Seven more to sign Eassy

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 12 Oct 2006

Next week, seven more African countries are expected to sign the protocol that will govern the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), despite the reported conflict over some of the provisions in the protocol.

The Department of Communications and the New Partnership for Africa`s Development (Nepad) e-Africa Commission have confirmed that a second signing ceremony will be held in Cape Town, on 16 October.

Countries that are expected to sign the protocol are Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, a source says. This will bring the number of Eassy protocol signatories to 14.

Twenty-three African countries initially signed the Eassy memorandum of understanding. However, only seven countries signed the protocol at the first signing ceremony held in Rwanda, at the end of August. The countries that did not sign the protocol were granted a three-month extension during which to sign.

Conflict on protocol provisions

At the time, media reports indicated that some of the countries involved in the Eassy project would not sign the protocol because they had problems with the provisions in the document.

In an interview with Balancing Act, Kenya said the protocol was illegal, as it sought to override national laws and overrule all regulatory agreements in Eastern and Southern Africa.

John Sihra, the co-ordinator of the Eassy project, said in a media statement that the protocol, as presented in Rwanda, did not reflect the consensus that was reached by stakeholders. He said the protocol, in its current form, was unacceptable to the Eassy parties (companies) and the issue will delay the implementation of the Eassy cable to the extent of it being abandoned.

"It cannot be overstressed that any protocol must have the support and buy-in of all stakeholders," he said. It is not clear whether amendments were made to the Eassy protocol to accommodate these concerns. The Department of Communications was unable to respond to enquiries by the time of publication.

Ownership challenge

A report published yesterday by AllAfrica.com draws attention to another source of conflict within the Eassy project - the ownership of the cable.

According to the article, the companies involved in the Eassy project have finalised a shareholding plan for the Eassy cable, with 15 out of the 28 participating companies expected to sign this agreement today.

The agreement will define the shareholding structure, rights and obligations of the owners and how the Eassy system would be constructed and maintained over its estimated 25-year lifecycle.

This signing will take place despite the Nepad e-Africa Commission also having claimed ownership of the project.

A spokesperson for the commission was unable to confirm the event, or to comment on the implications of the companies` signing a shareholding agreement in the face of the commission.