A lack of infrastructure funding is retarding rural telecentre
proliferation in African information and communication technology (ICT).
Experts told delegates at an ITC conference in Lusaka, Zambia, that
private companies and donor institutions drip-feed telecentre
development. Oumy Ndiaye, the manager of the Technical Centre for
Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA), said telecentre pilot projects
"had been carried out for many years but no effort is being made to
scale up telecentres, with real ownership by the community".
Telecentres provide access to ICT and supply business and market
information to rural populations. The lack of sustainability has been
caused by poor access to connectivity infrastructure because internet
service providers and mobile communication companies are concentrated in
urban areas, says Ndiave.
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