IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Minster of ICT and National Guidance, Hon Frank Tumwebaze has said only through improved technology, will Uganda be able to fight and defeat corruption in government.

Speaking Friday at the opening of the MTN Expo at Kololo Independence grounds, the minster applauded the high level of innovatiion which MTN has exhibited in the 20years of its operation in Uganda.

The conference attracts more than 1,400 participants from over 90 countries.

E-learning Africa, the leading pan-African conference on technology-assisted learning, is always innovative, exciting and entertaining, offering a unique opportunity to the latest challenges and initiatives in education and training. ICT for education can support a number of vital functions such as educational administration, student access to education, and teacher up-skilling.

Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) will roll out the Electronic Procurement System in 10 government entities beginning July 1, 2019.

The system seeks to promote transparency as well as eliminate corruption in procurement processes.

Speaking to Daily Monitor recently about the progress of e-government procurement, Ms Florence Nakyeyune, the PPDA e-government procurement manager, said the system will first be piloted in PPDA, National Information Technology Authority, Kampala Capital City Authority and Uganda National Roads Authority.

Speaking at an ICT workshop for Cabinet ministers in Kampala on Sept. 21 Amama Mbabazi, Uganda's prime minister said government is committed to implementing the technologies through its agencies like the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda and the Uganda Communications Commission.

Good governance that is generally characterized by participation, transparency and accountability in the citizen's exercise of their political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country's affairs calls for E-governance underpinning. This is particularly important with the increasing awareness among citizens about their rights and as a result of increased expectations from Governments to perform and deliver effective services.

These new and complex demands have made the use of ICT initiatives imperative in any agenda drawn towards achieving good governance. With e-governance or electronic governance that is basically harnessing the application of information technologies to the processes of Government functioning in order to address citizen's needs and expectations, service delivery is expected to improve.

Google has announced that Project Link, an initiative to help connect more people to fast and affordable broadband Internet, is launching a Wi-Fi hotzone network to improve the quality and affordability of wireless access, a key need to meet the bandwidth demands of the Kampala’s growing number of mobile phone users.

Project Link first started by building of a super-fast fiber network in Kampala that could be used by any mobile operator or Internet service provider to help them improve the quality of access and launch new services, such as 4G. By bringing abundant capacity to the city, which is used today by a dozen local providers, Project Link’s fiber network is providing a foundation for better connectivity in Uganda’s capital.

As one way of deepening service delivery, government agencies offering online services are set to be recognized at the preliminary NITA e-government excellence awards.

Arnold Mangeni the Director of information security at National Technology Authority (NITA-U) says this event intends to create awareness about services offered.

President Museveni is expected to preside over the launch of the NBI in Kampala, which is expected to revolutionise communication among government departments and agencies and improve service delivery.

The NBI is expected to strengthen government strategies in utilising information and communications technology to create efficient government functions through simplified procedures and ensuring transparency, accountability and availability of timely information for citizens.

The e-toolkits are online collections which contain useful and reliable health information to promote health.

The Chief of Party Health communication Partnership, Cheryl Lettenmaier says the eight e-toolkits contain information and communication resources to support public health education in areas of Pediatric HIV, Family Planning, and HIV care and treatment couple counseling among others.

People who want to visit Uganda for business or pleasure can now apply for visas and permits online, thanks to the introduction of e-visa system.

The new system, which started functioning this financial year, eliminates earlier bureaucratic procedures which were slow and tedious.

Daily Monitor reported on Tuesday, that Muhlbauer Technology Group was contracted in March 2010 without competitive bidding on the orders of President Museveni, after reported lobbying by the then German ambassador to Kampala, Reinhard Butchnolz, who met the President, a week before the contract was signed, to make a case for the firm.

The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance has so far supported 70 locally developed applications.

Vincent Bagiire, the Permanent Secretary says they have managed to support a total of 70 locally developed applications up to commercialization stage.

The report has details about how government plans to use ICT tools like computers and the internet among others to improve service delivery to the people. The report suggests that there will be solutions that will provide for central places where one can access all the information they need from government departments.

The government is working around the clock to set up an enabling environment for e-commerce.

Mr Peter Kahigi, the director for e-commerce services at the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U), has said the government is working around the clock to ensure there are rules and regulations to govern the e-commerce services in the country.

Cabinet has resolved and directed the Ministry of East African Affairs to start the implementation of East African International electronic passport.

The weekly Cabinet sitting on Monday at State House Entebbe, according to a statement read at Media Center, concluded that the issuance of the regional e-Passport should start on December 10th 2018.

The e-governance system will also improve monitoring of administration and enhance efficiency in public service, according to Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the information and communications technology minister.

Rugunda made the revelation yesterday while receiving the e-government master plan which was developed by the National IT Promotional Agency (NIPA) from South Korea.

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing and storage capacity as a service to a heterogeneous community of end-recipients. The solution entrusts services with a user's data, software and computation over a network. The National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) is spearheading the initiative, which the body says promises more affordability, security, features and accessibility in a sea of devices.

Information Communication Technology minister, Ruhakana Rugunda launched the Government unified messaging and Collaboration Platform at NITA-U.

The data Centre is part of the IT infrastructure that will host key Government applications starting with secure messaging and collaboration systems.

The strategy aims to promote accountability and transparency especially in all public procurement departments. The World Bank has funded the implementation of the strategy to a tune of $5.8m (Shs 15.6bn).

Addressing a press conference at UCC offices in Kampala, the Permanent secretary of the ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Dr. Jimmy Samanya said UCC had already installed the equipment to detect, prevent and respond to cyber threats.

He explained that UCC’s facility will serve as a national center for the country and provide guidance and training for organizations such as banks, media houses and institutions to install the equipment to fight cyber-crime.