By Amin Kef Sesay
The result-oriented and indefatigable Director General of the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) Daniel Kaitibi , has recently held two high profiled meetings or discussions virtually with the Secretary Generals of both the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) and the Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU), Ms Bernadette Lewis and John Omo respectively, both bordering on what to do in order to take the Commission to a higher pedestal.
His first engagement was with the newly appointed Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO), Ms. Bernadette Lewis, during a Commonwealth Secretariat initiated meeting.
In that all-important meeting, the CTO Secretary General shared her vision of charting a new course for the CTO with Sierra Leone, especially with regards the process of restructuring NATCOM’s operations so as to enhance its value and as well support its journey towards achieving digital transformation.
She dilated also on the importance of enhancing cyber security, the essence of NATCOM encouraging telecommunications service providers to share infrastructure as well as requesting case studies to help regulate data.
The CTO Secretary General further assured the Director General of NATCOM of her organization’s preparedness to give support to different areas such as joint procurement of telecommunications equipment and tools between NATCOM and other regulators by using an economy of the scale model. To buttress her point, the Secretary General cited the Caribbean Authority which, she said, saved 50% on procurement of equipment and tools to enhance its work.
Part of the discussion also had to do with her encouraging the Director General to forge relationships with international partners on developing equipment and acquiring the latest ones for mutual benefits.
She suggested to Daniel Kaitibi to identify a project that relates to the radical transformation and do a joint proposal which he, as Director General, could submit to the CTO for due consideration.
Other areas that formed part of the discussion included the significance of enhancing rural connectivity and the UADF, the need to build on the Fund’s activities , the issue of online teaching in schools and Universities and how NATCOM can take the lead in “Preparing Sierra Leone for Increased ICT Uptake in Citizens Lives in the Wake & Aftermath of COVID-19”.
On his part, the Director General of NATCOM, Daniel B. Kaitibi, underscored the need for the CTO to work closely with NATCOM in order to make the Regulator an effective and transparent one, noting the need to look at the modern Regulatory framework and the significance of training opportunities for NATCOM staff, especially as NATCOM has been inducted into the CTO’s Program for Development and Training (PDT).
He further promised to make available the NATCOM Act to her, the Secretary General of CTO, for the perusal and possible input from the Secretariat.
The Director General also mentioned Government’s commitment towards the National Switch.
Based on the pertinent issues discussed and the suggestions made, the Secretary General proposed to do a presentation to the Minister of Information & Communications in order to deepen the discussions and move the relationship between the two bodies to the next level.
It was understood that the meeting was warmly welcomed and appreciated by both the Commonwealth Telecommunications Secretariat and NATCOM Senior Management. Both sides look forward to more engagements in the near future when COVID-19 would have been defeated.
Indeed, it is significant to note that the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) have, over the years, established and maintained a very good relationship which culminated in the hosting of the Maiden International Conference “2019 Commonwealth ICT Forum” by the Government of Sierra Leone under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio. The Commission was extremely grateful for the CTO’s kind consideration to host the ‘2019 Commonwealth ICT Forum’ in Sierra Leone.
In another engagement, the Secretary General of the Africa Telecommunications Union, John Omo met with the Director-General during a courtesy call virtual meeting.
John Omo, ATU’s Secretary General, Daniel B. Kaitibi, NATCOM’s Director-General, Amara Brewah – NATCOM’s Deputy Director-General, Sahr M. Sewah – NATCOM’s Director of Engineering & Infrastructure, Ibrahim Dumbuya – NATCOM’s Director of Finance, Braima Ronnie Kargbo – NATCOM’s Director of Admin & Human Resources, and Djibrilla Ball, Finance and Administration Director of the Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU) were all in attendance.
Various pertinent issues were discussed, including the nomination of Sierra Leone’s representatives to the ATU’s online Certificated Training Course in “Economic and Market-Based Methods of Radio Frequency Spectrum Management” for Spectrum Management Personnel.
It was further noted that the Commission has already designated Sierra Leone’s representatives. However, considering that some countries have not yet sent in the list of their representatives, Sierra Leone can nominate an additional candidate for the Secretariat’s approval.
Daniel Kaitibi gave a progress report on the Nethop Project, confirming that the work with Nethop Consultant has been successful and a draft report on the outcomes is already available which will be shared with ATU as soon as the internal review is completed in order to determine the deliverables.
In addition, the DG outlined that internet measurement is one of the Commission‘s priorities and therefore requested for ATU’s support in that regard. In relation to that, the Commission was informed that ATU and Afrinic signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the area of internet development in Africa with a focus on internet measurements and capacity building.
The Secretary General expressed willingness to have Sierra Leone among the first countries to benefit from the initiative.
With regards the Sierra Leone Data Center Project, it was noted that the Commission is in the process of putting in place a National Data Center, which will shift Government and its entities’ data storage from simple server to a national Data Center.
After a brief introduction of the topic by the NATCOM Director General, his Deputy elaborated on it and a request was made to ATU to facilitate implementation of the project by organizing benchmarks with other Regulators on the continent and also in sourcing the necessary equipment for its operation. It was agreed that the Commission will work closely with ATU’s experts to facilitate the process since ATU is already undertaking a study on the regional framework on data center.
Other issues discussed included Human Capital Development. In that vein, the Commission agreed to work in concert with the ATU’s Secretariat to build capacity of the Commission’s experts and promised to share its Human Capital Development Plan with the ATU who will assist in its implementation.
The all-important issue of the settlement of arrears of Sierra Leone’s contribution was also put on the table. The Director General of NATCOM, Daniel Kaitibi informed the ATU’s Secretary General that a payment is planned shortly and reaffirmed his Commission’s and the country’s commitment to clear all arrears in accordance with the agreed plan.
The virtual meeting ended with the usual courtesies and a commitment for more such engagements until a time when COVID-19 will permit person-to-person interactions.
