Thursday, April 13, 2006
Nepotism and Africa
"I asked to whom the contract was given. They said no one really knew, but rumors had it that it went to the Minister's son. "Which Minister?" I asked. "The Minister of Science and Technology," they replied. "But did the Internet connection work in the past?" "Yes, it did. Then we used a dial-up connection. But since our bills rose beyond our means, the telephone company came and removed the phone lines." -Chippla
Over a couple of pitchers at PHI last night, Benjamin ( a former Peace Corps. trainee to Lesotho) and I conversed about, amongst other myriad things, the obstacles involved in integerating technologies into developing communities. While addressing the alarmingly low absorption rates of most Africant nations, a few things became obvious. The prerequisite to the creation of an information-based economy is the existence of an efficient telecommunications infrastructure. Apparently, there are only about 2 main telephone lines per 100 persons in Africa, compared with 7 in Asia, 10 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 in Europe and 66 in the United States.
Though most African nations do have internet links, access is retricted to major cities and thanks to the inefficiency of telephone services it is quite expensive making it available to only the elite few who have the funds. The montly cost of an internet account in Africa is estimated to be about seven times higher than that in North America.
Dismal statistics aside, there is unique hope to improve the situation assuming the appropriate steps are taken, and efficient management isn't crippled by nepotism and corruption. A publication I recently read from the techbridge initiative that corelates to a speech recently given by the Secretary General of the OAU talks about how countries built with pre-digital technology , with little networking between broadcasting, wireless, and point-to-point communications are faced with a mammoth task of updating their telecommunications technologies. The lack of even the basic, now obsolete technology in Africa could prove to be useful in the adoption of the latest technologies without having to deal with this additional burden. The proposition here suggests the continent could leapfrog decades of development in this area.
Easier said than done. Chippla's post presents reality for what it is. Whether talking infrastructure development, FDI, sequencing and pacing or security, proper governance and all the other mantras that stem from this community, the ubiquitous obstacle that has the capacity to stall any effort is corruption. So deeply engrained is it into society that it is you who stands out for not conforming to what is a norm. What you are now fighting against is a mindset; a way of life;an accepted norm.
The fact that it is accepted for a foreign expatriot roaming the streets of Lagos to take advantage of the system by doling out a 100 Naira bill to the street cop just so he won't be hassled. Or how about the speculation that suggests that 80% of the Nigerian Government's revenue comes directly from oil, over half of which is from Shell, keeping in mind that most of those funds are embezzled and that any opposition to this "way of life" is quickly silenced or bought out. Like Chippla says, "morality is then defined by what the majority sees, even if the majority happens to be mad."
Over a couple of pitchers at PHI last night, Benjamin ( a former Peace Corps. trainee to Lesotho) and I conversed about, amongst other myriad things, the obstacles involved in integerating technologies into developing communities. While addressing the alarmingly low absorption rates of most Africant nations, a few things became obvious. The prerequisite to the creation of an information-based economy is the existence of an efficient telecommunications infrastructure. Apparently, there are only about 2 main telephone lines per 100 persons in Africa, compared with 7 in Asia, 10 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 37 in Europe and 66 in the United States.
Though most African nations do have internet links, access is retricted to major cities and thanks to the inefficiency of telephone services it is quite expensive making it available to only the elite few who have the funds. The montly cost of an internet account in Africa is estimated to be about seven times higher than that in North America.
Dismal statistics aside, there is unique hope to improve the situation assuming the appropriate steps are taken, and efficient management isn't crippled by nepotism and corruption. A publication I recently read from the techbridge initiative that corelates to a speech recently given by the Secretary General of the OAU talks about how countries built with pre-digital technology , with little networking between broadcasting, wireless, and point-to-point communications are faced with a mammoth task of updating their telecommunications technologies. The lack of even the basic, now obsolete technology in Africa could prove to be useful in the adoption of the latest technologies without having to deal with this additional burden. The proposition here suggests the continent could leapfrog decades of development in this area.
Easier said than done. Chippla's post presents reality for what it is. Whether talking infrastructure development, FDI, sequencing and pacing or security, proper governance and all the other mantras that stem from this community, the ubiquitous obstacle that has the capacity to stall any effort is corruption. So deeply engrained is it into society that it is you who stands out for not conforming to what is a norm. What you are now fighting against is a mindset; a way of life;an accepted norm.
The fact that it is accepted for a foreign expatriot roaming the streets of Lagos to take advantage of the system by doling out a 100 Naira bill to the street cop just so he won't be hassled. Or how about the speculation that suggests that 80% of the Nigerian Government's revenue comes directly from oil, over half of which is from Shell, keeping in mind that most of those funds are embezzled and that any opposition to this "way of life" is quickly silenced or bought out. Like Chippla says, "morality is then defined by what the majority sees, even if the majority happens to be mad."
# posted by Surya Swamy : 8:16 AM
