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| East African Leaders |
Kigali:
Government representatives from member states of the East African Community
gathered Friday to officially open the headquarters of the East African
Communications Organization (EACO) in Kigali.
ICT
regulators, development partners and members of EACO from Rwanda, Burundi,
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as Monique Mukaruliza, Rwanda’s Minister of
East African Affairs, were on hand for the ribbon cutting event.
“This is a
very important milestone,” Mukaruliza said, after cutting the ribbon. “The
official launching of this very important ICT regional organization testifies
that together as East Africans we can realize and achieve our own destiny.”
EACO is a
public-private organization that brings together national ICT regulators,
operators and service providers in the communications sector. “The mission is
to harmonize policies, promote regulations and to ensure the ICT sector provides
affordable and high quality services for users,” said Hodge Semakula, the
Executive Secretary of EACO.
“One of our
main objectives is to lower roaming tariffs on mobile networks, increase
network capacity, as well as improve interconnectivity between member countries
in this region. As you know, the ICT sector is an enabler for economic
development so we need to take advantage of this opportunity for the benefit of
our region.”
EACO held
its first regional meeting in 2009 in Tanzania after the disbanding of its
predecessor, the East African Regulatory, Postal and Telecommunications
Organization (EARPTO). Two years ago in
Uganda, the reformed organization decided to establish a permanent secretariat
in Kigali to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
“We all
know the role that ICT is playing and is expected to play as far the
socio-economic transformation of our region,” said Jean-Philbert Nsengimana,
Rwandan minister of youth and ICT. “As you wake up every morning you need to keep in mind it’s
about harmonizing policies, it’s not about interconnecting fibre, it’s not
about digital migration, and it’s not about all these big issues we will face.
It’s about the lives of our people in the region.”
Rnanews.com