John K. Abimanyi
23 June 2009
According to the recently read budget, used computers will no longer be seen in our shops after the three-month grace period has elapsed. Over the past decade, computer literacy has risen sharply. It is being taught in primary school, used in digital music and video businesses, in secretarial bureaus, and Internet cafes.
However, it's worth noting that most of these are used computers. Along the streets of Kampala, for every brand new computer displayed in a window, are 10 or more used computers piled up at another end. The cost of a brand new computer today ranges from Shs500,000 upwards while the used ones have been sold at as low as Shs100,000. It's this difference in price that Isaac Mutalya, who works at Net Café in Kireka, believes might discourage further starting up of similar ventures.
"We are all able to start these businesses because we can get computers at affordable prices. Now what will happen if everybody has to spend Shs1m if they are going to buy a computer? You need about 10 computers to start a café. Will poor people be able to open them if they don't have Shs10m?"
Mr James Wire, an IT specialist, says the ban will affect business dealers who have been surviving on used computers. "Some people will lose immediate revenue; some of them get those computers, free of charge after they are dumped here. Some businesses will also have to close and some people will lose jobs," he says. Schools are set to be one of the most affected groups. Because they use many computers, they will now have to spend more to get enough computers that will serve all students. Mr Wire says it will be like a death sentence to schools which can't afford new computers. However, it is not all gloom that comes with the ban. Among the positive steps that will result from it is the fact that it will put an end to dumping of products deemed no longer useful in developed countries to Uganda.
"In most developed countries, there is a lot of electronic waste and the cost of disposing off this waste is so high so they dump them here under the guise of charity," says Mr Wire. He adds that the used computers often do not work for a long time and when their time of usage is up, we are the ones stranded with the waste and we cannot export it elsewhere.
Similarly in March this year, the BBC World Service reported the findings of an investigation by the British Environmental Agency, Green Peace, which showed that West African countries were struggling to manage waste of used electronics that had been brought in to be sold as second hand items. It told of how a series of companies in the developed world had turned to African countries, especially in West Africa, as a dumping ground for their used electronics, most notably TV screens and computers. The report noted that some of the shipped products that were destined to be sold in African shops were found to be non-functional or missing parts and thus unusable from the very start and yet there was no option for shipping them back to Europe.
The same case can be said to apply in Uganda where for instance in many schools, "dead" computers that were sent as a form of charity, probably from other schools in the West, now consume space as they cannot be of use and neither can the schools dispose them off. Dr Fabian Nabugoomu, the Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology at Uganda Christian University, says that, the ban now gives us a chance to move with the times.
He argues that the technologies that applied in 2000 do not apply now. Instead of being held back by obsolete technologies that many secondhand computers use, we should embrace what is new.
Although secondhand computers might seem cheap at first, their subsequent costs are usually higher. Dr Nabugoomu says that, "When you buy a secondhand computer today because it is cheap, by the end of five years, you will have spent more money than a new one costs as you try to upgrade it."
Mr Wire also notes that, "Used computers look cheap initially but after you get it, you will realise you cannot find compatible parts for that computer and in the end, you have to look for a similar computer to get that part, which is a waste of time and money."
Despite the benefits of using new computers, there is no denying the price is still high. Dr Nabugoomu says that, "The question we should be asking the government now is where the affordable new computers are coming from!"
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The simple truth is that most of the population in developing countries cannot afford a computer. Reusing working used computers at low pricess offer access to IT to a huge swath of people all over the world.
We supply used computers from the UK to 52 countries across the world, including 14 in Africa. All of the equipment that we supply is between 2 and 6 years old and is fully functional. It sells at prices between 5% and 25% of new equipment. It is perfectly useable equipment in both commercial and personal environments with 40% of our product still… [Read Full Text]