INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AS TOOLS FOR SOCIO- ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT: THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF KENYA (NCCK) HURUMA COMMUNITY TELECENTRE AS A CASE STUDY A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Juliet Emali Evusa November 2005 © 2005 Juliet Evusa All Rights Reserved This dissertation entitled INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AS TOOLS FOR SOCIO- ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT: THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF KENYA (NCCK) HURUMA COMMUNITY TELECENTRE AS A CASE STUDY by Juliet E. Evusa has been approved for the School of Telecommunication and the College of Communication by Norma O. Pecora Associate Professor of Telecommunications Gregory Shepherd Interim Dean, College of Communication EVUSA, JULIET EMALI. Ph.D. November 2005. Mass Communications Information Communication Technologies as Tools of Socio-Economic & Political Development: The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Huruma Community Telecentre as a Case Study. (333 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Norma Pecora While Africa is confronted with the urgency to provide its citizens with the basic requirements of life, the rest of the world is heading towards a ‘globally-networked’ information economy. Many communication scholars believe that without access to information resources and telecommunication services, an understanding of its significance, and the ability to use it for social and economic growth, Africa is facing an unavoidable predicament. This dissertation presents a case study of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Huruma Community Telecentre as an arena where governmental, non-governmental and other private organizations are collaborating to test the contribution that a Community Telecentre can make towards providing universal access to telephony and other telecommunications and information services to a disadvantaged community. While the theoretical starting point for this dissertation is grounded within communication and development theories, it employs Bijker, Hughes, and Trevor’s (1987) Social Construction of Technology concept of ‘interpretive flexibility.’ This constructivist approach offers the possibility of looking at the technological process and empowerment as a dynamic process where the ICT users are actively involved in its integration within their existing environment. The study reveals that, while a number of factors have acted as barriers to communication access to information technology, the biggest hindrances are the lack of sound telecommunication regulations and clear government policies as well as the absence of an environment conducive to ICT development due to an inadequate telecommunication infrastructure. This dissertation employs the case study as an overall strategy and also draws upon multiple data sources to develop a triangulation of methods ranging from in-depth interviewing, participant observation, historical and document analysis as well as analysis of telecommunication debates in local newspapers over the last 4 years. The study concludes that, although the telecommunication is beginning to show some impact due to the partial privatization of the sector, it is too early to assess the overall impact of new media technologies on Africa’s development. This calls for a more realistic approach that incorporates the need to harness the potential of ICTs for purposes of addressing locally relevant problems in innovative and cost-effective ways. Approved: Norma Pecora Associate Professor of Telecommunications Preface This dissertation is the culmination of a multifaceted journey. My journey begun in 1989, when, upon completing my high school education in Kenya, my mother had a hard time convincing my father to allow me to attend college. As the eldest girl in a family of three girls and two boys, the society at the time I was growing up, perceived high school education sufficient for girls. My mother not only encouraged me but also supported my efforts to overcome barriers set by my culture to pursue higher studies. In 1993, I graduated from Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda in India and became the third girl (during that time) in my village to obtain a college degree. One of my most important accomplishments occurred while working with the Ministry of Culture and Social Services in Kenya where I served as a Social Development Officer. I played a key role in assisting numerous youth and women self-help projects to register their organizations with the Government. My capacity as a liaison between the government and non-governmental organizations enabled me to pair community youth and women self-help projects with organizations that best suite their needs. My work with the Kenyan Government led to a three-year assignment with the Co-operative Bank of Kenya. It is here that I came into contact with co-operative societies as well as women and youth self-help groups in need of financial assistance to help fund development projects. The need to utilize information technologies capacity to facilitate better coordination amongst non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the government to improve women’s quality of life in Africa, led me to pursue further studies in International Affairs and Communications Studies with a special emphasis in African development. My struggle to further my education drove me to explore issues facing women and children in Africa and the ways in which differing communication medium could assist in the development process. The use of ICT’s has been on going and revolutionizing many societies thus I wanted to focus on how it has affected particularly the lives of womenfolk in Africa. Due to cultural prejudices women usually feel the full effect of technology last in many African societies. Thus, an assessment of how much ICTs have been embraced and utilized by women is usually a measure of the periphery of the technology’s access. The lack of substantial literature covering this area pointed to the fact that little investigation has been done on this issue. In winter of 1999, I stumbled across an electronic forum for women committed to strengthen the capacity of women African NGOs through the use of ICTs to lobby and participate in the Beijing 2000 conference regionally and globally. The network, flame sisters online, provided them with an ‘electronic-meeting-space’ by linking African NGOs across the continent where delegates could collect and disseminate information back to organizations in their countries. Results from a thematic analysis of these conversations revealed that Internetworking in Africa is not merely a technical issue; the problems, barriers and envisioned success factors are political, social, economic, juridical, and cultural as well. These analyses also showed that contextual and structural aspects in electronic networking hampered and limited the possibilities of women from the developing nations to use the technology for empowerment goals. This experience was a beginning of my dissertation journey. I knew that I wanted to find out how this new technology can be utilized to alleviate some of the day-to-day challenges facing Kenyan women. The second phase of my journey occurred between June and September 2003. Armed with my letter of consent and research instrument, I set forth to the field. Going back home after almost six years was a cultural shock for me. I left when Kenya was still under a dictatorial government that had been in power for almost 30 years. By the time I got home, Kenya was experiencing drastic changes under the new ‘democratic’ leadership that had taken office for a period of six months. The new change of government presented me with an opportunity of witnessing first hand efforts pursued under the regime towards the provision of a conducive ICT environment without which access to information technologies is impossible. When I presented my letter of consent to the Communication Commission of Kenya, the key respondents, they did not seem very eager to participate. The title read, “The Socio-Economic and Political Empowerment of Kenyan Women through Community Telecentres: A Case Study of the NCCK Huruma Community Telecentre.” Being a paternalistic society, I quickly realized that most males are not eager to participate in research that target women. Consequently I changed the title to read, “Information Communication Technologies as Tools for Socio- Economic and Political Development: The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) Huruma Telecentre as a Case Study.” Despite changing what I had initially set as my primary focus, this did not handicap my research goals. Instead I gained access to male professional elites in the telecommunication industry whose inputs were crucial to the success of this study. I have to admit that I was a little taken aback when I first arrived at the Community Telecentre. Although the center’s location is termed urban, it is urban underscored due to unattractive characteristics including a high population and concentration of slum dwellings, coupled with a poor infrastructure and hence very low tele-density. Situated in the slums of Huruma/Mathare Valley of Nairobi, the condition of the road is a serious constrain to travel and communication. The un-surfaced road deters many matatus (private transportation vehicles) from transporting clients to that area. The only matatus who were willing to risk their vehicles