By: Sakhisizwe Gcina
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has succeeded in placing ?Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Developing Countries? on the United Nations (UN) agenda for the Rio +20 Summit on sustainable development. ITU wants access-to-broadband-internet to be considered a basic human right in Africa.
ITU Deputy Secretary-General, Mr Houlin Zhao addressed delegates at the inaugural ICT Indaba 2012 and emphasised the need for greater broadband penetration in Africa, highlighting impending possibilities for development. ?In future, Africa may bypass Asia in many ICT areas,? said Zhao.
The major challenge is the fact that the majority of the African population has no access to broadband internet services which has hindered economic development. For those who have access, the cost is too steep.
The Africa-Asia partnership is therefore an investment for ICT infrastructure development on the continent, which can lead to job creation in the process whilst granting convenience in peoples? lives.
??Broadband has the power to transform the economy for development across all industries in Africa,? said Zhao.
ICTs affect development across the three pillars of the millennium goals which focus on social, economic and environmental sustainability. ?ICTs are the catalysts which accelerate progress towards the achievement of the millennium goals,? elaborated Zhao.
Although South Africa has a large digital divide, it remains the ICT ?powerhouse? on the continent, but Zhao emphasised the need to mobilise ICT development not only in the South African market but across the continent.
Africa?s biggest ICT contributor is the mobile internet service which has found a niche in the market. Businesses? objective is to reach three billion smart phone users in Africa by 2013. More than half of African consumers access the internet on their mobile devices. This has resulted in the proliferation of social media users on the continent creating ?an interconnected African community.?
Zhao contextualised the global perspective on the role ICTs play in society and the powerful role it could play in Africa?s socio-economic development. ?ICT is helping humanity come together across barriers of time and distance and this can help Africa become a crucial part of a competitive globalised community,? concluded Zhao.
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