By Rebecca Wanjiku, Highway Africa News Agency

15 July, 2005

Luxembourg- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) should budget for outreach and training activities in Africa in order to bridge the digital and information divide, said Mouhammet Diop, Africa's representative on the ICANN board.

He said the board has a responsibility to honour promises made at the meeting in Cape Town last December. At that meeting, the board committed itself to help Africa accelerate its participation in the global internet agenda.

"I believe ICANN should budget for outreach and capacity building activities in Africa. This is not unfair to ask, promises were made in the presence of African delegates in Cape Town, that should be honored," says Diop.

Diop was speaking to the board at the final session of ICANN's meeting in Luxembourg.

Vinton Cerf, ICANN board chairman admits promises were made but hastened to add that the internet body had already drawn up a budget that was awaiting approval by the board. If this budget is approved, Cerf says, ICANN can embark on outreach and training activities in Africa.

"ICANN has always supported Africa in its endeavors; a good example is the creation of AfriNIC- the African Regional Registry. But our responsibility is only limited to the activities we can handle, some of them we cannot handle," adds Cerf.

Diop says ICANN should set up a regime where all stakeholders can benefit. If the number of users in Africa is increased, Diop argues, internet registrars would get more business through the registration of more domain names.

"Only two percent of Africans can access computers, of those with access, how many know the benefits or how to engage in e-commerce? People should have this knowledge and ICANN can ably promote the integrity of internet business," argues Diop.

In this respect, if ICANN improves awareness of the use of e-commerce in Africa, it will translate into an improved market base for internet security companies that issue certificates for e-commerce and also internet registries that register domain names.

To buttress his case, Diop drew parallels with a recent ICANN decision to give financial support to the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) even though the working group was convened by the UN Secretary General.

According to Diop, the ICANN board should approve funds for Africa since the move will in the long term be mutually beneficial for other stakeholders within the organisation.