Abstract |
New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the internet in particular, have the potential to bring about unprecedented social and economic development (World Bank, 2011). In developing countries, ICTs have been envisioned as innovative and indispensable tools of growth and poverty reduction. This view, which is being promoted within the framework of the Information Society (Castells, 1996) and later the Millennium Development Goals (Byrne, Nicholson & Salem, 2011), is envisaged to be achieved through development interventions (Mercer, 2005; World bank, 1998, 2000; UNDP, 2001). This is premised on the notion that ICTs, the internet in particular, is the biggest driving force behind economic growth and access to them will help poor and marginalised communities to get access to the information and services they need to improve their livelihoods. |