Africa Development
by CODESRIA
openjournathemelogo
Quick jump to page content
  • Main Navigation
  • Main Content
  • Sidebar

Africa Development
  • Current
  • Archives
  • Announcements
  • About
    • About the Journal
    • Submissions
    • Editorial Team
    • Privacy Statement
    • Contact
  • Register
  • Login
  • Current
  • Archives
  • Announcements
  • About
    • About the Journal
    • Submissions
    • Editorial Team
    • Privacy Statement
    • Contact
  1. Home
  2. Archives
  3. Vol. 31 No. 3 (2006): Africa Development: Special Issue on Electoral Politic
  4. Articles

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 3 (2006): Africa Development: Special Issue on Electoral Politic

Issue Published : March 29, 2006

8 - When Is ‘Techno-talk’ a Fatal Distraction? ICT in Contemporary Development Discourse on Africa

https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v31i3.1134
Jimi O. Adesina

Corresponding Author(s) : Jimi O. Adesina

jotadesina@gmail.com

Africa Development, Vol. 31 No. 3 (2006): Africa Development: Special Issue on Electoral Politic
Article Published : January 1, 2006

Share
WA Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pinterest Email Telegram
  • Abstract
  • Cite
  • References
  • Authors Details

Abstract

The last two-and-half decades have seen a resurgence of neo-modernisation thinking, which is most evident in the imageries of modernity that infuse the dominant contemporary development discourse on Africa. The discussion on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a signifier of that development mindset and the alleged solution to Africa’s development problems. In this paper, we argue that while ICT offers tremendous potentials, its use in the current dominant development discourse tends to confuse the appearance of things with their essence. It fails to address the multidimensional nature of the development crisis and impediments that have developed in the last twenty-five years, and is in danger of reproducing elements of perverse growth identified in first two decades of post-colonial development experience. In failing to address how twenty-five years of neoliberal vivisectomy compounded Africa’s development crisis, the ICT techno-talk is in danger of becoming a distraction. It becomes a fatal distraction where its discourse diverts attention from the key elements of this vivisection and its consequences. Fundamental to rethinking Africa’s development, the paper argues, is connecting the dots: the relationship between development crisis and debt peonage, aid-dependency, the retreat from the public (social) policy domain, and the dissonance between the regional development objectives and current trade regimes. Critical to sus- tainable ICT, specifically, and development broadly is reinventing the public domain. We use the state of higher education on the continent to illustrate this, and the imperative of endogeneity.

Full Article

Generated from XML file
[1]
Adesina, J.O. 2006. 8 - When Is ‘Techno-talk’ a Fatal Distraction? ICT in Contemporary Development Discourse on Africa. Africa Development. 31, 3 (Jan. 2006). DOI:https://doi.org/10.57054/ad.v31i3.1134.
  • ACS
  • APA
  • ABNT
  • Chicago
  • Harvard
  • IEEE
  • MLA
  • Turabian
  • Vancouver
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Adesina, Jimi O., 1994, Labour in the Explanation of an African Crisis, Dakar: CODESRIA
  2. Adesina, Jimi O., 2004a, ‘NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: Towards the Political
  3. Economy of a Discourse’, Society in Transition, Journal of the South African Sociological Association, Vol. 35, No.1.
  4. Adesina, Jimi O., 2004b, ‘Africa’s Encounter with Neo-liberalism: From Development crisis to
  5. tragedy’, Paper presented at the IDEAS Conference on The Economics of the New Imperialism,
  6. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, 22-24 January.
  7. Adesina, J., Graham, Y., & Olukoshi, A., eds., 2006, Africa’s Development Challenges in the New
  8. Millennium, London: ZED Books/CODESRIA Books. Adesina, Jimi O., 2006a, ‘Development and the
  9. Challenge of Poverty: NEPAD, post-Washington Consensus and beyond’, [2002] in Adesina, J., Graham, Y.,
  10. & Olukoshi, A., eds., 2006, Africa’s Development Challenges in the New Millennium, London: ZED
  11. Books/CODESRIA Books.
  12. Adesina, Jimi O., 2006b, ‘Beyond Silence and Forgetting: Africa’s Experience with Regional
  13. Development Frameworks’, Africa Development (forthcoming).
  14. Allen, David, 1997, ‘Current Status of Telesurgery’, Telemedicine Today, June, (www.telemedtoday.com)
  15. Amin, Samir, 1974, Accumulation on a World Scale: A Critique of the Theory of Underdevelopment, New
  16. York: Monthly Review Press.
  17. Amin, Samir, 1990, Maldevelopment: Anatomy of a Global Failure, Zed Books: London.
  18. BBC, 2002, ‘Connecting the villages’ (Monday 17 June) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/
  19. hi/world/south_asia/2044878.stm.
  20. Bond, Patrick, 2004, Elite Transition: From Apartheid to Neo-liberalism in South Africa, London: Pluto Press.
  21. Brower, Vicki, 2002, ‘The Cutting Edge in Surgery’, EMBO Reports Vol. 31, No. 4,pp. 300-301.
  22. Cashdan, Ben (Director, Producer), 2001, ‘Two Trevors Go to Washington’,
  23. Documentary, Johannesburg (http://go.to/two.trevors).
  24. Chang, Ha-Joon, 2001, ‘Breaking the Mould: an Institutionalist Political Economy Alternative to the
  25. Neo-liberal Theory of the Market and the State’, Paper No.6 (Social Policy and Development,
  26. PP-SPD-6), Geneva, UNRISD.
  27. Chasia, Henry, 2002, ‘The NEPAD ICT Programme and the role of the UN ICT Task Force’, A
  28. presentation to the UN ICT Task Force meeting in New York, 30 September (Power Point).
  29. Court, David, 2000, ‘Financing Higher Education in Africa: Makerere, the Quiet Revolution in
  30. Education’, Perspectives in Education, Vol. 19, No. 3.
  31. Ebam-Etta, Florence and Sheila Parvyn-Wamahiu, eds., 2003, Information and Communication
  32. Technologies for Development in Africa: The Experience with Community Telecentres, Volume 2,
  33. Ottawa/Dakar: IDRC/CODESRIA.
  34. Eicher, J.C., 1984, Educational Costing and Financing in Developing Countries: Focus on Sub-Saharan
  35. Africa, Washington DC: World Bank.
  36. Escobar, Arturo, 1995, Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World,
  37. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  38. IMF, 2001, ‘Nigeria: 2001 Article IV Consultation, Staff Report, Staff Statement and Public
  39. Information Notice of the Executive Board Discussion’, Washington DC, IMF.
  40. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2004, African Telecommunication Indicators 2004,
  41. Geneva/Cairo, ITU/ATU.
  42. Krugman, P., 1993, ‘Towards a Counter-Counterrevolution in Development Economics’, in Proceedings
  43. of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics 1992, (Supplement to the World Bank
  44. Economic Review and the World Bank Observer) pp.15-38.
  45. Lipton, Michael, 1997, Why poor People Stay Poor: A Study of Urban Bias in World Development,
  46. London: Temple Smith.
  47. Mkandawire, T., 1995, ‘Beyond Crisis: Towards Democratic Development State’, 8th CODESRIA General
  48. Assembly, Dakar, 26 June 2 July (processed).
  49. Mkandawire, T., 2001, ‘Social Policy in a Development Context. Social Policy and Development’,
  50. Paper No.7, Geneva, UNRISD.
  51. Mkandawire, T., 2004, ‘Governance: The Itinerary of an Idea’, D+C Development and Cooperation,
  52. Vol.31, No.10 (October).
  53. MTN Group Limited, 2004, ‘Summary of the audited results for the year ended 31 March 2004 and
  54. dividend declaration’, Johannesburg, MTN (www.mtn.co.za). Musisi, Nakanyike B., and Nansozi K
  55. Muwanga, 2001, ‘Makerere University in Transition, 1993-2000: opportunities and challenges’, The
  56. Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (www.foundation-partnership.org/case_studies/makerere.php).
  57. National Science Foundation (NSF), 2002, ‘Telemedicine Link with South Pole Allows Remote Knee
  58. Surgery’ (NSF Press Release, NSF PR 2-61, 17 July; www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/02/pro261.html).
  59. NEPAD, 2004, Newsletter Issue 69, 4 November (NEPAD Secretariat, electronic
  60. version).
Read More

References


Adesina, Jimi O., 1994, Labour in the Explanation of an African Crisis, Dakar: CODESRIA

Adesina, Jimi O., 2004a, ‘NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: Towards the Political

Economy of a Discourse’, Society in Transition, Journal of the South African Sociological Association, Vol. 35, No.1.

Adesina, Jimi O., 2004b, ‘Africa’s Encounter with Neo-liberalism: From Development crisis to

tragedy’, Paper presented at the IDEAS Conference on The Economics of the New Imperialism,

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, 22-24 January.

Adesina, J., Graham, Y., & Olukoshi, A., eds., 2006, Africa’s Development Challenges in the New

Millennium, London: ZED Books/CODESRIA Books. Adesina, Jimi O., 2006a, ‘Development and the

Challenge of Poverty: NEPAD, post-Washington Consensus and beyond’, [2002] in Adesina, J., Graham, Y.,

& Olukoshi, A., eds., 2006, Africa’s Development Challenges in the New Millennium, London: ZED

Books/CODESRIA Books.

Adesina, Jimi O., 2006b, ‘Beyond Silence and Forgetting: Africa’s Experience with Regional

Development Frameworks’, Africa Development (forthcoming).

Allen, David, 1997, ‘Current Status of Telesurgery’, Telemedicine Today, June, (www.telemedtoday.com)

Amin, Samir, 1974, Accumulation on a World Scale: A Critique of the Theory of Underdevelopment, New

York: Monthly Review Press.

Amin, Samir, 1990, Maldevelopment: Anatomy of a Global Failure, Zed Books: London.

BBC, 2002, ‘Connecting the villages’ (Monday 17 June) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/

hi/world/south_asia/2044878.stm.

Bond, Patrick, 2004, Elite Transition: From Apartheid to Neo-liberalism in South Africa, London: Pluto Press.

Brower, Vicki, 2002, ‘The Cutting Edge in Surgery’, EMBO Reports Vol. 31, No. 4,pp. 300-301.

Cashdan, Ben (Director, Producer), 2001, ‘Two Trevors Go to Washington’,

Documentary, Johannesburg (http://go.to/two.trevors).

Chang, Ha-Joon, 2001, ‘Breaking the Mould: an Institutionalist Political Economy Alternative to the

Neo-liberal Theory of the Market and the State’, Paper No.6 (Social Policy and Development,

PP-SPD-6), Geneva, UNRISD.

Chasia, Henry, 2002, ‘The NEPAD ICT Programme and the role of the UN ICT Task Force’, A

presentation to the UN ICT Task Force meeting in New York, 30 September (Power Point).

Court, David, 2000, ‘Financing Higher Education in Africa: Makerere, the Quiet Revolution in

Education’, Perspectives in Education, Vol. 19, No. 3.

Ebam-Etta, Florence and Sheila Parvyn-Wamahiu, eds., 2003, Information and Communication

Technologies for Development in Africa: The Experience with Community Telecentres, Volume 2,

Ottawa/Dakar: IDRC/CODESRIA.

Eicher, J.C., 1984, Educational Costing and Financing in Developing Countries: Focus on Sub-Saharan

Africa, Washington DC: World Bank.

Escobar, Arturo, 1995, Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World,

Princeton: Princeton University Press.

IMF, 2001, ‘Nigeria: 2001 Article IV Consultation, Staff Report, Staff Statement and Public

Information Notice of the Executive Board Discussion’, Washington DC, IMF.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 2004, African Telecommunication Indicators 2004,

Geneva/Cairo, ITU/ATU.

Krugman, P., 1993, ‘Towards a Counter-Counterrevolution in Development Economics’, in Proceedings

of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics 1992, (Supplement to the World Bank

Economic Review and the World Bank Observer) pp.15-38.

Lipton, Michael, 1997, Why poor People Stay Poor: A Study of Urban Bias in World Development,

London: Temple Smith.

Mkandawire, T., 1995, ‘Beyond Crisis: Towards Democratic Development State’, 8th CODESRIA General

Assembly, Dakar, 26 June 2 July (processed).

Mkandawire, T., 2001, ‘Social Policy in a Development Context. Social Policy and Development’,

Paper No.7, Geneva, UNRISD.

Mkandawire, T., 2004, ‘Governance: The Itinerary of an Idea’, D+C Development and Cooperation,

Vol.31, No.10 (October).

MTN Group Limited, 2004, ‘Summary of the audited results for the year ended 31 March 2004 and

dividend declaration’, Johannesburg, MTN (www.mtn.co.za). Musisi, Nakanyike B., and Nansozi K

Muwanga, 2001, ‘Makerere University in Transition, 1993-2000: opportunities and challenges’, The

Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (www.foundation-partnership.org/case_studies/makerere.php).

National Science Foundation (NSF), 2002, ‘Telemedicine Link with South Pole Allows Remote Knee

Surgery’ (NSF Press Release, NSF PR 2-61, 17 July; www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/02/pro261.html).

NEPAD, 2004, Newsletter Issue 69, 4 November (NEPAD Secretariat, electronic

version).

Author Biography

Jimi O. Adesina

Department of Sociology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.

Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 140 Download : 49

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Table Of Contents

Make a Submission

Make a Submission

Language

  • English
  • Français (France)

Information

  • For Readers
  • For Authors
  • For Librarians

Africa Development

 

Providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among African scholars from a variety of intellectual persuasions and various disciplines.
ISSN :  0850-3907

Make Submission

Our Editorial Team

Godwin Rapando Murunga
Editor-in-Chief
CODESRIA Executive Secretary
sA-3XlIAAAAJ
 
Read More
 
Editorial Pick

Towards Understanding the Cameroon-Nigeria and the Eswatini-South African Border Dispute through the Prism of the Principle of uti possidetis juris Customary International Law

December 25, 2022
Hlengiwe Portia Dlamini et al.

Enjeux de la pédagogie contrastée de l’histoire dans les sous-systèmes anglophone et francophone pour les politiques mémorielles au Cameroun

November 29, 2022
Nadeige Ngo Nlend et al.

Modernisation minière, fragmentation sociale et création des anormaux en République démocratique du Congo

May 19, 2022
Emery Mushagalusa Mudinga et al.

Localising the SDGs in African Cities: A Grounded Methodology

November 19, 2022
Omar Nagati et al.

‘Ghanaian first’: Nationality, Race and the Slippery Side of Belonging for Mixed-Race Ghanaians

June 11, 2022
Karine Geoffrion et al.

Les facteurs historiques de la demande en tissus identitaires au Nigeria et en Inde,

February 25, 2022
Jocelyne Boussari et al.

The Impact of Agricultural Extension Service on the Uptake of Various Agricultural Technologies in Ethiopia

December 16, 2022
Mesfin Hiwot et al.

The Curse or Fertility of Land Clearing: How Migrant Labour Modified Gender-Based Division of Labour in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

November 12, 2022
Angelus Mnenuka et al.

Genre et cyber-radicalisation au Sénégal et au Mali

May 12, 2022
Selly Ba et al.

Rethinking the Pan-African Agenda: Africa, the African Diaspora and the Agenda for Liberation

November 19, 2022
Moses khisa

Author Resources

  •    Author Guidelines
  •     Download Manuscript Template
  •   Review Process

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

Most read articles by the same author(s)

  • Jimi O. Adesina, 2 - Variations in Postcolonial Imagination: Reflection on Senghor, Nyerere and Nkrumah , Africa Development: Vol. 47 No. 1 (2022): Africa Development: Special Issue from the Post-Colonialisms Today Project Lessons to Africa from Africa: Reclaiming Early Post-Independence Progressive Policies
  • Jimi O. Adesina, 9 - Archie Mafeje and the Pursuit of Endogeny: Against Alterity and Extroversion , Africa Development: Vol. 33 No. 4 (2008): Africa Development: Special Issue Public Sector Reforms in Africa
  • Jimi O. Adesina, 5 - Workers in Nigeria's Social Development Experience: A Critique of Current Mythologies , Africa Development: Vol. 16 No. 2 (1991): Africa Development

 Address

Publication and Dissemination Programme
1046 Av. Cheikh Anta Diop P.E 11, angle Canal IV
P.O Box: 3304 Dakar, 18524, Senegal

 OTHER LINKS

  • Become a member
  • Publish a book
  • Publish on our journals
  • Online Library Catalogue
  • Purchase a Book

  Contact Info

+221 33 825 98 22/23
publications@codesria.org

 Social Media

   
© 2023 CODESRIA
Themes by Openjournaltheme.com
Themes by Openjournaltheme.comhttps://journals.codesria.org/index.php/adThemes by Openjournaltheme.com