EAC Secretary General calls for Partner States to support innovative developments
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 26 June, 2018: The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko has called on the Partner States to support innovative developments from the private and public sectors that bring the vision of a fully integrated and developed EAC closer to reality.
''I realized the urgency for East Africa to grasp the business opportunities offered by new technologies to create a competitive advantage for industries in our region.''
The Secretary General was speaking during the opening session of Google Project Loon Workshop at the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi,Kenya
He disclosed to the participants that the EAC had established the East African Science and Technology Commission; the East African Health Research Commission and the Inter-University Council of East Africa because it believes that education, mainly sciences and technology, as well as research are the foundation of any competitive economy.
Amb. Mfumukeko added that the EAC’s 5th Development Strategy covering the period 2017 to 2022, underscores the centrality of technology and industrialisation in the overall development of the Community as the cornerstone for regional development .
"It is an exciting time for EAC that the launch of the balloon anchored internet infrastructure by Loon targeting the under-served areas of the world makes its debut on the continent in the EAC Region'', added the Secretary General.
''I assure Loon that the choice of EAC will undoubtedly anchor the Project on a positive growth and expansion trajectory on the African Continent''
The EAC Secretary General reiterated how critical the access to ICT in the EAC integration process underpinnings to unlock the growth and market potential for the region and contribute to equitable and sustainable development envisaged in the EAC’s Vision.
He appealed to the Partner States to embrace Google Project Loon and extend to it the support required to launch and operate in all the Partner States. "I thank Loon for choosing EAC as the launch pad for this clearly transformational Project", added Amb Mfumukeko.
Meanwhile, the EAC Secretary General on behalf of the Secretariat and Ms Anna Prouse, Google Project Loon Coordinator signed a Letter of Intent to deepen cooperation and collaborate in good faith on provision of access to internet for all East African citizens.
Earlier in a day the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, Hon. Joe Mucheru congratulated Google Project Loon for the ambitious project that is geared towards providing internet access to rural and remote areas in the region.
In his speech, which was read by the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Information,Communication and Technology, Mr. Sammy Hemere, Hon. Mucheru belived that the region has the repsonsiblity to use broadband as a power force for change.
''I am convinced that all of us here, have the united purpose to facilitate increased accessibility, affordability, availabilty, reliabilty and usage of broadband services throughout our region'', added the Cabinet Secretary.
The two-day workshop is aimed at providing stakeholders in the East African Community with an overview of Project Loon and its benefits for the states in the region; share technical information on balloon operations including the safety of flights and landing; the operations compliance with international and national safety and security requirements and standards; and to seek engagement and support from the EAC States and stakeholders in providing necessary overflight and landing rights to Loon balloons for their operations in the region.
Notes to Editors
Nearly two-thirds of the world’s population do not have Internet access. There is no one single company or technology that is able to solve this issue alone as the barriers to access are many and varied: limited financial resources, lack of content relevancy, lack of language and digital literacy as well as limited or non-existent basic infrastructure.
Project Loon is a network of balloons 20km above the Earth’s surface, well above aircraft and weather events, aimed at addressing the connectivity challenge by bringing Internet coverage to rural and remote areas, areas affected by disaster and mobile Internet coverage black spots. Transmitting signal from way up in the sky, Loon balloons can provide a much larger coverage area than terrestrial LTE infrastructure and so are perfectly suited to covering larger areas with lower population density.
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For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified