Digital Development in East Africa: The Distribution, Diffusion, and Governance of Information Technology (Information Technology and Global Governance)

This book uses comparative case study methodology and extensive field work to examine and compare outcomes of four East African nations (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda) that implemented formal Information and Communications Technology policies in the 1990s. Based on extensive fieldwork, the book assesses the emergence of a new policy and technological arena from the turn of the millennium to the present. In addition to tracing the implementation and reception of these policies, Bowman considers to what extent the politics of infrastructure in four connected but distinct African nations have resulted in global participation and equitable distribution and access of infrastructure to all citizens, as well as the impact a recent history of war or peace have on the technological outcomes in these communities. The book provides us with invaluable new data on how policy and politics function in emerging democracies, and illuminates long-overlooked opportunities and conditions necessary for the distribution of new and potentially beneficial technologies in other developing countries. Foreword Acknowledgments Contents About the Author Abbreviations List of Tables 1 (Introduction): The Project of Managing, Regulating, and Implementing ICT in East Africa Purpose of the Book Unpacking Information Technology Policy Summary of Methodology Broader Impacts and Significance of This Research Analytical Approach The Project of Regulating, Managing, and Distributing ICT Policy Infrastructure Institutions and Organizations Overview of ICTs in Development Conclusion: Designing and Distributing Technological Systems Notes Bibliography 2 The Policy Paradox: Why ICT Outcomes in East Africa Do Not Reflect Conventional Wisdom Explaining ICT Policy Success Technology as a Political Resource Science and Technology as Political Agents Technology as a Resource and as a Representation Technology Helps to Build and Maintain the “Winning Coalition” Puzzles and Divergences Measuring and Explaining Policy Success Applying the Indicators Conclusion Notes Bibliography 3 The Introduction of ICT Policies into East Africa The Discourse of Development International Origins of ICT Policy in East Africa Rwanda: Top-Down, External Control Tanzania UNECA-NICI E-ThinkTankTz Digital Opportunity Task Force Creating the Multi-Sectoral Steering Committee Uganda Kenya Conclusion Notes Bibliography 4 Tanzania: Technological Lessons from the Past Introduction Tanzania’s Development History and Encounters with Modernization The History of Computing in Tanzania: 1965–1990 Tanzania’s ICT Policy Implementation of Tanzanian ICT Plan: Cautious but Bold Tanzania’s Normative ICT Policy Goals Narrow Scope of Implementation, Limited Distribution, Emphasis on Sustainability Connecting the Bush: Tanzanian Tele-Center Initiative “Serikali-Mtandao”: Networking Government ICT and Agriculture in Tanzania Mobile Telephony and Agriculture in Tanzania Tele-Centers and Agriculture Advances in ICT Infrastructure in Tanzania TEAMS, SEACOM, and EASSY Chinese Investment in ICT Infrastructure in Tanzania ICT in Higher Education in Tanzania Conclusion Notes Bibliography 5 Kenya: Innovation Without Distribution Introduction Explaining Policy Variation Policymaking, Telecommunications, and ICT in Kenya Kenyan Politics and Telecommunications: 1950–1979 Kenyan Politics and Telecommunications: 1979–1992 Kenyan Politics and ICTs from 1992 to 2002 Kenyan Politics and ICTs: 2002–2009 Discussion of Universal Access and the ICT Bill Kenyan Politics and ICTs: 2009–2013 Kenyan Politics and ICTs: 2016–2022 Statutes, Agencies, Policies and Institutions Building the Internet Backbone in Kenya Distribution of ICTs in Public Facilities Konza City Cellular Telephony in Kenya Mobile Money in Kenya Analysis of ICT Implementation in Kenya Process Explaining Kenya’s ICT Outcomes The Role of Donors Kenyan Civil Society and the Private Sector Democracy, Peace and Technology Conclusion Notes Bibliography 6 Uganda: Distribution in the Shadow of Surveillance Explaining ICT in Uganda: The Historical, Political, and Policy Context Government in Uganda: After State Collapse, a Stable Hybrid Regime Emerges How External Donors Shaped ICT Policy Analyzing Motivations: Explanatory Political Variables Analyzing Successes: What is Going Right? Cyberoptimism: Visions Realized Deployment of ICTs in Education and Health Facilities Analyzing Challenges: Failures and Warnings Challenges to Sustainability of ICT Infrastructure in Government Facilities Cyber-Pessimism: Using ICT in Uganda for Surveillance and Control and Suppression Conclusion Notes Bibliography 7 Rwanda: Rebuilding a Digital State from the Ashes of Genocide Introduction Past and Future Embedded Hierarchy: Centralization as an Artifact of History A Phoenix from the Ashes? the Reconstruction Government Dreaming of a Rebuilt Nation Getting ICT on the Agenda “Flying Geese” Versus “Utopian Computing” Citizen Participation in ICT PolicyMaking Equity, Education, and Human Resource Capacity in Rwanda Freedom, Democracy, and ICTs in Rwanda Conclusion: Constructing Alternative Imaginaries Notes Bibliography 8 ICT Infrastructure, Governance, and Telephony in Comparative Perspective Introduction Overview of ICT Access in East Africa Institutions, Regulations, and Statutes Regarding ICT in East Africa Legislative Framework for the ICT Sector Governmental Entities in the ICT Sector Universal Service and Access Funds in East Africa Kenya’s Universal Service Fund (USF) Tanzania’s Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF) Rwanda’s USAF Uganda’s RCDF ICT Infrastructure in East Africa Strengthening the Internet Backbone in East Africa ICT Infrastructure in Kenya ICT Infrastructure in Uganda ICT Infrastructure in Tanzania Foreign Investment in Tanzania’s ICT Infrastructure National Governance of the ICT Sector in Tanzania ICT Infrastructure in Rwanda National Governance of the ICT Sector in Rwanda Mobile Telephony in East Africa Competitiveness of the Mobile Market Mobile Money Affordability of the Mobile Market The Economic Impact of ICTs in East Africa Conclusion Notes Bibliography 9 (Conclusion) ICT in East Africa: A Shimmering Oasis on the Savannah Technology as Politics ICT as a Sociotechnical Imaginary The Role of Donors ICT as Political Pork ICT as Modernity Twenty Years of Progress Universal Service and Universal Access Mobile Telephony and Competitiveness Governance and Infrastructure in Rural Areas Foreign Investment in ICT Infrastructure in East Africa Artifacts, Connected Systems, or Chaos Contribution to the Literature Cyberoptimism Cyberpessimism Bibliography Index This book uses comparative case study methodology and extensive field work to examine and compare outcomes of four East African nations (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda) that implemented formal Information and Communications Technology policies in the 1990s. Based on extensive fieldwork, the book assesses the emergence of a new policy and technological arena from the turn of the millennium to the present. In addition to tracing the implementation and reception of these policies, Bowman considers to what extent the politics of infrastructure in four connected but distinct African nations have resulted in global participation and equitable distribution and access of infrastructure to all citizens, as well as the impact a recent history of war or peace have on the technological outcomes in these communities. The book provides us with invaluable new data on how policy and politics function in emerging democracies, and illuminates long overlooked opportunities and conditions necessary for the distribution of new and potentially beneficial technologies in other developing countries.