Ghanaian President John A. Kufuor has called on all nations to subscribe collectively to the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF).
The DSF, proposed to finance Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Africa, was put on ice after government, industry and civil society leaders participating in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process failed to reach a consensus.
Addressing the second plenary meeting of the WSIS on Thursday morning, Kufuor said that the principle underlying such a fund should be that countries should contribute each according to its ability. He added that an administrative set up to regulate the proper functioning of the fund should be established. "I am of the view that this will be the indispensable social service for the efficient and sustainable evolution of the global village. I therefore support the call for a committee to work on the feasibility of the fund and its regulation," said Kufuor.
He noted that Ghana endorses the call for the establishment of the DSF to assist Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to harness the powerful potential of the latest technologies. The principle is that when the global village is a reality, this technology will be "the indispensable infrastructure for social, economic, security and other aspects of proper development", said Kufuor.
Addressing the same plenary session, Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, who has been championing the DSF idea through the WSIS process, said that several European proposals to finance ICT projects have already been received.
He said they have made considerable headway with regards to financing ICTs in the least developed countries. "Let's make no mistake about the operations we are proposing that would make Africa a partner to more than 800 million consumers. This can make it possible to reinforce the productive capacity of Africa and see to it that Africa will play a true role in international trade."
He added that with the advent of the information society, the fight against poverty and unemployment will be enormous.
He hailed African ministers responsible for ICTs in their respective countries who recently met in Dakar, Senegal, for rising up to the challenge of drafting a paper reflecting the African position, and for tabling it at the WSIS.
