Ghana Community Information Centers (CiCs) e-Governance Success or Mirage?

Article type: Other

Authors: Awowi, Johanna Ekua

Affiliations: Center for e-Governance, Accra, Ghana and George Owusu, University of Ghana, Lagos. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Following the initial implementation of Information and Communication Technologies for development (ICT4D) projects in rural Africa, many did not yield the anticipated outcomes, and interest has been waning. People then began talking about "sustainable ICT" projects as projects which would become self-sufficient after their initial donor-led investment and set-up period. Beyond WSIS's broad objective for all nations, Ghana Government set its own clear cut and specific objectives to Community Information Centers (CICs) project, to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural dwellers in the country. They are to serve as training centers where acquisition of ICT skills and knowledge are provided for underprivileged people and also to bring government services online closer to the people at the grassroots. Is it true that rural Ghana does not want to connect with the rest of the world through information centers? This analysis is based on data collected from all known public records, reports, and other materials which were researched, and where possible, persons either directly involved with the project as administrators or users were interviewed. Common challenges or constraints facing project managers in sustaining the centers are also analyzed. It determines whether the use of mobile phones gaining in popularity for instance, support the popular rhetoric which has begun to question the need of ICTs or specifically, information centers, beyond the mobile phone; thereby making the centers redundant. Finally, the analysis makes suggestions for possible ways forward in terms of ICT diffusion in rural Ghana.

DOI: 10.3233/GOV-2010-0224

Journal: Journal of E-Governance, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 157-167, 2010