Nigeria has been
accused of lacking in transparency around the Universal Service and Access
Fund, around how these funds are dispersed remains a secret, says the latest research by the United Nations Women, alleging that
estimated US$408m is sitting unspent across Africa, reports ITRealms.
The Universal Service
Provision Fund (USPF) in Nigeria is resident in Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC) with an Executive Secretary as its chief executive officer.
Nigeria, ITRealms gathered, is one
of only four African countries required to spend its Universal Service and
Access Funds (USAF) by the end of the fiscal year.
“However, there is a lack of
transparency around how these funds are dispersed,” part of the report read.
Although Nigeria is touted to have 47 per cent of the population online,
according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2015) while some 36 per cent of women are online,
as said by Web Foundation, 2015.
With an estimated US$408 million collected to
expand internet access throughout Africa sitting dormant in public coffers, the
report finds that many African governments are failing to take action to
connect women and other offline populations — despite the existence of
funds earmarked for this purpose.
The research warned that
failure to utilise these funds which is enough
to bring 6 million women online, or to provide digital skills training to 16
million women and girls — to expand connectivity to all risks widening
global inequality and undermining global development.
Though nearly half the
world is online today, close to four billion people remain unconnected. Just 22
per cent of the population in Africa is online, and the continent has the widest gap in internet use between men and women (25 per cent). Universal
Service and Access Funds (USAFs) are communal public funds dedicated to
expanding internet connectivity and access opportunities for these populations
and other underserved communities who are least likely to be connected through
market forces alone.
Further, the research
findings include that a majority of
African countries have a USAF in place that is collecting funds, amongst 37
African countries, which amounts to almost 70 per cent have a USAF set up, and
62 per cent of these funds are considered ‘active’.
But, most governments are failing to spend the USAF funds collected. In 2016, USAFs across Africa disbursed just 54%
of funds collected. Across all 37 USAFs in Africa, unspent funds total an
estimated US$408 million — enough to bring 6 million women online, or to
provide digital skills training to 16 million women and girls.
“Few countries are focused on improving women’s internet access and use —
despite the worsening digital gender gap. Just three of the 37 countries
with USAFs have universal access policies guiding the USAF that explicitly aim
to connect women and girls through the fund.
“Most USAF managers do not yet appreciate the importance of investing in
solutions to reduce the gender digital divide. Many assume that
investment in any internet access solution will equally benefit both men and
women, which is unfortunately not the case.
“Information about USAF financing, programming, and disbursement is hard
to find. Just 23 countries openly publish details on their USAF
activities; even when they do publish these details, they can be hard to find
and hard to understand, leaving citizens little power to hold the USAF to
account.”
“Analysis in the report
shows that in order to reduce the growing global gender gap in internet use — a
gap which is widest in Africa — USAFs should boost investments in
programmes that aim specifically to tackle obstacles to internet use and access
faced by women.
Commenting on the
report’s findings, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Executive Director of UN Women,
said that the Universal Service and Access Funds offer an incredible and
vastly underutilised opportunity for making real progress; an opportunity that
cannot missed.
“Every day that these
funds remain unused is another day women and girls are sidelined in the digital
revolution. We call on governments to take immediate action to put these funds
toward their intended purpose, and to work to make the digital divide history —
starting with women and girls,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
The Executive Director,
Alliance for Affordable Internet and Head of Digital Inclusion Programmes at
the Web Foundation, Sonia Jorge, said that they cannot reduce global inequality without
closing the digital divide and online gender gap.
“We must act now to stop
the online world from entrenching offline inequalities. We call on
governments to make effective and timely use of available funds, and to invest
at least 50% of them in projects aimed at bringing more women online,” she said
Chuks Egbune/GEE
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