Technology is key

| Friday June 21, 2013 00:00

First and foremost, the financial factor has played a significant role.  It is an open secret (if at all it is a secret) that technological upgrades are costly and require that one have a healthy bank account, and unfortunately this is not the case for a majority of the population. Most Batswana's income is one that sees them scrape through on a monthly basis, one where salaries dry out before the next pay cheque arrives and this is very understandable looking at the fact that  transportation (both private and public), utility bills, food prices and mortgages are at an all time high.  Our unemployment situation is also a factor that sees many Batswana having no income at all.

One other contributing factor is simply lack of education and information on the importance of technology. Having lived in the United Kingdom for two years now I have come to appreciate that information at an early age is crucial in developing both an individual and a society.  The way things are set up in developed countries is such that the use of technological gadgets such as the personal computer (PC) is introduced to children at an early stage.

Primary schools teach pupils on the use and significance of the PC; class assignments are typed with few of those assignments still requiring hand-written work. I have come to appreciate that typed work is more presentable and has fewer errors.Now, who should we blame for the lack of technological development in Botswana? The government obviously should get its fair share of criticism in not being enthusiastic enough.  One may argue that Botswana is not financially stable to bring world class technological facilities to the country, that we are a developing country that is still getting its act together and yes, we are. But how are we going to get our act together and move forward if we are missing a major piece to the puzzle? The government should have classified this sector as one that is of the highest priority.  Investments should have been made a long time ago (since this development requires both patience and time) to set up initiatives and policies that see technology being given the necessary attention it deserves.

I do acknowledge that improvements have been made to better the technological side of things in the country but these all came a bit too late and the progress is less than satisfactory.As a nation we should be at a point where PCs are accessible to almost everyone; we should be at a point where our educators are boosted by the World Wide Web, where students can readily access information on every topic they desire to research on; at a point where the infamous 'system e down' that is being chanted every minute in public offices should not even exist. We should be at a point where young citizens can access and compare their business ideas with others all over the world with ease.

Botswana really needs to up its game, it needs to start prioritising.  Government needs to identify sectors that can drive the nation forward and definitely technology is one of those sectors that are essential in a country.  Not only will it bring in business, better our education system, and better the workforce.  It will simply make life easier.

Gaone Abotseng