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Nurturing Information and Communications Technology in Africa
(Humanities Research Forum, 2004-06-01) Yumba, Dickson
Information is a very important asset that must be managed in order to enhance its creation, sharing and application for the sustenance of society. This view arises from the globally accepted fact that information is an essential ingredient in the socio-economic development process of any society. There is no sector or economic activity that can function effectively without information. The advent and application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized information-handling activities to an appreciable sophisticated level. In the wake of ICTs development, Africa finds herself on the other side of what has come to be termed the Digital Divide. She lags behind the industrial societies in acquisition and application of ICTs and subsequently the benefits thereof for various reasons. The paper asserts that a conducive environment to promote and sustain the growth and development of ICTs must be created if Africa is to benefit fully from ICTs. The paper suggests steps that can be taken to nurture ICTs: creating a permanent official coordinating agency that would be responsible for all aspects that relate to ICTs and formulate a national policy as a means of strengthening national ICTs capabilities.