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Kenya: How the Internet May Be Used to Create Wealth in a Country
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The Nation (Nairobi)
10 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Andrew Limo
Nairobi
The technological advances in computing and other forms of telecommunication have for long been touted as the "enablers" we need to create wealth.
The internet, which is a product of the two inventions, is certainly a major driver of the 21st century economy, if only the benefits could reach all corners of the country and all people, rich or poor.
The universal access means that technology should not marginalise anyone simply because one cannot afford it or has no skills needed to tap into it.
But the situation today raises serious concerns: the inability by most people, especially the rural people, to access technology is further driving a wedge into the already widening rich-poor gap in Kenya.
A large portion of the population does not have the skills and money, the two key requirements in the journey to technological empowerment.
You may call it the digital divide or give it the latest euphemism in the industry, but what you would be saying is that technology entrenches socio-economic disparity within communities.
The computer age has given birth to a new era in which the greatest value is in the speed of connectivity (bandwidth), rather than the processing power or storage capacity.
The buzz word is no longer computing but communication. It is not surprising, therefore, that the use of data over computer networks is growing faster than the voice.
It is the same case with mobile phones - more and more people use the short message service (SMS) to communicate than they do to say "hello".
We even use the phone to transact cash (M-Pesa). Ingenuity is making us use the phone in many ways that we did not buy it for in the first place.
So if technology is important, how do we ensure everyday has access to it? The draft ICT Bill which was presented to Parliament last year and later withdrawn, proposes the establishment of universal access fund (UAC).
Interested parties in the sector - mobile phone firms, digital infrastructure developers, development partners and the Government would contribute to the fund, which is to be administered by Communication Commission of Kenya.
Even before this fund is established, CCK has come up with a good initiative in the name of a universal access plan. It is putting up community telecentres and school-based ICT training centres in the rural areas.
There are four such centres - in Koibatek, Kitui, Makueni and Bungoma - where one may go for the internet, ICT training, typing, printing, etc.
There are 16 school-based centres which are expected to serve the neighbouring communities as well.
In addition, the ICT Board is setting up digital villages in every constituency as pilot projects to showcase the use of ICT.
Although these access points are few and negligible on the national scale, they help in stimulating interest in ICTs and are therefore an important step towards making Kenya an information society.
Another critical area for success in the uptake of ICT is the building of a national fibre optic backbone. The hair-thin glass cables can handle huge traffic and are therefore economical in the long run.
The Government is laying fibre in a project called the National Backbone Fibre Infrastructure Project (NOFBI).
Private firms like the Kenya Data Network have also dug in some overland (terrestrial) fibre from Mombasa to Busia.
We are beginning to see "digital tentacles" spreading all over Kenya, waiting for the landing of the undersea backbone, the East African Marine Systems (TEAMS) to connect Kenya to the world through United Arab Emirates.
When this is done, the cost of the internet connectivity is expected to fall, thus encouraging people to do business even beyond the border.
Yet even with these elaborate interventions, the diffusion of technology may not take place. The strength of a network is determined by the number of users.
The benefits of the internet will not be realised through connectivity and affordability alone. People must change the culture of doing business.
They need not travel or post hard copies of documents when they can e-mail them. Someone must provide leadership in an organisation and give the decree that certain operations be conducted only online.
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The Government, on the other hand, must provide compelling content that give people reason to invest time and money in technology.
The internet begins to make sense when people apply for public jobs online, file tax returns and apply for licences from the comforts of their homes.
Without such pullers, the fibre optic cables remain spaghetti of hollow pipes.
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