Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree: Master of Technology: Entrepreneurial Studies and Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / Different social classes of people in South Africa are divided, digitally. This phenomenon manifests as a disparity of information in ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), which is a matter of concern, as the use of ICT is acknowledged to greatly influence the world today, more specifically so in rural areas. An investigation to determine which factors affect rural communities’ access to information, as well as progress levels that can be realised in the support means employed by people resident in rural areas, through introducing ICT’s in their day-to-day living, thus addresses the purported ‘digital divide’. The study’s population was drawn from the Dibate Village community, located in Mmabatho in Mafikeng, South Africa. Recommendations from the findings, point out how ICT facilities can be utilised in the development of rural communities, not just socially but also economically. As main objective, the study evaluates and examines the use of ICT facilities for commercial activities, in uplifting the rural community in the area of Dibate Village. This study is of value to governmental and non-governmental organisations where improving both socio-economic development and service delivery is concerned, in South Africa’s rural areas. / M

This study investigates the use of telecentres for educational purposes in telecommunications under-serviced regions of South Africa. The problem addressed by this research has both equity and efficiency aspects. In particular, the thesis examines the impact of telecentres on the formal and non-formal education outcomes of recipient communities - four telecentres, two in townships and two in rural areas. The urban telecentres are Siyabonga in Orange Farm near Johannesburg and Mamelodi Communication and Information Services (MACIS), in Mamelodi township, near Pretoria in Gauteng Province. The rural telecentres are Tombo near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape Province and Hoxani near Bushbuckridge on the Mpumalanga-Limpopo Province border. The main aim of the research is to conduct a quantitative survey of the telecentre users’ use of telecentres in the above mentioned locations. On the basis of this, the thesis seeks to come to some conclusions about the use and effectiveness of the South African telecentre program. The quantitative analysis of users is supported by a qualitative report and analysis of data gathered through personal interviews of telecentre operators and employees. The thesis reports on the outputs of the centres, limitations in their function, inhibitors to their economic performance, and recommendations for improving their operations. Some of the findings are that telecentres established through public-private partnership (PPP) funding are more effective and successful, computer literacy is a major resource offered, Hoxani telecentre offers outcomes-based education management skills training for local teachers, while Tombo, MACIS and Siyabonga telecentres offer additional business and electronic courses. The thesis also reviews the South African telecentre program against the background of similar programs in selected Asian and Latin American countries, Australia, Canada, and Europe and against the background of an analysis of South African post-apartheid telecommunications sector reforms (1996 to 2007). Insights into the unique nature of challenges facing geographically located telecentres as well as a new model for understanding telecentre operations in South Africa are offered. / Communication Science / D.Litt. et Phil.(Communication Science)

This study investigates the use of telecentres for educational purposes in telecommunications under-serviced regions of South Africa. The problem addressed by this research has both equity and efficiency aspects. In particular, the thesis examines the impact of telecentres on the formal and non-formal education outcomes of recipient communities - four telecentres, two in townships and two in rural areas. The urban telecentres are Siyabonga in Orange Farm near Johannesburg and Mamelodi Communication and Information Services (MACIS), in Mamelodi township, near Pretoria in Gauteng Province. The rural telecentres are Tombo near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape Province and Hoxani near Bushbuckridge on the Mpumalanga-Limpopo Province border. The main aim of the research is to conduct a quantitative survey of the telecentre users’ use of telecentres in the above mentioned locations. On the basis of this, the thesis seeks to come to some conclusions about the use and effectiveness of the South African telecentre program. The quantitative analysis of users is supported by a qualitative report and analysis of data gathered through personal interviews of telecentre operators and employees. The thesis reports on the outputs of the centres, limitations in their function, inhibitors to their economic performance, and recommendations for improving their operations. Some of the findings are that telecentres established through public-private partnership (PPP) funding are more effective and successful, computer literacy is a major resource offered, Hoxani telecentre offers outcomes-based education management skills training for local teachers, while Tombo, MACIS and Siyabonga telecentres offer additional business and electronic courses. The thesis also reviews the South African telecentre program against the background of similar programs in selected Asian and Latin American countries, Australia, Canada, and Europe and against the background of an analysis of South African post-apartheid telecommunications sector reforms (1996 to 2007). Insights into the unique nature of challenges facing geographically located telecentres as well as a new model for understanding telecentre operations in South Africa are offered. / Communication Science / D.Litt. et Phil.(Communication Science)