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Economic Commission for Africa African Development Forum '99 Discussion List Summary, ICTs for improved governance |
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Economic Commission for Africa African Development Forum '99 Discussion List Summary, ICTs for improved governance |
The discussion from July 10 to 30 focussed on the topic of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for improved governance. The discussion started with issues raised by the moderators in relation toICTs and governance - failures and successes, applications in African context, ICTs for economically and geographically marginalised populations, opportunities for public participation in political debates, etc.Various issued raised during the discussion are summarised below: ICTs FOR IMPROVED GOVERNANCE Participants felt that ICTs can play a significant role in enhancing governance and developing civil society. ICTs can also help African governments to reach the majority of the population living in the rural areas, and help these people to have their voices heard in political debates and public administration. It was pointed out that the governance role of ICTs in Africa is likely to be small at least in the short term because access (so far) is extremely limited. ICTs clearly have a place as tools to be used for African development. People will have access, and it's a good thing for development. People will also use that access to influence lawmakers, post their opinions, flame their opponents, etc. This makes it a vital issue of equity to ensure that access is available to the poor and disempowered --not only so that they do not fall further behind economically, but also to ensure their political voice. The choice is not (and should not be) between access to ICTs and no access, it is between access for the elite alone or more equitable access. Concern has been expressed on lack of trust and commitment on the part of African governments in sustainably implementing ICT applications including governance. GLOBAL SURVEY ON ONLINE GOVERNANCE The list was informed about a global survey on online governance being conducted by COMNET-IT Foundation and UNESCO (http://www.comnet.mt/globsurv/annolgov.htm). The preliminary response from Africa is good; it is expected that the results of the study will be presented at ADF 99.The list was also informed about UNESCO's overview of the the problem of online governance in development, which includes topics such as governance and the internet, applications of the internet in developing countries, access to government information, provision of online services, online participation, government management, community access, and problems, solutions and priorities for the future. 'BOTTOM UP' Vs. 'TOP DOWN' A participant criticised the focus on possibilities of 'bottom up' participation in ICTs and governance debate, with too little focus on 'top down' obligations for greater transparency in government and governance. 'Bottom up' governance participation, in the absence of 'top down' transparency, has a hard time being 'strategic'. A Canadian example is given - public cross-country townhall hearings on the future of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada's public radio network. The discussant argued that facilitating 'bottom up' participation - to improve governance - will fail unless there is a 'top down' transparency, especially with respect to policy processes.Therefore, ICTs could improve governance if both 'bottom up' and 'topdown' approaches are considered in implementing such programs. The list was informed about Centre for ElectronicCommunities/Institute for Electronic Governance, which has published many papers on ICTs for governance. BETTER INFORMED SOCIETY It was pointed out that ICTs have the potential to open up access to information on public matters that people can use for their own political education - essential in the process of democratising many political systems in Africa. Better-informed society will result in the development of information and knowledge societies - keys to socio-economic progress. A discussant suggested that ICTs should be used first and foremost for the political education of the masses. When people are better informed about subjects like finance and economics, their level of debate is much enhanced and they will demand better services from their governments, resulting in improved governance and more transparency.Concern has been expressed regarding using IT for educating the masses. Strong government commitment is needed to promote, with donors' support, Multi-Purpose Community Centres, both in urban and rural areas, to reach agreement with local ISPs for special Internet access prices, as an incentive for public access to information, and to develop content in local language. UNDP HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT Participants were informed about the release of this year's UNDP Human Development Report, which is on the theme of "Globalisation with a Human Face" and argues that benefits of globalisation are not shared by all. It states that Internet increases global inequality. Internet was contributing to an ever-widening gap between rich and poor. And according to the UNDP Report the effects of globalisation and IT were the rich getting richer and the continuing unequal spread of technology. The report outlines seven goals that must be targeted to achieve an information society - connectivity, community access,capacity, content, creativity, collaboration and cash. Participants felt that there is an enormous need for all concerned to redouble their efforts in promoting the awareness of the Information Age in Africa. The list was also informed about comments on the findings of the report can be accessed at http: //www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2292531,00.html?chkpth Other links were also provided: BBC Report: http:
//news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_392000/392171.stm INTERESTING ICT PRACTICES IN AFRICA Participants were requested to share their interesting ICT practices,cases and stories in Africa with ADF, which is discussing with International Institute of Communications and Development (IICD) and others (PANOS and IDRC) the possibility of pulling together such efforts so that as much information will be available as widely as possible. The contributions will be made available on a shared database on the Internet, and the results will be documented at ADF99. An example case was also provided to inform participants about the kind of information sought - title, location, institution(s), funding source and resources, problem addressed, description, successes,problems encountered, lessons learned, potential for sustainability,and contacts. GOVERNANCE - GOOD OR BAD Participants argued that telecommunications privatisation is a complex political issue. In the short term it undoubtedly means giving up a government revenue stream, losing workers from the state sector, and(possibly) higher import bills. At the same time it usually means privatisation revenues. In the long term, it also brings better service, more tax revenues and more jobs. But of course, this depends on whether one believes that privatisation leads to a better telecoms network and a better telecoms network leads to a healthier economy.A discussant argued that international pressures of western technology and western funders are governing African choices. At the same time it seems very difficult to link all the issues - democratic ways and means; press freedom; grassroots activities; NGOs and community organisations; government information - with the potential of Internet. The connections are not there for most people and will only allow elite debate for many many years. The driving forces of Africa growth today are inward investment and good commodity prices. Thediscussant said that the issues of governance, governability and Internet should be looked at in terms of mediating this traffic and these interests. It was argued that the evidence presented in World Bank's Internet Toolkit suggested that African countries with more liberal telecommunications regimes had, on average, lower cost, broader access to the Internet. The report also noted that a number of other studies, from a wide range of sources, had found that there was a correlation between the level of telecoms development and future economic growth. Liberalisation has dramatic returns. It was also noted that most governments seem to accept this, and the global trend is strongly toward liberalisation. Further, no country that has liberalised seems to have regretted it. So most governments seem to accept the trade-off (short-term revenue streams and state sector jobs lost versus service, productivity, privatisation revenues and future taxesgained) as worthwhile. It was also noted that good governance cannot be imposed by outside/foreign agencies, but instead results from the popular demand of the African populations. UGANDA PARLIAMENT WEB SITE This site is one of the examples for making government information available by using ICTs. However, many participants have found the site impossibly difficult to access, and this has resulted in a lot of debate on good web design. Constructive and very educational comments were given to fix the accessibility problem of the Ugandan and other web sites. NGOs AND GOVERNANCE A participant argued that NGOs offer a two way cut on governance, by giving example of how governance mechanisms and NGOs have formed something exciting and hopefully permanent (information provided from UN Convention to Combat Desertification to pastoralists in rural Tanzania, and rural telecenters effectively run by local NGOs to disseminate knowledge and information). The other trend however is that, with Internet, NGOs can become merely efficient development subcontractors, and the discussant asks, "is there any evidence ofthis?" DIGITAL DIVIDE Participants expressed concern on continued disparities in access to computers and the Internet in Africa. It was also pointed out that such measurement of disparities needs to be considered with caution and shall address factors such as rates and levels of computerisation, effective use and impact. WEB SITES ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Participants were requested to share information on web sites on social and economic development in Africa. In response to this request, it was mentioned that UNESCO, within the framework of the Regional Informatics Network for Africa (RINAF), is organising a selection of the African best 50 web sites of public interest (TOP50) on education, science, culture, information services and community development. The project is described at http://www.woyaa.com/topweb. In addition to this, other web sites are mentioned. (see under websites section at the end of this summary). TELECOMS, CATTLE KEEPING AND ICT IN AFRICA A participant brought the idea of using ICTs to assist African cattle keepers to be able to track every single cattle movement in thecountry on a computer station programmed for that purpose (sticking locator chips on cattle and tracking their location via satellite). Some participants expressed their reservation about the practicality of such a proposal due to cultural, social and economic and bureaucratic impediments that will make such suggestion unworkable. Besides, such activity is not developmental priority in Africa. Web Sites: Global Survey on online governance http://www.comnet.mt/globsurv/annolgov.htm Uganda parliament web site http://www.uganda.co.ug/parliament UNDP Human Development Report Comments: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2292531,00.html?chkpth Web sites on social and economic development in Africa RINAF Top 50 project |
