ICT & Governance In East Africa
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Radio and SMS have been found to be effective in engagement between governments, civil society and citizens in East Africa as opposed to Internet-enabled phone applications.
Solutions such as mobile apps are only popular for those interested in technology, especially in urban areas, according to an iHub Research study, “The ICT and Governance in East Africa.”
“Of the tools and initiatives in this study, it was found that using information and communications technology tools for governance is most effective in cases where low-cost and non-Internet based methods and tools such as radio and mobile phones (feature phones) are used, and in areas where forums exist for citizens to physically meet then follow up on issues raised using ICTs,” the report said.
An example of this trend is radio listenership across Kenya. According to research by Kenya Audience Research Foundation, radio listenership in the East African country covers over 90 percent of the population.
This in contrast to Internet access, which reaches 64 percent of the population, according to the latest Communication Authority statistics.