The Socio-Economic Impacts of Telecentres in Rural Tanzania : A Case Study of Sengerema District Council, Mwanza Region

This book examines how the telecentre has benefited its users in respect of social and economic aspects in Sengerema District Council, Mwanza Region [Tanzania]. The book identifies the type of services offered by the telecentre, computer and information literacy levels of users, the benefits which users get from using the telecentre, challenges which rural communities face in accessing information, and proposes strategic measures to address the challenges. The findings indicate that Sengerema telecentre provided computer training, internet connection, radio programmes, English language teaching, and other services. In general, the users believed that the centre has helped improve their community's wellbeing and the study concludes that Sengerema MCT has impacted the community. However, with regard to its original objectives, the impacts do not correspond to the progress of the district. It is recommended that the telecentre should acquire reliable power supply and train people in how to use new information and communication services, and the information provided should be in local languages in order to facilitate equitable access to information for rational decision-making.