The use of telecentres in Tanzania: a case study of Kilosa District.

Kilosa district council launched its telecentre in 2004 yet there is poor information accessibility among people in the district. This study aimed at examining how people in the study area used telecentre services and resources to meet their information needs. The study was conducted in Kilosa district Morogoro region. The fieldwork was guided by a modified Debbie (2003) model on the use of telecentre. The study applied a survey where, observation and interviews were employed. The instruments (or data collection used were observation, documentary review and structured and unstructured questionnaire. Sixty nine males and 31 females were included in the sample. Research findings showed that Kilosa telecentre provided computer training and radio service. The use of the telecentre services was highly influenced by level of education, age, income and distance from telecentre. Findings also showed that people in the study area needed almost all types of information. The study concludes that Kilosa telecentre had not met its information provision objective that most people relied on other information sources than the telecentre. The study recommends that as cell phones are becoming effective in information provision, cell phones service providers should extend their services in rural areas. Telecentres on the other hand should promote computer training and internet connectivity rather than telephony.