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had been given out as loans to students between 1994-1999 according to anecdotal evidence.
CHAPTER 3
3. EXISTING USE OF COMPUTERS IN TANZANIA
3.1 Deployment of ICT in Tanzania 3.2 Status of ICT in Tanzania
3.2.1 The National ICT Programmes and Projects 3.3 The Overall ICT Environment in Tanzania
3.3.1 Access to ICT Facilities 3.3.2 ICT and Education
3.4 ICT and Society
3.1 Deployment of ICT in Tanzania
Rapid global technological changes have made services enabled by ICT a prerequisite for socio-economic development because it enables people to
share and exchange information, knowledge and experience, and thus empowers them to address the challenges they encounter in every day life
more easily. ICT is vital for good governance including gender balance, poverty reduction, health, social and education services improvement, and
for opening new opportunities for creating wealth. Tanzania embarked on the development of ICT only few years ago.
Initiatives to develop ICT came from individual, public and private entities. Although these initiatives recorded commendable achievements, the lack of
an overall policy and poor harmonization have led to random adoption to different systems standards as well as wasteful duplication. Recognizing the
development potential of ICT and the need to address the issue of
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coordination and harmonization, in 2001, the government appointed the Ministry of Communication and Transport as the national ICT coordinator
and a focal point of all ICT related issues. The main tasks of the ministry communication and transport were to formulate and prepare the national ICT
policy document that will guide the provision of ICT services in Tanzania, and to recommend a suitable and sustainable
institutional setup which will be responsible for the facilitation of ict services to all sectors of the
economy. The ministry is also required to create a conducive environment that encourages growth of public-private partnership in ict development.
Over the years Tanzania has achieved notable progress in deploying ict. The achievement was a result of various adjustments since early nineties in
policy, regulatory and commercial facets, both macroeconomic and within ICTs converging sector. The private sector has certainly contributed to these
achievements by investing in among others, support facilities, training centers and sales outlets. These efforts have enabled government
departments, institutions of learning, non-governmental organizations NGOs, as well as other private entrepreneurs, to acquire ict solutions that
address their individual problems more appropriately. The plan is to integrate ict into Tanzania’s national development plan aiming at improving
the living standard and quality of life of Tanzanians and creating a more informed society.
3.2 Status Of ICT In Tanzania
