SANGONeT ... attempting a rescue of poorly performing telecentres

APC member SANGONeT features in this report titled South Africa: Rescue Attempt On Poorly Performing Telecentres. Says the Johannesburg-datelined report in Business Day, which is South Africa's major business-oriented daily: "Dozens of telecentres set up to take telecommunications services to rural areas have been an absolute waste of time and money, says an organisation trying to salvage them. Of 133 telecentres set up by the Universal Service Agency (USA), many are underused, entirely dysfunctional or have turned into private businesses benefiting the people appointed to run them. Now a three-year project is under way to revive some of the centres and assess which should be written off. This report quotes SANGONeT executive-director David Barnard as saying: ""There are some fairly critical views about the impact telecentres have had and to a large extent those criticisms are valid. Real questions have been raised about their relevance and whether millions of rands have been pumped into a big black hole with little to show for it." Says the report: "Sangonet, a body that helps development agencies use IT in the communities they serve, is driving the telecentre overhaul."