Infrastructure and Accessibility to Computers

the presence of cultural constructs in technology will be explored in the following section.

4.3.2 Infrastructure and Accessibility to Computers

One of the factors identified in the literature as contributing towards the failure or partial failure of ICT projects in Africa is the state of information technology

infrastructure. Infrastructure such as copper wiring and fibre optics, along with access to hardware such as computers, is essential to the successful implementation and use of ICT systems; however, in the author’s experience the basic infrastructure needed to support ICT initiatives in the developing world is often out of date or non-existent, leading to project failure. Access to computers is also problematic, given the lack of finances to procure and maintain the equipment needed.

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, significant effort and considerable resources were invested in connecting the East African region to fibre optic networks.

The laying of fibre optic cable in the region began in November 2009, with the goal of connecting major urban centres on the East and Southern African such as Nairobi, Kenya; Arusha, Tanzania; and Darfur, Somalia.³⁰⁷ The laying of the fibre optic cables continues, but most of the region, and the continent as a whole, continues to rely on limited copper wiring infrastructure, making it difficult to connect government and citizens. As noted in a 2011 study by Williams, Mayer and Minges, ‘[T]he lack of suitable copper wireline infrastructure has not only limited access to broadband internet but also increased the role of wireless infrastructure in providing such access…’.³⁰⁸ The basic infrastructure that enables connectivity is weak, and affordable internet access is also

307 East African Submarine Cable System, ‘EASSY Milestones’, EASSy, accessed 26 October 2014, http://www.eassy.org/milestones.html.

308 Mark D. J. Williams, Rebecca Mayer, and Michael Minges, Africa’s ICT Infrastructure: Building on the Mobile Revolution, Directions in Development- Infrastructure (Washington D.C.: World Bank, 2011)., 7.

limited. Williams, Mayer and Minges also found that average broadband costs on the African continent were $92 USD (£59) for a monthly subscription, making it prohibitive for the average African citizen to afford internet access, as monthly income can range from £13 to £142.³⁰⁹

In the author’s experience, the ability to procure hardware, like computers and computer parts, is also a concern. Computer hardware and software can be expensive, especially as most of these materials come from outside the African continent. Materials have to be ordered and imported. The import tariffs placed on hardware and software make it difficult even for those people making good salaries to afford to have computers in their homes. And maintenance of those systems is costly and difficult.

A particular experience the author encountered, while anecdotal, demonstrates the challenge. While working in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the author learned from local residents, who had well-paid positions with an international organisation, that the cost of acquiring computer technology was prohibitively expensive, as import tariffs were sometimes as much as 30% of the cost of the computers themselves. If an individual paid £600 for a laptop, they would be faced with an additional £180 charge in import tariffs. The difficulty of acquiring technology is compounded when that technology requires repairs. In another example identified during a project site visit to Burundi, the author noted that the National Archives had received a donation of a microfilm reader and dehumidifier. Unfortunately, a short time after receiving the donation, the

309 Williams et al, Africa’s ICT Infrastructure., 4. See Living Wage Indicator Organisation:

http://www.wageindicator.org/main/salary/living-wage/living-wage-map. Prices on the site are calculated according to local currencies or in Euros. The figures provided come from data on Tanzania and Kenya, and the conversion to GBP was calculated on 24 February 2015. According to Living Wage, the minimum monthly wage range in Tanzania is between €18-184 (£13-135), whereas in Kenya the minimum monthly wage rage is between

€43-194 (£32-142)

equipment broke, but the National Archives could not afford to purchase the parts needed to complete repairs.³¹⁰ The equipment was rendered useless as a result.

The inability of citizens and governments to afford the computer hardware and other technologies needed for internet access, including affordable broadband services, essentially renders government initiatives like e-Government impossible to implement.

In her thesis on the management of electronic records in the governments of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, Segomotso Keakopa observed that neither the general public nor government employees could access e-Government services.

While great importance has been attached to the computerisation of government services, the majority of employees and the general public still cannot access these services electronically either because they have no access to the facilities in their areas or because they are not trained to use the

technology.³¹¹

Keakopa’s research demonstrates that computerisation may not be having the desired development results. If government employees, who ostensibly would need to operate the system to input or retrieve information, do not have, or do not know how to use, the technology, the overall effectiveness of ICT systems and initiatives is seriously

compromised.

Although foreign donor policies have sought to improve both

telecommunications infrastructures and access to information, these policies often do not take into account the complexities of operating in resource-restricted environments, making success extremely difficult.

310 Research notes from Aligning Records Management for Information Communication Technology, e-Government and Access to Information in the East African Community.

311 Keakopa, ‘The Management of Electronic Records'., 254.