Telecommunications agreement NOT a PPP but “collaboration”
Telecom Namibia pointed out this week that the agreement between it and Paratus is not in fact a Public Private Partnership, according to the strict legal definition, but a special type of agreement widely used between telecommunications operators.
Telecom’s Head of Corporate Communications and Public Relations, Nomvula Kambinda confirmed in a note issued on Thursday that Telecom has entered into an agreement with Paratus. “Telecom Namibia mid-February entered into an agreement with Paratus for the landing of Google’s Equiano submarine cable in Swakopmund,” the note read
But Kambinda emphasised that the agreement does not constitute a Public Private Partnership as defined by the Public Private Partnership Act of 2017.
Instead, “the parties entered into an Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) agreement which is a type of telecommunications lease agreement,” said Kambinda adding that this type of contract allows the customer uninterrupted and exclusive use and access to spectrum capacity.
Downplaying the significance of the agreement – a first for Namibia – Kambinda stressed that the IRU agreement rather connotes “collaboration between a public and private entity.”
