Pact Zambia

Bridging the Technology

Divide in Zambia

The growth of ICTs in, or despite, a

declining economy

Se yc he lle s

Tro p ic o f C a p ric o rn

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I9 9 3 M A G E L L A N G e o g ra p h ix S M S a n ta B a rb a ra , C A (8 0 0 ) 9 2 9 -4 M A P

R ed S ea

C a n c e r

Ni l e

Sikamena SiyumbwaICT Manager, Pact Zambia

Pact Zambia

The Great Contradiction

Zambia is poor, getting poorer and losing valuable professionals to HIV/AIDS

Zambia is making steady progress in the take-up of ICTs & benefiting from them

Pact Zambia

Oases of ICT progress (Endogenous knowledge...!)

Online transactions: Introduced in the last two years; Visa only in the last yearVery little e-commerce within Zambia

Cell phonesHigh growth but limited mostly to well-off; multiple phones from different providers

Internet cafés spreading rapidlyCosts have come down from $6 to $1.50 per hourStill too expensive to use except for email

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Oases of ICT progress

Banks and other financial institutions

New telecommunications companies

University and ICT depts in government

Newly privatised companies

Internet Service Providers

Cadre of self-taught and trained ICT consultants (worst teachers)

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Basic Zambian ICT stats

Telephone mainlines per 1,000, 1990 8

Telephone mainlines per 1,000, 2001 8

Cellular subscribers per 1,000, 1990 0

Cellular subscribers per 1,000, 2001 11

Internet users per 1,000, 1990 0

Internet users (per 1,000 people), 2001 2.4

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How do we explain the contradiction?

Reasoning: are ICTs taking resources away from more critical work?

Are there opportunistic ICT practitioners taking advantage of chaos? (ref: lawyers: corruption trials; accountants: and liquidations)

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Government attempt to use and boost ICTs

Reduction of import duty on computers

ICTs are a tool to buy time from the expectant poor?

Government itself is not very good at ICTsData is years behind; statistics and public accounts.

Government usage of ICTs and networks is not up to modern standards

Government websites are disparate and not well-maintained.

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Poverty in Zambia

Special note: Zambia is currently ranked 163 on the UNDP Human Development Index; Zambia’s score has fallen for the last 20 years.

People living below $1/day 1990-2001 63%

Undernourished people, 1998/2000 50%

Children underweight under age 5, 95-2001 25%

Children under height under age 5, 95-2001 59%

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People living with HIV/AIDS, adults (age 15-49), 2001 21.52 %

Malaria cases (per 100,000 people), 2000 34,204 (34.2%)

Poverty factors in ZambiaHealth

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Poorest 10% 1.1%

Poorest 20% 3.3%

Richest 20% 56.6%

Poverty factors in ZambiaShare of income/consumption

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“Telkom’s stranglehold on the internet and value-added network services has been holding South Africa back…”

“Technology always runs ahead of the law, in our case the law has been used for far too long to protect the dominant incumbent, Telkom”

DA Shadow Communications Minister Dene Smuts.

Mail and Guardian, September 2, 2004

Wisdom in Hindsight

Pact Zambia

Features of ICT transfer models

Top-down; north-south; northern solutions for southern problems

Passing this methodology to trainers of trainers

Sustainability demands applied to skills and information but not equipment and engineering

Necessary importation of ICT infrastructure worsens balance of payments or trade.

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ICTs boost development

ICT Policy in 2001

Infomobilisation: Achieve development through community telecentres

extending and intensifying existing pro-poor development programmes

Nepal experience

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Nepal experience

empowering village communities with capacities for:

using ICTs for communication

accessing information resources

deploying information effectively within their development activities

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Nepal experience

providing useful information under intended initiatives comprising six theme areas that have been identified by government:

Agricultural information

Distance learning

Telemedicine

Productive economic activities

Environment protection

Natural disaster mitigation.

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Zambian experience

IICD and CopperNET: mixed success.

Could there be other factors leading to success?

Human rights approach

Good governance

Infrastructure needed (who funds it?)

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Zambian experience

Focus on regulation

Responsibility with ministry of communications

Consultation at formulation restricted to invited parties

ICT policy draft still in public domain, but discussion is lukewarm

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Zambian experience and vision

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Appropriate Technology

Sometimes the obvious solution is not the right one

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Perspectives / solutions

South African ICT Charter approachStronger capacity

Better infrastructure

Redistribute rights to access

Combine with Nepal experience

Integrated approach needed across portfolios

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Donors can better help

Get in now while there is still room to push envelopeIntegrate ICT assistance into mainstream development workVery basic competence has to be built

IT in basic education curriculumICT teachers to be trained Better consultation on needs