Communications and Information Technology in Niger
- Overview

Full Internet connectivity in Niger was launched in May 1997 with 64kbps speed, which was later upgraded to 128kbps in May 1998.

SONITEL’s subsidiary, Nigernet, administers the top-level domain (ne) and also provides connectivity to ISPs. It also offers Internet, e-mail, web design and hosting services to end-users. Dial-up Internet connections are available at 33.6 kbps while local leased line connections are between 19.2kbps and 64kbps.

There are only two commercial ISPs in Niger - Nigernet (a subsidiary of SONITEL) and Orstom. There are other organisations providing e-mail only, web design and Internet access for certain non-governmental groupings (e.g. association of engineers, meteorological society).

The government requests international bids for various projects, even for medium-size tenders (e.g. medical and school supplies and vehicles), since local representation of suppliers is limited to small tenders. The bidding and bid award procedures are open, though bidders complain of procedural irregularities.

Special tender committees at department and ministry level examine the tenders. Very large projects need to be included in the collective budgets of ministries, government agencies and departments which all have tender committees sometimes under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and the treasury.

The Delegue General a l’Informatique (DELGI), attached to the Presidency, is responsible for ICT policy in the country. The DELGI is modelled in part on the DELGI based in Burkina Faso. The UNDP Resident Mission is supporting capacity building for the use of ICTs at the DELGI and has provided US$60 000 worth of equipment, software and assistance to the office. Contact: Mr Massani Koroney koroney@intnet.ne

National information infrastructure planning started with a UNDP SDNP mission in May 1997. After consultations between Niger officials, including Mr Koroney, and a team of SDNP and UNDP officials and consultant an SDNP feasibility study was carried out by three locally hired consultants.

At the same time, a comparative analysis of connectivity and related issues in four neighbouring countries was undertaken in November 1997. The Steering Committee operates as a round table, grouping representatives of different elements of civil society and is responsible for the SDNP initiative. Contact: djilali.benamrane@undp.org

The SDNP project was developed at the fourth Salon Informatique National, organised by the DELGI with the support of the Government of Niger, UNDP and ORSTOM, among others. The Salon was hosted by the Institut de Formation aux Techniques de l’Information et de la Communication (IFTIC).

The government of Niger has requested UNDP to pursue the possibility of including this proposal under the UNDP’s Internet Initiative for Africa (IIA). The budget proposed in the Feasibility Study (US$800 000) is beyond the means of UNDP SDNP alone, and other sources of financing and collaboration are being pursued.

The Centre d’information et de documentation économiques et sociales (CIDES) at the Ministere du Plan is formulating national scientific and technical information policy and driving the process of establishing a national documentation network in Niger. CIDES aims to co-ordinate national networking and also assists with the standardisation of document management systems. CIDES is also an IBISCUS partner. ORSTOM is working to enhance networking between the documentation centres and is considering developing this further as part of their collaboration with SDNP.

The Direction de l’Informatique of the Ministere du Plan is also responsible for various ICT related activities in government. UNESCO has been working with it to help initiate telematics policies and networking in the country. Niger is the African base for UNESCO’s permanent delegation in Africa, and UNESCO Paris hosts a website on Niger’s cultural and natural heritage, with links to other relevant sites.

The UN ECA’s Sub-Regional Development Centre for West Africa (SRDC-WA) is based in Niamey and is charged with supporting supporting sub-regional electronic information exchange networks of economic experts, civil society, organisations, NGOs, private sector organisations and major corporations. It also hosts the West African unit of PADIS - the West African Documentation and Information System (WADIS).

Niamey Groupe de Travail Interdisciplinaire en Informatique (GT2I) is based at the Universite Abdou Moumouni.

The African Centre for Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) is an intergovernmental organisation comprising 53 African member states supported by the World Meteorological Office, the Niger government and UNECA. ACMAD aims to contribute the sustainable development of the socioeconomic sectors concerned with climate and meteorology. One of the main objectives of Acmad is to train African meteorologists in the use of new technologies. Of particular relevance are ACMAD’s responsibilities to ensure efficient exchange of meteorological information between member states. ACMAD was among the first organisations in Niger to establish a website.

ORSTOM Niamey is a partner in the UNDP/IIA programme and also provides e-mail and web hosting services, currently hosting information for FAO and the Universite Abdou Moumouni.

The Comité permanent inter-États de lutte contre la sécheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS) has established a full Internet connection for the AGHRYMET regional centre which is responsible for co-ordinating for food security and natural resource management activities amongst the nine national centres in west Africa - Burkina Faso, Cap-Vert, Gambie, Guinée-Bissau, Mali, Mauritanie, Niger, Sénégal and Tchad. AGHRYMET is also the site for UNEP’s Mercure project admin@sahel.agrhymet.ne

In the absence of a national library, the Ministere du Plan established the Centre de Documentation in 76 to hold national and international documents. At the same time, the Service des Archives national is attached to the Presidence. Office national de l’énergie solaire has an electronically catalogued documentation centre. Centre sahélien of ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropical zones) has computerised its library. Centre d’information et de documentation pour le dévelopement rural (CIDR) is the RESADOC focal point for Niger and is planning a national agricultural information network for the institutions in this sector which are numerous and relatively more well resourced than many other sectors.

Centres régionaux d’enseignement spécialisé en agriculture (CRESA) staff attended the ORSTOM/UNITAR Internet technical training workshop. Centre Culturel Franco-Nigérien Antenne d’Information Scientifique et Technique (CCFN) is an IBISCUS partner. Contact: istc-cfn@ intnet.ne.

Centres de lecture et d’animation culturelle (CLAC) have been established at 11 sites in the Zinder region with support from ACCTs programme to support rural information access.

The Syndicat National des Enseignants et Chercheurs du Supérieur (SNECS) has been assisted by ORSTOM. The Lycée Technique Dan Kassawa is a UNEVOC Centre.