Document(s) 11 of 18

Straddling the southern tip of the continent, South Africa occupies 1.2 million km². Since 1994, and the official end of apartheid, a democratic government led by the ANC has attempted to share and spread the riches of the country to a wider majority of the people. Approximately 48% of the 42 million people live in poverty (under ZAR 1000 or USD 83 a month). South Africa remains a divided society, with the white community (11% of the total population) generally living affluently, whereas most of the black African population (72% of the total population) live in poverty. Fifty-eight percent of households have electricity, 45% have water taps inside their homes, and 34% of households have a telephone.

The focus of the telecentre research was the Northern Province, which had been identified by the Government of South Africa as a development priority area that was in dire need of communication services. Six telecentres in the area were selected for the study: Botlokwa, Phalala, Makuleke, Mankweng, Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo, and Thakgalane. The research was conducted between March and October 2000 and involved, in addition to 7–10 days of field research in each study site, a training workshop, and local and provincial feedback and dissemination workshops.

Telecommunications context

South Africa has by far the largest number of fixed line (estimated to be 4.9 million in 2002) and mobile connections in Africa and the most advanced information and communication technology (ICT) sector on the continent with nearly three million Internet accounts in 2001. However, access to ICTs in South Africa tends to follow lines of existing inequalities, which are quite wide because of the legacy of apartheid.

The Telecommunications Act was enacted in 1996 and declared universal access to telephony as the cornerstone of government policy. The Telecommunications Act created the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in July 2000, which resulted from the merger of the South African Telecom Regulatory Authority (SATRA) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), as the telecommunications regulator. The Act also established the Universal Service Agency (USA) as the primary mechanism for the provision of access throughout the country.

The main telecommunications operator is a former state-owned monopoly Telkom, which still has a monopoly on fixed lines. Telkom’s exclusivity and the introduction of a second network operator were effected by the Telecommunications Amendment Act of 2001. The government has introduced special licenses to small, medium and micro enterprises to operate Public Switched Telephone networks (PSTN) in rural areas. There were 2.1 million fixed lines in 2001 and 9 million mobile subscribers (BMI-Technologies 2002: 403) in the country. The cellular phone share of the market has grown rapidly in the last few years, with three providers being Vodacom, MTN, and the newly established Cell C. There are currently more mobile than fixed lines in South Africa, a situation similar to that in Uganda, Senegal and most of the continent.

Other government departments and programmes also target ICTs, and several government initiatives are geared toward promoting ICTs. The Government Communications and Information Service, for example, has been involved in establishing ‘Multi-Purpose Community Centres’ for integrated government service delivery in disadvantaged areas and Schoolnet South Africa has projects in thousands of schools.

The USA has largely focussed on setting up ICT centres, generally called telecentres and cyberlabs in South Africa. Twelve of the telecentres set up by USA in South Africa have been with assistance from IDRC. At the end of 2001, USA had established 81 telecentres in different parts of the country.

The cost of establishing a telecentre in South Africa is said to be approximately ZAR 200,000 (USD 16,600). In most cases, the establishment process does not involve the construction of new buildings. The trend is to renovate existing buildings or shipping containers, make them secure, and paint them in the USA colours of white, purple, and green. Between one and four telephones are installed, and between two and five Pentium computers are set up. Most South African telecentres offer basic services such as telephone, photocopying, printing, and some word processing.

Study sites

The six telecentres that constituted the focus of this study are located in the Northern Province, which was chosen for several reasons:

• There were more USA telecentres in the Northern Province than in any other province in the country (a total of nine, four of which were jointly funded with IDRC);
• It is the province with the poorest telephone access and related services;
• Thabo Mbeki, the president of the Republic of South Africa, declared the province to be one of three that was to be a priority for development work;
• The University of the North has an Information Science Department that had declared its intention and interest in collaborating with the telecentre research; and
• The province is relatively close to Gauteng (the growing silicon valley of Africa), the offices of IDRC and USA, and Wits University, and this proximity facilitated the involvement of the principal stakeholders in the evaluation process.

USA selected the six study sites to ensure that both older and newer telecentres were included in the study. The older telecentres, established between 1998 and mid-1999 are: Botlokwa, Phalala, and Makuleke; whereas, the newer ones, established during 2000, are Mankweng, Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo, and Thakgalane. With the exception of the Mankweng telecentre, which is located in a township, all of the other telecentres selected for the study were either in rural (Phalala, Makuleke, and Thakgalane) or in semi-rural locations (Botlokwa and Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo).

• Thakgalane is a village established in 1975. The population is estimated to be 9,646 with about 1,290 families. Thakgalane is situated on 11,000 ha in the western part of Tzaneen, 90 km from Pietersburg and 18 km
  from the nearest town of Soekmekaar. A high level of unemployment characterizes it. Many people, retrenched from failing factories in East-Rand live in the area. The main source of income for the people is subsistence farming, which provides low incomes far below the poverty line. The government is the main employer of labour. Each family contributes ZAR 70 (about USD 6) for community development. The main languages spoken in the area are Northern Sotho and Xitsonga. The telecentre was established in late 1999 in the tribal office.
• Makuleke is predominantly Xitsonga speaking and is located in the former Gazankulu area near the Kruger National Park, approximately 80 km from Thohoyandau and 140 km west of Louis Trichardt. Makuleke is a relatively small village, with an estimated population of 19,000. About 60% of the population is unemployed and many migrate to Gauteng Province for work. There are generally no private telephone lines in the households and people rely on public telecommunication services offered by private service providers like Vodacom, MTN, and the telecentre. A small number of people have cellular phones. The nearest bank, shopping centre, and other facilities are 45 km away at Malamulele Township. The Makuleke telecentre was launched in August 1999.
• Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo is located in a predominantly Northern Sotho speaking community in Mothapo village, 40 km east of Pietersburg and 10 km from Mankweng. The total population is estimated to be 159,000. There are enormous problems with access to information and telecommunications. South Africa Telkom is in the process of installing automatic telephones in the village in an attempt to address this problem. A small number of villagers have cellular phones.
• Botlokwa is a semi-rural area on the northern motorway, located 56 km north of Pietersburg on the Louis Trichardt road. There are 10 villages in the area inhabited by about 65,000 people. The telecentre is located next to other public services such as the police station, post office, tribal authority offices, a community radio station, the constituency office, and Eskom Point, which supplied electricity to residents on a commercial basis. The Botlokwa telecentre was established in February 1999.
• Phalala, which comprises 42 villages, has a population of 333,615. Phalala borders Botswana and is about 150 km from Pietersburg and about 80 km from the nearest town of Ellisrus. Setswana and Sepedi
  are spoken in the area. Phalala has very high rates of unemployment and illiteracy. Transport, information, and communication services are inadequate. High school drop-out rates are high and poverty is increasing. Phalala was the site of the first USA telecentre, established in March 1998.
• Mankweng is a township 30 km east of Pietersburg, close to the University of the North (UNIN) and the provincial hospital. It is a middle-class settlement with many businesses and shopping centres. A fairly high level of literacy (80%), characterizes Mankweng Township and the majority of residents are either staff or students of the university. Telecommunication services are easily available in comparison with the other areas. The Mankweng Township telecentre was established by a group of women who were trained in micro-enterprise management following their group’s successful application to USA. A hall in a learning centre was renovated, equipped and operations commenced in February 2000. The telecentre is in the same building as a learning centre, which attracts both children and adult learners, and has numerous other projects. However, because of the theft of equipment, by March 2000 the telecentre had ceased operations. At the time of the study, there were three computers and six telephone lines. Before the burglary, the centre had four computers, one ‘five-in-one’ printer with facsimile, telephone, photocopying, printing, and scanning capabilities. There was also a scanner, which was not working, and a photocopier. Outside the telecentre, many of the houses have telephone connections, and two computer-training centres were operating within the area. A local radio station operates from the University of the North (UNIN).

Findings

Of the six telecentres, three were not operational at the time of the study. At the Mankweng Telecentre, theft of equipment barely a month after it was launched in February 2000, had paralysed operations. At Thakgalane, neither the required equipment (including a working phone line) had been received nor proper training been given to the staff at the time of the study. The Makuleke telecentre had ceased operations on account of a large unpaid phone bill. Consequently, discussions that follow are based largely on information from the telecentres in Phalala, Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo, and Botlokwa, which were operational at the time of the investigations.

Equipment

The ICTs available at the telecentres at the time of the study included computers, printers, facsimile machines, telephones, scanners, television sets, and video cassette recorders.

Computers were the most common ICT equipment at the telecentres along with telephones, facsimile machines, and photocopiers. Botlokwa, with seven computers, had the highest number of computers, whereas the other telecentres each had four computers. With respect to telephones, Thakgalane was waiting to have six lines installed at the time of the study, Botlokwa had five lines, Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo had four lines, and Phalala had two lines. Telkom provided all telephone lines. Each telecentre had one photocopier and one facsimile machine.

Services offered

The equipment that was available at the telecentres reflected the services offered to community members. For example, in Botlokwa, photocopying was the service most frequently used by clients (49.1%) followed by telephone calls (28.3%), computer use (11.3%), and printing (9.4%). At Phalala, the pattern of use was different, with a majority of the clients making telephone calls (43.8%) and photocopying (14.6%); computer use and printing were not very popular, as only 6.3% of users requested each service. In Bakgaga, the telephone was most popular (47%), followed by photocopying (36%), facsimile service (9%), computer use (8%), and printing (4%). At Thakgalane, few services could be offered because of the absence of telephone lines. Some photocopying was done, and the available computers were not being used because of a software problem. The facsimile machine and printer at the centre were also not operational during the research period.

Purpose of use

The research revealed that the telecentre services were used for a variety of purposes: for social and health reasons (Botlokwa, Phalala, Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo), for education and training (Botlokwa and Phalala), for business and government information (Botlokwa and Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo), and for employment, computer training, project hosting, funeral services, and local news (Botlokwa). In Mankweng, before the burglary, the centre used to provide typing services for students (for assignments) and for the preparation of resumes. The centre also helped teachers to design school schedules and community members to design business cards, greetings cards, and programs for weddings, funerals, parties, ceremonies, and social gatherings. There was no Internet connection in Mankweng even before the burglary.

Phalala had developed a wider range of services than other telecentres. These services included a post office and a weekly home affairs service. Telecentre staff became more involved in providing information services because there had been no local newspaper or radio station. A team spearheaded by the telecentre staff had been organized to develop the first newspaper for the area.

User profiles

At the Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo and Phalala telecentres the majority of users were between 17 and 40 years of age (73.0% in Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo and 88.7% in Phalala). The under-16 and over-40 age groups were not frequent participants in the activities of the two telecentres. There was a significant difference in the age profile of the users in Botlokwa, where 48% of the users were 26–40 years old and 32% were over 40 years old. No data were gathered on users below 25 years of age.

Available gender data from the Botlokwa and Phalala telecentres did not reveal any consistent differences. At Botlokwa, gender disparity was minimal as 50.9% of the users were male and 49.1% were female. In Phalala, the gender gap was considerably wider with 42.2% male and 57.8% female. Although systematic data for Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo was not collected, the researchers observed that more females used the telephones.

Information about the occupations of the users of the telecentres in Botlokwa and Phalala presented interesting insights. In Botlokwa, over 30% of the users were from the education sub-sector, labourers (e.g., domestic workers and taxi-drivers etc.) constituted 20.5%, and the unemployed, and government officials, each constituted about 10% of users. In Phalala, the unemployed constituted the largest proportion of the users (35%), and educators came a distant second (18%) followed by students (14%). In Mankweng, teachers and members of the business community mostly used photocopying services, and the facsimile machine was popular with students who needed to send urgent application forms and materials.

Impediments to use

A wide range of factors that hindered access and use of telecentre facilities and services were identified:

• Cost was at the top of the list of perceived impediments. Many of those interviewed claimed that the cost of the services, especially telephony and facsimile transmission, was too high and should be reduced to make it competitive and affordable for the majority of potential users. This was particularly true where there were competing services in the area (e.g., Botlokwa, Mankweng, Makuleke, and Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo). Where there was little or no competition (e.g., Phalala), price was less of an issue.
• Many users mentioned infrastructure as an impediment. In Botlokwa, the size and quality of the premises was an issue. Other hindrances related to infrastructure included: the non-availability of electricity (Mankweng) or erratic power supply (Botlokwa and Phalala); the non-availability of telephone lines (Thakgalane); non-functional equipment (Mankweng, Thakalage, and Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo); and inadequate or insufficient equipment (Botlokwa). Only Phalala and Bakgaga had been connected to the Internet at the time of the evaluation.
• Security was raised as an issue at almost all telecentres. The Mankweng telecentre had already lost a computer and printers to burglars. Although there were still three computers remaining in Mankweng, it could not continue to offer printing services on account.
• Staffing problems were of two kinds – number and attitude. If there are too few staff (e.g., in Mankweng) they cannot cater to the needs of the clientele. The attitude of staff also has a major bearing on the success or failure of telecentres.
• Lack of publicity meant that: ‘many people just know the telecentre but they do not know what it is and how it can assist them’ (member of client organization, Phalala telecentre).
• Accessibility: Although the telecentre management at Mankweng had taken the initiative to put up a sign board at a nearby market to give directions to the telecentre, according to the researchers involved in the study, the directions provided were so confusing that: ‘even some of the members of the Board of Directors who were familiar with the place seem to get lost because of the directions.’ In addition to difficulty
  with finding the location, distance was also seen to curtail access to services according to some respondents in Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo.
• A poor location (e.g., in Mankweng) meant that services were not reaching the most needy and disadvantaged groups. This telecentre was built in a location where most of the residents had access to a number of other facilities and communication channels.

Relevance

In general, various community groups contended that the telecentres help them to maintain contact and communications with family members and friends. The telecentres had also impacted on distances that had to be travelled in search of similar services located elsewhere.

Schools in Botlokwa heavily used the telephones, facsimile machines, photocopiers, and computers for word processing. Other organizations, however, felt that the telecentre in Botlokwa was being badly run. A member of the Youth Club said: ‘this is the first opportunity for us to make inputs regarding the telecentre . . . it has been run like a private company and is not serving the youth . . .’ Many other organizations voiced unhappiness with the way the telecentre was being run. A lack of consultation was reported, and it was perceived that the telecentre was enriching individuals rather than benefiting the community.

In Phalala, all those interviewed were overwhelmingly positive about the telecentre and saw it as a sign of progress and development in the area. A member of the burial society stated: ‘as a community, we are impressed by the services the telecentre is offering.’ The Mankweng community felt that the centre should develop new services, such as a community newsletter, become a local information centre, and initiate training in computers and other skills.

Ownership, management, and sustainability

The telecentres were ‘owned’ by various groups and associations, although it was not clear what ownership actually meant to the respondents because the USA had set up telecentres using a franchise model.

The Phalala telecentre was owned by a local civic organization, part of the South African National Civic Organization (SANCO), and was housed in a building donated by the council in the grounds of the sports stadium. The telecentre was run by a staff of three and made a profit of about ZAR 2,000 (USD 166) each month. The income was banked regularly and managed by SANCO. Some of the money was invested in equipment (a camera) so that the telecentre could offer that service thought to be highly profitable.

The community through the tribal authority, which had established a nine-member board to direct the activities of the telecentre, owned the Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo telecentre. The Thakgalane telecentre had a very competent and energetic manager, and was supported by the wider community.

The Makuleke telecentre was owned by the people of Makuleke and run by a manager and a group of volunteers. The six-member Board of Directors, which was charged with responsibility for ensuring the survival and sustainability of the telecentre, was reported to be weak and unresponsive to the problems of the telecentre.

The Mankweng telecentre was attached to a day-care centre and community library. It is owned and managed by the women’s committee that ran the day-care centre. The telecentre was well managed, although because Mankweng had many telephones and computer training facilities, the telecentre had competition and the services were consequently not in great demand.

The Botlokwa Communications Awareness Forum owned the Botlokwa telecentre. The community was represented on an eight-member management committee, which met monthly to oversee the running of the centre and make decisions on day-to-day activities. The research indicated that there was on-going tension as some people felt the telecentre was being run for individual profit rather than as a development project.

During the provincial workshop that was held as part of the evaluation process to mark the end of the research cycle, suggestions were made of ways to guarantee the success and sustainability of the telecentres:

• Provide appropriate equipment in good working condition: Without equipment to deliver services, there is a lack of activity that quickly leads to frustration and loss of clientele.
• Ensure that there is local need for the services: Telecentres should be set up where there is a local need for the services they provide. If most people in an area already have access to telephones and computers (e.g., in Mankweng), the telecentre will suffer stiff competition. In such cases, the telecentre must create a niche for itself by providing other relevant services. It was suggested that to remain relevant telecentres should incorporate information provision and dissemination.
• Good managers and management: This may be the single largest determinant of success. The selection of a motivated manager who had ‘entrepreneurial energy’ and was trusted by the community, was critical. In addition, the manager had to have adequate training in the technical, financial, service, and management issues of running a telecentre. Poor management was guaranteed to end in telecentre failure (e.g., Makuleke). Good management practices were also suggested; for example, the telecentres should offer 24-hour services and remain open on weekends. This suggestion had the corollary that more staff would be needed.
• Community support: Telecentres that have integrated their work with existing community groups have been more successful (e.g., in Phalala, and less so in Botlokwa). Community support is also helpful for fund-raising and mobilization.
• Good marketing: For success, the telecentre must be well known and appreciated by people. This entails developing and maintaining links with community organizations, schools, and churches, and improving promotion by using all available means, including community radio and other media.
• Develop new services and remain innovative: The more successful telecentres had developed new services to meet the emerging needs of community members. Some examples included: the creation of a post office and home affairs office in Phalala; computer training in Phalala, Botlokwa, and Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo; the sale of stationery in Botlokwa; and collaboration with a local radio station in Botlokwa. Another suggestion was that computer literacy courses should be offered to community members at a minimal fee.
• Appropriate pricing: It was easier for local telecentre monopolies to make money (e.g., in Phalala), but when the telecentres were faced with competition, responsiveness and creative pricing were critical (e.g., in Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo). In contrast, in Makuleke, respondents felt that if lower prices had been charged for telephone services, the telecentre would have faired much better. Community telecentres have the added burden of competing with MTN and Vodacom public pay phones whose charges are very low.
• Security: The theft at the Mankweng telecentre demonstrated that it was important to take security measures to safeguard the equipment from theft or from destruction by other causes, such as fire.

Conclusion

The aim of the research was to collect information that would help local telecentre managers to improve the relevance and sustainability of their telecentres. It was also expected that a learning system would be developed to support self-assessment and evaluation. There were some signs that this was happening in Phalala and Bakgaga-ba-Mothapo. In both these telecentres, the research led to wider community involvement in management decisions and to greater community commitment to the telecentre. In Botlokwa, the research raised community tensions between the telecentre management and other organizations in the community. In Makuleke, the research revealed a real local need, and the dire consequences of incompetent management (in this case, the near collapse of the telecentre). In Thakgalane and Mankweng, the research highlighted problems that were not directly under the control of local actors, such as non-delivery of equipment and inappropriate choice of sites.

The results presented in this chapter suggest that although the establishment of a successful telecentre is not easy when there is local commitment, a clear and determined focus, and the necessary equipment and skills, sustainability and positive impacts can be found within the communities brought about by the telecentres. The success of Phalala community TC provides some support and preliminary evidence for the evolutionary thesis of telecentre development. As the first USA TC started in 1998, it can be said and seen to be in the user-fee independent phase.

Document(s) 11 of 18