The Senate, the upper house of the Burundian Parliament, has unanimously adopted the bill ratifying the East African Community (EAC) protocol on information and communication technology networks. The country is particularly open to cooperation with countries in the sub-region to accelerate the development of its ICT sector.
“The adoption of this bill will enable the promotion and facilitation of cross-border interconnection, network interoperability, harmonization of ICT policies and the development of ICT skills,” the Senate on X said .
This initiative comes as the Burundian government is stepping up efforts to make up for the country’s ICT gap. Before the Senate, Léocadie Ndacayisaba, Minister of Communications, Information Technology and Media, pointed out in particular the slow pace of implementing the legislative and regulatory framework for the sector. The Electronic Communications Code was not promulgated until 2024, we learned.
Burundi is ranked 46th out of 47 African countries according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Development Index 2024 with a score of 24.4 out of 100. The institution estimates the internet penetration rate in the country at 19%, compared to 25.6% for mobile telephony. In addition, only 50.6% of the population is covered by 3G, compared to 32.2% for 4G. In terms of e-government, the United Nations ranks the country 183rd out of 193 in the world with a score of 0.2481 out of 1, below the averages in East Africa (0.3903), Africa (0.4247) and the world (0.6382).
The ratification of the East African Community protocol on ICTs can accelerate the ambition of the Burundian authorities to provide the country with “a real technological leap likely to improve its economic growth by allowing the development of activities in a secure legal framework, using ICTs”. However, its success depends on the effective implementation of cooperation projects with other member countries of the community.
Source: extensia.tech
