Community information centres key to bridge the digital divide

Lazarus Sauti

The provision of information services in Zimbabwe is discrete, and as a result access to various information services is more difficult.

Sadly, the main victims of these developments are people living in rural parts of the country.

“Rural communities in the country compose the larger percentage of the population whose information and developmental needs are not adequately met. As a result, they are crippled to productively participate in national development processes,” affirmed Collence Chisita, an information specialist.

As information is key to development, Chisita said citizens in rural communities should be empowered with free-for-all access to information.

 “Unfettered access to information relevant to survival and for community building can enable people to participate in developmental issues. Accordingly, rural communities must be sanctioned with access to information,” he asserted.

The United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), concurs.

“Access to information is important. People need information to develop their potential through education and training, to succeed in business, to enrich their cultural experience, and to take control of their daily lives,” noted UNESCO, adding that information is a key contributor to the development of individuals and communities.

President Robert Mugabe is also of the notion that access to information will enable Zimbabweans to share information, and policy decision makers to link macro-economic policy-making to grassroots enterprises. 

Opening the first community information centre at Murombedzi in Zimba District mid last year, President Mugabe said, “Information and communication technology can avail information relevant for agricultural production, processing, marketing, transport, food storage, education, healthcare, disease control as well as environmental management.”

Like President Mugabe, Chisita believes that establishing more community information centres (locations which facilitate and encourage the provision of a wide variety of public and private information-based goods and services) is the only avenue for Zimbabwe to bridge the digital divide between remote and urban communities.

“The establishment of more community information centres can be the most effective way to ensure the free flow and access to information and empowerment of disadvantaged communities by providing relevant and up-to-date information,” he said.

Chisita also added that community information centres provide the country with an opportunity to document its culture.

“With careful planning, innovative community information centres have the capacity to incorporate indigenous knowledge as part of the information components,” he argued.

Sharing same sentiments, Manir Abdullahi Kamba, a researcher in the field of Library and Information Sciences, explained that promoting the role of information through the establishment of innovative community information centre will strengthen and empower the rural people to be among global players in the knowledge-based economy and also it will provide the opportunities for rural community development in general.

Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister, Hon. Supa Mandiwanzira, also agreed.

“Community information centres benefit many people including school pupils and teachers; they are desperately needed and are relevant in our society. They bring convenience to communities and schools that do not have the infrastructure,” he stated.

Hon. Mandiwanzira, therefore, said that the money channelled towards technology by Government should benefit the whole country and not just Harare as technology is helpful in various areas such as education.

For this to be realised, the Government and its agencies must have a careful and thorough understanding of the information needs, information-seeking behaviour, information services on top of the information systems of the rural communities.

Kamba asserted that the Government and its agencies must also have effective implementation picture that will make the rural dwellers to maximise the utilisation of information for their daily activities.

“It is therefore, desirable to understand the purpose for which information is required, the environment in which the user operates, users’ skills in identifying the needed information, channels and sources preferred for acquiring information, and barriers to information seeking and use,” said Kamba.

To effectively embrace and establish more community information centres, Hon. Mandiwanzira urged the private sector to support the ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services.

Chisita agreed: “The private sector should support government efforts in establishing more community information centres. Importantly, they must ensure that the right information is disseminated to citizens so as to enable them to make decisions that promote sustainable development.”

Without doubt, the establishment of more community information centres resonates well with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset), an economic blueprint, which treats communication especially information and communication technologies (ICTs) as one of the cornerstones for sustainable socio-economic growth.

According to Zim Asset, information is a building block that can trigger rural communities to fully participate in national development.