Harnessing ICT’s Capacity Building for Marginalized Communities of Vhembe District Municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Information Communication Technology (ICT) brings hope to marginalised people who are excluded from participating in the mainstream activities in South Africa, such as groups of people living in communities within the Vhembe district Municipality. This study investigated the factors affecting marginalized people from using ICT services for development and went on to propose a sustainable information and communication technology (ICT) framework. This study gathered reliable empirical data to gain a deeper understanding of the impacts of ICTs capacity for development in marginalised groups in South Africa. This was done by reviewing ICT policies and ICT regulation making process. A literature review was conducted to enhance the understanding of human capabilities through ICTs. The review examined many articles to identify the different theories of development and the role of technologies in the process of development. This study adopted a positivism research paradigm associated with quantitative research for hypothesis testing. This study is intended to propose a framework to facilitate the development of ICT capacity among the marginalized people. This study is underpinned by Amartya Sen's Capability Approach and theories that operationalise it, to evaluate the impact of ICTs towards human capabilities. The framework provides a multidimensional perspective to understand capacity building of marginalised communities and how ICTs can be a catalyst empowerment. The study will contribute to the ongoing debate on the impact of ICT provision and usage in marginalized people for capacity building (CB).