial age society of the near past centuries at lest of the developed

corners of the !orld used to $e referred to as the 6industrial society7 thecurrently emerging society is coined as 6information society7 or6"no!ledge society7#B

There are certain "ey characteristic features of this ne! type of6"no!ledge$ased7 economic order and the society that supports it#enerally and from economics point of vie! it is characteried as anorder in !hich the $usiness aim of !ealth creation emphasies less onmanual la$our and more on value creation $ased on more and moreadvanced "no!ledge# As opposed to investing more capital to hire more

la$our and engage more physical assets accompanied $y slashing ofcosts !here possi$le the prevailing practice focuses on investment in

49oseph Stiglit u$lic olicy for a Hno!ledge Economy emar"s at theKepartment for Trade and Industry and Center for Economic olicy esearch0ondon +===5Ibid#

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"no!ledge and the di*erentiation of products on the $asis of additionalvalue#?

From the social and cultural point of vie! the !riter thin"s that thesociety that supports this "ind of ne! economic order has transformed to

$ecome a more open enterprising and interactive one# Annihilation ofdistance and deterritoraliation of the stateD !hich are "ey features ofICT $ased interactions are important factors that have helped societiesand individuals to interact in an hitherto unprecedented degree#Furthermore high level education and training are centrally signi.cantto this ne! economic order as the only gate!ay to meaningfullyparticipate in this glo$al phenomenon is the development of 6humanresources7 through investments in human capital increasing thecompetencies of !or"ers and the production of research and scienti.c"no!ledge#

6 eter Kruc"er The Future That Las Already Lappened Larvard 3usiness evie! =+;+==D s# /# 3ut not every$ody agrees !ith the assertion that the economies of thepresent day !orld are "no!ledge $ased and also the assertion that that the mostsuccessful .rms are those "no!ledge generating ones !ith strong K $ase#Challenging this vie! it has $een asserted that "no!ledge has in some form or another$een the $asis of the social and technical achievements all previous societies from theprehistoric societies of primitive times up to the industrial society of the previouscentury# 5ie!ed from this perspective the argument goes all societies have $een"no!ledge$ased and that investment in physical goods is still the more dominant form

of investment than in "no!ledge products and also that even in respect of ICTs $eingprominent features of this ne! economy they cannot $e thought of as anything otherthan primarily an information management and distri$ution resource not in itselfcapa$le of e%panding the realm of accessi$le "no!ledge# Seein this regard $y HeithSmith &hat is the 6"no!ledge economy7 Hno!ledgeintensive Industries andKistri$uted Hno!ledge 3ases availa$le athttp:;;!!!#druid#d";uploads;t%Opictured$;ds/+/@#pdf accessed on 9une @ /=# Inmy opinion the divergence in opinions in this regard partly stems from the di*erentmeanings given to the term 6"no!ledge7# It might $e the case that !e may reach atdi*erent conclusions and have di*erent perspectives if the term "no!ledge is on thehand to include all relevant understandings and the competence to handle mattersand on the other it is to $e con.ned to the narro!er .eld of "no!ledge andinformation products such as computer programmes and science$ased understandings

coming out of universities and K institutions# Lo! the A/H rogram of the 2ale 0a!School Information Society ro8ect treats the meaning of "no!ledge from theperspective o access !ill $rieJy $e discussed later#7These t!o are terms I found in an article $y Michael eters National education policyconstructions of the 6"no!ledge economy7: to!ards a criti,ueJournal of Educational

Enquiry, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2001, p. 7-. availa$le athttp:;;!!!#literacy#unisa#edu#au;8ee;apers;9EE5ol/No+;paper+#pdfaccessed on May/D /=# This representation I thin" ,uite aptly captures the "ey impacts of ICTs# Theyhave the potential to $rea" do!n territorial and social $arriers and truly ma"e the!orld a small place#

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Another central and indispensa$le aspect of the "no!ledgeeconomy!ith its informationsavvy society is its ine%trica$ly lin"age !ith ICT# TheICT system $eing a "ey factor in this economic order gives the"no!ledge$ased economy a ne! and di*erent technological $ase !hichradically changes the conditions for the production and distri$ution of

"no!ledge#@@ /Bonline availa$le athttp:;;siteresources#!orld$an"#org;HFK0;esources;HAMOaperOpdfaccessed on9une +/ /=#10 I$id#11Cees 9# Lamelin" Ne! Information and Communication technologies SocialKevelopment and Cultural Change 1NISK Kiscussion aper 9une +==D availa$le at!!!#unri$d#org;


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0ast $ut $y no means the least it is also necessary to touch upon ho!and !hy ICTs are important components of the A/H perspective# +/ Asmentioned in the introductory section the A/H perspective promotes theidea that "no!ledge of all sorts that are necessary for the meaningful

development of individual human $eing and communities of human$eings must $e distri$uted as !idely and e,uita$ly as possi$le# Itstresses on the point that access to "no!ledge $eing a demand of 8usticeand individual li$erty the currently e%isting national as !ell asinternational legal and economic structures that divide control of"no!ledge and !ith it control of !ealth and po!er must $e revised!ith the vie! to ensure t!o aims' namely generation of ne! andincreased amount of "no!ledge to meet the demands of the present daypro$lems and e,uita$ly distri$ute the same $oth !ithin countries andacross national $orders#+@ Hno!ledge according to 2ochai 3en"ler

encompasses $asically four types: human "no!ledge s typical e%amplesof !hich includes "no!ho! and s"ills ac,uired through education andtraining' all sorts of necessary information including ne!s medicalinformation and data' scienti.c and technical "no!ledge im$edded ingoods !hich may or may not $e protected $y proprietary systems' and.nally tools for the production of "no!ledge im$edded goods such asscienti.c and research tools materials and compounds fore%perimentation computer programs and computer hard!are#+> A/Hsets out to ensure access to all the four types of "no!ledge#

ICTs mesh in to the aims of the A/H since they are recognied to $e soinstrumental in respect of all improving access to all four of these types

123y perspective the !riter intends to refer to the gro!ing ideal shared $y severalindividuals and groups in relation to the administration of "no!ledge creation anddissemination# 3ut the !riter is also mindful of the fact that among some circles and attimes this ideal does not 8ust remain as a shared perspective# It has also $ecome ahighly politicied agenda fervently shared $y several groups and individuals !ho arenot only interested to ma"e academic e%planations of the issues surrounding access to"no!ledge $ut are also $ent on changing current system of "no!ledge creation andsharing# As such one !itnesses the A/H not 8ust $eing a perspective $ut also a glo$almovement !ith a certain level of vigor# For a $etter treatment of the history of the A/H

movement !ee generallyAmy Hapscyns"i The Access to Hno!ledge Mo$iliation andthe Ne! olitics of Intellectual roperty ++D 2ale 0a! 9ournal (/


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of "no!ledge# ICTs are o$viously very important in the .eld of educationand in ma"ing availa$le all sorts of information# Furthermore ICTs alsoem$ody a tremendous amount of technical and scienti.c "no!ledgethemselves and as such can $e considered as "no!ledge productsthemselves in addition to serving as research and e%perimentation tools#

ecogniing the u$i,uitous nature of ICTs and their instrumentality inall the four types of "no!ledge it !as 8ust so natural for the A/Hmovement to focus on them as one area of possi$le intervention forensuring access to "no!ledge#

The A/H perspective is also mindful of the resource and economicsdimensions of the ideas it promotes# It is evident that the issue ofgeneration as !ell as distri$ution of "no!ledge demands the right "indsof socioeconomic policies and the esta$lishment and propermanagement of private and pu$lic institutions that have impact on

access to "no!ledge# Translated in to the .eld of ICTs the issues for A/H!ould generally $e the follo!ing' infrastructure development andmaintenance setting up of an appropriate regulatory environment andnurturing a human resource $ase capa$le of using maintaining andadvancing the system# Conse,uently any discussion of ICTs as aninstrumentality of the A/H ideals cannot $e divorced from discussions ofeconomics#

Mainly it can $e said that the movements7 core engagement is !ith thecurrently e%isting economic and legal structures and thoughts that

favour continuing and further solidifying the arti.cial $arriers on theproduction and dissemination of "no!ledge# The proprietary system of"no!ledge management reinforced $y intellectual property (I) la!s isthe ma8or target of these movements# It is increasingly $eing $lamed tohave $een enforced e%cessively to such a degree that it is stiJing thegeneration and Jo! of "no!ledge# Interestingly enough one notes thatthe singularly po!erful 8usti.cation for I la!s is none other than thesame aim the A/H stands for !hich is the generation and disseminationof "no!ledge and through it enhance economic development#+B&hat the

A/H movement is opposed to is in deed its e%cessive enforcement !hich

therefore means that it too is interested in the issue of the optimal designof I la!s and enforcement even though it can fairly $e said that it ismore in favour of a system that

15-* course it is !idely "no!n that there have also $een other theories for!arded in8usti.cation of the I system some $ased on li$erty and human rights $ut it appearsthat the most prevailing and highly de$ated theory of Is is the one $ased oneconomics#

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64serve $oth human rights and economic developmentthrough policies that ma"e "no!ledge "no!ledgecreating tools and "no!ledgeem$edded goods as !idelyavaila$le as possi$le for decentralied innovation and use#-pen technological standards a $alanced approach to

intellectual property rights and e%pansion of an opentelecommunications infrastructure ena$le ordinary peoplearound the !orld to $ene.t from the technologicaladvances of the information age and allo! them togenerate a vi$rant participatory and democraticculture#7+?

This paper is not at all an essay on the relative merits and strengths ofthese t!o opposed stands anymore than it is a study of the presentstatus of the Ethiopian ICT regime# The foregoing paragraphs !ere

necessary 8ust to give a perspective of the A/H since after all the paper7saim is to assess the soundness of Ethiopian ICT policies and la!s to meetthe A/H ideals#

ri%. Account o. ICT in A.ric! !nd t&% Di#it!( Di-id%

Not everyone in the !orld has $een $lessed to en8oy the $ene.ts of ICTs#As much as the era of ICTs has opened up tremendous possi$ilities forenhancing and enriching the "no!ledge system and ma"ing it accessi$leto people separated $y geographical and social $arriers the une,ualdistri$ution of this potent technology $oth !ithin and across nations has

further sharpened the division of !ealth and po!er#+D

In short noteveryone every!here $e it in the developed developing or leastdeveloped nations is yet connected to the glo$al net!or" of informationand "no!ledge# 3ut the picture loo"s more gloomy in the unfortunatecorners of the !orld in the so called 6less developed countries7 or 0KCs#

In this respect and relative to !here the rest of the !orld has reached interms of ICTs Africa and particularly its Su$Saharan part remains to$e the only continent on earth left out from the glo$al digital !ave#+


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"no!n as the digital divide#+=It is true that the situation in this regard isnot as dismal as it used to $e fe! years ago since some encouragingthings have $een !itnessed in Africa that are so important in $ridgingthe divide# Fe! years ago in // the average internet use (per +persons) in Africa !as a$out #? !hile the mo$ile su$scription stood at

around /#< per + persons# In the same period the average teledensityfor .%ed lines !as 8ust /#B#/ These .gures particularly of mo$ilesu$scription and internet use have gro!n up so rapidly# A /? datareleased $y the International telecommunications 1nion (IT1) indicatesthat mo$ile su$scription !as up $y more than += points to $ecome nearly// per + inha$itants !hereas internet use also made a modestincrease and stood at nearly B per + inha$itants#/+Not so surprisingly.%ed line density failed to sho! a mar"ed increase' it 8ust reached @#+per + inha$itants#//The share of Su$Saharan African countries inthese .gures for .%ed lines mo$ile phones and internet use respectively

!as#== +/#= and @#+? per + inha$itants telling us of none otherthan a digital divide !ithin the continent itself#/@

uite interestingly !e also o$serve a signi.cant increase in 8ust one yeartime' a /D report of the same organ IT1 claims an increase in all the.elds# The densities of .%ed lines mo$ile su$scription and internet usefor the !hole of Africa has reached @#DD /D#>< and /#DD respectively#This in other !ords means that the use of mo$iles has increased nearly =fold !hereas the use of internet has 8ust increased @fold# The share of

+=

20Mi"e 9ensen Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Africa A Statuseport 1N ICT Tas" Force /@' availa$le athttp:;;!!!#unicttas"force#org;thirdmeeting;documents;8ensenR/v?#htmaccessed on9une +B /


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Su$Saharan African countries has also reached +#?B +

This perhaps tells a story of progressive investment in the sector and agro!ing emphasis given to the sector $y African governments#

The other trend to o$serve from these num$ers is the share of the

gro!th particularly of mo$ile su$scription and to a certain e%tentinternet use# The relatively $etter cost of mo$ile infrastructure has ledmost African countries to prefer to invest more in mo$ile phone systems#

Accordingly mo$ile coverage is of higher rate than the rate of the other$asic ICT indicators# Aside from the costs of infrastructure cheaperhandsets competitive mar"ets and $usiness models oriented to theneeds of the poorer segments of the population such as a*orda$leprepaid cards have resulted in a mo$ile $oom in Africa during the lastdecade#/BThe increased internet use !hile noting it to $e di*erent frominternet su$scription/? is mainly attri$uted to a $oom in the

esta$lishment of cy$er cafUs as pu$lic access points# &hile !e are at it itis also a !orth!hile e*ort to see the .eld of $road$and connectivity in

Africa# It can fairly $e said that e%cept in Egypt Morocco TunisiaAlgeria and South African in the rest of Africa it is virtually none%istent#/DThis !riter thin"s that the increasing use of internet throughdial up connections is in itself a good development in Africa given theeconomic $ac"ground of African countries $ut it is e,ually true that ithas a serious limitation on access to "no!ledge due to its limitedcapacity# Nonetheless the choice countries have to ma"e in this regard isnot at all a simple one# Even from the A/H perspective it appears more

sound for many African countries to commit their meagre resources tocontinue !ith dial up connection and ta"e it to many corners !ithin theirterritories than to earmar" the same money to install a $road$andsystem catering for the already privileged classes#

In spite of the a$ove Africa still remains very much divided from the restof the !orld#/


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even in this one should not forget that they are largely concentrated in8ust si% of its B> economies namely Algeria Egypt Morocco NigeriaSouth Africa and Tunisia accounting for almost


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T&% Et&io,i!n ICT Pictur%

&ith a sie of a$out +#/B million s,uare "ilometers and a population ofnearly D> million Ethiopia is one of the $iggest in sie and the secondmost populated country in Africa#@+Economically ho!ever measured $y

any standards it remains to $e one of the poorest even among Su$Saharan African countries# Even if there are encouraging signs of$udding and ro$ust economic gro!th and increasing productivity inrecent years@/centuries of $ac"!ard economic conditions and seclusionfrom the rest of the !orld in terms particularly of trade has still left itsmar"s on the present day Ethiopia !hich ho!ever appear to $e fastshedding# Improved macroeconomic management sta$le governmentsystem privatiation and improving private sector involvement in theeconomy the recent phenomenon of increased diversi.cation of thee%port mar"et@@ fast increasing education coverage at all levels of

schools@>have helped improve the economic situation in the country30For instance the Ne! artnership for African Kevelopment (NEAK) an initiative ofthe Leads of States of several African countries including Ethiopia has ICT as one ofits .ve priority areas under its .rst cluster "no!n as $ridging the infrastructure gap#See http:;;!!!#nepad#org;/B;.les;documents;in$rief#pdfaccessed on 9une / /=#To this end the Information Society artnership for African Kevelopment (ISAK) has$een created under NEAK# E,ually nota$le is the initiative of the 1nited NationsEconomic Commission on Africa (1NECA) head,uartered in Addis A$a$a Ethiopia inesta$lishing in +==? the African Information Society Institute (AISI) to help $uildAfricaQs ICT infrastructure $y /+# For this purpose the National Information andCommunication Infrastructure (NICI) !as formed to assist mem$er states to de.nenational ICT strategies and policies#Seehttp:;;!!!#uneca#org;aisi;NICI;accessed on

9une / /=#31Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia the /D o*icial population census availa$le athttp:;;!!!#csa#gov#et;surveys;NationalR/statistics;nationalR/statisticsR//


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and and a$ove all have helped in instilling a thin"ing ofentrepreneurship and investment# Nonetheless the 8ourney the countryhas ahead of it still a long perple%ing and challenging one# It is still oneof the poorest countries on earth ran"ing +?=th out of +DD countriesaccording to the 1N7s Luman Kevelopment eport and !hose per capita

income is estimated to $e V/#@BIt is still a country !ith nearly


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ICTs to the farmer7s need and guarantee the farmer7s access to"no!ledge# In this regard it is imperative to thin" of the nature of"no!ledge a farmer needs for the $etterment of his or her life and his orher personal development given the particular circumstances of a typicalEthiopian farmer# The target might $e ma"ing availa$le .%ed or mo$ile

telephone lines or even prefera$ly !ireless telephone so that the farmer!ill $e in a position to gather information on prevailing price of cropsand avoid $eing cheated $y middle men !ho $ene.t from the informationasymmetry in the system# T5 and radio coverage and availing T5 andradio sets at a*orda$le prices are also supplementary policyconsideration that must $e thought of to allo! the farmer "no! things$eyond the narro! scope of his;her little village# This de.nitely allo!sthe farmer to $e $etter informed helps him;her avoid parochialism# -nthe other hand it is also necessary to thin" of the children of a farmerfamily living !ith the family !ho the government very much encourages

to go to primary schools# Aside from ma"ing availa$le radio and T5 andtelephone farmers7 children !ould also $ene.t great deal if they areavailed a computer set most feasi$ly at school to $e used on the $asis ofone computer to several students# It is too o$vious to need ane%planation as to ho! and !hy access to computers helps the educationof children# Computers $eing the $asic tools in ICT not only helpchildren !ith an early e%posure to the ICT !orld $ut !ill through itgradually lead to the development of ICT versatile population capa$le ofspearheading a full$lo!n ICT revolution' furthermore computersconnected to the internet are also certainly a means of getting

information and "no!ledge#

There is also the need of all inha$itants of the ne!ly spra!ling smallto!ns across the country for mo$ile net!or" coverage T5 and radio setsat a*orda$le prices and additionally also computers and internet for

youngsters and student in these to!ns#

Then comes the need of $ig city (ur$an) d!ellers such as $usiness menstudents professionals !or"ers of all categories and others !hoalready have secured the access for improved ICT services such as

uninterrupted and clear phone lines and faster internet connection# As a$ig city d!eller the !riter of this paper li"e many of his fello!inha$itants of $ig cities e%periences these pro$lems# 3ut then one neednot forget the millions in cities !ho still do not have access either due toe%pensive costs of access and;or due to lac" of the necessary "no!ledge

population# Ta"ing a /> .gure !hile agriculture accounted for >D percent of Kthe services sector accounted for a$out >+ percent !hile that of the industrialsector !as 8ust a$out +/ percent# Seethe &orld 3an" report supra at note /=#

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to ma"e use of the access# The interest of these poorer or illiteratesegments of city populations is perhaps for either free or lo!cost accessto internet and telephone such as su$sidied pu$lic pay phones oreducation and sensitiation campaigns on $asic uses of ICTs#

There is also the government7s need to ensure $etter secured and fasterJo! of information and storage# It has already $een realied $y thegovernment that ICTs help a great deal in fostering good governance asshall $e mentioned a little later#

All of these needs are yet to $e ful.lled# The current situation ,uitegrimly is far from satisfying !hen !e see some of the .gures of $asic ICTinfrastructure and di*usion# To start !ith the $asics almost all thesources the !riter !as a$le to get his hands on tell that the averageteledensity of Ethiopia in respect of .%ed lines is found at so lo! a level

at a$out +#/#@DConforming to the African picture the mo$ile coverageappears $etter and is reported to $e a$out >#># The data of the EthiopianTelecommunication Corporation (ETC) !hich is sole telecom servicesprovider of the nation tells us that internet su$scription is #B?!hereas internet usage is reported $y IT1 to $e #>/ in /R of the total population# Spea"ing of

$road$and internet su$scription the !hole country of nearly D@ millionhas 8ust +


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inha$itants is as lo! as 8ust #@+@) availa$le athttp:;;!!!#eictda#gov#et;Ko!nloads;olicies;ICTOolicyOEnglish#pdf recognies thisfact as do a num$er of studies# Seefor instance another EICTKA sponsored study

conducted $y Ernst and 2oung ICT LK Strategy and Implementation lan May/=# The !riter had the opportunity to $e present !hen the consultants presentedtheir studies on 9une @ /=# The document is availa$le athttp:;;!!!#eictda#gov#et;Ko!nloads;!or"shop;ICTLKOStratOFinal#pdf accessed on9une /@ /=#40Monitoring and Evaluation eport on Information Needs of Farmers andastoralists (/D) A study commissioned $y EICTKA availa$le athttp:;;!!!#ictadethiopia#org;documents;=@c//==/+=+fBae?dac+?B+fdDf$?edaD#pdfaccessed on 9une / /=#41This .gure refers to employees availed computers and printers in groups#

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http://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdfhttp://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/workshop/ICT-HRD_Strat_Final.pdfhttp://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdf,%20accessed%20on%20June%2020http://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdf,%20accessed%20on%20June%2020http://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdf,%20accessed%20on%20June%2020http://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdfhttp://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/workshop/ICT-HRD_Strat_Final.pdfhttp://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdf,%20accessed%20on%20June%2020http://www.eictda.gov.et/Downloads/Policies/ICT_Policy_English.pdf,%20accessed%20on%20June%2020


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attempted to survey the trend of internet use in terms of contentdo!nloaded and it found out that of those !ho $ro!se the internet mostof them use the internet to get ne!s and general information (?@#>R)and not information on specialied issues such as agriculture (B#+R)health (@-necan imagine language and illiteracy to $e pro$lems at some future time!hen it !ould $ecome economically possi$le to avail internetinfrastructure to the illiterate segments of the Ethiopian or to those !ith

very lo! education level# 3ut then it is pro$a$ly very di*icult to imaginethis# &hat most li"ely !ould happen is that the same future economicperformance of the nation that !ould ena$le the esta$lishment ofinternet infrastructure !ould at the same time and in the mostpro$a$ility of events ena$le not only the eradication illiteracy $ut alsomass education#

An account of ICT infrastructure !ould $e acutely incomplete if as far aspossi$le and !ithin the availa$le data and studies an attempt is notmade to highlight three more areas' namely the ICT s"illed humanresource $ase of the nation current internet capacity costs of $asictelecom services and then .nally the level of private $usinessinvolvement in ICT#

In regard to the .rst area an EICTKA commissioned study conducted $ya group of Ernst and 2oung consultants and !hich study is still is in a

draft stage generally e%plains that the current ICT human resourceneeds of the nation is unmet !hile at the same time it is e%pected toincrease sharply over the coming years especially in the face of someICTrelated initiatives of the government !hich demand a considera$le

42+B indicators of ICT in Ethiopia supra at note @B#43English also happens to $e the medium of instruction from early grades on inEthiopia and also at tertiary level education#

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human resource $ase#>> This study distinguished $et!een four ma8ortypes of human resources for ICTs namely end users ICT professionalsICT K rofessionals and educators and tried to sho! $oth the currentshortages as !ell as the future demands of the country in all these fourtypes#

enerally spea"ing the study concluded that concerning end users>Bthecurrent demand is less only $y +R and that the incremental demanda$ove the current demand !ill only $e +BR in the short run (a ma%imumperiod of @ years)# 3ut as regards ICT professionals the unmet demande%ceeds @R of !hat is needed currently and the incremental demandover the current levels is e%pected to $e around BR# In the .eld of ICTeducators as !ell the current level is @R less than !hat is needed $ut!hich shortage is to $e very much pronounced provided that the demand!ill $e dou$le in the short term due to the a$ovementioned ICTrelated

initiatives# The !orst scenario is recorded in the area of ICT K inrespect of !hich the current demand is only met $y /BR in the face ofan e%pected need of dou$le of !hat is needed no!#

The other ICT infrastructure indicator is the capacity of the nation7sinternet# 1ntil May /D the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporationlin" to international internet $and!idth consisted of B M$ps single lin"

via satellite to ermany#>?As of May /D the corporation has added +BBM$ps a .$er optics lin" to the su$marine lin" via ort Sudan# This has$rought the current lin" of the country to international internet

$and!idth to a total of /B M$ps#>D

Telecom services in Ethiopia can $e considered e%pensive given theeconomic level of most of its citiens# / hours of internet use per monthcosts close to 1SK +# !hereas the price of + minutes of mo$ile callis close to 1SK D## Ma"ing an international telephone call is soprohi$itively e%pensive in Ethiopia and may cost from 1SK +# tonearly 1SK D# for a minute# For a country !hose per capita income is

44ICT LK Strategy and Implementation lan supra at note @?# The governmentICT initiated programmes are those terms SchoolNET &oredaNET EthEnet andural Connectivity !hose $asic features !ill $e highlighted in the coming pages#45The term endusers in the study does not refer to the pu$lic at large $ut rathernarro!ly to those employees of all sorts of organiations !hose !or"s re,uires themto have the $asic ICT s"ills#46 EICTKA Monitoring and Evaluation eport on ICT 0a!s Enacted and ICT3usiness Status in Ma8or To!ns of Ethiopia (/


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around 1SK /# and >R of !hose population is living $elo! thepoverty line this truly is ,uite e%pensive#

The level and ,uality of private $usiness investment in the .eld of ICTdoes not appear to $e very !ell studied in Ethiopia#>=disclosed thatthere is a sia$le gro!th on private $usinesses involvement all over thecountry and that all in all the num$er has more than tripled# Mostinterestingly such regions of the country as Afar "no!n for its nomadicpastoralist society has even seen three .rms opened since /? !hich!as the year of the previous survey#

In conclusion it is fair to say that the present Ethiopian society notsurprisingly is far from $eing an ICToriented society' and this is more soin the rural area# 3eing a country of rural agricultural society !ith a very

lo! literacy level it very much lags $ehind in this .eld of ICT#

It is not di*icult to imagine the e%tent of the challenges the Ethiopiansociety faces in relation to ICTs in terms of the A/H perspective# As$rieJy discussed in thee introductory sections the A/H perspectiveenunciates the adoption and implementation of policies that 64 ma"e"no!ledge "no!ledgecreating tools and "no!ledgeem$edded goodsas !idely availa$le as possi$le for decentralied innovation and use47and also favours the adoption of 64open technological standards a$alanced approach to intellectual property rights and e%pansion of an

open telecommunications infrastructure that ena$le ordinary peoplearound the !orld to $ene.t from the technological advances of theinformation age47BIt is also to $e recalled that ICTs are important inthis regard in t!o !ays: they are "no!ledgeem$edded goods themselvesand they are also indispensa$le medium for the distri$ution of"no!ledge# No! therefore given the grim situation presented a$ove the,uestion that !ould have to $e addressed is: !hat is it that the country isdoing to meet the challenges and there$y improve access to "no!ledge

48The !riter could not .nd a study in this respect particularly one that tells thetotal num$er of ICTrelated $usinesses in the country their sies the ,uality of their

services relationship !ith foreign $usinesses !orld!ide and most of allcerti.cation of their activities# The aim !as to sho! if there is anything meaningfulparticularly in terms of "no!ledge transfer that goes on in the country $eyond themere importation of hard!are and soft!are#49Monitoring and Evaluation eport on ICT 0a!s Enacted and ICT 3usiness Statusin Ma8or To!ns of Ethiopia Id# # @=B


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through the instrumentality of ICTs In this regard the assessment muststart !ith the policies and institutions !hose primary aim is to deal !iththe development of ICTs in Ethiopia# The ne%t t!o sections try to shedsome light on these issues# Furthermore it might also $e natural giventhat A/H initially !as a reaction to e%cessive Is to !onder !hether or

not e%cessive enforcement of Is is to $e $lamed for the grim ICTreality of Ethiopia##

T&% Curr%nt Initi!ti-%$ !nd t&% Futur% A&%!d

In this last part of the paper I !ill try to assess the current initiatives ofthe government in the country through the assessment of its policies andalso the la!s in place that impact on ICT from the perspective of A/H#

It is fair to say right at the outset that the government has .rmly$elieved in the importance of ICTs for the nation7s developmental e*orts#

The government7s appreciation of this .eld and the enormousopportunities it can create in so many .elds and its commitment torealie some ICTdevelopment targets is evidenced $y some of itsinitiatives it has ta"en so far in the past fe! years# They includeesta$lishment of an agency e%clusively dedicated to the development ofICT development the restructuring of the pu$lic telecom sector $ydissociating the service aspect from the regulatory one adoption of anational ICT policy and a strategy adoption of ICT capacity $uilding asone ma8or area of activity in some "ey government ministries such as theMinistry of Capacity 3uilding and the Ministry of Education underta"ing

speci.c ICTsupported pro8ects in several government institutions and.nally some "ey initiatives a concert of agencies has so far underta"en to$oost the nation7s ICT capacity#

Institutional Set up, Laws and Policies

Institutionally spea"ing the relevant pu$lic organs for the investment inand running of ICTs as !ell as the regulation and development of thesector are the Ethiopian Telecommunication Authority (ETA) theEthiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) and the Ethiopian ICTKevelopment Authority (EICTKA)# 3ut there are also other pu$lic

implementers of ICT related activities and investments such as theMinistry of Education !hich at the moment is running one of the $iggestgovernment investment in ICTs "no!n as the EthEnet designed toconnect all the /+ pu$lic universities to facilitate !hat is termed as elearning and eli$rary# 3ut since such organs are sector speci.c they!ill $e outside the scope of this paper# This paper !ill mainly focus onthose organs !hose ICT related activities have multisectoral impactsand the relevant ones in this regard remain to $e the a$ove three#

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The Telecom Sector

Telecommunication in Ethiopia is more than a century old and the .rsttime a small telephone net!or" !as esta$lished !as in the year +#Even if throughout the history of the sector the successive governments7

had made investment through a pu$lic organ it has not in the opinion ofthe !riter had any measura$le impact on its society in terms ofe*ectively connecting and !iring the !hole nation# Nothing signi.cant!as done for the most part of the century other than serving very fe!privileged citiens !ith scanty services# -ne can say that relatively largescale and massive investments in this sector !ith the particular vie! ofavailing access to the !ider pu$lic is 8ust a decadeold phenomenon#

For very long $oth the regulatory aspect such as giving licenses andallocating fre,uencies and the provision of telecom services for pay !ere

carried out $y a single pu$lic organ !hich had assumed di*erent namesover the years# It !as 8ust in +==? that the government decided toseparate the regulatory tas"s from operational ones !hich decision$rought a$out the t!o organs mentioned a$ove# ETA !as esta$lishedunder the Ministry of Transport and Communications to ensure theimplementation of government policies to create conducive atmospherefor private investment in the telecom sector as !ell as to set standardsfor services and types of communications e,uipment importedassem$led or locally manufactured# The Corporation !as setup as anoperator and restructured to engage in the e%pansion and improvement

of telecom services in revitaliing telecom infrastructure development!or"s and in operations of independent telecommunications corporate$usiness under a leadership of a $oard of directors !ith an autonomousstatus#

ETA: The Regulator: &hen the separation !as decided in +==? it isroclamation >;+==? (hereinafter roclamation) that esta$lished theEthiopian Telecommunications Agency (ETA)B+ma"ing it $e accounta$leto the Ministry of Transport and Communication#B/ This proclamationtogether !ith its amendmentB@ de.nes telecommunication to include

every service possi$le associated !ith telecommunications#

B>

Lo!ever51QTelecommunication roclamation No# >=;+==? the Second ream$ular aragraphand Article B# The egulation that esta$lished the ETC also envisages the $irth of aregulatory organ li"e this#52Id# Article @53 QTelecommunications (Amendment) roclamation No#/=;+==? cited at note @ a$ove and Article#/ ofTelecommunication (Amendment ) proclamation /


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telecommunication service shall not include $roadcasting service andintercom connection#BB

ETA esta$lished as an autonomous federal agency having its o!n legalpersonality is given the po!er to supervise or regulate the Ethiopian

Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) !hich so far is the sole providerof telecom services in the country and has the po!ers and duties tospecify technical standards and procedures for the provision oftelecommunications ensure that the communication services conform tothe speci.ed standards of ,uality regulate tari*s relating to $asictelecommunication services license and supervise operators oftelecommunications servicesB? regulate types of telecommunicatione,uipment !hich may $e connected to a telecommunication systemauthorie and supervise the use of fre,uencies allotted to Ethiopiaregulate pricing of interconnection and universal service#BD

Council of Ministers egulation No#>D;+=== (hereinafter egulation) alsostates more detailed principles of ho! the ETA regulates in particularlicensing interconnectionB=;+==? Article#+D58The egulation states that the Ethiopian regulatory regime has to $e in line !ith&T- re,uirement (as Ethiopia is in the process of acceding &T-) and thereforethose laid do!n under &T- agreements !ill $e also part of the regulatory regime!hich is stipulated under the egulation No#>D;+=== Article B?# egulation in theEthiopian legislation system is a la! enacted $y the ca$inet under the leadership ofthe rime Minister and is found in the hierarchy of la!s at a level lo!er than la!s"no!n as roclamations enacted $y the Louse of eople7s epresentatives theEthiopian parliament#

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!hich is de.ned as 6Qtelecommunication service e%pansion target to $eset $y the agency and may include pu$lic pay phone target underserviced target priority customers target and pu$lic call o*ice targetQQ#B=

The elements in the a$ove de.nitions are also de.ned under the

egulation# As such pu$lic pay phone target is de.ned as a Wtargetindicating the num$er of coin or card operated telephones to $e $roughtto serviceX#?-n the other hand underserviced target is de.ned as Watarget that indicates the total num$er of ne! e%change lines to $e$rought into service for su$ cities named as Yonal &oreda and otherto!ns of the regional states lac"ing the provision of telecommunicationserviceX?+Lence ne! e%change lines are set to $e installed in Yones&oredas and other to!ns of the regional states lac"ingtelecommunication facilities# And concerning the Wpriority customers to$e speci.ed $y the agencyX the egulation gives the agency the right to

specify those customers that should $e given priority# The last element inthe role out target is pu$lic call o*ice target !hich is de.ned as a target!hich indicates the total num$er and regional distri$ution of ne! pu$liccall o*ices to $e $rought into service?/ # u$lic call o*ice refers tocommunity telephone centers and tele$outi,ues#?@

These are targets the ETA sets out for implementation $y ETC theincum$ent monopolist operator# The egulation further dictates that ETAshall set the roll out target $y considering the gro!th of telephonepenetration rate the reduction of long !aiting list the e%tension of

telephone services to rural areas the provision of ne! and enhancedservices $ut it must $e in line !ith the national telecommunicationdevelopment policy and priorities set fourth $y the government?> Inconclusion it means that in e%change for allo!ing the ETC to remain amonopoly it must meet government re,uirements for e*iciency ,ualityand infrastructure e%pansion targets# The government does not directly59 egulation No#>D;+=== Article#/ (/(i))60IdArticle#/(/ (f))61Id /(/(I))62Id Article#/ (/(a))63i$id64

3e!"etu 0eye! A 0i$eralied Telecommunication Sector for Ethiopia: Theegulatory Frame!or" and its rospects /D unpu$lished (AA1 0a! Faculty)page @/) # ++?

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intervene in the daytoday operations of the ETC $ut the ETC mustimplement all policies and planning targets initiated $y the Ministry ofTransport and Communication and drafted $y the ETA#

Although another study $ased on intervie!ing the authorities of

government suggests that there is an inclination to favour greater andgreater reform and opening of the sector 64 the Agency stops short ofadvocating a true competitor for the incum$ent one that !ould providenet!or" infrastructure international connectivity as !ell as valueaddedservices7?BThis same study claims to have found out $oth that the ETAunderstands the importance of regulatory capacity in administering acompetitive telecommunications industry and also that at this point intime the ETA admittedly lac"s the capacity to oversee full competitionand li$eraliation#?? In spite of its $eing a ne! agency !ith limitede%perience in the .eld it has so far sho!n interest in partly divesting

itself of some do!nstream activities such as virtual internet service andcall center services# To this e*ect it has issued fe! directives for thelicensing of certain telecomrelated activities the most important of!hich from A/H perspective is the 5alue Added Services Kirective of/B allo!ing private $usinesses to ta"e license from the ETA andengage in such services# The !riter could not verify the impact of thisKirective on $oosting the availa$ility of particularly internet#

ETC: The Operator: It can $e said that the EthiopianTelecommunication Corporation (ETC) is the government7s investment

arm that sells telecom services to the pu$lic and earns pro.t# It !asesta$lished $y Council of Ministers egulation No# +;=??Das a pu$licenterprise !hich is a form the government uses !hen it decides toinvolve in a $usiness !ith an additional aim of ma"ing money#?


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operation, 'aintenance and epan!ion of teleco''unication !er%ice!3

pro%ide do'e!tic and international telep$one, tele, telefa and ot$er

co''unication !er%ice!3 pro%ide co''unication !er%ice! u!ing

integrated infor'ation tec$nology, including re-broadca!ting of

tele%i!ion broadca!t!3 to repair, a!!e'ble and 'anufacture

teleco''unication equip'ent and ancillarie!3 to render training !er%ice!to teleco''unication per!onnel3 to engage in ot$er related acti%itie!

nece!!ary for t$e attain'ent of it! purpo!e!7?=# It is stated in theegulation that the Corporation is esta$lished for inde.nite period andli"e any pu$lic enterprise the source of its investment funds is thegovernmentD#

At this 8uncture it is important to touch upon the issue of theprivatiation of the sector# The sector is de (urepartly privatied sincethe applica$le la! states that telecommunication services left unde.ned

is could $e allo!ed to private investors if and only if they !ish to investin 8oint venture !ith the overnment#D+3ut the government has not sofar sho!n any readiness to allo! private investment in the sector andthus the sector de facto still remains a government sector#D/Moreoverthe Investment roclamation not only has failed to specify the manner ofthe domestic investors7 participation in the sector $ut has also e%cludedforeign investment in the sector#D@

Lence ETC is currently a monopolist in the country in the area ofprovision of telecommunication services in all parts of the country# The

telecom sector is therefore in Ethiopia a sector that is completely devoidof competition e%cept for those very small scale and fringe telecomservices such as reselling phones and internet#

0ac" of competition has $een a source of controversy and contentions$oth at home and a$road# At home many sides $lame the incum$ent forthe current not so commenda$le ,uality of service such as very slo!internet connection# There are allegations that the monopoly has createdan underperforming incum$ent !hich is also ridden $y !astage and69Id Article#B70

Id Articles ? and


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mismanagement in spite of massive investment#D>A$road other nationsnegotiating !ith Ethiopia for the latter7s accession to the &T- haveta$led it as one point of negotiation and have e%pressed the intention todemand Ethiopia to open up its telecom sector to foreign investors#DB

-n the other hand the government replies that the need for the sector toremain under government control is predicated on strategicconsiderations# It argues that mar"et competition in the sector !ould notta"e ICTs to the rural areas and that the rural areas can only $ene.tfrom government investment for !hich reason the government isinclined to control the !hole mar"et as a source of income for ruralinvestment# In short universal service o$8ectives are the arguments mostoften cited in support of its infrastructure monopoly#D?

It is ,uite evident that the trend in Ethiopia appears to $e against the

tides prevailing in other parts of the !orld !hich had produced di*erentmagnitudes of li$eraliation ranging from a minimum li$eraliation offe! telecom sectors to a full scale li$eraliation of nearly allcommunications mar"ets !ith highly applauded outcomes in terms ofimproved and innovative services to#DD So vie!ed from the positivee%periences of many other countries the Ethiopian e%perience couldpro$a$ly $e said to have deterred more gro!th and improvement than!hat has so far $een achieved#

That said it !ould $e in8ustices if mention is not made of the fact that

the last decade has !itnessed tremendous changes in the telecom sectorand also that there are some e%citing ne!s coming particularly from theETC in terms of its strategic plan to develop the ICT sector in thecountry# As !ould $e recalled this !riter has stated at the $eginning of

74Lartley and Murphree supra at note B= p# +@+?75 http:;;info#!orld$an"#org;etools;!ti/


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this section that huge investment in the sector is 8ust not more thandecadelong phenomenon !ith particular emphasis of availing telecomservices to the !ider pu$lic# Evidence to this phenomenon is the drasticchanges in the $asic ICT indicators !itnessed in the last ten years# &hilea teledensity of +#/ for .%ed telephones and >#> for mo$ile phones are

still lo! even $y African standards these .gures have ho!ever got to $e8udged against the .gures some years ago !hich !as 8ust #B> for .%edtelephones and OOO for mo$iles# &e see the .gures dou$ling in 8ust amatter of .ve years# Similarly the still lo! .gures for internetsu$scription and internet usage !ere less $y half fe! .ve years ago asthe statistics indicate#

&hat is more the ETC is also lately !itnessed to $e introducing ne!services# -f particular importance to the A/H ideal are the !ireless ormo$ile &CKMA and CKMA services it has launched in late /< !hich

are e%pected to $oost the num$er of internet su$scription in much thesame !ay as had $een !itnessed !hen mo$ile telephony !as introducedin the country# These services avail to their users highspeed internetaccess and in the case of &CKMA they additionally video and high,uality image transmission over their mo$ile phones#

In terms of its strategic plan the ETC has 8ust .nalied the installation of> "ms of .$er ca$le all over the country and is also planning to installadditional + "ms of .$er ca$le to help $ring $etter transmission andavoid the prevalence of service interruption# It also plans among others to

raise the current very lo! density of .%ed lines to >R and of mo$ile lines to=R persons and cover


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design capacity $uilding programmes as !ell as recommend theimplementation of same and also carry out sensitiationcampaigns

- to spearhead the development and deployment of !hat is "no!n asegovernment#

- to engage !ith the private sector to allo! the latter to play a roleICT development

- to coordinate the creation and proper utiliation of top leveldomain name and also regulate the allocation give addressregister and monitor government domain names for a coordinatedand standardied development of national institutional andsectoral information#

- and .nally to give a!ards to outstanding performance in ICTrelated areas#

The Authority has so far $een instrumental in developing an ICT policyand commissioning studies in areas falling !ithin its po!ers# It has also$een directing programs in colla$oration !ith other government organsdesigned to $oost ICT infrastructure and di*usion#

The ICT policy has already $een approved in /B and the initialimplementation plan had $een under!ay since /? for a period of .ve

years due to end in /+#D= It declares as its vision improving 64t$e!ocial and econo'ic "ell being of t$e people! of Et$iopia t$roug$ t$e

eploitation of t$e opportunitie! created by I# for ac$ie%ing rapid and

!u!tainable !ocio-econo'ic de%elop'ent, and for !u!taining a robu!tde'ocratic !y!te' and good go%ernance#7 The mission of the policy isalso stated as developing 64Et$iopia into a !ocially progre!!i%e andpro!perou! nation "it$ a globally co'petiti%e, 'odern, dyna'ic and

robu!t econo'y t$roug$ t$e de%elop'ent, deploy'ent and eploitation

of I# "it$in t$e econo'y and !ociety.5 The policy has also stated four$road goals all of !hich deal !ith transforming the nation7s society in toa "no!ledge and information society !ith glo$ally competitive ICTindustry that supports the nation7s rapid economic development and alsohelps in enhancing government e*iciency and good governance#

The policy li"e a standard policy document stipulates very $roadlystated strategic areas of intervention and also provides for guidingprinciples !hich primarily puts the government as the main engine forthe development of the ICT sector# The +@ "ey strategic areasenumerated in the policy are

793oth the policy and the implementation plan are availa$le in the !e$site of theEICTKA# http:;;!!!#eictda#gov#et;

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http://www.eictda.gov.et/http://www.eictda.gov.et/


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- Luman resource development- hysical and ICT infrastructure development- ICT for governance;Eovernment- ICT industry and private sector development- Electronic commerce

- Community access and service delivery- 0ocal content and applications development- ICT for research and development- ICT systems security and standards- The legal and regulatory environment- romotion of ICT in education- 1se of ICT in health- ICT for agricultural moderniation

It is interesting to note that the component dealing !ith esta$lishing a

legal and regulatory environment has as t!o of its eleven o$8ectivesensuring the protection of intellectual property rights in ICT and alsoremoving e%isting policy legal and regulatory impediments to thedevelopment of ICT# It is not at all clear !hat the Agency has in mind interms of reconciling these t!o potentially conJicting o$8ectives for thelegal environment# -ne is left to !onder !hether or the policy isconsciously advocating the loosening of intellectual property regimes!hen their enforcement is gauged e%cessive and proves detrimental tothe development of ICTs a trend the A/H movement says is plaguingdeveloped economies# The .ve year implementation plan has not said

anything speci.c in this regard other than proving to $e anothergovernment paper of general statements# It only spea"s of initiatives tofacilitate the necessary regulatory and ena$ling environment for thepromotion and development of the information and "no!ledge economyand a programme to put in place the necessary legislative provisionsinstruments and the relevant cy$er la!s# &e are yet to see thesematerialied even if !e are 8ust left !ith a little more than one year#

Activity !ise the EICTKA has so far underta"en some commenda$leactivities# -f most signi.cance in the opinion of the !riter are the

schoolNET and &oredaNET programmes !hich are demanding massiveinfrastructure investment# These are pro8ects in !hich the EICTKA playsa central role $ut in colla$oration !ith particularly the Ministry ofCapacity 3uilding and the Ministry of Education#

The schoolNET is a pro8ect that aspires to connect through satellite T5$roadcasting and internet nearly ? high schools and elementary levelteachers training institutes and also the development of more than

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+B T5 programmes# It is a huge programme planned to cost over


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EICTKA has also commissioned a study on other areas relevant to the egovernment initiatives as !ell as its responsi$ility of standard setting# -nthe egovernment front it has already .nalied a study and proposed onthe sie and structure of $asic ICT units for administrative agencies ofthe government#


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future# Institutional lin"age and 8oint planning and studies !ould $ecome,uite necessary to go in tandem and play as a team# At this moment itso happens that the Kirector eneral of the ETC is the Chairman of3oard of Kirectors of the ETC !hich has its o!n !orth in terms of$ringing in the re,uisite lin"age# This may ho!ever end up $eing a one

time and very temporary lin"age and not at all an institutional one# Caremust $e ta"en to introduce a permanent and via$le institutionalrelationship $et!een the t!o organs of government at least up until thetime the government continues to o!n investments in the telecom sector#Conc(u$ion

At the start the ,uestion as"ed !as ho! to gauge the nation7s policiesand la!s from the A/H perspective# I thin" it is very important that !ecaution ourselves to do the measurement from the perspective of anation !hich is grappling !ith the challenges of moderniation anddevelopment a nation !ith a predominantly agrarian society that has

come out of feudalism 8ust less than .ve decades ago and is faced !iththe daunting responsi$ility of accomplishing so much in so little time# Ithin" the ,uestion to $e as"ed must not $e oriented to!ards measuring amagnitude of ICT$ased access since the ans!er to that ,uestion issimple: there is almost nothing to measure in that respect# The nationhas availed very negligi$le or even close to none "no!ledge andinformation to its citiens# The farmer !e mentioned in the forgoingpages is still largely !ithout either a .%ed or mo$ile phone and has verylittle chances of "no!ing !hat lies $eyond the con.nes of his;her little

village# The farmer7s children are still !ithout computers and phone

access !hile the student in the small to!n is either !ithout a computeror sharing it !ith hundred or even thousands# The city d!eller is eitherfrustrated at the slo! internet or at the poor ,uality of mo$ileconnection# The standard !e must set I thin" is that .t for a $eginner#&hile it may argua$ly $e $lama$le that some time has already $een!asted in the past it ho!ever remains that !e are at the $eginning ofICT in the country# The nation is 8ust getting to "no! the issues andfamiliariing and e%periencing !ith them and trying to understand !hatis at sta"e and also understand the $est !ay to chart the !ay for!ard forthe ends of ma"ing the most use !ithin the means and resources at

disposal of ICT for developmental ends of the nation# As the Chinese sayeven a 8ourney of thousand miles $egins !ith a single step# The issuesand the challenges are multidimensional comple% and ,uite dynamicparticularly in the face of the everchanging technology there$yre,uiring a thorough study and follo! up# So the ,uestion appropriatelyis !hether the .rst fe! steps so far ta"en are good ones in terms of theperspective of the A/H#

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5ie!ed from this perspective some of the actions that have $eenunderta"en so far are ,uite commenda$le as mentioned a$ove# Most ofthe things so far done are !hat a $eginner !ill do and in fact a $eginner!ith meagre resources# -f particular importance here is theesta$lishment of a specialied agency and the formulation of a policy

$ac"ed $y an action plan since these measures not only $ring the !holeissues of ICTs in to one focal point $ut also $ecause they set a trail forthe nation# &hat must $e cautioned here the fact that the action plan!ould certainly need successive evaluation to chec" if it in compliance!ith o$8ective realities on the ground and limitations# Aside from settingup an agency and developing a policy the study particularly focusing on$ase line survey of the human resources of the country is also necessarysince it is a strategically "ey factor for the ICTs development#

Evidently the EICTKA the ETA and ETC are encum$ered !ith an

enormous responsi$ility at a de.ning moment in the history of the nation#As clearly espoused in the nation7s ICT policy !hat is re,uired is a totaltransformation of !hole society in to a "no!ledge $ased informationsociety# Time is a critical factor for countries such as Ethiopia since theyhave a lot if catching up to do# 0eapfrogging is the !ord most technicalpeople !ould use to descri$e the nature of the advancement that ise%pected of the li"es of Ethiopia in terms of $oth infrastructuredevelopment and di*usion of ICTs# All of them su*er form criticalshortage of funds a typical pro$lem of a poor country and it appearsthat no change is at sight anytime soon in this regard# 3ut as stated the

a$ove a much more than 8ust a temporary institutional relationship isindispensa$le since these t!o organs !or" $asically in the same area#9oint planning and teaming up !ould $e ,uite indispensa$le#

As for the ETC $eing the main operator even though it has $eenengaged in ma8or telecom investments there is the issue on theapproach of the government in regard to the privatiation of the sector#

Admittedly the issue has $een a perple%ing one over the last one decade'$ut the voices for li$eraliation have decidedly !on the de$ate# Invitingcompetition in the sector is evidently helpful for $oth e%panding

investment and lo!ering of prices there$y enhancing access to ICTs#3ut on the other hand the government7s concern for the t!in issues ofdeveloping the government7s regulatory capacity $efore invitingcompetitors and the need to address the rural side of the country ata*orda$le prices is also !orth noting# The $est approach in the !riter7sopinion is perhaps to put a time limit after the lapse of !hich privateinvestment shall $e permitted and during !hich time the state shall haveopportunity to develop the much desired regulatory capacity# &hat is

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lauda$le amidst all this is the recent trend at the li$eraliation ofdo!nstream and value added services !hich hopefully !ill give thegovernment the impetus to e%ercise and develop its regulatory po!ers#

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