In this new knowledge-based society, access to information and knowledge have become essential resources for development.
As a continent, our future and survival depends upon our willingness to harness the new information and communication technologies for development.
Today we truly live in a global village, but it is a village with privileged “information haves” and many “information have-nots”.
This has given rise to a phenomenon that has come to be widely known as the “digital divide.”
The divide depicts a gap between those who have access to computer hardware and skills, Internet, telecommunications services, and information literacy.
It separates those who can access and use ICT to gain these benefits, and those who do not have access to technology or cannot use it for one reason or another.
The extent of the digital divide in Africa can be demonstrated by examining the data on access to telephones, computers, and Internet access.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Africa, a continent with almost 800 million people and about 13 per cent of the world’s population has only 2 per cent of the world telephone lines.
This puts the continent’s teledensity (number of telephone lines per 100) at 7.1, the lowest in the world.
According to a survey by UNESCO (2000) the majority of the population on the continent has never made a telephone call mainly due to last of access to telecommunications services.
This goes to reinforce Thabo Mbeki’s often cited statement that .” there are more telephone lines in Manhattan, New York, than in sub-Saharan Africa”.
Regarding computer access, the ITU world Internet Indicators statistics puts personal computer access at 0.76 PCs per 100 inhabitants. According to the ITU, most people have access to computers located at work places and other public institutions (i.e. college campuses and Internet cafes).
Thus, home computer access is not very widespread, mainly due to the cost.
When it comes to access to the Internet, even though there is Internet access in all the African countries, connectivity has been limited to the major cities.
Thus, the majority of people who live in rural communities have very limited access to the Internet. Besides, connectivity charges tend to be higher in Africa than in the West.
In addition, there is a high use of public access services and a high rate of shared accounts by users.
If Africa is to succeed in becoming a part of the new global economy, it must address the challenges brought about by the digital divide and provide all of its people with the right tools they need to be part of the information society.
So, how do we bridge the digital divide? Generally, bridging the digital divide is not going to be an easy tasks.
Currently there are many international efforts focusing on increasing telephone and computer penetration on the continent.
Many are motivated by developmental concerns, such as the Acacia programme of the International Development Research Centre, and there are a number of major donors supporting informatics related projects, including WorldTel, InfoDev (World Bank), the International Telecommunications Union and others.
Faith-based institutions—the mosques, churches, and temples of muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists—are everywhere in the world, in both developed and developing nations.
The religious leaders of Africa—the pastors, priests, and imams—are the “influentials” who can generate the changes the continent needs. The churches and mosques of Africa can be mobilized to become the “diffusion networks” and the “supply chains.”
In addition to the institution of chieftaincy, churches or mosques are the only indigenous African institution that reaches rural people, often illiterate and off the electrical grid,and is able to influence them.
If the pastor or priest or imam, is properly briefed, warns about kerosene, and holds up a solar light, and helps make arrangements to sell and service them, and for small loans so that congregants or community members can buy them, many solar lights will find their way into homes, and jobs and income for entrepreneurs will be created.
The individual church or mosque is part of a network, a network that often has headquarters staff and facilities for reaching and influencing large numbers of such institutions.
Let’s begin by thinking of the Presbyterian church in Ghana. Thee are about 2500 Presbyterian churches in Ghana.
A huge network, potentially a complete marketing and distribution system for technology resources.
There is in Ghana a branch of Opportunity International, a Presbyterian-sponsored microenterprise-creating organisation.
The church could sponsor an invitational conferences on technology, bringing 20, or 200 churches together to help any interested church become a center of excellence in information technology and other services.
This could be all-Presbyterian, or, it could be an interfaith project initiated and led by the Presbyterians.
At such a conference, speakers and workshops would equip clergy and lay leaders to equip the local church or mosque to become a center of information, demonstration, and perhaps marketing of technology products.
For example, the church could arrange for Opportunity International to meet with potential entrepreneurs who might go into the technology business, sales and service.
A marketing and distribution network similar to the Radio Shack network in the United States could be created by faith-based organisations.
Each church, each mosque, like a Radio Shack store, equipped with products and information distributed by central headquarters will provide access to information resources.
The thesis that the church or mosque is the only “community intermediary” capable of reaching rural and remote populations; alerting them to development needs will contribute immensely to addressing the digital divide.
Faith-based organizations can partner with other community-based organisations to address larger community or societal issues.
As a continent, our future and survival depends upon our willingness to harness the new information and communication technologies for development.
Today we truly live in a global village, but it is a village with privileged “information haves” and many “information have-nots”.
This has given rise to a phenomenon that has come to be widely known as the “digital divide.”
The divide depicts a gap between those who have access to computer hardware and skills, Internet, telecommunications services, and information literacy.
It separates those who can access and use ICT to gain these benefits, and those who do not have access to technology or cannot use it for one reason or another.
The extent of the digital divide in Africa can be demonstrated by examining the data on access to telephones, computers, and Internet access.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Africa, a continent with almost 800 million people and about 13 per cent of the world’s population has only 2 per cent of the world telephone lines.
This puts the continent’s teledensity (number of telephone lines per 100) at 7.1, the lowest in the world.
According to a survey by UNESCO (2000) the majority of the population on the continent has never made a telephone call mainly due to last of access to telecommunications services.
This goes to reinforce Thabo Mbeki’s often cited statement that .” there are more telephone lines in Manhattan, New York, than in sub-Saharan Africa”.
Regarding computer access, the ITU world Internet Indicators statistics puts personal computer access at 0.76 PCs per 100 inhabitants. According to the ITU, most people have access to computers located at work places and other public institutions (i.e. college campuses and Internet cafes).
Thus, home computer access is not very widespread, mainly due to the cost.
When it comes to access to the Internet, even though there is Internet access in all the African countries, connectivity has been limited to the major cities.
Thus, the majority of people who live in rural communities have very limited access to the Internet. Besides, connectivity charges tend to be higher in Africa than in the West.
In addition, there is a high use of public access services and a high rate of shared accounts by users.
If Africa is to succeed in becoming a part of the new global economy, it must address the challenges brought about by the digital divide and provide all of its people with the right tools they need to be part of the information society.
So, how do we bridge the digital divide? Generally, bridging the digital divide is not going to be an easy tasks.
Currently there are many international efforts focusing on increasing telephone and computer penetration on the continent.
Many are motivated by developmental concerns, such as the Acacia programme of the International Development Research Centre, and there are a number of major donors supporting informatics related projects, including WorldTel, InfoDev (World Bank), the International Telecommunications Union and others.
Faith-based institutions—the mosques, churches, and temples of muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists—are everywhere in the world, in both developed and developing nations.
The religious leaders of Africa—the pastors, priests, and imams—are the “influentials” who can generate the changes the continent needs. The churches and mosques of Africa can be mobilized to become the “diffusion networks” and the “supply chains.”
In addition to the institution of chieftaincy, churches or mosques are the only indigenous African institution that reaches rural people, often illiterate and off the electrical grid,and is able to influence them.
If the pastor or priest or imam, is properly briefed, warns about kerosene, and holds up a solar light, and helps make arrangements to sell and service them, and for small loans so that congregants or community members can buy them, many solar lights will find their way into homes, and jobs and income for entrepreneurs will be created.
The individual church or mosque is part of a network, a network that often has headquarters staff and facilities for reaching and influencing large numbers of such institutions.
Let’s begin by thinking of the Presbyterian church in Ghana. Thee are about 2500 Presbyterian churches in Ghana.
A huge network, potentially a complete marketing and distribution system for technology resources.
There is in Ghana a branch of Opportunity International, a Presbyterian-sponsored microenterprise-creating organisation.
The church could sponsor an invitational conferences on technology, bringing 20, or 200 churches together to help any interested church become a center of excellence in information technology and other services.
This could be all-Presbyterian, or, it could be an interfaith project initiated and led by the Presbyterians.
At such a conference, speakers and workshops would equip clergy and lay leaders to equip the local church or mosque to become a center of information, demonstration, and perhaps marketing of technology products.
For example, the church could arrange for Opportunity International to meet with potential entrepreneurs who might go into the technology business, sales and service.
A marketing and distribution network similar to the Radio Shack network in the United States could be created by faith-based organisations.
Each church, each mosque, like a Radio Shack store, equipped with products and information distributed by central headquarters will provide access to information resources.
The thesis that the church or mosque is the only “community intermediary” capable of reaching rural and remote populations; alerting them to development needs will contribute immensely to addressing the digital divide.
Faith-based organizations can partner with other community-based organisations to address larger community or societal issues.
