In search of development in a national ICT policy

Abstract

The hype on the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) continues. At the same time, the failure of ICT for Development (ICT4D) projects is still on the rise. As with other drivers of development initiatives, the effectiveness of ICT as a tool for development will partly be determined by the national policies. Bad policies are likely to have a negative impact which may range from underdevelopment to wasteful spending. It is therefore in the interest of many stakeholders that the ICT policies should capture and shape the role of ICT in development in the correct way. As such, the main aim of this paper is to interrogate and probably uncover the interests of a policy in relation to development. This is particularly relevant for developing countries where ICT policies are known to fail and to lack relevance. To do this, this study uses Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action to analyse Swaziland's National ICT Policy in an attempt to understand its appreciation of development. Findings show that the policy conceptualises development as a form of modernism and economic advancement. The study also shows that the ICT policy has a distorted view of the role of ICT in development. It is hoped that the findings of the study will serve to inform policy-makers of potential blind-spots in their policy formulation.