Business
By Anthony Isibor.
AS Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, EVC of the Nigerian Communications Commission completes his tenure as chairman of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly, WATRA, he will be remembered for his many achievements.
Prof. Danbatta, who served Nigeria’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s national telecommunications regulatory authority, having successfully piloted its affairs for one year, has handed over the mantle of leadership of WATRA to Sekou Oumar Barry of the Republic of Guinea, as the newly elected Chairman of the Assembly.
The handover ceremony was one of the major highlights of the just-concluded 19th Annual General Meeting, AGM of WATRA, which took place in Conakry, Republic of Guinea.
Barry, the new chairman, will be presiding over the affairs of the Executive Council of WATRA for the next one year, as the Director General of the Telecommunication and Posts Regulatory Authority, ARPT of the Republic of Guinea.
The Assembly also elected the representatives of Mali and Sierra-Leone as 1st and 2nd Vice Chairmen respectively as well as approved WATRA’s new Strategic Management Plan, SMP for 2022-2024.
In his address at the event, Danbatta acknowledged the important role WATRA has been playing in creating policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for Information and Communication Technology, ICT, in the sub-region since the mid-1990s and commended the synergy among member states, which he noted has continued to provide an economic defense for member countries against global shocks, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that in Nigeria, ICT currently contributes 17 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, with ambitious target of 20 per cent contribution over the next three years, stating that if one big regional market in which ICT policies and regulations are aligned is created, WATRA members can drive ICT investment and growth faster in their respective countries and collectively in the sub-region.
He also recalled that he had worked closely with the Executive Secretary of WATRA, Aliu Aboki, and his team in last 12 months to achieve a lot in the re-organisation of WATRA’s internal governance and processes to make them more efficient and transparent. Danbatta thanked the Executive Secretary and his team for the energy with which they had pursued the re-positioning task just as he commended the Executive Committee for the clarity of purpose with which they have spelt out these priorities.
Danbatta said some of his achievements as WATRA Chairman, included the delivery of draft four-year strategic plan in line with 18th AGM resolution, partial payment of long-outstanding membership dues by some member states after long periods of inactivity, deployment of the new WATRA automated Asset Management System, successful organization of various high-quality capacity building programs for members, optimization of WATRA accounting, finance, and budgeting process, as well as institution of procedures for improved accountability, marked by weekly financial dashboard.
While congratulating Barry as the new WATRA Chairman, Danbatta expressed the conviction that the new leadership will build on the modest achievements of the last one year. “When members see the unique role that WATRA plays in easing the task of national regulators to adopt or fine-tune regulations through mutual learning and capacity building, they see more reason to engage and be active within WATRA. So, if we build on the modest achievements of the Assembly, the benefits will be with the region for decades,” he said.
He also stated that both at home or in the diaspora, West Africa has the talents to study the most efficient ICT regulations in the world and adapt it for the region’s purposes so that it can attract greater investment into the regions and transform the economy of member states. “What we have to do is to continue the work of building WATRA into a platform that seamlessly deploys these talents and capacity to the 16 member states. The gains to us are enormous,” Danbatta said.
He assured his colleagues in WATRA of his commitment to supporting the new leadership in all ways possible. “As I hand over to the incoming Chairman, please be assured of my continued support and that of the Nigerian Communications Commission and, indeed, the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to WATRA,” Danbatta added.
In his acceptance speech, Barry, who thanked Danbatta for making giant strides in the last 12 months, promised to work with the Executive Committee team and the Management Team to consolidate the achievements of the Assembly, and to ensure greater success of the Assembly for the future.
The 19th AGM was attended by the following14 of the 16 WATRA member states: Togo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger Republic, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, The Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic. Ghana and Liberia were absent at the meeting.
AI.
Apr. 07 2022 @ 10:40 GMT
Tags: Prof. Umar Danbatta Sekou Oumar Barry WATRA
