Y2K Solved - Africa

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Y2K status reports on African countries

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Below is a country-by-country breakdown on preparations by African nations to deal with millennium bug problems in the key areas of electricity, telecommunications, water distribution and aviation.

--BOTSWANA

Botswana's Y2K Compliance Commitee has declared that the country has made considerable efforts to ensure a smooth millennium change over and has set aside $20 million to make this happen. But the stock exchange plans to close on December 21 to January 5 to avoid any pitfalls.

--IVORY COAST

National Y2K Committee Coordinator Bruno Adiko said his organisation would be in constant contact with all infrastructural services over the millennium. ``In general the risk here will not be great. (The risk in) this region is really minimal,'' he said.

Electricity: Harouna Bakayoko, IT Director at national power provider CIE, said the company had carried out millennium compliance tests, which had been audited by Electricite de France. ``Today we are ready,'' he said. ``I am confident.''

Telecoms: National operator Cote d'Ivoire Telecom, majority owned by France Telecom , said in a statement on December 10 that it had upgraded all non-millennium compliant systems and had generators on standby in case of power failure. ``I think we are ready -- there will be no problem,'' spokesman Ange Biagne told a news conference.

Water: Sylvestre Sem, Y2K spokesman for Ivorian water company Sodeci, said the company had completed its millennium preparations. ``The only risk is in the case of a long-term electricity failure,'' he said, adding that a power cut of more than three or four hours could cause problems. ``If there is no blackout we can guarantee water.''

Aviation: Loic Chovelon, spokesman for Abidjan Airport operator Aeria, said the airport itself had made no changes to flight schedules around the millennium, although some flights had been grounded for commercial reasons. ``Many companies have cancelled their flights. Like every year on the 31st, there is nobody on the flights...so it is not worth it.''

--KENYA

Electricity: Kenya Power and Lighting Company communications manager Florence Obura says all components of the energy sector are compliant.

``We have done everything humanly possible to be ready and we were the first sector to be declared ready from generation to distribution,'' she said. ``But we have contingency teams manning all areas to make sure the roll over goes smoothly.''

Telecoms: Telkom Kenya public relations officer Kiprono Rotich says all tests have been completed successfully. ``Telkom Kenya is ready and prepared, all equipment is checked and compliant,'' he said. ``A team has been set up to sit from 27 December to 7 January just in case anything goes wrong.''

Water: Judith Odhiambo, public relations officer of the National Water and Pipeline Corporation said the sector is ready and tested. ``We have tested everything, it is all compliant,'' she said. ``We will be able to jump from this year to next year with no problems.''

Aviation: Kenyan civil aviation is Y2K ready and has been approved by the International Air Transport Association, the Y2K East Africa Regional Coordinator says. ``During the rollover, planes can land and take off safely from our region,'' he said in a statement. ``Stringent contingency planning has taken place.''

--MAURITIUS

Electricity: Kemraz Mohee, chairman of the National Y2K Taskforce, said all systems were Y2K compliant. ``Tests carried out on the computer-based control system rolled over to the year 2000 without any halt,'' he said.

Telecoms: Mohee said the government-owned Mauritius Telecom had carried out successful tests on its local network and international exchanges and had also received compliance certificates from its suppliers.

Water: Government-owned water supplier Central Water Authority's (CWA) equipment is largely electro-mechanical and would therefore not be affected by the millennium bug, Mohee said.

Aviation: Mohee said the department of civil aviation had remedied or replaced all its major systems to ensure they were Y2K compliant. He also said the airport department had upgraded its Aeronautical Flight Telecommunication Network (AFTN), a key instrument allowing communication between civil aviation services located in different countries.

--NIGERIA

Electricity: The National Committee on Y2K said the National Electric Power Authority had reached 95 percent compliance and that efforts were being urgently made to ensure there were no problems.

Telecoms: Nigerian Telecommunications spokesman Tayo Ekundayo says total Y2K compliance should be achieved in a few days from current level of two to three percent below. One or two exchanges remain but most have long since been made compliant.

Water: The compliance level of Nigeria's water utility is put at 75 percent by the National Committee on Y2K compliance.

United Nations estimates say just under half of Nigerians have access to safe drinking water while most industries have their own supplies.

Aviation: The National Committee of Y2K estimates compliance in the aviation sector at 95 percent, with no problems envisaged at all at the country's main international airport in the commercial capital Lagos and other key airports in the capital Abuja and the oil industry capital of Port Harcourt in the south. Efforts were being made to ensure 100 percent readiness by December 31.

According to secretary of the National Committee on Y2K, Mohammed Tukur Ahmed: "None of the federal ministries are less than 60 percent compliant. Out of all of the (four) refineries, it is only the Port Harcourt refinery that is still not yet fully compliant, and that will be done within the next two weeks.

``Serious efforts are being made to ensure full compliance before the deadline of December 31. At this level of efforts we are 100 percent sure that before the deadline all the vital sectors would have all complied.''

--SENEGAL

Electricity, Telecoms, Water: Rene Pierre Diatta, president of the stategic infrastructures commission, said on behalf of the country's utilities: ``In Senegal we are well prepared although nobody can say there will be no problem at all, by the very fact of the domino effect, given that we cannot forsee everything. But I can say that Senegal will get through without too much damage.'' Senegal's main utilities are Sonatel (Telecom), Senelec (electricity) and SDE (water).

Aviation: ``We think there will be absolutely no problem for the changeover to the year 2000. We have already done all the necessary test phases. We are very confident,''said Alonado Adissin, coordinator of the francophone Africa air safety agency ASECNA in Dakar.

--SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa's official Y2K readiness body, the National Y2K Support Centre, says all the country's critical operations, including electricity supply, telecommunications, aviation, water and sewage, are millennium compliant.

``We are as ready as can be for the Y2K rollover,'' says spokesman Allim Milazi.

Local authorities, which were a concern, are now 99 percent compliant, according to Ingrid Blignault, spokeswoman for M2K, a consultancy handling local government Y2K issues.

The Gartner Group ranks South Africa as one of 17 countries -- including the United States and Switzerland -- that have done the most to make themselves Y2K compliant.

--TANZANIA

Electricity: Yacoub Mohammed, deputy director at the Central Coordination Office of the National Y2K campaign, said the one station that has digital embedded systems has been declared Y2K ready. All other stations will not be affected, he said.

Telecoms: The most vulnerable sector in the country as it depends entirely on digital systems for delivery of its services. Mohammed says they are Y2K ready.

Water: Mohammed says this area is a non-issue since all water is supplied by electro-mechanical means.

Aviation: Mohammed said the International Civil Aviation and International Air Transport Association were satisfied all key areas were prepared.

--UGANDA

Electricity: Brian Wernham, project management advisor to Uganda's Y2K taskforce, says Uganda's electricity systems are Y2K compliant.

``Disruptions in electric power supply will be unlikely on January 1, 2000,'' he said. ``Power generation, communication, distribution and metering systems are now ready. Remediation of transmission control systems was completed early September.''

Telecoms: Wernham said the state-owned Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) has fulfilled all requirments to be given ``green'' status meaning all the requisite systems are Y2K compliant.

Water: Wernham said the taskforce has similarly given ``green'' status to the National Water and Sewerage Corporation.

Aviation: Wernham said all safety critical equipment is compliant. Navigational aids are also ready and the International Air Transport Association is satisfied, he said.

--ZAMBIA

Zambian Central Bank Governor Jacob Mwanza said it was confident the country had virtually achieved millennium compliance, naming the country's banks, as well as its electricity, telecommunications and water services as having implemented the necessary measures to ensure a smooth roll-over.

--ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe's millennium task team has declared that the majority of the country's industry has done the work to avoid

Y2K bug problems, specifically key strategic sectors like banking, telecommunications, water supply, electricity, posts and the health service.

-- Llama man (llama@cool.net), December 15, 1999

Answers

It's not even Y2k and they can't fix power outages.

http://www.africanews.org/central/zambia/stories/19991215/19991215_fea t23.html

Link

Lusaka's Northmead Area In Blackout

The Times of Zambia (Lusaka) December 15, 1999 By MacTrevor Bwalya

Lusaka - A prolonged power failure has enveloped Lusaka's Northmead residential area and shopping complex resulting in losses by some businessmen.

The two-day blackout has been attributed to faulty underground Zesco cables in the area. Zesco workers found repairing the fault said the 120 metre-squared cable was the biggest size the firm used in its supply systems. "We can only repair the cable when there are no rains.

It is dangerous to work on electricity when it is raining," the workers said. They noted that such problems were very common at the beginning of the rainy seasons.

Other affected areas and places were reported to be Mtendere, Dar farms, Madison Insurance, Chinika and Toyota Zambia. At Northmead shopping complex, some businessmen complained of losses of up to about K5 million on average daily following the power failure. Woodbury's Supermarket co-director, Kateriena Auraam, said the few customers they had were only buying items like bread saying a lot of perishable foodstuffs had gone to waste.

"We are now forced to buy ice blocks at K90, 000 just to see if power could be restored. Already we are incurring other costs by taking meat to our other people's coldrooms," Mrs Auraan said.

At Supersavers, an official said the bakery section alone had incurred a loss of K2 million while fish worth over K100,000 had gone bad. Shop n'Nice management whose coldroom transformers, propellers and frozen foods were reportedly damaged said the blackout would cost them over K4.5 million in damaged items. By the time of going to press, Zesco workers were still battling to repair the fault and restore power.

In Kitwe, power went off around the city centre area affecting most trading shops including Shoprite. One resident wondered why Zesco was boasting about being Y2K compliant when they are failing to deal with blackouts.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), December 15, 1999.


Doesn't matter any more. TIME TO THIN THE HERD.

-- booboo (raptor12g@hotmail.com), December 15, 1999.

["We were just trying to make you feel better by telling you that Nigeria is Y2K-OK. We were just trying to make you feel better about all those other countries too. Here are the true facts on Nigeria, with our apologies. We're too depressed to tell you the truth about the rest of the globe..."]

[ Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only ] 12/14/99 -- 2:02 PM

Year 2000 Nightmare? Just another day in chaotic Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Lights could go out in millions of homes, banks and hospitals may grind to a halt. Water and fuel shortages are likely.

But are ordinary Nigerians stocking up on candles, water and canned food amid the alarmist predictions of Year 2000 computer bug turmoil? The answer is - yawn - no.

Long accustomed to chaos, most Nigerians are either blissfully unaware or heave a nonchalant shrug when it comes to preparing for a possible nationwide meltdown on Jan. 1.

Even the worst Y2K predictions - Nigeria seems as likely to experience serious problems as anywhere else on the planet - look like just another day to many Nigerians.

The oil-rich nation of 120 million people is painfully inured to power outages, water shortages, traffic jams and failed banks.

Decades of incompetence and corruption under successive military rulers prior to the inauguration of Nigeria's new democratic government in May have reduced the country's infrastructure to a shambles.

The country's oil refineries are in complete disrepair. Gasoline is often available only on the black market in plastic milk jugs. Salaries must be carried home in paper bags because the country's biggest bill, the new 100 naira note, is worth less than $1. Freeways are clogged with the charred corpses of burned out or abandoned vehicles.

Janet Mba, a journalist in the capital, Abuja, sums up Nigeria's nonchalance.

``Y2K-type problems have always been with us. There is such an incredible degree of inefficiency in the Nigerian system. So what difference will Jan. 1, 2000 make?'' she asks.

Plenty, many computer analysts say.

Despite being one of the few west African countries with significant computerization, Nigeria is cash- strapped and faces nearly impossible hurdles to reach compliance in time. Authorities all but ignored Y2K until civilian President Olusegun Obasanjo took office six months ago.

``On a scale of one to 10 in terms of Y2K readiness, Nigeria is struggling to get to level 2,'' said Pius Okigbo Jr., a computer consultant in Abuja.

For a last-minute crusade, the government was able to provide only $1 million of the $200 million requested by the Y2K coordinating center. Officials tasked with battling the bug say critical sectors have not been fully addressed.

Official figures claim 88 percent compliance in telecommunications, 75 percent in transportation and 50 percent in government agencies. The military - one of Africa's largest and best-trained - is only about 30 percent ready.

The state-owned power and telephone companies - both famed for their atrocious service - say they are ready, but Nigerians are skeptical.

The oil industry, the world's sixth-largest, is in good shape because it is managed by multinational companies with enormous resources. But refineries and power-generating plants could face significant problems.

What may ease the pressure are the Nigerians themselves. Their resilience and resourcefulness are legendary.

Whenever the water goes off in the sprawling commercial capital of Lagos, as it regularly does, people carry buckets on their heads from the nearby river. Private companies transport and sell chlorinated water from trucks.

Almost all Nigerians with money have diesel generators or paraffin stoves and lanterns for use during electricity failures.

Many Nigerians expect a few weeks in January without water, lights, banks - and maybe telephones - and then a halting return of some services. In short, a return to the crazy routine.

``We are very much at home with a fire brigade approach to addressing critical national issues.

Perhaps it's something to do with our mentality,'' said office worker Tunji Martins. ``We ... see these things break down, then scramble to improvise.''

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), December 16, 1999.


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