from the congo chronicles...
Le nouvel Afrique-Asie [April 1998] published an interesting interview with Congolese Communication minister,
Kinkela. Here we give some of his remarks: "During the ancien regime Congo was practically inaccesible. Telephone
traffic did not work, Internet was non-existent. When we arrived, we found 30 000 telephone lines that were not
functioning. We have already repaired some 14 000. Private companies have 12 000 lines, so we have now a total of
26 000 telephone lines available for near 50 million people. Our aim is a total of 500 000 lines, or one line for every
100 people. This is a challenge for me! We are open to private enterprises as well: two concessions are already
granted, one to the South African Unicel and one to the Congolese CWN. Some other companies are interested
too:the American Afritel, Belgian Sait Telecom, and Anglo/South-A frican Plessey. The Chinese company Zhongzing
Telecom is laying cable througout the country. But it is necessary for us to use the new wireless techniques extensively,
for in many regions there is no electricity. Some enterprises are asked to investigate the possibility of using solar
energy in the rural areas. We must make telephone connections for all hospitals, all schools, all airports, so that they
can call to the capital. I will only be happy, if any child from a country village can call to his mother in Kinshasa."
afritel an american company... |
