STORY:
Africa Behind in Y2K Fixes

If bug hits, some countries won't be hurt too hard because bigger problems exist

Most African governments insist they will be ready if and when the computer Y2K bug hits, but the biggest problem is few people believe them. Foreign investors are beginning to reduce their exposure to Zimbabwe, Egypt and even South Africa; the country widely rated as well prepared Y2K according to Reuters.

On the other hand, the lack of development in much of Africa is an advantage when it comes to Y2K, because the continent is less reliant on computers. In Tanzania, for example, 80 percent of the country's 30 million people live in rural areas. Many are desperately poor, and some do not even have access to electricity or clean water. The millennium bug is the last thing they worry about. In Kenya, citizens complain that the traffic lights already don't work.

The US State Department recently warned that the Central African Republic might have identified Y2K problems in its infrastructure, but hasn't the funds to tackle them. Major disruptions are possible in telecommunications, water and electricity supplies to the capital says the State Department.

Cameroon is classed as "unprepared" to deal with the millennium bug, and there is a risk of demonstrations in Mali if civil servants do not get paid on time because of a computer glitch in the payroll system according to Reuters.

In South Africa, the central bank plans to have hundreds of people on hand to iron bank notes, making sure they are flat and crisp enough to be accepted by all of the nation's 7,000 ATM machines in the event of a mass withdrawal.

Kenya's central bank says it is considering closing all commercial banks for two weeks around the millennium, while nearly 2,000 miles (3,000 km) to the west, people are already reportedly withdrawing money from banks in Gabon. Some banks there are now only authorizing large withdrawals if the customer can show a need for the cash says Reuters.

Source: Reuters

DATE: 9/21/99

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