Editor,

Yesterday’s edition of The New Times reported that over 2,000 residents of Buyoga Sector, Rulindo District, were this week awarded certificates after completing a one-month course in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Certainly, ICT is crucial and contributes significantly to economic development. Information and communication technologies have been at the core of economic transformation for more than a decade in majority of the countries mostly in the developed world.

While ICT has grown leaps and bounds within our urban areas, rural areas have lagged behind. The advantages of ICT in the rural areas are innumerable. For instance, the recent launch of the telemedicine scheme aims to provide an online network for all hospitals and health districts in the country making healthcare cheaper in the country. To strengthen governance, government could make human rights and civic education information accessible to the general public thus becoming an important means to disseminate information about the political situation locally and internationally. On the other hand, through mobile phones, farmers can obtain up-to-date market prices updated in real time to gauge to determine production.

Therefore, other districts must borrow a leaf from Rulindo District and promote ICT among rural residents to fast track development.

Justin Gatare
Gatsibo