Africans have a poor reading culture. This might have originated from the oral traditions that characterised African societies for a long time, or from the nature of the formal education that sub-Saharan countries embraced after independence or from some other cause. But whatever it was, it is clear that the cause of the poor reading culture in African societies prevented the African mind from growing the right attitude for continuous learning. 

While the right attitude for continuous learning was of limited importance prior to the information and knowledge ages, it is no longer the case today. To become productive in the 21st century, you need knowledge and skills in the information and communications technology (ICT). To become competitively productive however, you need the right attitude for continuous learning, in addition to the knowledge and skilled in ICT. The absence of this attitude in the African mindset has important implications to sub Saharan economies in the 21st century.

Although the 21st century presents numerous opportunities to Uganda and other sub-Saharan economies, these opportunities demand for a workforce that is or can be competitively productive. In other words, that Uganda is unlikely to seize the abundant opportunities at its doorsteps and turn them into sustainable development efforts. This means that the investments this country is channeling into ICT infrastructure, ICT services, ICT research and training, etc. will have limited impact on its development.