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Mr. Akossi Akossi, took over as the new Secretary General of the
African Telecommunications Union (ATU) on 9th January 2004. He was
elected to the post by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of ATU held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in August 2003 and will be in
office for the period 2004-2006. The handover of office between the
outgoing Secretary General Mr. Jan Mutai and the incoming Secretary
General, Mr. Akossi Akossi was presided over by Hon. John Michuki,
Minister of Transport and Communications who is also the current
Chairman of ATU’s Conference of Plenipotentiaries. In his
brief statement, the outgoing Secretary General thanked the
Government and People of the Republic of Kenya for the tremendous
support given to ATU during his tenure of office. He urged the
Kenya government to give the same support during the mandate of Mr.
Akossi Akossi.
The incoming Secretary General expressed gratitude to the
Government and People of Kenya for the warm hospitality accorded him
and their continuous and invaluable support to the Union.
In his remarks, the Minister of Transport and Communication, Hon.
John Michuki commended the outgoing Secretary General for his
achievements at the Head of ATU and wished him plenty of success in his
new assignments. He welcomed the new Secretary General in Kenya and
assured him of Kenya’s full support during his tenure of office. He
called for the creation of a harmonised ICT regulatory environment
for Africa and urged the new Secretary General to work relentlessly
to achieve universal access and full interconnection for the
continent.
About the incoming Secretary General...
Mr. Akossi Akossi is a national of Cote d’Ivoire. He was the
Director General of Cote d’Ivoire Telecommunications Regulatory
Agency from 1995-1997. Until his election as ATU’s Secretary
General, he was Strategic Business Network Senior Consultant. He is
a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications
of Paris (France).
In his 23 years as a telecommunications professional, he has
acquired solid experience in management and in telecommunications
network and services development strategy.
He successfully steered the liberalization process of Cote
d’Ivoire telecommunications sector and has contributed to the
implementation of sectoral policies and innovative investment
projects in several African countries.
He is very knowledgeable on issues of African integration and the
public-private partnership needed for the development of information
and communication technologies in Africa.
Mr. Akossi’s agenda is to make the African Telecommunications
Union a credible organization institutionally strong, financially
sound and capable of meeting the needs and expectations of African
people and winning the trust of all stakeholders and development
partners of the information and communication technologies sector.
His ambition is to carry through the African Telecommunications
Union’s reform and repositioning on the basis of the 2002-2006
Strategic Plan and give fresher impetus to the organization to
enable it achieve the seven goals of the strategic plan.
About the outgoing Secretary General…
Mr Jan Mutai, the outgoing Secretary General of ATU, was elected
to this position on 7th December 1999, at the Extraordinary Session
of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Union, held in Cape
Town, South Africa. He has successfully completed his four year
term of office in which he repositioned ATU, as one of the leading
intergovernmental organisations in Africa, fostering accelerated
development of information infrastructures and services. Through
his contribution and those of others, there is now more affordable
access in Africa, to the benefits of the emerging information
society especially through mobile networks and services.
Mr. Mutai has built-up extensive experience, both in the public
and private sectors, especially in the fields of public sector
reform, business strategy, organisational restructuring, and process
re-engineering. In his next career move, he intends to use the
considerable skills, knowledge and experience to provide consultancy
services to clients in the ICT and energy sectors through his
start-up consultancy firm - Jan Mutai & Associates.
He was previously, Managing Director of Kenya Posts and
Telecommunications Corporation. Whilst there, he laid the
foundation for the reform and restructuring of the
telecommunications sector. For his contribution to national
development, he has been honoured by the Republic of Kenya with
several awards, which include the Head of State Commendation (HSC)
and the Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS).
Before appointment in the public sector, he had over 20 years
experience in the business sector, with the Shell group of
companies, where he rose through the ranks, from a plant engineer,
through sales & marketing management, to Director Human Resources &
Public Affairs. Jan Mutai is a member of the Institution of
Engineers of Kenya and other professional organisations. |
