Senegal: What can we expect from the new telecommunications code? 
On 28 January 2011, the National Assembly passed a new telecommunications code incorporating in Senegalese law,
most of the directives adopted by the European Economic and West African Monetary Union (UEMOA) as well as additional acts to the Treaty of the Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS).
Theoretically, this legal community should create a large telecommunications market with common rules facilitating economies of scale for operators and led to lower tariffs for users and promoting the independence of the regulator.
Previously, only Burkina Faso and Cape Verde had incorporated these provisions in their national legislation and it therefore remains much work to do before the other twelve countries in the ECOWAS not fulfill this obligation.
However, before being fully applicable, the new Telecommunications Code should be adopted by the Senate, which should be a formality, but above all, be supplemented by numerous decrees which, if not caught quickly, will make it unworkable as is the case with many laws voted for years.
That said, it must be stressed that the new telecommunications code has been no systematic discussion in either the press or public opinion, nor the National Assembly.
This is unfortunate because the information technology and communication technologies (ICTs) have become such a societal impact that all issues arising can be handled only by specialists.
Therefore, it is high time that political parties, unions, organizations of civil society and citizens more generally to understand these issues so that public policy concerning them are subject to wide consultation, are as inclusive as possible and put the general interest above all other considerations.
On the merits, at which the transition from analog to digital broadcasting is the order of the day, it is regrettable that the new code excludes audiovisual its scope so that are now accessible via the Internet and they are increasingly using mobile phones.
Similarly, the definition given access / universal service is particularly unclear as it is limited to talk, without further specification, a "minimum set of telecommunications services ICT and of good quality " with the main consequence of not pose any binding obligation on the State as on operators and prohibit citizens to have accurate knowledge of their rights.
Institutionally, the prerogatives of the Ministry of Telecommunications and ICT in the development of legislation and regulation have been clearly reaffirmed.
ARTP As if it was reinforced by the way the status of public authority that Administrative independent, it is nevertheless attached to the Presidency of the republic. However, it now has a college, whose members are appointed by decree irremovable following a public call for applications, which is both a deliberative and decision-making body.
The text also establishes the passage under the tutelage of the state of the field ". Sn" previously managed the administrative and technical by NIC Senegal hosted by the University Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) what constitutes a serious setback.
Finally, under the pretext of pooling resources, the money collected for the Development Fund of the universal telecommunications service (FDSUT) will now be shared with the energy and audiovisual confirming the role of cow milk by the state assigned to the ICT sector in which companies find it hard to access the finance they need to invest, innovate and compete.
Ultimately, it is a text mid-fig and grape, which was adopted and its real impact will be inversely proportional to the degree of interference that political power will have on the sector.
Indeed, in the past, the authorities never hesitated to violate the spirit or the letter of the law when it came to perform some operations on economic reducing or political laws and regulations to mere scraps of paper ...
Olivier Sagna
Secretary General of OSIRIS
www.itmag.sn
