In wake of the past two and half years of the Covid 19 pandemic, the phrase ‘digital divide’ has become an increasingly critical conversation in the global village. UNICEF says during the Covid 19 pandemic, the impact of the ‘digital divide’ is evident on both macro levels, such as school systems struggling to ensure all students have equitable digital access and opportunities for virtual schooling and on the micro levels where urban grandchildren are teaching their grandparents how to use the internet to stay in touch.
Elsewhere in this edition of Sunday Standard we carry a story which reminds us about the ‘digital divide’ in our country. For the sake of those who might not be familiar with ‘DD’, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) describes it as the “gap between individuals, house-holds, businesses and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels regarding their opportunities to access Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and, their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities”.
The story in question highlights the great divide that we have specifically in the space of digital economy. This speaks directly to our ambitions of growing a Knowledge Based Economy and a society that leaves no one behind as per our national Vision 2036.
In Botswana, just like her peer countries, the ‘digital divide’ is not a new issue but it has been exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic. Unfortunately at the moment our country seems to be largely geared toward the old economy: Our understanding of where economic opportunities will be, what curriculum to teach and the skills-development requirements of employers are stuck in the past despite the lessons we got from Covid 19.
There is no doubt that the challenges of the digital age of Botswana are numerous. They start with infrastructure development. By infrastructure I am not solely and only referring to the internet one, but it includes affordable housing and well equipped schools/public libraries. The issue of affordable house affects thousands Batswana, more especially those in rural areas. This is to say, even if good Samaritans were to offer a satellite dish or internet modem, for any given needy family in rural Botswana, such individuals might not have a decent house to mount the dish or modem on. This is a fact and it’s applicable to many Batswana. The need is not just for electricity but also of a decent modern house. This is why we have to urgently address the basics. If Botswana is going to succeed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we do not have any time to spare. A more collaborative approach is required immediately. Available solutions require everyone — citizens, government, private sector — working together to bridge the gap. We need to address two key fundamentals: Our education curriculum (including the associated infrastructure, skills set etc.) and the roots and/or the socio-economic status of the learners.
Primary schools offer a perfect environment in which children can be inspired and empowered to learn about computing and technology right from the very start of their education. Given that fact, and also the recent finding that teachers working in public primary schools are already struggling with classroom sizes and limited skills, how do we expect them to deal with the additional task of preparing their students for an increasingly technological world? This says to us there is need to change our education policy which has always been a cornerstone of public policy. As stated above, the other basic need that should be given urgent attention is housing for learners and their families of course. We cannot move learners from being digital consumers to digital creators if they live in sharks or houses that are not decent and/or conducive for studying let alone living.
Our country urgently needs to look at a wide range of its policies and regulatory constraints that will ensure that houses become affordable to each and every Motswana. I call for progressive home ownership programmes because there is a broad public benefit to it and what it contributes to the development of good citizenship. The economy of this country can never be regarded as successful unless and until the state of our social justice promotes development and human dignity.
As I have said in this space before, inequality is limiting our economic progress in more ways than we think. For the past three or so decades, economic planners at the government seem to have simply assumed that economic growth on its own would reduce inequality. We can all attest that this is not necessarily the case. That is why we are listed together with poor nations as a country with a great ‘digital divide’. Sadly the digital divide influences mental health significantly, since those at the bottom of the ladder feel unprivileged and lonely most of the times. Even away from the ‘digital divide’, the overall status of our economy point to failures to push buttons of “wealth creation” for the indigenous citizens hard. A wealthy nation provides basics for itself. It does not need to beg the state to build decent houses or to equip public libraries in order to access to advance its digital economy. Ours is surely not a wealthy, given that here we are, begging the state to create an environment that will enable equitable access to the internet. The #Bottomline is that for us to equitably participate in the digital economy we need to first address the basic need—decent housing. In short, while it is vital to enhance digital literacy in unprivileged parts of the country, in order to decrease the ‘digital divide’, it might prove very difficult to reach the goal if the targeted individuals live in health threatening conditions, overcrowded slums or in conditions which do not uphold their human rights and dignity.
