Financial Support for the Field of ICTs in the Republic of the Congo

From the Abstract

This paper assesses the usefulness of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programmes in terms of economic and social development in the Republic of the Congo. It evaluates the problems associated with implementing ICT programmes and offers a list of potential solutions.

The paper finds that ICTs can have a positive and lasting influence on the economic and social development of Congo and argues that initiatives for projects in this domain are to be encouraged. However, in order for these projects to emerge, the following difficulties need to be resolved:

• limited human resources;
• the lack of investment in infrastructure;
• the high cost of access and hardware;
• the lack of dissemination of information;
• insufficient financing in the telecommunications sector, particularly in ICTs;
• even the local private sector Internet ventures remain concentrated in the two large cities. Rural areas are thus cut off from ICTs.

Recommendations:

• development plans in this area should take into account consumer needs, including those of NGOs, and work to lower costs for Internet and cell phone use;
• in acquiring human resources, there are a number of private schools teaching skills linked to computer services: analysis and programming, office secretariat, and network;
• relying on volunteers would be a solution to setting up an initial ICT strategy for NGOs, but this solution is limited by the fact that IT specialists want above all to be compensated. This problem will not be solved unless NGOs set aside the necessary funds, while also contributing to the project as did Doctors of Africa;
• without electricity, ICTs remain a dream for people living in rural areas. Some possibilities such as solar panels and batteries might be explored in order to reach a quick solution;
• if 76% of the NGOs in urban areas are saying that they lack information on projects and other information related to ICTs, this indicates a problem in the dissemination of information. This can be solved by organising a national information distribution circuit for NGOs: creating an Internet network integrating a website, a list of electronic discussion groups, a mailing list, and incorporating as well the use of cell phones and mail for NGOs in rural areas;
• the ICT development strategy for Congo will not prove effective unless the NGOs involve the government, the universities, and international organizations. With this in mind, extension campaigns to promote the potential of the Internet should be continued among NGOs in order to help them benefit from its resources.

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