Africa needs a common reporting framework on ICT and development – ECA
African countries have been called upon to have a common reporting framework on ICT and development.
The call was made by Mr. Kasirim Nwuke, Chief, New Technologies and Innovation Section of the Economic Commission for Africa ( ECA) at the annual review and follow up of the progress in achieving the World Summit on Information (WSIS) outcomes organised by the ECA.
“The data burden on National Statistical Offices is so huge that for the most part, data on ICT for African countries are produced and disseminated by providers. Such data are in many countries grouped in a manner reflecting the structure of operations of the operators.” Mr Nwuke was cited as saying in a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.
He pointed out the practice of grouping African countries in operator-generated reports as the most pressing issue from policy perspectives.
“In some reports, the whole continent is grouped with the Middle East – a sub-region of the Asian continent. In others, North Africa is grouped with the Middle East; and countries south of the Sahara are grouped together as sub-Sahara Africa.
Some reports even exclude South Africa and Nigeria because of the size of their markets, making meaningful Africa-wide assessment difficult,” he lamented.
He urged participants to carefully interrogate the emerging issues, propose a set of recommendations and policy actions that could serve as a means for African countries to harness the possibilities that these new technologies present while managing out the risks.
The release noted that over 32 countries assembled in Addis Ababa for the meeting and the experts in attendance are also focusing on emerging issues in ICT in relation to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting continues until Thursday 24 November and will feature special sessions such as: the rise of the financial technology (fintech) industry in Africa and the increasing challenge of cyber-security; an All-of-Africa indicator framework for ICT measurement in the context of the SDGs and the AU’s Agenda 2063; Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) transition; and emerging Internet governance issues, the release indicated.
Pamela Ofori-Boateng