Promoting Effective and Inclusive ICT Policy in Africa

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08Nov

Call For Proposals: Operations, Strategic Communication and Capacity Building Support for the African Internet Rights Alliance (AIRA)

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Call for Proposals |
The African Internet Rights Alliance (AIRA) – an alliance of ten civil society organizations based in Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Senegal – are pleased to issue this open call for proposals for a consultancy to support the operation, strategic planning and communications capacity building of the Alliance. Members of the Alliance agree to work in collaboration with each other to advance a positive environment around Digital Rights on the African continent within the next three to five years.
Further information on the call can be found here.
 

07Nov

Financial Inclusion in Africa in an Era of Internet Shutdowns

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By Selassie Tay |

The World Bank estimates that 1.7 billion people globally are without any form of financial account as at 2018. In Sub-Saharan Africa, data from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) shows that the level of financial inclusion grew from 23% in 2011 to almost 43% in 2017, with a significant proportion attributed to digital financial services such as mobile money.

However, the lack of access and usage of financial services by the majority of the population on the continent impedes their ability to contribute to the economy as they are not able to accumulate capital or access credit for production and consumption purposes. This underscores the importance of financial inclusion as a socio-economic development tool. Indeed, financial inclusion has emerged strongly as a topical issue among policymakers, development practitioners and the private sector, who recognise it as an enabler of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With mobile penetration and mobile internet access reaching 45% and 24% respectively in Africa, digital finance – notably mobile money wallets and fintechs – has emerged strongly as a tool towards promoting financial inclusion across the continent. The number of registered mobile money accounts in Sub-Sahara Africa stood at 395.7 million as of 2018.

Ghana is among the countries leading the drive to expand financial inclusion by leveraging digital solutions.  Mobile penetration is 67% and internet access via mobile is 45%. The Bank of Ghana estimates that approximately 7.3 million of Ghana’s adult population is unbanked. As of 2018, there were 32 million registered mobile money accounts across the country’s three leading mobile money operators. These mobile money accounts are generally used for person-to-person and person-to-business transactions. Account holders are able to access savings, credit, investment products as well as make payments for goods and services via mobile phone.

On the other hand, Fintechs use protocols to deliver financial services to their customers. Currently, there are 71 fintechs offering financial solutions to businesses and individuals in Ghana. An example is Fido Credit, a financial technology company that offers fast and easy short-term loans to the unbanked through an app.

Recognising the role that financial inclusion plays in economic development and poverty alleviation, Ghana, like many African governments, is working on improving access to financial services for the underserved. It has drafted a financial inclusion strategy document which has a digital finance policy as one of the pillars to increase financial inclusion from 58% to 75% by the close of 2023, demonstrating a strong political commitment to nurture innovations. The digital finance policy also places emphasis on driving digital inclusion. To provide robust regulatory framework for financial inclusion through digital channels, the Payment System and Service Act was enacted this year.

These decisive steps by Ghana can provide learning for other African countries. At  the 2019 edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica19) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it was stressed  how increasing mobile penetration and internet access across Africa is positively impacting the digital economy. At the same time, featuring prominently at FIFAfrica19 was the growing trend of internet shutdowns in Africa. According to the State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2019 report which was launched at FIFAfrica19, nearly half of the countries in Africa have experienced an internet shutdown between 2016-2019. Countries such as Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Gabon, Sudan and Zimbabwe were among those that were experiencing restrictions to  internet access within the first three weeks of 2019.

Internet shutdowns are defined as a restriction placed on the use of internet services (via mobile or broadband or both) as a result of an order issued by a government body. It may be limited to a specific geographic location and to specific period, time or number of days.

This worrying trend of internet shutdowns impedes efforts towards financial inclusion and economic development. A study by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) shows that internet shutdowns in 10 Sub-Sahara African countries between 2015 and 2017 cost an estimated US$ 237 million with Ethiopia and DR Congo being the most affected.

At individual and Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) levels, in countries such as Uganda, where an instance of an internet shutdown during 2016 also restricted access to mobile money services, the effect on livelihoods and productivity were likely high. Taking the example of Ghana, in the event of an internet shutdown, a customer of an entity such as Fido Credit, which enables customers to apply for a loan directly from their own mobile device, would be unable to access an emergency loan, with potentially dire consequences.

FIFAfrica19 provided a valuable platform to bring to the fore the conflict between regressive digital rights practices such as internet shutdowns and the quest for financial inclusion in Africa. Governments across Africa must therefore pursue and implement internet and digital rights policies that guarantee uninterrupted access and usage of internet alongside financial inclusion strategies. Civil society and private sector initiatives pushing back against regressive trends in digital rights on the continent should also work to highlight more the link between uninterrupted access to the internet and economic rights as fundamental to financial inclusion and socio-economic development across Africa.

Selassie Tay works with the Financial Inclusion Forum Africa. He was among the travel support beneficiaries for the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) 2019.

28Oct

Governments and Donors Urged to Advance ICT Access for Persons with Disabilities

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By CIPESA Writer |

While advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) including the Internet have created avenues of inclusion, for some, especially persons with disabilities, it has also widened the extent to which they are excluded from the social and economic potential of the digital society.

Persons with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socio-economic outcomes than persons without disabilities, such as lack of access to information, less education, poorer health outcomes, lower levels of employment, and higher poverty rates.

Several factors are contributing to the deepening of this exclusion in the digital society, including a non-conducive legal and policy environment, poor investments in telecommunication infrastructure that supports ICT access for persons with disabilities, and the lack of access to the required assistive technologies such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and braille.

According to the  World Health Organisation, at least one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, have some form of disability, while an estimated 2-4% have significant difficulties in functioning. In Africa, persons with disability are estimated at 10% of the general population, but could be as high as 20% in the poorer regions.

At the just concluded sixth Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in September 2019, participants explored the various  challenges faced by persons with disabilities in accessing and using ICT, particularly assistive technologies.

Speaking at the special session on ICTs and Disability, Safari Shuti, a Member of Parliament from the Democratic Republic of Congo, stated that existing disability legal frameworks must be strictly enforced with penalties for non-compliance if they are to become effective.

“Within the legal framework, there should be accountability measures for lack of implementation, with clear provisions on who should oversee the implementation and penalties for lack of implementation,” he noted.

However, according to Sussane Dossi, a Member of Parliament in Malawi, some governments that already have disability rights laws do not have the technical or financial resources to implement many of the inclusion laws. She noted that the private sector players need to support government in implementation of these laws through providing technical support as well as the required funding.

Besides the non-conducive legal and policy framework, there is also the challenge of negative attitudes towards persons with disabilities, and lack of awareness of the different challenges that persons with disabilities face in accessing and utilisation of ICTs.

According to Mohamed Kimbugwe from the GIZ office in Uganda, “In the digital era, we need to focus on mind change and awareness creation. We need to improve accessibility to go beyond design. Persons with disability need information in friendly formats that they can easily navigate. We need to also look at affordability of accessible assistive devices.”.

Dr. Abdul Busuulwa from the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Africa Network noted that providing access to relevant ICTs can go a long way in reducing or even eliminating the barriers that persons with disabilities face. “If you are having an impairment but have all the tech that you can use to navigate through the environment, it becomes debatable whether you have any disability,” he said.

During the same session, a digital campaign tool for persons with visual impairment, heartheblindspot.org was launched by Together!, in partnership with Small Media, and Data4Change. The website uses sonification of data to tell the story of digital exclusion for people who are blind or visually impaired in Ethiopia, and champions the need for a more inclusive and accessible internet. There are an estimated 4.5 million more than 850,000 people with visual impairment in Ethiopia.

Practical solutions.

According to Judy Okite from the Association for Accessibility and Equality in Kenya, disability rights activists and supporters need to start being intentional to include inclusion starting at a very early stages of all interventions. “We need to incorporate disability accessibility features to websites during the development stages as opposed to incorporating them later”.

It is equally crucial to invest in data and research to first understand the extent of disability on the continent.  “Let us find out the figures. How many of those living with disability live in Africa, how many are women, how many are men, children, etc? said Okite. The lack of disaggregated data and research on the situation of persons with disabilities limits the effectiveness of programming to monitor and advance the rights of persons with disability.

The need for research was echoed by Dr. Busuulwa, who noted that ICTs and disability is still a virgin area for research and development. He urged the business community to proactively think of persons with disabilities as key consumers or a market:  “Make it easier for persons with disability to become interested, and even much easier for the rest to flock your business.”

Awoke Dagnew, from Together!, noted that issues of persons of disabilities should be mainstreamed in all aspects, academia, research and funding. According to him, “Everyone should understand the situation of persons with disabilities and how they are suffering exclusion.”

Participants urged development partners to make it mandatory within funding structures for grantees to make commitments to include persons of disability in their programming and other interventions.

Besides enforcement of laws, national government were urged to work with private sector, especially the entrepreneurs, and telecom companies, through public private partnerships, to provide accessible and affordable services for persons with disability.

21Oct

Chad Lifted the 16-Months Social Media Shutdown But Concerns Remain

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By Simone Toussi |

In July 2019, the Chadian government lifted a 16-month blockage on access to social media, which it had imposed in March 2018. While connected citizens are now able to access social media with ease, various concerns remain. Digital communication costs are prohibitively high, the media are routinely muzzled, the country is still autocratic, and President Idriss Déby – in office for 29 years now – is not in a hurry to relinquish power. The prospects of enjoying a greater range of digital rights are low, the likelihood of another internet disruption high.

Chad has one of the world’s lowest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) penetration rates, with internet penetration of 11.4% and mobile penetration of 46.9%. It is ranked 174th out of 176 countries worldwide and 36th out of 38 surveyed countries in Africa by ICT Development Index (IDI).

The low internet penetration did not deter the government from ordering a social media blackout when citizens staged widespread public protests against constitutional changes that could see President Déby rule until 2033. The blockage was only lifted 16 months later in the face of severe national and international pressure. While the blockage lasted, it hampered ICT uptake, denied citizens access to information, hurt their livelihoods, cost the national economy over USD 200 million, and constrained innovation.

Is Chad then ready to harness and to reap the dividends that a digital society delivers? The landlocked central African country has recently launched a 1,200 km fibre optic network linking the capital N’Djamena to the border with Sudan, a large step in broadband coverage extension since international fibre reached the country in 2012. The World Bank-supported Central African Backbone (CAB) project is also expanding ICT infrastructure. But affordability remains a huge problem, and the affronts to freedom of expression and the free flow of information online have slowed ICT uptake in the country of 16 million people. In this article, we provide a rundown of the country’s ICT sector.

 ICT Legal and Regulatory Framework

The key regulations in Chad’s digital space are the law N° 014/PR/2014 on eCommunications, the law N° 009/PR/2015 on Cybersecurity and the fight against Cybercrime, the law N° 007/PR/2015 on the Protection of Personal Data, and the law N° 008/PR/2015 on eTransactions.

At the institutional level, the National Agency for Computer Security and eCertification (ANSICE), established by law N° 006/PR/2015 and under the tutelage of the Presidency, designs and implements policies to combat cybercrime, regulate and control national information systems’ security and  eCommunication networks. It coordinates national cyber security actions to ensure the security of government systems and critical state infrastructure. The Regulatory Authority for eCommunications and Posts (ARCEP), which is supervised by the Ministry of Post and New Information and Communications Technologies, is the industry regulator. The ICT Development Agency (ADETIC) develops and monitors the implementation of the national ICT development strategy. However, while its establishing Law N° 12/PR/2014 provides for formation of a national ICT strategy, to-date, a strategy has not been put in place.

 Access and Affordability

Article 90 of the eCommunications Act  provides for good quality and affordable, universal ICT services across the country. At the July 2019 inauguration of the 1,200km national optical fibre network, President Déby stated that “operators and the State must make efforts to further support the lowering of the internet connection rates, while ensuring quality of services”. However, these aspirations remain a pipedream, as infrastructure is thinly spread and taxes make access unaffordable to many. According to the 2018 ARCEP Telecommunications Market Observatory report issued in May 2019, the average cost of one GB of data per month is currently 7,000 FCFA (USD 12), representing about 12% of the monthly minimum wage which is 60,000 FCFA (USD 101) in Chad. This means only a fraction of Chadians can afford to consistently purchase data and use the internet.  In addition, speeds are low – 5KBps in 2018 as reported by ARCEP –  making it hard for companies and start-ups to provide digital-based development solutions. According to Sidick Bachir Lougouma, the director general of ARCEP, with the new optical fibre network, “Chad will be able to provide national operators with a capacity of 100 gigabits of which 40 gigabits are already available.”

Meanwhile, high taxation rates also undermine affordability and uptake. Excise duty tax on mobile operators rose from 4% in 2014 to 7% in 2016. In 2017, the excise duty shot up to 18%, before falling to 9% in 2018 to-date, according to the 2019 Finance Law. In addition to the excise duty tax, Article 27 of the Finance Law states, “Subscription contracts for post-paid and fixed mobile phones are subject to a stamp duty equal to 10% of the amount of the invoices sent to the customer.”

The ACERP’s 2018 report estimates the number of mobile subscribers at seven million – equivalent to a mobile penetration rate of 46.9%. Airtel Chad, Tigo Chad, Salam, and Sotel Fixed-Tawali are the leading telecom operators, with the lion’s share of the market held by Tigo (51.1%) and Airtel (48.5%). The number of internet users was estimated at 1.74 million, representing a penetration rate of 11.4% in 2018, compared to 1.5% in 2009.

While the ongoing infrastructure investments might improve internet speeds and expand access, including to broadband, to larger parts of the country, the high and multiple taxes will keep telecommunications prices high and undermine growth in subscriber numbers.

 Safety, Personal Data and Privacy

The Constitution of Chad provides for the protection of privacy in Article 49, stating: “The privacy of correspondence and communications is guaranteed by law.” Article 182 establishes the High Authority for Media and Broadcasting – an independent administrative body responsible for promoting freedom of the press, and access to information “within the framework of deference for national cultural values, public order and citizens’ privacy. “

The above constitutional provisions are reflected in the 2015 law on the Protection of Personal Data, which aims to regulate the collection, processing, transmission, storage and use of personal data. It defines personal data as “any information relating to a natural person identified or identifiable directly or indirectly, by reference to an identification number or to one or more elements, specific to his physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, cultural identity, social or economic” (Section 5).

The application of the law is ensured by the ANSICE, following a framework defined by the law N° 006/PR/2015. It guarantees respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, the state, local and regional authorities, civil society, and aims to ensure that the use of ICT does not  infringe on individual or public liberties, especially on private life (Article 1, Paragraph 2). The law is considered  a good step towards protecting personal data and promoting users’ digital rights.

 Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Press

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are guaranteed by the Chadian Constitution as follows: “The freedoms of opinion and expression, communication, conscience, religion, press, association, meeting, movement, events are guaranteed to all. They can only be limited by respect for the freedoms and rights of others and the imperative to safeguard national unity, public order and morality“ (Article 28).

However, the country is ranked 122nd out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2019. Arbitrary arrests and detention of journalists, closure of media outlets, a restrictive operating environment for human rights defenders, threats, intimidation and assault of reporters – have led to a culture of self-censorship online.

In addition, the government has ordered long-lasting disruptions to social networks, thus muzzling citizen participation in decision-making and the democratic process through the internet. Following the controversial re-election of President Déby in 2016, over 10 websites were blocked and the whole country experienced an internet shutdown for several weeks, followed by an eight-month disruption to social networks. At the time, authorities acknowledged that SMS services were restricted “as a security measure” but denied any interference with internet services, instead citing technical challenges.

There were reports of another government-ordered internet disruption on January 25, 2018, to thwart an anti-austerity protest. The planned “peaceful march” against “bad governance, injustices of all kinds and anti-social measures taken by the government” was organised by several civil society organisations in major cities across the country. The Minister of the Interior and Public Security banned the march, before the internet disruption occurred.

In the same way, following protests against constitutional changes, the Chadian government blocked access to social networks including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube for 16 months – from March 2018 to July 2019. While lifting the blockage, President Déby confirmed that his government had ordered the restriction of access to social networks to preserve national security. Without citing any law, he added: “For a country like Chad which has had dark hours, it is not acceptable for the internet to be diverted for malicious purposes by some individuals with fatal intentions for peace and national unity.”

 Conclusion

The ICT sector in Chad remains under-developed and there is a lack of a clear roadmap to a vibrant digital society. The culture of ordering network disruptions, negligible efforts in bridging the digital divide and ensuring universal access, as well as multiple and high levels of taxation, censorship of online and traditional media by the government, remain bottlenecks to an accessible and affordable internet and undermine the contribution of ICT to Chad’s socio-economic development.

Revisions to restrictive laws  and the passing of implementation regulation for existing laws is thus crucial. As in the adoption of a national strategy for ICT development.

11Oct

Championing Internet Freedom and Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at #FIFAfrica2019

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By Sandra Acheng |
Due to the rise of internet usage, there is an increasing rate of abuse, threats, and attacks on the internet users’ which women usually fall prey to. The internet can lead to disruption and disinformation and this determines the intensifying need for defending digital human rights violations with a focus on freedom of expression, press freedom and digital rights. Human rights online is a topic that is often forgotten during discussions of human rights violations because the concept is still quite new without acknowledging the reality that human rights offline can translate online.  Many people usually face numerous human rights violations online but they are not even aware that their rights are being violated or where and who to report to in case this happens.
The growing rate of human rights violations online is a result of more people getting online and this greatly affects internet freedom.  Uganda experienced internet shutdowns by the government during elections in 2016 and this affected freedom of expression and online digital rights of users. Also, the introduction of Over the top (OTT) by the Ugandan Government last year in June 2018 has limited users from accessing and using the internet. The increased use of ICT has led to women facing abuse and violence more than ever for instance the growing rate of  Non Consensual distribution of images commonly done by intimate partner (NCII) commonly referred to as “Revenge Porn” is usually associated to morality and decency of women which violates their privacy, women’s rights as well as criminalizing and undermining women who exercise their right to sexual expression.
This year, Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with Small Media convened a two days’ pre-event workshop on the 23rd and 24th September 2019 @FIFAfrica2019 at Ethiopian Sky Light Hotel for human rights defenders on UPR. It was an intense, interactive and fun training that gathered over 30 male and female participants from different African countries that are doing incredible work to champion freedom of expression, press freedom, and human rights online also known as digital rights to influence government and non-government actors in their country or others in defense of human rights. The two days’ workshop tackled;

  • Introduction to the Universal Periodic Review Advocacy Assembly
  • Making an Impact with the Universal Periodic Review

The understanding of UPR
The human rights system that previously existed was criticized for being selective (not all states, not all rights), non-collaborative, paralyzed by political games, therefore, the UPR came as a response to the Human Rights system because UPR is non-selective, collaborative and have no double standard. UPR is Universal Periodic Review and the first United Nations Human rights mechanism on Human rights online to create a more just world for everyone since it requires every UN member country to review, therefore, it gives entry to CSOs.
The UPR CYCLE
The universal periodic review happens every 4 to 5 years for 6 months. However, Countries have limited time to make recommendations.
How can internet freedom be championed in UPR?
Human rights review mechanism such as United Nations Universal Periodic Review provides a good opportunity to review human rights violations online among African countries and can be a good way of arguing that digital human rights are universal and hold African governments accountable on how they treat their citizens on this. Here are incredible ways internet freedom can be championed in UPR;

  • Building capacity of more human rights defenders and activists in African civil society organizations
  • Encourage collaborations at the national level; by bringing in new people during the periodic reviews of states doing the same work to get more people aware. Collaborations by group increase credibility because local NGOs collaborate with international bodies and togetherness is better.
  • Increase participation by involving different actors in CSO activism and human rights in different Africa civil society countries to lobby governments to submit recommendations.
  • Make UPR an expert mechanism because UPR is a political mechanism and it focuses on states which consider only national priorities.
  • Increase the time taken by each state to raise issues and make recommendations at Geneva because usually 50-100 states take the floor for 3-5 hours and make 4-5 recommendations which are limited time for each state to put the recommendations
  • Gather more activists and human rights defenders to convince African states to raise the issues of policy and laws during the UPR and take up recommendations made.
  • Showcase more research to make the UPR recommendations valuable.
  • Form a coalition in different African countries or states so that the group get accurate and real time information and participate in UPR which will give a sense of responsibility and commitment by different states to make submissions in time.

However, there are relevant tips or rules for advocacy of issues for considerations during the preparation of recommendations of a state under review;

  • The recommendation must be specific enough by mentioning specific laws and should be easy to follow up on the recommendations
  • It is good if the recommendations focus on only one issue.
  • It is better if the recommendations are action oriented.
  • Use Human rights language. Avoid languages that make the recommendations impossible.
  • Make the recommendations stronger by backing it up with references in your country for instance treaties or laws in your country.
  • Back up your recommendations from the African commission or other international bodies.
  • It is useful to put yourself in the shoe of the person you are trying to interest on your issues for instance on time.
  • Know your country very well in terms of internet freedom.
  • Prepare a statement of UPR for 2 weeks in about 10 countries.
  • It is good to make the presentation of recommendation a dialogue
  • It is always good to contact the person you are convincing before because they may not support your issues.
  • Note that not all diplomats are familiar with human rights online.
  • Pitch your idea.

There is need to build capacity, encourage collaborations and increase participation in Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

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