High-speed connectivity dawns - 23 Mar 2009

According to RAP 21, the media in Madagascar is taking quite a beating due to the political turmoil that has engulfed the south-east African island of late. News agencies have suspended publication for fear of being victimised, editors and journalists have been violently attacked and newspapers are losing readers. It has suddenly become a case where information amongst the people is distributed through rumour, which can in turn lead to panic and fear as news spread through the grapevine usually becomes more and more sensationalised. An extreme case of this was during the Rwandan genocide and yet still African nations have not learnt that politics and the media should never be found sleeping in the same bed together. The SADC plans to discuss potential sanctions against Madagascar during the summit in Johannesburg, South Africa at the end of March. The outcomes reached should show the possible value in a union government for the continent. On a more digital note though, it seems the era of high-speed internet connectivity for Africa is finally upon us. June 2009 will see the arrival of fibre-optic cables in Kenya and hopefully from there we will see a swift roll out to the rest of the continent. Too long has the digital divide been left to grow wider as technology advances at great speed. Africa will see a booming telecommunications industry, and businesses able to connect to the rest of the world will flourish. This will certainly be a welcomed development in Africa, as well as for those investing in its potential.