Influence of mobile telephony utilization on spatial economic development of fisher communities in Lake Victoria, Kisumu west sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

The use of mobile telephony is one of the most striking and fastest growing Information and Communications Technology advancements in Africa in the 21st century. However, in Africa, there have been concerns over disparities in the geographical rollout of mobile phones and challenges of cellular access. Fishing, which is a key economic activity in the Lake Victoria region, involves dealing in perishable products which require time critical transactions which mobile phones are able to provide. Mobile telephony has been used to advance various economic activities in the world. However, studies that explore mobile phone use and its influence on spatial economic development of fisher communities are limited. The extent to which mobile phones are being utilized to enhance business transactions for the perishable fish products was not known despite the fact that beaches in Lake Victoria, Kisumu County suffer lack of storage facilities and poor road network. Furthermore, development plans that can make mobile phones a transformative tool for spatial economic development planning in Kenya are not clearly documented. The study therefore sought to establish the influence of mobile telephony utilization on spatial economic development of fisher communities in Lake Victoria, Kisumu West Sub-County. The specific objectives were to assess the level of mobile telephony utilization among the fisher communities in Lake Victoria; to establish the influence of mobile telephony utilization on the business transactions of fisher communities in Lake Victoria and to assess the influence of mobile telephony utilization on spatial economic development of superstructures and infrastructure of beaches in Lake Victoria, Kisumu West Sub-County, Kenya. The study used spatial economic theory and time space convergence concept to understand the relationships of the key constructs of fishing activities, mobile telephony and spatial economic development of fisher communities. Cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs were used in the study. Three hundred and nineteen fishers were sampled using stratified random sampling from a population of 699 from six major beaches namely, Usoma, Ogal, Usare, Paga, Rari and Rota. Data was collected through interviews and non-participant observation. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential methods which included Chi-Square, correlation and regression analysis. The findings indicate that, while ownership of mobile telephony was 92.5%, it had contributed to only 5.3% variation in business transaction and accounted for 29.4% change in spatial economic development of infrastructure and superstructures in the beaches. The study found that location of mobile banking superstructures were mostly in the periphery of the beaches. The study concludes that there is a high level of ownership of mobile telephony, and it positively influenced business transactions and spatial economic development of the beaches in Kisumu West Sub-County, Kenya. However, the potential use of mobile telephony had not been optimized despite the fact that mobile telephony was crucial for bridging the temporal gap and overcoming the transport communication challenges. ICT support hubs should be introduced within the beaches to support use of mobile telephony. Beach Management Units should create conditions that are attractive for investors and allow for development of infrastructure and super-structures within the beach boundaries to support mobile telephony use.