Community Information Centres: Seeking ICT relevancy in rural Africa

Lazarus Sauti

Countries within and across the great African continent are still far behind in strategic utilisation and management of information. This is so because the provision of information services in Africa has been dispersed and access to various information services has become more difficult.

Sadly, the principal victims of poor access to information are rural people. This is despite the fact that rural communities require information, inter alia, on supply of inputs, new technologies, early warning systems (drought, pests and diseases), credit, and market prices.

Thus, African countries should embark on serious current awareness exercise through the provision of information.

Collence Chisita, researcher in the field of information management, says creating awareness through provision of information services to rural people should become an essential component if the African continent is to develop and compete with other continents.

He believes that community information centres provide an enabling environment for researchers and other research users to seek accurate, quality and vital information that is relevant to various communities.

Manir Abdullahi Kamba, an Information Scientist, also believes the creation of community information centres narrows the technological gap between urbanites and the rural population in the continent of Africa.

Furthermore, Kamba says community information centres provide the African continent with potential to ensure that knowledge and information are very important ingredients for achieving meaningful economic transformation.

“The least expensive inputs for rural socio-economic development are information and knowledge. They are basic ingredients of making one to be self-reliant and thus, are essential for facilitating rural development and bringing about social and economic change,” remarked Kamba.

The information scientist urged African countries to promote the role of information through the establishment of innovative community information centres so as to strengthen and empower the rural people to be among global players in the knowledge-based economy.

“Establishing community information centres provides opportunities for rural community development,” Kamba said, adding that the development of any rural community is a positive indicator for the development of a nation.

The presence of one or more healthy and active community information centres represents a vital mechanism for fostering and maintaining an informed, engaged, and literate public.

In order to empower and strengthen the rural people in the digital age and to maximise their potentials, they must be equipped with the necessary skills to gain benefits from being informed citizens.

Therefore, it is the mandate of all stakeholders in the science and development, information and communication fraternity to ensure that rural communities have the access and ability to use information and communication technology to obtain and use information effectively.

Development planners, such as policy decision makers, and key managers in both public and private sectors, have a fundamental responsibility also to support information systems in ways that propagate information to play an important role in the development process.

It is therefore imperative for African governments through relevant ministries, and other development players to actively mobilise rural communities to fully realise, utilise and appreciate the value of information in their development.

More so, library and information professionals, as custodians of knowledge and information, should play a critical role in the promotion and establishment of community information centres in the African continent.

Chisita notes: “Community information centres should be manned by properly trained library and information personnel as they are well versed with matching library services and community information needs.

“Information centres, public libraries, and other rural libraries should, therefore, take initiatives to create unique content preparation programmes, and they should concentrate on specific areas of information in their content preparation programme.”

It is also critical for governments to fund for equipping and furnishing the already existing information resource centres, and to clear obstacles such as inadequate road and transport systems, cultural and linguistic diversity, and unequal social and educational levels.

Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier services agrees that there is an urgent need to fund community information centres to ensure their survival.

In a report, the committee also said developing appropriate policies and strategies that enhance provision of ICT, telecommunications, postal and courier services would make development targets achievable.

“There is need to develop an enabling environment for the creation of a knowledge-based society that transgresses across all levels of society,” said the report.

Frankly, access to information by rural communities in the continent of Africa will serve as a panacea to the problems that have for a long time existed and hindered Africa from exploiting her potential. Therefore, there is need to refocus on the role of information in rural community development and information and communication technology as a development tool.