"A consultant has been selected to make a technical audit to see if government got value for money," Mr Nyombi said at a meeting to discuss Uganda's digital broadcasting migration, in Kampala yesterday. "The contractor has accepted to fill the gaps in case of any inadequacy that is detected," he added.
In 2006, the government contracted Huawei Technologies Company, a Chinese company, to implement the 2,122 kilometre National Data Transmission Backbone and E-Government Infrastructure (NBI/EGI) for $106.6 million (Shs277 billion) by 2009.
The cable, which is in its second phase, is aimed at boosting local internet connectivity and delivery of government services to Ugandans across the country in a more efficient way.
However, the project has been delayed over claims of inflated costs, and wrong choice of the data cable. The delay has affected government plans to offer electronic services to people through various ministries - a benefit that would have been realised with the smooth conclusion of the cable.
The minister declined to name the consultant who has been contracted to investigate the discrepancies in the project. But he said that the consultant is expected to complete investigations within 30 days (by the end August). "The consultant starts his work on Sunday," he told journalists on the sidelines of the meeting.
The minister made the comments with respect to Huawei's involvement in Uganda's migration from analogue to digital broadcasting through a $74 million (Shs192 billion) deal that it signed with the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), a national broadcaster. The ministry of finance stopped the deal after the government discovered flaws in the procurement procedures for the contractor and cost of the contract, according to media sources.
Huawei's choice followed the appointment of UBC as the carrier of all radio and television signals from other broadcasters by the government in April. UBC was given the mandate under the current transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, which Uganda must complete by December 31, 2012 in line with other East African states.
The transition is part of the global movement towards digital broadcasting by 2015, as agreed in 2006 by member countries of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The advancement is aimed at improving the quality of television and radio content and to create more room for many more service providers who may want to join the broadcasting business.
Yesterday, it emerged that UBC is behind schedule in the transition and as such other broadcasters cannot execute their projects to beat the regional deadline. Mr Thembo warned that UBC is bound to lose its monopoly should it make it difficult for private broadcasters to help Uganda migrate to the new transmission regime. "If we detect that you become a constraint in this migration, we will not hesitate to be constrained to revisit this policy," he said.
Captain Francis Babu the chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters in Uganda said that private broadcasters were still opposed to UBC being the sole signal distributor because the state company is their competitor. "We want a fair body to control the infrastructure and we want to be part of it," he said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Walter Wafula
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 24.07.2011
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