At independence, African economies were designed to support the metropolitan industries through the supply Globalization and the information economy: challenges and opportunities
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for Africa
Strengthening Africa’s information infrastructure
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Information and communication technologies for improved governance
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Democratizing access to the information society
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Follow-up to ADF 99
Applications to support the educational process and meet the needs of
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Africa’s youth
Applications in support of the delivery of health care
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of agricultural and mineral raw materials and to serve as captive markets for goods of those industries. Any existing industries were owned and managed by foreign industrial entrepreneurs and companies whose objectives were not usually in line with those of African countries.
In response, the Executive Secretary of ECA paid particular attention to the problem of industrialization in Africa. As a result, the Division of Industry, Transport and Natural Resources was established in 1961. In
In 1962, the Industry Division was created and in 1963 activities related to housing, building and physical planning were brought under its responsibility, on account of the emphasis put on the building and construction aspect at the time. In 1967, the Division was renamed Industry and Housing Division. ECA then organized the first ECA/OAU Conference of African Ministers of Industry in May 1971, which adopted the Addis Ababa Declaration on Industrialization reaffirming the
Established in 1999 as an implementing arm of AISI, ITCA is an ICT-focused exhibition and learning centre promoting networking and capacity-building on emerging Information Society issues and enhancing the awareness and participation of African policy makers in championing the diffusion and utilization of ICTs for development in Africa. The Centre serves as a crucial mechanism to maximize current and future partnership programs in the use of ICTs as a means to accelerate Africa’s development.
To date, ITCA has trained close to 400 policy makers and other stakeholders.
These include29 African Ambassadors accredited to Ethiopia/AU/ECA and Ambassadors of SADC countries accredited to Zambia. During the same period ITCA launched an ICT awareness workshop series for African Parliamentarians enrolling a total of 80 MPs from Ethiopia and over 100 MPsfrom Kenya, Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda, Niger, Swaziland and Zambia.
Young women from 34 member States were trained for a six-month course on Internetworking technology with additional focus on ICT policies, gender, entrepreneurship and business management. Media professionals were also trained on web-based journalism.
ITCA has also trained Ethiopian customs officers to run customs-based software and 55 African youths on e-commerce for SME’s and Youth Entrepreneurship.
ITCA has developed multimedia touch-screen kiosks on HIV-AIDS and also on management of title deed in Amharic to showcase the value of ICT for facilitating information delivery in local administration at the Nefa Silk Lafto Sub-City of the Addis Ababa Municipality, Ethiopia.
ITCA has undertaken more than 20 exhibitions within Africa and elsewhere to create awareness of the benefits and crucial role of ICT for development among African policy makers, using both virtual and paper-based exhibition.
ITCA has recently launched an on-line learning platform as an extension of its on-site training activities to reach as many policy makers and stakeholders as possible at: http://www.epol-africa.org/elearnafrica.
Box 5.7: Information Technology Centre for Africa (ITCA)
90 ECA and Africa: Fifty Years of Partnership
determination of African countries to ensure self-reliance and pursue concerted action in that regard. Realizing the need for action in the area of industrialization, the Conference of Ministers adopted resolution 249 (XI) on the creation of the Joint ECA/UNIDO Industry Division, which became operational on in 1974.
Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA) Decisions made by the Conference of African Ministers of Industry reflected the deteriorating economic situation on the continent following the 1973 global energy crisis.
At successive ministerial meetings, ECA member States reiterated their belief that fulfilling industrialization goals required multinational cooperation. Within the context of the International Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade and the chapter on industrial development in the Lagos Plan of Action, ECA joined forces with the OAU and UNIDO to sponsor the proclamation of the first Industrial Development Decade for Africa in the 1980s (IDDA).
The objective of the Industrial Decade for Africa included changes to ensure that industry would not only produce final consumer goods to meet the basic needs of the population, but also produce inputs for further industrial production, agriculture, transport and energy.
Other objectives included the development of indigenous technical and managerial capabilities, widening of national markets and the establishment or strengthening of integrated core industrial projects. While the programme focused on self-reliance and self-sustaining development, it also provided a platform for economic and technical cooperation not only among African countries, but also with other developing countries worldwide.
The programme contained broad strategies as well as issues and priorities for development of specific industrial sub-sectors and also identified some broad project ideas.
The sub-sectors included food processing, textiles, forest industries, building materials, basic chemicals, engineering and small-scale industries. It also covered major inputs such as energy and the packaging industries, and outlined the major actions and capabilities to be developed at the national, subregional and regional levels for the implementation of the Decade.
In addition, the Commission contributed to research on industrialization in Africa, investment promotion, reorientation of industrial policies and planning, indigenization of industrial entrepreneurship through the organization of training workshops and meetings and the provision of industrial information and capacity.
Beyond research and studies it conducted on aspects of
Developing Regional Sectoral Programmes 91
industrial development, the Commission engaged in the development and promotion of technical capabilities in the area of project preparation. The Commission also embarked on the creation of various industrial institutions at the national and regional levels to support national efforts. The most important institutions created included the African Regional Centre for Engineering Design and Manufacturing (ARCEDEM) in 1980 in Ibadan, Nigeria and the African Industrial Development Fund.
Paradoxically, despite the early efforts at industrialization, Africa has still not achieved this goal and the issue has once again been thrust to the top of the African agenda, constituting the focus of the AU Summit in January 2008.