What's the point of .africa?

This week, a group of African communication ministers met in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss the creation of a .africa TLD. The thing is, does the continent really need its own extension?

Maybe further down the road there will be a use for it, but considering Africa is the most unwired continent in the world, what’s the point? Instead of worrying about a regional TLD, countries in the area should be concerned with improving their own extensions and infrastructure.

Finally, “.africa” is too long for an extension. Why not .afr or .afca?