Information minister Peya Mushelenga has reaffirmed Namibia’s full commitment to the strategic plans of the African Telecommunications Union.
The union invites the member states to effectively participate in its programmes to enhance Africa’s voice in the field of information and communication technology (ICT).
Mushelenga said this on Tuesday when he led Namibia’s delegation to attend the 2022 African Telecommunications Union Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CLP-22) in Algiers, Algeria from 25 to 26 July.
“As member states of the ATU, we are required to work collaboratively towards the growth and economic development of our continent, through the transformation of the ICT sector,” he said.
“We can achieve this by rapidly improving access to and implementation of the latest technologies to ensure the provision of quality, affordable and universal ICT services and products. The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the ICT sector as an enabler of socio-economic development,” he added.
In most countries, Mushelenga said the entire pandemic response plans were aided by the utilisation of ICTs.
This, according to him meant that “we” could continue to provide much-needed services, where physical contact was not possible.
Equally, he said the pandemic also laid bare the extent of the digital gap, especially on the African continent, and thus encourages countries to heighten the provision of universal services to ensure that the unserved and underserved communities are connected.
He further commended the ATU for successfully implementing its activities during the last four years, especially in the midst of uncertainty, through international participation, knowledge and capacity building and the implementation of the ATU strategic objectives for the benefit of all its members.
“I am pleased to reaffirm our commitment towards ATU, as we herewith increase our country contributory units. We do this in recognition of the importance of the work and impact of ATU, for the attainment of our objectives as a continent,” he said.