Can Africa Bridge the Digital Divide?: A Web Guide
by Ken Matende
Despite the fact that Africa is the second largest continent it is the least served by Telecommunications and Information Technology Services. The figures are disheartening. There are 18 landmines per 1000 people compared to the world average of 146 per 1000. Developed countries average 567 per 1000. For each phone line in Africa, there are 55 people queuing to make a call. Is there any hope of Africa ever catching up with the rest of the world? Can Africa bridge the Digital Divide (a technological apartheid)? I believe that in this new millennium, there is great potential for Africa to make headway onto the digital arena. A brief examination of the following websites offers a common thread of hope: there is tangible evidence that Africa can bridge the Digital Divide.
I. African Initiatives:
(a). http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200203210431.html.
In this brief article linked to the AllAfrica Global Media website (leading provider of African news and information), Dr. Margaret Kigozi the executive director of Uganda’s renowned Uganda Investment Authority paints a bright picture regarding Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Uganda. In a meeting held on 02 March 2002 at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Dr. Kigozi said that there is potential for Uganda to develop into a regional ICT hub and a “major source of software products that could be exported to other countries in the region.” Ugandans should therefore take advantage of the country’s lead in the communications sector to capture the regional market. This is because the government has ICT listed as one of its eight priority areas for development as leading exports for the country.
(b). http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200203210228.html.
In the New Partnership for Africa’s Development summit held this month in Kampala to decide on what Africa wants to be done in the upcoming G8 summit it was agreed that Africa has made headway in the Information Technology sector but not fast enough to bridge the Digital Divide.
Several reasons stalling the process of digitisation were offered:
(i) a lack of appreciation by Africa’s leader’s,
(ii) poor infrastructure;
(iii) weak regulatory framework and
(iv) limited human resources.
These nerve-wracking issues have resulted in inadequate access to affordable telephones, broadcasting services, computers and the Internet all over Africa. Is there light at the end of this fairly dark tunnel? Dr. F. F. Tusubira offers a glimmer of hope. He points us to the Rural Communication Development Fund - a project created to assist Africa get itself out of financial doldrums. This fund is supported by African business stalwarts: Uganda Telecom, MTN Uganda and CelTel. Based on factual evidence and commercial reality the fund “will succeed to provide an internet in every district in Uganda.” The Tele-density already achieved is about 1.8 lines per 100 people, an increase of 16 per cent in about six years.
(a). http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200203070013.html.
A group of 38 University of Dar es Salaam students recently graduated from an Information and Communications Technology course in Dar es Salaam. These students earned Cisco Certified Network Associate Certificates – identical to those awarded to students at US universities and high schools. The major objective of this four-month course is to “promote development by bridging the so-called Digital Divide.” The programme has been proposed to expand throughout the country. It is intended to help Tanzania increase the number of ICT professionals solve technical problems in the workplace and help organisations more efficient. The beauty of the programme is that it does not require any prior knowledge of computers or networks. Students need only basic secondary education. The training is international implying that “a grade of 95 per cent is the same in Tanzania or at Havard.”
(b). http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/2850777.htm.
A story available on the siliconvalley.com website (an in-depth news site) offers a balanced analysis of the digital divide issue. Despite the struggle to develop stable political systems more and more people are logging on in Africa. “In 1995, there were 1.2 Internet hosts in South Africa for every 1000 people. Five years later there were 8.4.” In Kenya, 40 Internet service providers (ISPs) serve a modest 40, 000 Internet users. It is evident that a new innovation, the Internet has failed to take off on astronomical proportions due to the absence of two older inventions – electricity and the phone. Africa cannot leapfrog the technology. It needs the rest of the world to assist in its development process. Optimists argue that “Africa’s tardy development provides both an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the West and to use new innovations to kick start development.” The Internet is a powerful tool to bridge the modern world.