Nevertheless, there is clearly a role for technology to play in development, even in countries that still struggle to meet the basic needs of food, shelter and sanitation. So argued Adama Samass�kou, president of the African Academy of Languages and former education minister of Mali.

Samass�kou took part in a weeklong conference on e-government at the Salzburg Seminar, which involved more than 40 govern! ment officials and academics from a range of countries.

The conference discussions focused on the need for governments to listen to citizens and be prepared to undertake sweeping reforms to make e-government effective. For example, Samass�kou said, in many parts of Africa most of the population is illiterate and therefore could not benefit from electronic dissemination of public information. He also noted that even the public education system teaches children in English, French or other languages they do not speak at home.

"E-government should stand for 'how to make it easy government' ... and 'education government' ... making people more at ease and being able to see their place in it," Samass�kou said, adding that if citizens were to become more active participants in government, then they needed to understand their stake in government, but they would not be able to understand that relationship if their could not read and write -- a pr! oblem affecting about 80 percent of the population of Mali, for example.

Samass�kou said if the wealthier nations wanted to ensure their financial assistance to Africa would not be wasted and would foster better government across the continent, then it was in their best interest to improve communications between governments and their constituents.

If large segments of the public need to be taught basic literacy and computer knowledge, he said technology could play a primary role. First, however, governments would need to determine more precisely the size of their populations.

"We don't even have an accurate count of how many people there are," he said.

Toward that end, computer technology could be used to collect and store population data and compile detailed analyses of national and local budgets, among other statistics.

Samass�kou noted there has been some progress on the technolog! y front across Africa. For example, mobile-phone ownership has accelerated in developing countries, because the systems require far less infrastructure than landline phones. Mobile networks have become an indispensable part of African economies, he said.

South Africa and other sub-Saharan nations have employed private consultancy groups, such as Kemilinks International, to provide IT training. Also, investment conferences, such as the one held in Nigeria last May, attracted great interest from investors of industrialized nations.

Some leading analysts, such as Jeffrey Sachs of Colombia University -- who played a key role in designing the African debt-relief package at the latest G8 meeting -- have argued that Africa must begin to address its basic needs before private investment in technology and other sectors can begin. One South African government official, however, told UPI otherwise.

"There are lots of opportunities o! ut there for companies to make money," said the official, who requested anonymity, "and to help Africa at the same time. It just takes a bit more thought and creativity ... and that's what's really lacking right now."

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