7th SWOPnet Forum held in Ngudu, Kwimba District 8th December, 2004.

Development processes in Kwimba, one of the oldest districts of Mwanza region, with a population of 300, 000, are taking place at a slow pace, much to the dissatisfaction of its residents.

According to the participants in the SWOPnet Forum held in Ngudu, the district's headquaters on 8th December, 2004, Kwimba is terribly lagging behind the rest of Mwanza's eight districts because it lacks almost all basic structures and facilities necessary for a country to function efficiently like information and communication, transport, water, health, education and administrative systems.

Adam Ndokeji, from SWOPnet Secretariat introducing SWOPnet to the participants.

The participants, most of whom were drawn from agriculture, education, NGOs and health sectors, expressed their concern that little was being done so far to make the general public become as sensitive to the saddening backward ness of Kwimba and blamed the leadership for the poor state of the district's infrastructures.

They were discussing a paper titled " How Information and Communication Technology can improve Agriculture in Kwimba District", presented by Emmanuel P. Kileo form the District Cotton Crop Inspectorate section.

In his presentation earlier on, the official emphasized the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) saying by getting correct information without delay about weather behaviour of a given locality, farmers can be able to choose types of seeds and plants to plant accordingly.

For example, he elaborated, if a weather forecast indicates that there will be heavy continous rain in the coming season, people will definitely be able to grow only those plants which require lot of water of drought resistant ones when there is not enough rain.

The presenter also described ICT as indispensable, particularly this time around for the farmers to keep abreast of trends of crop price in both local / internal markets, making it an important motivational factor. In this regard, he expressed his optimism that the procurement of a market in Tanzania's cotton in Vietnam will, indeed, encourage small holders to increase cotton production in the country now that they are assured of a guaranteed market etc.

Emmanuel Kileo, Kwimba District Cotton Inspector, discussing his paper to the participants

Moreover, Kileo said, farmers, by getting correct information at the right time about the price trends, would enable the themselves and livestock keepers to sell their respective commodities at a high price, citing the information (through an Internet) about price fluctuation during the on-going 2004/2005 cotton marketing season as an example; The presenter sad this had enabled the cotton growers to immediately sell their produce at sh 300/= per kilo adding that for those who did sell later on, cither for not getting the information at all or failing to heed it only found themselves compelled to sell their crop at a loss - about Tsh. 100 per kilo.

In conclusion he said it was, therefore, through communication that farmers can be able to get reliable information from local or foreign livestock/Agricultural Research Centres. Research findings on Livestock, crops and various types of Technologies must reach the target group (farmers) at the right time. "Information about inventions of better seeds of cereals, cotton etc or better dairy/beef cattle breeds is crucially important for farmers and livestock keepers but they are still reluctant to adopt modern / new crop and cattle husbandry" he added.

Stressing that the participants should not put the entire blame for Kwimba District's own failures on other people, Kileo said a remedy for all the short comings under discussion is the ICT, particularly through the use of an Internet which he described as the cheapest means of communication, which provides correct information at the right time and that by using it is able to get a lot of information at the shortest period of time and costing little money.

Some of the participants of the Kwimba Forum.

The 7th SWOPnet Participants, on their side, apparently after having realized where a myriad of development impediments facing Kwimba district originate, pleaded with the project donors for the establishment of either a Community Tele Centre or a Community Internet café in Ngudu Town, where the general public can learn more about ICT, precisely how to analyse information fed into a computer / internet.

In his welcoming speech, the SWOPnet Forum co coordinator, Mr. Adam Ndokeji said the project, funded by the International Information and communication Development (IICD) based in the Netherlands aims at giving the people an insight into what life the people an insight into what life nowadays would be like without this Information and communication Technological mystery.

For this very reason, he said, ICT Forums had been conducted in all districts of Mwanza region where the participants generally speaking then greeted with a considerable enthusiasm.

Joseph Msaki, SWOPnet Online Facilitator, introducing the email online discussing forum.

Talking at the same occasion, Mwanza Community Website, Joseph Msaki urged the participants to enter their Email addresses by filling in the special forms available on the web so that they can be able to use the online discussion forum communicating with other people all over the world, to discuss issues of development through the application of ICT.

The SWOPnet Forum, to say the least, had ended in success for Kwimba district - based participants totaling 26.

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6TH SWOPnet FORUM UKEREWE
19TH NOVEMBER, 2004.

The 6th SWOPnet forum took place in Ukerewe district as planned by the secretariat. This forum was unique for two major reasons:

1. It was organized by the Tanzania League of the Blind, Ukerewe branch under the chairpersonship of Meshack Massanja. Despite the fact that he is a blind person, he organized the forum very successfully. He arranged for the hall, food, invited the participants and the guest of honour. He also made a presentation on what is SWOPnet.
2. The forum was conducted in a district which does not have electricity. It was so quite challenging for the SWOPnet secretariat to explain about ICT while many participants do not know anything about what ICT is and its benefits.

TLB Chairperson, Meshack Massanja giving a welcoming speech.

The proceedings: Meshack Massanja, the forum organizer took 20 minutes to explain what is SWOPnet and what it stands for.

He noted that SWOPnet is a forum whereby stakeholders interested in the utilization for ICT4D, meet, discuss and exchange ideas and experiences.

Through face to face meeting, the stakeholders meet and deliberate upon the subjects, that have been prepared by the secretariat, he added.

He further said the meetings have been quite successful, as memorous resolutions have been adopted and submitted to various important bodies for action.

Joseiph Msaki, our webmaster and moderator of the mailing lists group, explained about the SWOPnet Mwanza Forum which is an online discussion group. He said the discussion group is complementing the face to face forum done on monthly basis.

Joseph Msaki, the Webmaster Mwanza Community Website addressing the participants on the SWOPnet Mwanza Forum moderation platform.

He elaborated that, any person is allowed to join the group by applying through Mwanza Community website. Upon receiving the application, the moderators will approve it thus making the applicant an official member.

He further noted that, every now and then, the moderators will float a topic for discussion and invite the members of the group to start discussion.

He ended his presentation by inviting those who want to join the group to do so.

Abubakar Karsan, presented the main theme of the forum, which was How ICT could improve health delivery systems in Ukerewe district.

He mentioned 4 major points that ICT could improve health delivery systems:

1. Diagnosis and treatment - through various equipment such as CT scanners, microscopes, computers and digital cameras, the process of diagnosing and treatment of various diseases can be efficiently improved.
2. Learning: medical practitioners can improve their knowledge by learning new technologies and methods of treatment through internet.
3. Combating epidemics- by using radio and television, it is easy to reach the large section of the community and educate them on various preventive measures against epidemics.
4. Administrative efficiency: by using computers, scanners, cameras, telephones, fax and email all administrative duties could made easy, efficient and effective.

Participants of the Ukerewe Forum following attentively to the forum's proceedings.

Through the plenary session, the participants who were drawn from hospitals, health centers, district council and NGOs, expressed their disappointment that Ukerewe would not enjoy the benefit of ICT, in improving health services due to many factors.

They listed those factors as:

• Lack of electricity
• Lack of roads
• Lack of boats
• Lack of water
• Lack of good housing
• Lack of committed leadership
• Lack of ICT knowledge.
  

They asked how could you improve health services in Ukerewe, taking into consideration, that the whole district has got only one medical doctor. The availability of funds to pay for drugs and telephone services at the hospitals is very unreliable.

They complied that public officials who are being transferred to Ukerewe, reject the transfers on the ground of poor living conditions prevailing in the district.

At the end they adopted the following resolutions:

1. They thanked SWOPnet secretariat by organizing such a meeting in their district which has raised their knowledge and awareness on many health issues and ICT.
2. They will challenge the government through the normal channels to bring electricity and water in the district, without which ICT will never be beneficial to them.
3. SWOPnet should try to train medical practitioners in Ukerewe on Computer applications so that they could not be left behind.
   

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BUSINESS SKILLS TRAINING WORKSHOP

The Business Skills Training Workshop for youths, whom were trained on computer applications, has been officially launched here in Mwanza on 22 November, 2004.

 

Tjalling Vonk (centre) from IICD officially opening the business skills workshop for youths.

Tjalling Vonk, Programme Officer Knowledge Sharing, from the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), noted that ICT could be used by youths to create employment.

He said he was happy to witness the start of the training which if used properly, could impact positively for the improvement of youths welfare.

Some of the participants of the business skills training for youths following the deliberations of the day attentively.

The training has been organized by SWOPnet Mwanza Chapter, under the financial support from IICD. It is conducted by Small Scale Industry Development Organization (SIDO) Mwanza branch.

15 participants from Magu, Ilemela and Nyamagana districts are attending it is expected to end November 26, 2004.

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5TH SWOPNET FORUM HELD IN SENGEREMA DISTRICT
9TH NOVEMBER, 2004.

Sengerema District hosted the gathering mentioned above whose subject of discussion was "ICT and Education".The one - day forum which drew participants exclusively from education sector in the district took place in the Sengerema Tele Centre Conference Hall.

In his presentation the Tele Centre Manager, Habby Bugarama described his centre, established just two years ago in collaboration with International and local donor, as a multipurpose project.

Habby Bugalama, the manager of Sengerema Tele-Centre presenting his paper on ICT and Education.

A significant group of 28 people who had gathered together at the centre include Primary School pupils, Secondary School Students and their teachers, Ward Education Coordinators, led by the Sengerema District Education Officer (DEO), Mr. Benedict Masaga.

The Manager told his enthusiastic audience that the Sengerema Tele Centre is to ensure that people living the rural areas have the opportunity and right to get information from or put information into it saying it is only an informed society that can be able to make contributions in terms of participating in decision- making on matters pertaining to their livelihood.

The centre's Mission, according to the Manager, is to disseminated information and make communication among the people, taking their pressing needs into account, as easy as possible, while its vision is to make the centre discharge services of best quality, thus becoming the catalyst for economic and social development for Sengerema District residents and the Tanzanians at large.

Some of the participants following attentively to what the main presenter ( he is not in picture ) of the Sengerema forum was presenting.

Among others, Computer training, technical consultancy, Secretarial and Library services, sending out of programmes on radio, phone and fax services all constitute the centre's day to day major activities, targeted at schools and high learning Institutions, Health centers and Dispensaries, petty business community, Religious groups, Governmental department , peasants, fishermen, Pastrolists Non-Governmental Organisations and Community - Based Organisations.

Also in the long list of the centre's activities are mobilization and sensitization of the general public to the use of ITC, campaigns which have made a tremendous impact on everyone in the District, according to Mr. Bugarama.

He clarified that some people, for example, have begun making use of an internet for either communicating, exchanging information, keeping updated office records, seeking
Vital information elsewhere (about prices, markets etc), learning, banking or enhancing good governance.

The Manager expressed optimism that at the end of the day his centre will be anticipate that there emerges new life styles among the people considering that a total of 1,700 people have undergone computer training so far, 45% of whom are students. Others are peasants (18%), Personal Secretaries (5%), Health sector workers (3%) Agriculture and Livestock department workers (2%), Business Community (10%), Evangelists (1%), Teachers (4%) and the rest of the graduates in the computer (12%). Sengerema is a District with a population of 500,000.

Nevertheless the Manager said according to the research carried out recently by his centre, a total of 3,753 students and their 146 teachers in Sengerema District share among themselves only 35 computers, eight telephones, six TVs, three Radio receivers, ten Newspapers and three photocopiers.

Liberatus Venant, a form three student of Sengerema Secondary School, stressing a point in the forum.

In conclusion, he mentioned tight budget for his centre, inadequate money allocated to Education Institutions, lack of political will on the part of decision makers, low level of technological awareness among stakeholders as some of the main challenges facing Sengerema Tele Centre.

After considerable discussion, the participants paid glowing tribute to Mr. Bugarama's outstanding commitment to the centre and urged the Sengerema - based community to make maximum use of it.

However, Liberatus Venant, a form three student of Sengerema Secondary School said he was dismayed to discover that although his school has ten computers, none of the said electronic devises was utilized for lack of teachers knowledgeable about computer science/ software.

On his side, the DEO looking impressed said it was high time computer training was incorporated into Primary Schools syllabuses saying 'Education is a child's non-transferable inheritance'.

Some of the participants opening their email addresses so that they can be registered to the swopnetmwanzafrum.

Many participants who spoke lamented that lack of electricity in rural areas makes people living there to miss the advantage of ICTs.They also observed that internet facility should be available in many offices as possible in Sengerema, so they urged the Sengerema District council to invest in the provision of internet services in the district.

At last they resolved to make sure that primary and secondary schools in the district use teach computer studies.

In his opening remarks which he made earlier on, Sengerema's District Executive Director, Sebastian Maso noted that the on-going SWOPnet Forum workshops are occurring at just the right time in Mwanza region in which some districts such as Kwimba are still heavily dependent on outdated telephone lines that are connected to the exchange.

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4RD SWOPnet FORUM IN MISUNGWI DISTRICT ON 25TH AUGUST, 2004

A total of 39 people converged at Ukiriguru's Ministry of Agriculture Training Institute (MATI), on the material day, making it the most well attended meeting (forum) so far. The participants were drawn from MATI itself, Tanzania Society of Agricultural Education and Extension (TSAEE), Education sector and, as usual, and the press.

The one-day workshop or 3rd SWOPnet Forum this year, held some 27 kilometres south of Mwanza City was jointly organized by the Union of Tanzania Press Clubs (UTPC) and Mwanza Non- Governmental Organisation (MNGON) with a view to creating awareness among the participants, about the importance, usage and benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly in promoting sustainable agricultural development, inculcating an atmosphere for fostering cooperation, networking and exchanging knowledge and information among the community development workers in the new/ youngest district.

To that effect, papers titled, " THE ROLE AND USAGE OF ICT IN TANZANIA", "THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: THE TSAEE EXPERIENCE" AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT): POTENTIALS AVAILABLE AT MATI UKIRIGURU", were presented.

The Director of Mwanza-based Information Technology Complex (T) Co.Ltd, Mr. Ng'wanashigi Gagaga in his presentation, he made a critical overall assessment of ICT situation nationwide as well as that of Misungwi District, in Mwanza region, now 16 years old only.

Quoting authentic data from the World Development indicators (by the World Bank Group 2001), the renowned local webmaster described the ICT situation as extremely bad by any International Standards.

At national level, for instance, he said three telephones are being shared among 1.000 people; four daily newspapers for 1,000 inhabitants, 279 radio receivers per 1,000 people, 21 TV sets per 1,000 people, there are 2.4 (personal) computers per 1,000 Tanzanians, 0.16 internet hosts per 10,000 people while the entire population of 35 million people in the whole Republic just share among themselves only 25,000 internet services!

According to his three page paper, "THE ROLE AND USAGE OF ICT IN TANZANIA", Misungwi District is no better in this regard at all. In fact, he said, the situation is even more appalling given that one person in every 1,000 inhabitants has access to a telephone facility, there are currently 15 telephone sets for 450, 000!, 50,000 people share a newspaper among themselves!, 100 out of 450,000 people have access to a cable Television, 20 Institutions have access to an E-mail whereas between four and five institutions/ individuals have access to an Internet.

In a desperate attempt to alleviate this serious drawback to technological (ICT) development in Tanzania, which celebrates the 43th anniversary this year, Ng'wanashigi noted, the Government has lately waived tax previously imposed on computers and accessories imported from aboard,
has granted licenses to local business people to import used computers which have, in fact, flooded the shops already, (seeking at between Tsh 150,000/= - 300,000/= only etc.

In addition, he said, some internet service providers were already in place in the country. They are the state -owned Tanzania Telecommunications Co Ltd, Raha.com, Internet Africa, Africaonline.co.tz, Iwayafrica, Vodacom, Celtel, University of Dar es Salaam, Simbanet.com, Mwanzaonline.com, to mention but a few. However, poverty among the people are some of the challenges facing Tanzanians regarding ICT development.

Propounding on the role and usage of ICT itself in Tanzania, the presenter said it was nowdays very possible for someone to communicate with his/her distant friends/partners/family members and counterparts anywhere in the world through either a website, internet or a worldwide web, popularly known as www.

Saying a website is like one's brochure for everybody to read on his /her computer, he attributed to Indians success in attracting investors to this kind of technology balance it enables to connect people, and this is because many people are too poor - to buy computers of their own and can't afford high costs of device installations, and Ng'wanashigi urged the government to intervene.

But on the other, the Investors had rushed to India, he said, simply because the Indians themselves, through the ICT, had become unusually eager to learn computer skills which were in high demand the worldover.

On his side, Mr. Abbas Munisi, of the Tanzania Society of Agricultural Education and Extension (TSAEE), described IT as being an indispensable technology which human beings can't forgo. This is because, he said, business environment was undergoing rapid changes due to globalization, technological innovations, social and political changes and increased demands for various commodities and services.

Presenting the second paper, the told the workshop participants that the rapid growth of world population is making agricultural production a major concern saying farmers are over the world are now trying to provide the required food.

In his own words, IT has, indeed, speeded up agricultural development by providing information system that use computers, software and other devices to collect, store, analyze and disseminate information more accurately, quickly and cheaply than humans can, hence contributing to improved productivity, quality and profitability.

In Agriculture, he said, IT has been used widely to generate and disseminate information useful in guiding decision on agricultural and use, agronomic management of crops and environmental management.

Munisi, himself a holder of Masters Degree in Science in land use planning, said land resources information acquired by satellite had been useful in depicting weather, soil moisture conditions, soil fertility status, and incidence of diseases attack on plants, movement of such vermin as locust and army worms. He elaborated that obtaining such information well in advance makes planning and management interventions and prompt response possible before crops and environment is damaged and result in loss in the production of food etc.

On the use of IT for rural development activities, the scientist said TSAEE has intensively made use of the technology to communicate and work with international communities for support and fund raising to implement activities disclosing that his organization has succeeded in mobilizing funds and resources to run and manage a total of five rural development projects targeted to and addressing youth and women issues in Misungwi District.

Of the two projects, he said Fair Trade Crafts and HIV/AIDS Education were good example on the use of IT in organizing and managing rural development projects.

Some of the participants of the SWOPnet Third Forum at Misungwi District.

Fair Trade Crafts Project
According to Munisi, is jointly run by TSAEE and Marquis, organizing 16 hand-craft making groups from Misungwi's ten villages. He acknowledged that the crafters use IT to promote their crafts and communicate with customers in Canada and elsewhere.

The aforesaid crafts are then sent, displayed and sold at a store owned by the Marquis and the customers demand and quality requirements are communicated electronically to the crafters, Munisi clarified.

On the HIV/AIDS Education, the presenter said the awareness building project was proposed and implemented successfully, making use of IT by TSAEE in collaboration with Marquis and Sexuality Education Resources Centre (SERC) of Canada. Follow-up and reporting and information-sharing among the partners were accomplished by the use of IT.

He confirmed that IT has revolutionized both business and social life, for instance, the ease of acquisition and dissemination of Information has speeded up development in every aspect including agriculture. However, he desorbed the limitations and problems associated with high initial costs of buying and instating the system and training, unstable and irregular electricity supply and sometimes no supply at all, particularly in re-mote rural areas.

Others include prolonged use of computers and accessories. For examples a key board and mouse may result in repetitive straining, causing pains to the wrist, elbows or shoulders, prolonged use of monitor can produce eye strain, headache neck pains and may cause miscarriage.

Data may also get lost, be stolen or fall in an authorized hands, besides reductions of social interactions at workplaces etc as a result of long hours spent in computers.

In conclusion, Munisi said, the said limitations and problems of IT should, however, be regarded as a challenge to ensure that its benefits reach the larger segment of the communities.

Dwelling on the same theme: "THE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT", the Senior Livestock Research Officer, Mr. A. Ngendello said Technology development and technology dissemination could not be separated. In his opinion, Innovation centres like his agricultural research Institute, to immediate organizations that can be able to spread it further to all segments of peasant/farmer communities.

However Mr. Ngendello who is also a Zonal Research Extension Liaison Officer, expressed regret that the actual, institutional context doesn't favour the uptake of technologies because large gaps do separate research, stakeholders and the targeted peasants and pastoralists.

In his paper which reviews experience from the lake zone Mr. Ngendello acknowledged that there are many opinions to significantly improve communication, collaboration and information-sharing among the stakeholders. However, he told the workshop participants, that these efforts will only reduce gaps and not necessarily lead to higher adoption rates. He suggested that to bridge the gap more comprehensive approach is needed that incorporates research, training and extension or what is known as an ' Integrated approach', considering that the Lake Zone's experiences have increased the chances of ICT dissemination.

MATI Ukiriguru's Rural Economist, Mr. John Mayanja presented a paper: "INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ON TECHNOLOGY (ICT) : POTENTIALS AVAILABLE AT MATI UKIRIGURU", highlighting the potential the Institute/centre has in undertaking several training programmes based on the changing policies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, training needs of farmers/producers and to some extent the Internet of donors.

In a nutshell, the presenter believes that the Institute under discussion stands a good chance of establishing the Information and Communication Technology Facility such as an internet and website because of the availability of stable and reliable source of power used in both urban centres and rural areas, the presence of buildings of which one or two can be set a side to cater for the said services, the presence of tutors who are already literate in using / operating these facilities, besides the existence of staff development policy with a view to improving work performance through both long and short-term training among other things.

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2ND SWOPnet FORUM IN MAGU DISTRICT - 2004

The SWOPnet second forum took place in Magu on 30 July 2004 as planned. The forum was organized by Cromabu and SWOPnet secretariat provided logistical and financial support. The following are the major highlights of the forum.

a) Attendance, the forum was attended by farmers, agricultural extension officers and journalists who were drawn from Magu and Nyamagana districts. It was officially opened by MAGU district commissioner, Elias Maarugu.

b) Topic, The forum's theme was How ICT can improve agriculture. The main speaker was Naomi Maselle the Cromabu's Director.

c) Forum's resolutions:

i) Cromabu, SWOPnet and UTPC should corraborate to establish a community radio in Magu which will be providing agricultural information to the people.
ii) The government should be engaged in establishing rural electrification so that villagers could have computers with internet connectivity.
iii) Cromabu should use motorbike to dispatch regular information to the villages which will make it possible for many villages to be reached quickly.
iv) Older people should also be trained on ICT so that they can also benefit. This could be done by reducing the prices of attending various ICT courses at Cromabu.

Magu District Commissioner, Elias Maarugu, opening the 2nd SWOPnet Forum in Magu District.

Some of the participants of the SWOPnet Magu Forum taking important notes.

The Director of Cromabu, Naomi Maselle stressing a point during the SWOPnet Forum in Magu.

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FIRST SWOPnet FORUM HELD IN MWANZA ON 17 JUNE, 2004

A score of Press members and some representatives of renowned Mwanza Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs), totaling 42, got much opportunity for attending the forum referred to above, organized by SWOPnet - Mwanza chapter, the first ever this year.

The theme of discussion of the four-hour meeting, presided over by the chapter's Chairperson, Abubakar Karsan, was 'The Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Good Governance'.

Clear, logical presentation of Mr. Pantaleon Shoki's arguments, contained in a paper which he jointly prepared in collaboration with ACORD's boss, Mr. Donald Kasongi, indeed, earned him the admiration of his audience.

The facilitator, also the head of ACORD's Education department, started his presentation by stating the exact meaning of the word, 'ICT'. According to him, ICT is , in fact, the abbreviation for ' Information and Communication Technology, the means of generating, processing, transporting and presenting information either orally of through such media as meetings, print (Newspapers, Newsletters, Posters, journals) and electronic media (Radio, Televisions.

He elaborated that the entire Information process has, however, undergone drastic changes lately, particularly with the Introduction of what is known as digital ICT or internet.

Communication through an E-mail (online chat or instant messaging), he said, probably was now the most widely used application of the internet.

In his own words, an ICT is, therefore, an important force for social, economic and potential transformation globally, making it quite critical in development.

"Wherever there in an uneven distribution of Information Technology (IT) within societies across the Earth, there is what is known as a 'digital - divide' (i.e. line of demarcation between those with access to Information resource on the one hand and those who don't )", he clarified.

Pantaleo Shoki (right) from ACORD presenting his paper on ICT and governance on a SWOPnet first forum held in Ilemela District.

However, the facilitator told the workshop participants to be so careful to avoid danger or mistakes which other peoples of the world have made in relation to the application of the aforesaid Information Technology.

The ICT, in his opinion, can be of importance in development only if it helps enhance nation-wide economic growth and social progress, by encouraging beneficial ICT - related activities in all sectors.

He said that could always be done through provision of a productive framework for investments, in capacity building and promotion of multi - layered cooperation and knowledge sharing locally as well as globally.

On the much talked about, Good Governance' itself, another eye-catching part of the workshop, the facilitator said, is by definition, a people-centred system which ensures bottom-up information flow and communication, hence ensuring inclusion particularly of the poor.

He said should people be trained to develop their communication skills (through ICT), they would be able to improve democracy and voting system, citing recent EU voting as a salient example, among other things.

ICT, he said, could also enhance transparency and accountability of the regime of the day besides increasing government roles in development, for example policies related to poverty alleviation under the present globalization era.

Then, can ICT influence Good Governance in any way? The facilitator's answer to this interesting question was 'Yes'. He said that this can, however, be possible only if the value of increased access to information is in place to ensure rights to freedom of speech/expression, assembly, privacy, education and enjoying culture, on the one hand.

But on the other, he maintained, Good Governance was likely to be realized where there was an increased space and opportunities for marginalized and vulnerable groups and when information disseminated would make the entire Society become clear about such issues as human rights, roles and responsibilities of the government they have voted in.

Dwelling on the role of ICT in gender and development, the facilitator noted that information enables both menfolk and womenfolk to overcome 'digital divide'.

He said there was, indeed, pressing need for the people to understand complex relationships that exist between gender, information and development and how Information Technology can be used to accelerate development and increase gender equity.

John Wanga from LEAT making a point at the SWOPnet First Forum.

The facilitator mentioned addressing barriers to access to information, adoption of digital content in the wake of globalization and bridging communities and governance structures through ICT as some of the challenges facing the civil society now a days.

Others include communicating right information to appropriate beneficiaries and communicating it at the right time on Good Governance vis-à-vis HIV/Aids, Good Governance vis-à-vis Gender and Good Governance vis-à-vis Education.

Other areas constituting challenges to the civil society are removing communication gap to achieve good governance and doing more researches on 'digital-divide' dimensions to gender.

In conclusion, the facilitator underlined, on the one hand, that ICT, therefore, offers new means of sharing, learning and managing. But on the other, the civil society organizations are better placed in popularizing ICT for development and Good Governance and that participatory governance can be achieved through harnessing potential opportunities provided by ICT.

In addition, ICT can lead people to realize economic empowerment in terms of rural development, trade and business. According to the facilitator, ICT can also lead people to realize political empowerment in the sense that it always acts as a powerful tool to improve governance and strengthen democracy.

Mr. Shoki, however, said 'digital divide' has become a central International development concern (as was once resolved by the Okinawa Summit of 2000 that ways to eliminate the divide be devised). He clarified that the UN, in fact, places access to Information Technology as the third most important issue facing women globally.

In his welcoming remarks earlier on, Karsan who is also an Executive Director of the newly-founded Union of Tanzania Press Clubs (UTPC), the apex of press clubs in Tanzania, disclosed that with partial funding from the Netherlands - based IICD, his organization is to implement a number of projects including arranging a total of eight fora/forums, one in each district in Mwanza region, where people can exchange opinions and ideas on a wide range of topical economical, educational and health issues.

According to him, it is also intended that all 21 wards in Mwanza City be connected to an internet, three information centres, equipped with both ordinary and special computers, be established in Mwanza, Musoma and Bukoba for the general public and the blind respectively, particularly the youths aiming at full employment.

Some of the participants of the SWOPnet First Forum.

Since IICD is able to contribute partial funding of the entire budget, he said, UTPC would have to seek financial support from other donors in order to put the ambitious three- year programme into effect.

In the end the participants adopted the following resolutions:-

1. Central and local governments should make sure that construction of roads that will be accessible the whole year round is given a top priority in the development programmes.

2. Rural electrification projects should be undertaken so that people living in villages can easily access the benefits of ITC

3. The government should reduce electricity tarrifs to enable many people to utilize ICT facilities in their daily lives.

 

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LAUNCHING OF SWOPNET FORUM IN THE LAKE ZONE

Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Daniel Ole Njoolay, launched the SWOPnet Forum in the Lake Zone on 2nd September, 2003 at the RC Conference Hall. The Forum was attended by 40 participants drawn from the Central and local governments, non-governmental organizations, media, religious organizations and members of the private sector.

Hon. Njoolay stressed the importance of ICT in the development of Mwanza region, taking into consideration the tentacles of globalization engulfing the world so quickly.

He called upon, the media to sensitize the public on the importance of being computer literate, as an entry point of fully maximizing the benefits of ICT.

After the launching ceremony, the participants were availed with the opportunity of discussing and sharing their experiences, concerns and problems.

In short the following issues were raised by the participants:

a) Many people are not computer literate so efforts should be made to mobilize and assist them to become computer literate.

b) Internet services in rural areas is still a big problem. Stakeholders should exert more efforts to connect the rural people, so that they can also utilize the benefit of ICT.

c) Disabled people need special attention depending on their conditions. The blind need special softwares enabling them to use computers. They also raised the issue of their economic power which does not allow them to purchase computers.

SWOPnet Leadership:

The SWOPnet in the Lake Zone is being managed by Community Tele Centre, Mwanza Press Club and Mwanza Non Governmental Organizations' Network. Its leadership is comprised of:-

* Abubakar Karsan : Chairperson
* Adam Ndokeji : Secretary
* Gilbert Alphonce : Treasurer

Basically SWOPnet will be conducting monthly meetings here in Mwanza to discuss ICT for development issues that affect the community directly or indirectly. They could be case studies of projects that are going on to share experiences and lessons learnt or just educational topics of new technologies. The meeting will be highly beneficial for Mwanza and Lake Zone as a whole.

Swopnet Mission:

A gradual and managed merging of the diverse interests of the IICD Project Partners and other projects in the ICT for development arena, fostering last and mutually reinforcing partnerships through sustainable information networking and knowledge sharing to deepen and nurture a maturing development community utilizing Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Tanzania's development.

SWOPnet Objectives:

The summary objective of SWOPnet are set out below:

1. Be the focal point of the diverse and deepening ICT and developing arena in Tanzania with an inclusive principle of membership for all, including individuals and organizations.

2. Facilitate knowledge sharing among the network of partners and members focused on ICT and Tanzania's development. This knowledge sharing includes other Information Networking (IN) entities in countries that are focal points for IICD and other international development partners.

3. Contribute to Tanzania's efforts towards objectives setout in Tanzania's Development vision 2025 through deploying Information Communication Technologies (ICT). The five objectives with related ICT focal points under development vision 2025 are:

   • High Quality Livelihood:
     · Services Sectors
     · Availability of universal access

   • Peace, Stability and Unity:
     · Strategic ICT leadership
     · Legal and Regulatory Framework

   • Good governance:
     · Public service (e-Government):
     · ICT infrastructure

   • A well educated and learning society:
     · Human capital
     · Local content

   • A strong competitive economy capable of producing sustainable growth and shared benefits:
     · Productive sectors
     · ICT industry

4. Engage effectively with the National ICT Task Force and National ICT Coordinator while sustaining and enriching the multi-stakeholder, holistic and inclusive process towards policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, ensuring views and concerns of Civil Society are represented effectively.

5. Assist in deepening the relevance of ICT in the country including rural and urban areas outside Dar es Salaam.

6. Build awareness, knowledge and appreciation among journalists and other media operators of the potential benefits and risks of the role that ICT can play in impacting Tanzania's development.

7. Foster good relationship between ICT practitioners, project owners and development partners.

8. Spur and encourage relevant research in all aspects of ICT including the application, impact, responsible use of and deployment of technologies appropriate to the Tanzanian environment.

9. Facilitate discussions and resolve issues relevant to ICT and development between, within and among government, civil society, the private sector, international organizations, development partners and the project owners to the benefit of all.

10. Disseminate "lessons learnt" on ICT project widely through easily assimilated stories.

11. Create awareness of the beneficial opportunities that approximately deployed ICT can make on society as a whole, while highlighting attendant risks and dangers.

Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Daniel Ole Njoolay, addressing participants during the launch of SWOPnet Forum in Mwanza.

Some of the participants who attended the launch of SWOPnet Forum.

SWOPnet Mwanza Chapter Chairperson, Abubakar Karsan, addressing the SWOPnet Forum

 

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