AFRALTI urged to rebrand, enrol more members
THE government has urged the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRALTI) to ratify more African member states in the institute and embrace more research for socialeconomic development of Africa.
Opening the 66th meeting of the AFRALTI Governing Council of 36 delegates from nine (9) AFRALTI member states, in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, the Director of Communication at the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology, Mulembwa Munaku appealed to AFRALTI to rebrand itself, cherish innovation and enrol more member states.
“It is my sincere hope that you perform more engagement, ratify more member states and mobilise other stakeholders which include the private sector, academia, policy makers to undertake specialised programmes at AFRALTI,” said Eng Munaku.
He assured the delegates of the government commitment for enhanced collaboration with ALFRALTI and other regional bodies, while upgrading communication infrastructures, which have led to exponential growth of the communication sector.
Eng Munaku said mobile subscription in Tanzania has shot up from 26.7 million to 64.1 million over the past decade, partly enabled by the successful establishment of the National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB), which has contributed to increased internet access among Tanzanians.
He pointed out that while Tanzania has experienced substantial growth in ICT, it also faces challenges common to many African countries, including smartphone penetration, affordability, rural connectivity and digital literacy.
Eng Munaku reiterated Tanzania’s commitment to becoming an ICT-enabled knowledge-based society with high-capacity broadband connectivity and affordable quality services.
He also emphasised the importance of promoting digital skills at various levels of education, from basic digital literacy to advanced ICT professions such as computer programming, network management, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, coding, cyber security, and the internet of things (IoT).
Speaking at the meeting, the Acting Director General of TCRA, John Daffa emphasised on AFRALTI to invest on human capital to meet technological changes. “Each regulator has different training needs, which are highly influenced by technological changes.
Therefore, AFRALTI should develop robust training strategies to meet the needs of each regulator and hence fostering strong, sustainable and balanced growth in each country.
“Ultimately, each country’s prosperity depends on how many of its people are in work and how productive they are, which in turn rests on the skills they have and how effectively those skills are used,” he said.
AFRALTI Director, William Baraza urged member states to allocate resources and support AFRALTI in her quest to become a renowned ICT research institution in Africa. “We are in the process of developing terms of reference for the formation of a research and innovation committee, whose membership shall be drawn from research, innovation and development departments of the regulators from member states,” he said.
The 66th meeting of AFRALTI which winds up tomorrow, witnessed various committee meetings underscoring the importance of different deliberations in shaping the future of telecommunications in Africa.
