Activity 2: The Digital Divide

1. Dr Odedra cites a number of infrastructural reasons for a lack of effective ICT. What are these?

 The first reason is that many IT projects fail is because of a lack of secondary equipment, suitable electric power and training etc.
In many African countries pressure is put on them as many growing countries are now using Internet and other technologies such as computers . There are also no plans in Africa to supply the people with technology like computers, the government is simply to poor to even allow computers open to public use, and so many citizens will never use a computer. Some regulatory policies covering procedures for the acquisition of hardware and software do exist in a few places. These regulations typically mandate centralised acquisition for the public sector and tax private companies and non-government organisations in order to discourage imports or to raise convertible currency for the state. Such taxes range from 0 per cent in Mauritius to 60 per cent in Kenya. However, a number of countries such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Mauritius have recently taken initiatives to formulate more comprehensive IT policies.
This means that some of these countries will start to become more developed. But this will only happen effectively if people play tax. But due to the majority of poor people in African countries, it isn't likely that they will be able to pay tax. And so this system will not always work.
A reliable power supply to operate the computers, a well-functioning telephone network to transmit data, foreign currency to import the technology, and computer-literate personnel are all prerequisites for the successful use of IT. Such infrastructural elements remain inadequate in many African countries. For instance, the number of telephones per 1,000 people ranges between 12 and 50, depending on the country, and many of the lines that do exist are out of order much of the time. This all means that a lot of Africans can’t get Internet connection because of the service isn’t working.
A problem that faces less developed countries is that they aren't able to set up stable Internet connections as many companies aren't willing to operate withing their country, this means that even with technology, people won't be able to connect to the Internet and miss out on a huge resource that defines modern technology. 

2.What is said do be the most pressing need for Africa (in terms of ICT)?

The most important reason for Africa having barely any access to Internet is the cost of IT falling dramatically. With systems becoming much easier to use and maintain, some of the prohibitive cost and infrastructural problems are being lessened. Many Africans are beginning to take advantage of this. But lack of skills in the area still remains a major problem. Overall, people are learning from their mistakes and are trying to address some of the issues. The longer this process takes the less advanced Africa will be.

 

3. How successful have computer aid projects been?

Computer aid projects have been of relative success, the only problem being that they need to cover such a wide area as almost all of Africa are without proper IT skills, although what has been done has been successful. Computers have been supplied to many countries and training groups have been set up in order to teach people how to properly use IT, these have been very popular and have been effective in dealing with the lack of IT skills.

 

4. Why have they failed?

Skills, funding and knowledge are all of the reasons why Africa are so lower in the technology scale then others. ICT isn't free it costs money which countries in Africa can't afford to use. There is widespread famine in these countries and they aren't able to use the same systems as we do. Secondly, knowledge is very scarce about IT because because people living in Africa haven't had the opportunity to use IT, this will lead to confusion surrounding IT for them. There are few people who have access to IT, but these tend to be people high up in the social hierarchy.



 

5. What computer skill's identified as lacking?

"Africa lacks computer skills in all areas, including systems analysis, programming, maintenance and consulting, and at all operational levels from basic use to management. Most countries lack the education and training facilities needed to help people acquire the proper skills. The few training centres that do exist have not been able to keep up with demand. Only a handful of countries such as Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe have universities that offer computer science degrees. The programmes available in the other countries are mainly diplomas and certificates. As a result of unskilled and untrained personnel, user organisations are forced to hire expatriate staff, who in turn lack the knowledge about local organisational cultures and thus design poor systems. Many African governments and organisations are waking up to this situation, but few serious measures have been taken. Moreover, it will not be enough to merely institute courses; books, teachers and equipment are also required but unfortunately have been overlooked." Therefore the African public aren't the ones to be blamed here, the governments should be the one to put money aside and invest in ICT teachers to teach the next generation of people. This will greatly develop their country and will help them to be able to advance faster.




6. What area of business fields have been seen as lacking?
"Although African companies have had little success in producing their own hardware, software houses catering to the local market are emerging, particularly in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Off-the-shelf software packages have largely been used in African countries because of the lack of programmers to develop in-house applications. However, there is a growing demand for applications appropriate for local needs. While the present quality and sophistication of local software may not be on a par with current world standards, it should improve with increasing demand." If African business had better quality technology it would mean that more business can run effectively and more efficiently, therefore increasing overall national income, economically this is good for the country.