Digital pervasiveness and divisiveness: the role of an African government in enabling healthy digital futures

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dc.article.end-page12
dc.article.start-page1
dc.contributor.authorBashir, Iman
dc.contributor.authorOyewale, Fisayo
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-19T14:44:15Z
dc.date.available2024-02-19T14:44:15Z
dc.date.issued2023-09
dc.departmentSouth African Institute of International Affairs
dc.description.abstractAfrica has been said to be left behind during the past industrial revolutions. In the face of the fourth industrial revolution, in which digitalisation plays a key role, technology is seen as pervasive (according to African digital futures), especially in its cross-sectorial application and everyday use. The use of digital tools and applications remains driven by growing interconnection, intelligent automation and interoperability, which continue to influence digital innovations and divides. Studies revealed disparity in the statistics regarding mobile internet connectivity for the already connected, coverage and the usage gap. The coverage gap was most pronounced, further widening the digital divide beyond location and affordability. Without addressing the issues of access, affordability and regulation, existing inequalities, digital vulnerabilities, political and ethnic divides escalate further. Research has also shown that open data in the continent contributes to government transparency, accountability and public innovation. However, few open data initiatives actively promote inclusion and equity. This research explores the diverse perspectives of digital age themes, alongside the opportunities, risks, paradoxes and techno-determinism, to analyse the efforts of African governments to digitally transform the continent. This paper further builds on the African digital governance project, which explored the value of data, ownership, policy and digitally enabled political participation. This essay explores the continent's ability for collective transformation, using the 5D model of appreciative inquiry, and suggests several points of view for escaping the status quo.
dc.description.librarianMM2024
dc.description.sponsorshipHanns Seidel Stiftung
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Law and Management
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37669
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.relation.ispartofseriesTayarisha Working Paper Series | No: 2023/006
dc.rights©2023 Tayarisha African Centre of Excellence in Digital Governance
dc.schoolWits School of Governance
dc.subjectAfrican Governance
dc.subjectDigital Age
dc.subjectDigital pervasiveness
dc.subjectFutures
dc.subjectData
dc.subjectDiversity and inclusion
dc.subjectGovernance
dc.subject.otherSDG-9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
dc.titleDigital pervasiveness and divisiveness: the role of an African government in enabling healthy digital futures
dc.typeWorking Paper
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*Wits School of Governance - African Governance in the Digital Age (Working papers)