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Debate
A study of the Worldwatch Institute, that was presented in Washington, USA, in May 2000, points out that Africa is in practice completely 'offline', while almost 40% of the US population uses the internet regularly. Throughout the world the amount of people which are connected to the world wide web reaches 4%.
LOLApress
documents here a debate among African journalists that occurred as part of the
Rhodes New Media Lab's Computer-Assisted Reporting Programme held in Grahamstown,
South Africa, and organised by the Nordic-SADC (Southern African Development
Community) Journalism Centre in Maputo, Mozambique.
This article was first published in Rhodes Journalism Review, December 1999.
Confidence trick?
The pros and cons of the Internet in Africa
A group of African journalists debate whether the Internet is just a 'con', or if it really brings benefits to the continent.
Miriam Zimba (Zambia):
Africa needs the Internet. Africa jumped on the bandwagon realising how effective
phones, T.V. and radios were for the dissemination of information. But while
we appreciate telephones and faxes as a mode of communication, these tools are
very expensive for most Africans. That is where the Internet comes in - it is
cheaper.
Daliso Mwale (Zambia):
Africa does not need Internet. The evolution of the Net was necessitated by
the fact that the West, with its fears for the Cold War, wanted a system where
data that could be communicated at any point even if one point was done in.
That was a typical military approach and it has not changed much.
With the coming of the Internet, it is no longer necessary for the West to have
costly operatives in different countries. All they have
to do is encourage the whole world to put their vital statistics on
the Net, and access them without having to pay anyone. In that
light, the Internet is a tool to propagate neo-colonialism.
Miriam Zimba:
Why don't we as Africans make an impact as well on the Internet,
make our presence felt, and become information providers? If Africa
participated fully on the Internet by putting up our own
information, the West could end up embracing African values.
Frazer Mweemba (Zambia):
The reason Africa needs the Internet is not because the West is dictating to
Africans what they should do. When you look at the African family, you'll find
that there is a web type of communication. Let me cite an example from where
I come from: I'm weTonga, and wherever I am in Zambia if I come across someone
with a name heard in the area where I come from, I would be interested to find
out more about that person. When I find out more about that person, I'll link
him somewhere to where I come from. It is the same model as the Net. Africa
can use the Internet to do so many things. For instance, let us look at our
universities in Africa which are deprived of materials and books. With the Internet,
we can do all forms of research which before was difficult.
Daliso Mwale:
But Internet is a system which dilutes human interaction. People just talk over
the computer and they do not meet face to face to put human feelings in what
they agree to do. Therefore, going back to our Africanness, African values,
the Net does not promote Africanness. I want to believe that Africa has potential
to develop a parallel system of communication that is going to work for Africa
without having to deal with the Internet.
Catherine Mwewa (Namibia):
At the level we've reached, Internet is not a priority. We have a lot of vices
we need to deal with before we can spend our small resources on the Internet
just for the sake of communication. When we look at the way people are suffering
in the rural areas, it would be unfair to import computers just to meet the
standards of the West.
Furthermore, if you look at the Internet it's too Americanised. When you are
doing research, when you are looking at information about Africa, you won't
easily access it.
Frazer Mweemba:
The Information Revolution offers Africa a dramatic opportunity to leap ahead
into the future, breaking out of decades of stagnation or decline. If African
countries cannot surf this great wave of technological change, we may be crushed
by it and become more economically stagnant than we are today. Human rights
and democracy also thrive on a good telecommunications infrastructure. If you
go on the Internet, you find different organisations, different governments,
parties trying to air themselves. UNITA, people whom we label as rebels, have
a site on the Internet.
Raphael Tenthani (Malawi):
The Internet is not one of our priorities because its impact is negligible.
The majority of those with access to the Internet in Africa are not actually
Africans. In Malawi, of every 20 Internet users, roughly 15 are aid workers
and people like them. So although the Internet has come to Africa, it has not
necessarily benefitted Africans themselves.
Raphael Mweninguwe (Malawi):
The danger with this Internet animal is that it has brought some immoral behaviour
amongst our cultures - spurred in part by Internet porno which is corrupting
the minds of Africans. What the West is doing is just creating employment for
its citizens. Each time they come up with a new technology that is exported
to Africa, they send their staff here.
Herbert Macha (Zambia):
It is very clear that a country with high levels of technology and communication
is far more economically developed that one that is less advanced in communications.
Let us look at communication as a tool for development. You may argue that only
the elite would benefit - that is not true. The fact that the economic development
can trickle down to the lowest levels is a benefit.
Jerome Ngitu:
We all know that information is power. He who has information, has got power
over the others who have not. Since this technology is highly elitist, the elite
will have this information which they will use to exploit the majority of the
people.
Herbert Macha:
It's utopian to think that the Internet would be accessible to every African.
But we should think about the multiplier effect that the Internet is going to
have for Africa. The more people have access to this Internet, the more we will
get information disseminated.
Miriam Zimba:
Africa's' level of education is already low. By completely shutting out the
Internet, the African won't have access to the outside world. In my language,
we have a saying: "The child that never travels thinks that mum is the
best cook". When you talk about retardation of African culture you must
look back to where we've come from. With the advent of certain Western cultural
values, we have done away with some of the archaic African cultures where women
were being sold.
Catherine Mwewa:
The Internet can enhance democratic principles. In Zambia, the paper that was
first to go onto the Internet was a privately-owned newspaper. And what, did
the government do? They had to try to ensure that the state-owned newspapers
were also on Internet. African governments have not taken a pro-active role
in promoting information technologies. But if they want to enhance democracy,
they should go ahead and promote the Internet.
This debate occurred as part of the Rhodes New Media Lab's Computer-Assisted Reporting Programme held in Grahamstown, South Africa, and organised by the Nordic-SADC (Southern African Development Community) Journalism Centre in Maputo, Mozambique. This article was first published in Rhodes Journalism Review, December 1999.