By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
In an effort to enhance Cameroon’s control over its digital infrastructure and safeguard its data, the state-owned telecommunications company, CAMTEL, and key stakeholders have explored strategies for promoting digital sovereignty within the country.
This is the substances of a one-day event, held on May 29 in Yaoundé. The event was chaired by Judith Yah Sunday epse Achidi, Director General of CAMTEL. Representatives from government, private institutions, and partners also participated.
The event, dubbed “CAMTEL Digital Sovereignty Day,” centered around the theme “Digital Sovereignty: Strategic Challenges in the Transformation of Cameroon’s Economy.”
During the opening session, Judith Yah Sunday emphasized that this day serves as an opportunity for the national telecommunications operator to contribute to Cameroon’s digital sovereignty. “The goal is to facilitate the structural transformation of the country’s economy.”
She added that, Cameroon faces a dual challenge: rapid industrialization and integration into the dynamics of information and communication technologies.
To address this, she further said, the event aimed to provide insights for regulating the actions of contemporary technological giants while ensuring technological catch-up. to her, achieving this balance is crucial to avoid dependence on external forces.
Judith Yah Sunday said, “CAMTEL being the arm of the government in terms of telecommunications is important that we sit down with all the stakeholders and discuss what is the relevant activities that CAMTEL should put in place in other to secure cyber space and internet governance in the country.”
Given the presence of multinational corporations like Google and Facebook, protecting Cameroon’s cyberspace is critical, she said, ensuring the safety of citizen data related to the economy and population is a strategic priority. “The challenge lies in developing effective strategies to safeguard this data.”
Given that on a global scale, the domination of cyber space is virtually ensured by a certain number of multinationals which exercise a profound influence there, the Director General stated that the dependence of users (States, public administrations, private organizations, individuals) on them continues to grow over the years.
“The resulting predominance of a ‘monoculture’ of digital tools raises strategic, economic, political and ethical issues, particularly regarding the need to control the strategic assets that are data,” she said.
The event featured presentations and roundtable discussions on various aspects of digital sovereignty. Presentations included “Digital Sovereignty: Stakes and Challenges in the Era of Digital Development and Context of NDS30” and “Digitalisation of Public Administration Services in Cameroon: State of Play and Prospects.”
Roundtable discussions focused on topics such as protecting public administration data, leveraging digital technologies to improve public sector performance, and CAMTEL’s current and future offerings that can contribute to digital sovereignty.
CAMTEL Digital Sovereignty Day was held as part of the company’s 25th-anniversary celebrations. Over the past few months, CAMTEL has organized a series of events focused on the role of digital technologies and ICTs in achieving Cameroon’s economic development goals.
These events included CAMTEL Digital Day, CAMTEL Decentralisation Day, CAMTEL Digital Infrastructure Day, CAMTEL Youth Day, CAMTEL Women’s Day, CAMTEL Diplomacy and Regional Integration Day, and CAMTEL Business Day among others.