African Telecommunications Union - Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure

The ATU has 46 member states and 16 associate members. The 46 member states include:

North Africa (6)

• Algeria
• Egypt
• Libya
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Mauritania

Southern Africa (6)

• Lesotho
• Malawi
• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

East Africa (10)

• Comoros
• Djibouti
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mauritius
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Tanzania
• Uganda

Central Africa (10)

• Angola
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Congo
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Gabon
• Sao Tome & Principe

West Africa (14)

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Ivory Coast
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea Bissau
• Liberia
• Mali
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Togo

The 16 associate members include:

• Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL)
• Ivory Coast Telecom
• Sudan Telecom Company Limited (SUDATEL) - Sudan
• Loteny Telecom - Ivory Coast
• Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) - Botswana
• Safaricom Limited - Kenya
• Telkom Kenya Ltd - Kenya
• Telecom Lesotho (PTY) Ltd - Lesotho
• P.Q. Africa - South Africa
• Vodacom (PTY) Limited - South Africa
• Zanzibar Telecom Limited (ZANTEL) - Tanzania
• Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) - Tanzania
• Ghana Telecommunications Company Ltd - Ghana
• Mauritius Telecom Ltd - Mauritius
• Telecom Egypt - Egypt
• INFOTEL Consulting - Nigeria

• • • from ATU home

Any private entity in the ICT sector may apply for membership whether or not they are affiliated with a host country in the African Union. Nearly any type of entity involved in network technology may apply including banks, universities, consulting agencies, broadcasters, network operators, etc.

The ATU is divided into five principal parts: the Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CPL), the Administrative Council, the Technical and Development Conference, the General Secretariat, and Non-Permanent Units. The CPL occurs on a four-year cycle, which is attended by the Ministers of Communications, and has the authority to adapt the constitution and is the major policy platform. The CPL also elects the secretary general and members of the Administrative Council. The Administrative Council meets annually and approves the policy actions and budgets. The Technical and Development Conference serves as a platform for setting ICT standards and regulatory measures among the public and private members. Financial issues and a top-down representational approach have been some of the criticized structural issues for the ATU.