Yet another African summit on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was held last week in Mauritius. Again, the political and business elites depicted this sector as the Holy Grail for the continent. In their lyrical optimism, development and prosperity will be achieved through expansion in the ICT field. But, the prevalence of war, dictatorship, disease and poverty does not get a mention, as if technology and society are two mutually exclusive domains. The logistical mountain that Africa has to climb, before ICT puts food on the plates of its poor, is a daunting one, even if we allow for this industry’s relative youth.

The “digital divide” remains as wide as ever on the African continent. According to the World Resources Institute, 80% of the world population has never made a phone call. While Africa makes up 12% of the world population, it uses only 2% of its telephone lines. These figures are incongruous with the confident exuberance of our leaders on the ICT question. If the telephone, a pioneering invention in the field, is not yet established on the African soil, digital technologies are just rumours for the laity.

In fact, the statistics for PC-ownership and Internet use in Africa compare miserably with Occidental standards. While there are 311.2 PCs per 1000 people in the developed world, Sub-Saharan Africa claims only 7.5 per 1000 and only 0.7 per 1000 in countries like Mali. Even countries boasted of as examples in the region, South Africa and our ubiquitous “guru”, India, display the same anorexic appetite for the Internet among their population. In 2000 only 3% of South Africans and a mere 0.16% of Indians were Internet users. By contrast, 41% of U.S citizens “surfed” the “net” the same year.

Furthermore, a number of perennial problems impinge on ICT progress in Africa. AIDS, malaria and diarrhoea are slowly depleting the population. The United Nations estimates that some Sub-Saharan countries like South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe have HIV-infection rates of nearly 30%, while nearly half a million children die of measles annually. Malaria, thought to have been eradicated, is on the rise again according to this organisation. The prospects of Africa look very gloomy in the light of these figures. AIDS threatens its workforce by killing the young and active members of society. Africa could see its economy choke to a decreased rate of growth if the disease continues unchecked.

<B>Pressing issues for African continent</B>

To compound Africa’s problems, the literacy rate is situated at 60% in the latest UNDP (United Nations Development Program) report. Not enough for countries aiming for a “knowledge economy”. As Africa’s poor are concentrated in its rural areas, wealth inequality will only be exacerbated by a premature development of the ICT sector. Those calling for swift changes, to accommodate Western companies preying on cheap labour, should first address issues of human development. Health and education, in which Africa’s performance is abysmal, should be prioritised to avert further humanitarian disasters.

With the World Bank estimating that 240 million Africans live on less than $1 a day, poverty is still a grim reality. The economic depression that followed the early promises of decolonisation has constrained a large majority of people to concen themselves uniquely with the business of daily survival. For this voiceless class, “building partnerships in ICT” is not remotely beneficial to them. Access to agricultural land and water are a priority in a region where life below the poverty line is all too common. Besides, Africa cannot allow itself to be eternally dictated to by organisations like the IMF. It must deal with pressing issues that threaten the lives of its citizens.

The government of Mauritius, rightly or wrongly, often blames foreign interference for our lacklustre economic performance. ICT will bring even more Western meddling in African affairs. The World Bank has already financed numerous projects. With it comes the package of conditions that every cash recipient must follow. These have included privatisation and free-market liberalism. Often, these measures have proved counterproductive, especially when it comes to the impoverished, and prejudicial to the country’s social, cultural and political needs. In Mauritius and elsewhere in Africa, the gap between rich and poor has been steadily widening and capitalism has not shown a propensity to reverse the trend.

Destitution has also led to political and social apathy. No wonder that Africa has known so many despotic rulers over the years. In South Africa, one of the richest in the region, poverty and wealth inequality has destabilised the social fabric of country. Violent crime has earned Johannesburg the notoriety of being one of the most dangerous cities on the planet. The ICT sector cannot perform in environments where repression thrives. For example, the “Postal and Telecommunications Bill” in Zimbabwe requires government approval for any information that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) wish to publish on the World Wide Web. Such reactionary laws must be disposed of before Africa seeks any venture down the telecommunications avenue.

However, the spread of ICT has still brought some benefits. Improved communications have made Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) more efficient and allowed them to coordinate their work. ICT has also created employment. While Mauritius has not yet reached the government’s initial target of 20 000 new jobs, qualified labour entering the market will eventually vindicate a second cyber tower. In the short run, job creation will profit the economic and social climate in any country.

But who is set to gain the most from this multimillion industry? Will wealth be equally distributed in society? The lessons from the fields and the factories, the old economy, taught us scepticism towards promised riches. In the end, only a handful at the top benefits the most. The money is siphoned off to international money markets or billion dollar merger deals, without being invested in social projects that could save lives. Presently, for many on the African continent, subsisting is more important than the pompous announcements emanating from ICT conferences.

<B>Diren Valayden

Outlook correspondent in Dublin</B>