August 20^th 2018          By Cheruiyot Korir

John Omo is the new Secretary General of the Africa Telecommunication Union (ATU).

Mr. Omo won by a landslide when he garnered 23 votes against his sole challenger Eng Constaque Hakiziman of Burundi during elections held at the Safari Park Hotel. The election was the climax of a weeklong Africa Telecommunications Union Conference that was attended by over 30 African states.

Mr. Omo, a Director of legal service at the Comunication Authority of Kenya (CAK) with a vast leadership experience in global bodies takes over from Mr Soumaila Abdoulkarim who has served in the capacity for 8 years.

Mr. Omo pledged to build on existing structure to bolster the image of the union saying his first area of focus was to carry out some reforms in the Continental body.

He paid glowing tributes to his predecessor, Mr. Abdoulkarim saying he help steer the telecom growth in the continent.

Abdoulkarim thanked ATU member countries for their support and called on the members to strengthen the Union by paying remittances to ensure it attains its mandate.

The ATU is an organization made up of 46 African member states that drives development of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure industry in the continent by sharing information on best practices. The ATU aims to promote transparency and accountability, effective funding and financing, and quality service in the sector across Africa.