Online Reporter
Gibson Nyikadzino
Zimpapers Politics Hub
THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has urged member states to accelerate processes of coming up with predictable regulatory frameworks to bridge the rural-urban digital divide and unlock the full potential of the digital economy, assistant secretary general for programmes Dr Mohamed Kadah said.
Speaking today at the 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Regulators for Information and Communications for Eastern and Southern Africa (ARICEA) in Livingstone, Zambia, Dr Kadah, said the digital transformation sweeping the region also required regulators to rethink traditional approaches to oversight.
He said in attempting to address the digital divide, the bloc should also address opportunities and risks arising from the rapid expansion of digital technologies across Eastern and Southern Africa.
“Our challenge is to transform our role from reactive gatekeepers into agile overseers capable of governing an exponentially growing digital frontier. With broader digital access, stronger infrastructure, and enabling policies, ICTs can drive inclusive growth, better services, jobs, and improved livelihoods,” Dr Kadah said.
The 14th ARICEA AGM brings together ICT regulators and observers from across Eastern and Southern Africa to review the association’s progress, strengthen its institutional framework and chart the future of regional cooperation in telecommunications and digital regulation.
Dr Kadah noted that policymakers and regulators were confronting increasingly complex challenges, including cross-border digital ecosystems, data privacy, cybersecurity threats and emerging vulnerabilities associated with artificial intelligence (AI).
“The rapid pace of technological advancement has fundamentally outstripped traditional legislative timelines, leaving us constantly playing catch-up with fast-evolving markets,” he said.
Dr Kadah added that the borderless nature of digital technologies was also making jurisdictional oversight more difficult, particularly in enforcing data protection rules and safeguarding critical infrastructure against sophisticated cyber threats.
He said the AGM presented an opportunity for regulators to assess progress, address operational bottlenecks and develop a coordinated regulatory roadmap for the region.
“Together, we must build a sustainable, digitally integrated, and globally competitive economy in the COMESA region,” Dr Kadah said.
