Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / The aim of this study was to determine the information needs and uses of the informal sector in Uganda. For this purpose, it was necessary to review literature on the informal sector and to provide an overview of the information systems and services in the country. The demographic, business and cultural characteristics of the informal sector have also been established in order to identify the information needs of the informal sector and to explore the ways in which entrepreneurs seek information and the sources that they use to access such information. The study furthermore explored the uses to which information is put and the impact that it has on the sector. In addition to this, the study identified factors that affect access to information as well as shortcomings in the information services and systems of Uganda. Solutions are suggested to fill gaps that are seen to be present in the system and, finally, an information model, which generates an agenda for further research, is proposed for the sector.
The study made use of qualitative study design, the historical survey, observation, and the critical incident method to achieve its goals. The survey covered the populations residing in the various districts of Uganda, including entrepreneurs working in the informal sector. Samples were taken from six districts, of which twenty-eight persons formed the focal discussion group for the pilot district, while six-hundred-and-two entrepreneurs, twenty-three organisation representatives, and thirty-five informants represented the national population sample. Six research instruments were used in the study.
The findings show that the informal sector in Uganda dates back to prehistoric times. Uganda's information systems and services vary greatly in that they range from indigenous information systems to the more formal kinds. Adults as well as children are employed in the sector and their income is generally low. While the entrepreneurs encountered in the study usually had a very basic educational
background, there were also some well-educated people, including university graduates, working in the sector. Working hours were found to be flexible and depended on the type of activity that the entrepreneurs pursued. The activities of the sector were basically motivated by the need for personal survival, possible opportunities for further training, and the availability of market and specific skills. The study found that some 1,5 million people in the informal sector were employed by about 800,000 entrepreneurial business concerns spread throughout the rural and urban areas. Very little evidence of division of labour and organisation of production was found, while most of the businesses were found to be unregistered. Record keeping, however, was found to be prevalent among the businesses covered in the survey. Personal capital was mostly relied on for starting up the businesses, and products tended to be inferior. There was limited evidence to suggest that cultural beliefs had any influence on the sector's activities and/or performance.
The information needs of the sector were found to be contextual. Entrepreneurs typically needed information with regard to the following areas of activity: training and skills, markets and marketing techniques, cheaper sources of raw materials/supplies, finance, tools and equipment, business management and development, information centres, knowledge of production processes, advocacy and lobbying skills, new areas of investment, record keeping, quality improvement and recognition by government.
Methods of information seeking were largely found to be informal. The informal entrepreneurs made very little use of reading and libraries for accessing information, and informal sources were used more often than formal sources. However, the radio as a source of information found ubiquitous use among the entrepreneurs.
It was found that information is used in marketing, the location of raw materials/supplies, pricing of products and services, improving skills, making decisions, becoming more enlightened, in order to promote self-reliance, and in understanding current affairs, including government regulations and how to deal with and relate to other people.
The impact of information use was judged in terms of business improvement, improved coordination of workers and activities, the upgrading of skills and the creation of better opportunities, improved living standards, sales and increased profits, among others.
Problems encountered among the informal business communities included the inability to obtain required information, lack of specific sources of information, high cost of information and the time factor involved in getting the required irrforrnation. Many entrepreneurs did not know what information facilities existed and were apathetic in this regard. It was furthermore found that language barriers and illiteracy impacted negatively on entrepreneurs in their efforts to obtain information. Entrepreneurs were furthermore found to have the habit of concealing information from one another.
Problems encountered in the usage of information systems in Uganda included the following: limited use of the public library system by entrepreneurs, very few public libraries, the availability of irrelevant information in public libraries for entrepreneurs, lack of information centres for entrepreneurs, very low usage of associations for information, under-developed telecommunications infrastructure throughout the country, wrong timing of programmes on radio, low priority given to information in budgets, the publication of newspapers in a few local languages only, and poor marketing of information services.
The study recommends that, in order to increase information availability to the informal sector, it is necessary to deal with the following problems: illiteracy, languages of packaging information, convenient timing of information distributed by means of radio broadcasts, redefining the role of the public library to society, increased research into the specific types of information needed by the entrepreneurs in their different trades. The study urges'government to establish an information centre for entrepreneurs and to increase publication of information in other local languages and other formats as a means of increasing channels of information dissemination. The Government is furthermore urged to work hand in hand with the private sector to increase programmes meant for the informal sector. Organisations owning radio programmes aimed at the sector are urged to plan convenient times for airing programmes for the benefit of the entrepreneurs. Individual entrepreneurs are urged to take information seriously and to use any means available to them to acquire information. Finally, the study shows that there is an urgent need for the establishment of a policy with regard to informal sector information systems and services, and that policy frameworks need to be developed for the information systems in the country. / Makerere University
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/913 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Ikoja-Odongo, John Robert |
| Contributors | Ocholla, D.N. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
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