Three-week Tunisian-South African rally begins

The first phase of the "Contact Rally" got underway on tuesday when cars of participating champions started roaring on a route snaking from the Tunisian city of Bizert, 60 km north of the capital, to destinations in several African countries.

The racers are expected to contest for three weeks on the 16,000-km long route across 11 African countries: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Naydo Jai, South African minister of telecommunications, who fired the starting shot, said the rally was intended to draw entrepreneurs' attention to potential investments in the sector of communications in the continent.

The race is also aimed at promoting a new image for Africa, free of hunger and wars, he added.