| Summary: | This article closely examines the political economy of information and communication technology (ICT) adoption in the 'new' South Africa. Despite Government's emphasis on the importance of ICTs in fostering equitable growth, enshrined in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) documents, these policies have largely failed to deliver on promises of a more equitable society.1Indeed, wealth remains in the hands of an elite minority. South Africa ranks 121st out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI).2 The trend of this index in South Africa has been downward since 1995 and decreased by 4.67 per cent over the 2000 to 2005 period.3 Worryingly, unofficial unemployment stands at over 40 per cent.4 Intriguingly, despite this apparent lack of impact of ICTs on development indicators in South Africa, the ANC Government continues to embrace them. With this in mind, this article argues that the technological determinism in associating ICTs with development is a potentially fatal one and is cause for concern. This determinism is explored through the lenses of competing, contradictory and inconsistent Government views on ICT policy, the digital divide, development and a case study of the cellphone.
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