IT Work - Data response

Read the article - "Women and information technology in Sub-Saharan Africa" by Dr Mayuri Odedra-Staub. (http://www.unu/edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu37we/uu37/we0s.htm)
In the section, Current status of information technology in Sub-Saharan Africa:

• Dr Odedra cites a number of infrastructural reasons for the lack of effective ICT. What are these?

Examples abound of systems that are simply not used because of the lack of secondary equipment, suitable electric power, or training. The spread of computers in Africa owes more to hard selling from manufacturers and vendors, the urge to keep up with the latest technology, donations from international assistance organizations (half of the computers in Africa acquired in the early 1980s were 'aid-donated'), self-interest, and pressure from computer professionals than to evidence of their successful use in solving real problems.

• What is identified as the most pressing need for Africa (in terms of ICT)?

They need programmers to create resources and programs for the local populace to use for their needs.

• How successful have computer-aid projects been?

They have not been that successful and many of them have failed due to the same reasons.

• Why have they failed?

There is a lack of IT Programmers in the countries that need them and many countries put huge taxes on imported goods to try to raise their currencies to gain more money, however this has stopped people buying in computers because of the massive prices which has stopped the Information Technology growth in those countries.

• What computer skills are identified as lacking?

Programming skills and general training, people who use computers in those countries have learnt what they know by playing around with different applications and no one knows how to do much else appart from use the things that the computers have come with. It is hard to learn how to program unless you have a basic understanding of what you are doing and what you are trying to achieve.

• What lack of business skills are identified as a major problem?

It is hard for people with no training to start using the business applications to there full purpose since they do not know what everything does. There needs to be some form of course that teaches people to use the computers more effieciently. This will allow them to do everything that the programs have been created to do and then some people who understand them easily will be able to go on and start programming there own stuff for the populace.