ICT-Based Community Development Initiatives in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa has seen many changes in the decade since the mid-1990’s but it is still struggling to rectify the damage caused by apartheid, which aimed to maintain white domination while extending racial segregation and emphasising territorial separation (Chokshi et al., 1995). The legacy of apartheid has left a large percentage of South Africa’s population living in poverty, many without proper housing or associated facilities and minimal, if any infrastructure. Another devastating effect of apartheid is the high percentage of illiteracy within South Africa due to the lack of educational amenities available to non-whites during that era. Fifty percent of the population of 42 million lives below the poverty line while 13.6% of the population aged 15 and over is not able to read or write (World Fact Book, 2003).