Universal access in Uganda
9
making (CTO & Panos, 2002; Hudson, 1997a; Robins, 2002; Garnham, 2000; Kayani &
Dymond, 1997; Cooper, 1996; Poullet, 2000).
In fact, participation in the information society is considered by some to be a
right, implying that every citizen “has to have access, at a reasonable price, to the
technical means necessary to be present in cyberspace, as well as access to certain digital
information” (Poullet, 2000, p. 37). ICTs not only facilitate the sharing of information
and the forging of connections among people, they also are “a link in the chain of the
development process itself” (Hudson, 2002, p. 371).
But there is also a widespread belief that the economic and social benefits from
investments in telecommunications and ICT are far from guaranteed. Sanatan and
Melody (1997) contend that the overly optimistic predictions about telecommunications
and ICT are “unduly superficial and often counterproductive” (p. 329) because previous
attempts to introduce “beneficial” technologies in developing countries were often
unsuccessful.
Although telecommunications and ICT are celebrated as vehicles for
development, some have warned that they can cause contradictory results concurrently.
Without the appropriate policies, goes the argument, ICTs are unlikely to yield the
anticipated improvements in equity, participation, and development (Howkins &
Valantin, 1997).
For example, Uganda was a testing ground for the first systematic attempts to
integrate ICTs into rural development in Africa. These initiatives were based on the
Multipurpose Community Telecentre (MCT) model, which was introduced in 1998 as
part of the African Information Society Initiative. Telecentres are widely viewed as
Convention