MINPOSTEL to update Senegal’s telecoms legislation to meet future ICT demands

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) of Senegal has revealed it is looking to overhaul the country’s legislative framework to reflect the new demands of ICT and telecommunications in the 21st century. Malick Ndiaye, chief of staff at MINPOSTEL, confirmed the plans on 19 April during a workshop to discuss the development of the SME sector in Senegal, a meeting set up by OPTIC, a group representing professionals in this field. The official says that wok on updating the legal framework of the telecommunications sector is expected to start before the second half of this year, with the Senegalese News Agency (APS) quoting Ndiaye as saying it will ‘upgrade the telecommunications and ICT sector to allow it to face the socio-economic, technological and legal changes faced, [in the process] conducting an audit to take account of new issues that [may] arise’. In the period 2005-2014, the Senegalese telecoms sector recorded an average growth of 10% in turnover year-on-year, and today contributes 7% of the GDP of Senegal.