Governments across the globe are quick to champion technology as a silver bullet for national development. From promised improvements in public service delivery to automated decision-making and reduced waste, the official narrative is often steeped in unbridled optimism.
However, a new book titled Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections argues that there is a stark difference between mere technological modernisation and genuine, inclusive development.
Co-authored by technology policy expert Siddhartha Paul Tiwari, information law specialist Oleksii Kostenko, and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov, the publication brings a rare mix of industry, legal, and high-level governance perspectives to the digital transition debate.
The book tackles a wide array of sectors, including economic growth, public administration, education, healthcare, taxation, cybersecurity, and the digital divide.
Its core strength lies in its human-centred evaluation of technology. The authors rightly observe that moving a service online does not automatically make it accessible to the ordinary citizen.
“Access is not the same as inclusion. Data is not the same as knowledge. A faster process is not always a fairer one,” the authors note, highlighting a critical reality often overlooked by policy architects.
In developing nations, a citizen may own a smartphone but lack affordable data, or a village may feature internet connectivity but lack reliable electricity.
Furthermore, the book challenges the widespread assumption that technology can single-handedly fix weak institutions. Placing a poorly designed, bureaucratic paper form onto a digital platform simply automates inefficiency, allowing flawed systems to repeat mistakes faster and at a much larger scale.
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While the book excels at diagnosing the pitfalls of techno-chauvinism, it falls short when offering policy solutions particularly for developing regions like Zimbabwe and the broader African continent.
The authors advocate for automation, digital infrastructure, and public-private partnerships, yet they give limited attention to the harsh economic realities on the ground. Many developing nations grapple with:
For a reader in Zimbabwe, where digital transition projects must contend with currency volatility, power deficits, and procurement hurdles, the book’s high-level recommendations lack necessary local grounding.
The publication would have benefited immensely from concrete case studies illustrating real-world project failures, cost overruns, and political compromises. Given Yekhanurov’s background as a former prime minister, the book misses an opportunity to delve into the messy realities of government where ministers compromise, agencies battle over jurisdiction, and citizens bypass poorly designed digital systems.
Despite these shortcomings, Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development remains a valuable, highly accessible primer for students, public officials, and policymakers.
Its overarching reminder is one that treasury authorities and ICT ministries across Africa would do well to remember: technology must serve national development, not act as a shiny substitute for it.
