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Article: Phone gap threatens economies of Africa.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- January 13, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NAIROBI, Kenya _ David Omoro, a senior consultant at the Kenya branch of the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, had been trying for two solid days to phone a client across town.
``I just can't get them on the line,'' he said in exasperation one day last month. ``Sometimes the line is engaged (busy). Sometimes it just rings.''
Sometimes he hears the anonymous female voice familiar to many Kenyans: ``I'm sorry, all the lines are busy. Please try again later.''
No telling what the problem is. His client's line could be shut off. Copper thieves might have stolen the telephone cables. Or it could be just the overburdened Kenyan telephone ...