The road less travelled : a critical reflection on infrastructure development in Africa from a perspective of the new economics of information

Abstract

Many developed countries claim today the status of knowledge societies, since they have invested heavily in human capacity building as well as in the development of an efficient information infrastructure that is supported by a physical infrastructure comprising a network of roads, railways, airports and harbours. For many countries on the African continent this has become a highway less travelled, as these countries lack efficient and cost-effective information infrastructure development. This goes (in many cases) hand in hand with an inability to benefit economically from the application of modern information and communication technology (ICT). However, it has become imperative that information infrastructure investment should go hand in hand with aggressive physical infrastructure development. Africa will only bear the economic fruit of investment in information technology if it is supported by the further development of its roads, railways, airports and harbours. Without these there can be very little economic progress.