20100824
africanews

A South Africa-based policy analyst Jonathan Mahlangu, has said that the plan by the African Union to commence a process that would lead to the establishment of a regional space agency in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) aimed at focusing on the development of common space policy for the African continent was long overdue.

"Think of the contributions of NASA and ESA to the development of America and Europe," he said. "A well coordinated space agency for Africa will assist in solving most of the challenges before her."

According to Mahlangu, the critical mass of experts to kick-start the agency already exists. "All African Union needs to do is to put up a call to her citizens in NASA and Europe to come and contribute with their knowledge."

The International Telecommunication Union’s spokesperson, Sarah Parkes, has told SciDev.Net that her outfit would provide advice to Africa on technical issues involved with setting up the agency and that details of the assistance to be provided by ITU are yet to be defined.

Development

Stressing that the union would do everything it can to help launch a space agency that would aid development on the continent.

The project which would be known as the African Space Agency was successfully launched earlier this month. However, preparations for the launch began almost twenty years ago, in 1991, but several controversies held it up until 2007, when the satellite was first launched into orbit - only for it to develop technical problems.

Coordinator of South Africa's National Working Group on Space Science and Technology, Peter Martinez, reacting to Mahlangu statement has caution Leaders to develop their own potentials sensing that the idea was premature.

"A number of African countries should first develop their own capabilities and these [countries] could then take the lead in perhaps forming a continental space agency," said Martinez, who also heads the space science and technology division at the South African Astronomical Observatory.

Earlier in August, Ministers in charge of Communications and Information Technologies in Africa agreed in a statement at the AU conference to work jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to finalise action on the draft convention on cyber legislation and support its implementation in member-states.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told newsmen during the opening of the conference that the African continent still needs to do a lot to bridge the gap between knowledge and technology if it must achieve rapid and sustained economic, social and human development on the continent.

"Our information and communication technology strategies and policies as well as regulatory frameworks still need to be harmonized to enable us reap the full benefits of this development", he said.

Jonathan urged all delegates from African Union member countries at the conference to channel their focus on development and application of broadband and improvement in internet services to accelerate development in areas of national security, e-governance, tele-medicine, public safety and education.

The conference resolved to integrate the NEPAD e-Africa Commission governance into the governance structure of CITMC and provide support to member states in implementing the e-Post programme in cooperation with stakeholders.