Prepared by: Isabel M. Nshimbi
IT Network Manager
COMESA Secretariat
INshimbi@comesa.int

Introduction

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has actively undertaken an Information and Networking Initiative as a way of achieving its targets on time whilst at the same time minimising on costs involved with communications. Computers and networks are central to this initiative which aims to exploit new technologies to speed up communication and enable more people to get onto the Internet, commonly referred to as the Information Superhighway.

The phenomenal growth in Information and Communication technologies has represented both a challenge and an opportunity for COMESA Member States. They have to gain from these changes in Information and Communication Technologies. The Internet has taken advantage of existing telecommunications infrastructure to enable people have access to information regardless of physical location and also be able to transfer information in the quickest possible time. Information is an important factor in all activities and programmes that COMESA undertakes and to emphasise on its importance, the theme for the Third Summit of the COMESA Authority of Heads of State or Government which was held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on 29th June, 1998 was "Information - A Tool for Increased Trade and Investment in COMESA".

The COMESA Treaty clearly outlines the need for collaboration among Member States in providing information so that the provisions of the Treaty can be implemented. The Treaty also emphasises the need to adopt an information policy that will set standards in hardware, software and the methodologies to be used to link the Member States.

The COMESA Information Network

In line with this, the COMESA Information and Networking Initiative has set out to bring the Internet to the desktops of its employees at the Secretariat in Lusaka. This has encouraged the employees to use e-mail as a means of communication as opposed to phones, faxes and post and also to use the vast resources of information on the Internet for their day to day work.

The Secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia has built a Local Area Network that allows for the staff to communicate electronically with everyone else on the Internet. The local area network is based on a fibre-optic backbone with structured cabling to other parts of the building. The network connects via fibre to a local Internet Service Provider which has a satellite connection to the Internet. Most desktops within the Secretariat have both e-mail and web browsing facilities. The Secretariat has exploited this technology to improve communication within the Member States and also uses it as a more efficient means of providing information to promote trade within the region. Member states are encouraged to adopt use of this technology through their local Internet Service Providers.

Currently, employees at the Secretariat are using the network for communication by e-mail and also as an information resource for marketing, product and corporate information. Electronic communication has the advantage of being cheaper and quicker than the traditional postal and telephone methods and also reduces on the use of paper. A general e-mail address on which to contact the COMESA Secretariat by e-mail is - comesa@comesa.int Individual e-mail addresses for employees at the Secretariat may be obtained using the same address.

Improvements and developments to this communication network are taking place so that eventually COMESA will be able to communicate electronically with all Member states and institutions.

A project has also been designed to facilitate regional trade and to help Member States produce accurate, timely and reliable trade data. Intra-regional trade flows must be facilitated and promoted to increase investment, production and growth. The project is known as the COMESA ASYCUDA - EUROTRACE Regional Project and is funded by the European Development Fund.

ASYCUDA is UNCTAD's Automated System for Customs Data and Management and is provided free to Member States through the COMESA regional centre. It is a computerised Customs management system which also covers foreign trade procedures and is used to generate reliable and timely trade data.

EUROTRACE is a computer system for the collection and analysis of external trade statistics, and was devised by the European Community's Statistical Office (Eurostat). It is able to take data generated by ASYCUDA or any other computerised system and integrate it into a database in order to facilitate in-depth analysis.

The COMESA Website

A Web-site has been developed which allows for more effective dissemination and retrieval of information and also for electronic commerce. This enhances business and productivity as everything can be done from the desktop. The COMESA web site can be found on this address - http://www.comesa.int

COMESA aims to further utilise the website as a tool for more efficient news gathering and dissemination by having up-to-date news and press releases as and when they come out. It will also provide dynamic and interactive databases that supply the information that is necessary for meeting the targets in the various programmes.

COMTEL COMMUNICATIONS Ltd

As a means of contributing to the improvement of telecommunications in the region, COMESA is currently promoting the establishment of a regional telecommunications network through COMTEL Communications Ltd which is a private limited liability company. This is with the view of facilitating increased trade relations within the region of Eastern and Southern Africa. The move to establish COMTEL is the outcome of a study on telecommunications network inter-connectivity and tariff harmonisation undertaken by Telia Swedtel on behalf of COMESA with financing from the African Development Bank (ADB).

NETWORK COVERAGE:

The COMTEL project covers the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, D R Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

COMTEL INVESTMENT Ltd which was registered in Mauritius on 26th May 2000 as an offshore company will be used by the National Telecommunications Operators (NTOs) in the above named countries as a vehicle to invest in COMTEL Communications Ltd. The capital of the two companies is US$ 32,250,000 and US$ 300,000,000 respectively. Non-COMESA Countries are free to join the COMTEL Communications Ltd and connect to the network.

The Regional Network:

The COMTEL backbone network has been configured to include a mix of optic fibre, microwave and satellite connectivity. The network will facilitate transmission of voice, data, and TV programmes. In this way the network will cover the full breadth of information and telecommunications technology, including both voice and data transmission of various bandwidth, and is expected to stay modern for a long time to come. The network will be built on existing layout infrastructure where available. Nevertheless, new transmission routes employing a mix of fibre-optic cable, digital microwave and satellite systems have to be constructed to inter-connect the countries.

The total cost of the project is US$ 172,000,000. The project is financially viable and technically feasible. The money goes from the region to Europe and U.S.A. as transiting fees in year 1996 is US$ 90,000,000 according to ITU data. The network will save the money for transiting charges.

In the near future COMTEL Communications Ltd will build an Internet Backbone in Eastern and Southern Africa with exchange node in some countries. The Internet Backbone will improve the information technology services within the region. The company will also build a regional TV network.

The network is designed for the regional traffic. The viability study is done on the basis of voice service. The tariff will be around US$ 0.15 as flat rate. The rate is for NTOs. Because COMTEL Communications Ltd deal only with telecommunications operators.

Institutional Framework

COMTEL Communications Ltd is as a private limited liability company which is registered as offshore company in Mauritius on 26th May 2000. Subsidiaries will be established in other project countries depending on operational requirements of the network.

The shares of COMTEL Communications Ltd are distributed as 25% for NTOs, 30% for Strategic Equity Partner (SEP), and 45 % for the private sector investors.

Five international companies have been selected to bid for SEP. Very soon the Information Memorandum will be selected to the bidders. The PTA bank is the financial advisor for the project.

Conclusion:

In the coming years, COMESA will strive to keep pace with developments in information and communications technology and to particularly explore the possibility of developing electronic-commerce.

References:

Final Communique of the Third Summit of the COMESA Authority of the Heads of State and Government http://www.comesa.int/news/communique.htm

TREATY Establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Chapter 20, Artcle 139 http://www.comesa.int/backgrnd/backtrty.htm

ASYCUDA Information Package, UNCTAD - Geneva, September 1997 V1.0 and V1.3: http://www.unicc.org/unctad/en/pressref/mt1home.htm

COMTEL Project Brief: http: http://www.comesa.int/comms/comtelb.htm