"To make Africa an active player in the global information society" is the vision of the African Telecommunications Union, ATU in acronym, if we are to believe the words of the Minister of Communication, Information Technology and Media. Ms. Léocadie NDACAYISABA who defended the bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the Constitution and the Convention of the African Telecommunications Union signed on December 7, 1999 in Cape Town, South Africa, as revised on July 10, 2014 in Harare, a bill that was voted unanimously by the Members of Parliament present at the plenary session of Thursday, April 27, 2023.

The specialized institution of the African Union (AU), competent in telecommunications, the ATU was established by the Plenipotentiaries of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia on December 7, 1977 held on the sidelines of the 12th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the organization of the African Union (OAU), under the name of "Pan African Telecommunications Union (PATU)".

Having later realized that partnership in the development of ICTs in Africa is the way to enable the African people to participate more effectively in the continent’s information revolution and enjoy its multiple benefits, the Plenipotentiaries decided on the occasion of the 4th extraordinary session of PATU held on December 7, 1999 in Cape Town, South Africa, to restructure PATU under the name of "African Telecommunication Union", ATU in acronym, with a view to pave the way for the participation of the private and social sectors and to take into account the convergence of electronic communication networks and services.

To be a member of ATU and enjoy full rights, it is necessary to have signed and ratified the convention and the constitution and to regularly pay the required contributions.

One of the missions of the ARCT is to pay, on behalf of the State of Burundi, the contributions to the regional and international electronic communication organizations of which it is a member.
Thus, a contribution of USD 12500 is regularly paid and is included in the annual budget granted to the ARCT.

It should be noted that the Government of Burundi had initiated in 2012 the process of ratification of the ATU constitution and convention signed on September 7, 1999, although the National Assembly analyzed and adopted the bill at the root of this impasse.