On January 8 in Brazzaville, the Minister in charge of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy drew up an assessment of the projects carried out by his department in recent years and the reforms underway.
The reform of the two public enterprises, the Congo Post and Savings Company (Sopéco) and Congo Télécom, as well as the Postal and Electronic Communications Regulatory Agency (ARPCE) was initiated a few months ago by the government. , the Minister Léon just IBombo says.
Congo Télécom and ARPCE have recently undergone changes in their leadership and in their management style, he continued.
On the other hand, the situation of Sopéco continues to raise serious concerns. This company is on the verge of bankruptcy, said the member of the government. Created from the ashes of the National Post and Telecommunications Office, Sopéco is unable to pay its few hundred workers who claim more than twenty months of unpaid wages and social contributions.
The supervisory authority advocates dialogue for the preservation of social peace within the company. At the same time, the Minister promises the operationalization of the Universal Postal Service Access Fund which would help Sopéco to provide service throughout the national territory, the training of personnel in digital professions, the inventory of the heritage of this company to be able to mobilize the necessary financial resources.
“The support of the ministry to the resolution of the debt situation of Sopéco with regard to the company Air France to resume with postal transport at 85%. Sopéco will have to continue this service within the framework of the Fund for access and universal service of electronic communications, the coverage of white zones and multimedia equipment of schools, “he said.
In addition to the state of health of public companies in the digital sector, the minister spoke of the news related to the management of optical fiber and the concessioning of part of it. According to him, the procurement process at YAO Corp is legal and involves the development of untapped strands of aerial optical fiber through a public-private partnership.
“The national telecom infrastructure policy has two components: the first is linked to the national telecommunications coverage provided by Congo Telecom and the second to the Cab project, financed by partners and entrusted to the company Yao Corp”, meant the speaker.
He also announced the completion from this year of the construction of the fiber optic network for interconnection with the Central African Republic, thanks to the financial contribution of the African Development Bank (ADB), of the national data center. with financial support from the ADB, free roaming to facilitate telephone calls with other countries in Central Africa, the acquisition of an automatic system for managing and monitoring the radio frequency spectrum.
