Telecentres should help with ICT penetration to rural areas

All was well meant when Communications and Transport Minister Dora Siliya challenged African Communications Experts at a workshop on sustainable rural telecenters in Lusaka last week to come up with strategies that their governments will use to roll out ICT to rural areas.

While the call was positive, it should also be known that the African governments have a bigger role to play, as they are the main providers of infrastructure that is favorable to everyone in the ICT sector.

It is true that ICT penetration in still worrisome in rural Africa, which has felt the impact of mobile phone technology. Rural telecenters are part of the bigger picture that could embrace and serve the rural communities in Africa with other forms of ICT, such as access to the Internet.

The new millennium has seen the sprouting-up of many telecenters or community information center initiatives set up in a cost-effective way, as they are also recognized to be key instruments in improving shared access to and use of information by the poorest in the rural areas of developing countries.

Telecenters also face many challenges in the areas of providing service and creation of suitable content, the identification of appropriate technologies and ensuring sustainability, which can all lead to a conducive environment.

In Zambia, there are Internet cafes and business bureaus offering telephone, e-mail and Internet access in major urban centers and a few in rural towns. According to the national ICT policy, there were about 300 licensed telecenters throughout the country by 2004, up from 108 in 2000. However, a larger percentage was along the line of rail.

There is a need for studies to help see the impact of telecenters to the communities, and international partners - such as the CTA, IICD, InfoBridge and IDRC - need to take up the challenge and conduct research in this area.