Juwah, who presented the lead paper at the NEPAD-Africa Technology Segment which was presided over by former Ghanaian President, John Kuffour, in Abuja, argued that liberalising the telecom market would enable the continent to benefit from the various opportunities presented by the industry at the moment.
“Africa is the only continent where teledensity average is not up to 50% yet,” said Juwah.
“In most other continents, it is almost 100%. This means that the demand for basic services in Africa for voice and data communication is still very huge”.
He gave the example of Nigeria where the support of the leadership in telecom liberalisation and deregulation has contributed to a total transformation of the sector in the last 10years, and invited the political leadership to take a cue from Nigeria.
He noted that Africa occupied a critical position in the world of telecommunications and Information Communication Technology (ICT). Juwah said with the huge population of Africa, the continent is easily the investment destination for global investors, vendors, equipment manufacturers and service providers.
“When investors come, they bring foreign direct investment, create employment opportunities, and stimulate the financial sector and other key sectors of the economy.
“It is evident that the need to ‘cover the uncovered’ in Africa presents a good opportunity for the transformation of the economy,” he added.
OGOEGBULEM in Abuja, Nigeria
