By Emrakeb Assefa

ACCRA- By the end of 2006, all African countries must put in place national information and communication technologies (ICTs) plans if they are to meet the promises made during the Geneva phase of the World Summit of Information Society (WSIS) in December 2004.
World leaders agreed to set up national e-strategies as one of the activities set out in the WSIS Plan of Action. An e-strategy or plan is seen as a critical success factor in the battle to bridge the digital divide between the haves and have-nots. This was revealed at one of the workshops linked to the WSIS Africa preparatory conference.
The Information Society plans, developed with the African Information Society Initiative (AISI), will help African countries participate in the creation of an inclusive information society on the continent.
To date, 35 African countries have completed or begun the process of developing a national information and communication technologies (ICTs) development plan.