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Friday, 4.07.2025
Transforming Government since 2001
The national data transmission backbone and e-governance infrastructure cable will be connected to SEACOM, the East African Marine System (TEAMS) and the East African sub-marine cable system (EAASy) cables, the ICT minister has said.

Aggrey Awori said this would ease work in projects like the business process outsourcing enterprise that would support outsourcing centres to be set up by the government. Awori was speaking at the swearing-in of the new National Information Technology Authority Uganda executive director, James Saaka, at the ICT ministry boardroom.

Read more: Uganda: Government to Link Optic Cable to SEACOM

Parliament has this year created more than 20 new districts bringing the number of the local administrative units to an unprecedented 114. Uganda is one of the smallest countries in Africa with more districts than any other country on the continent. Algeria, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the largest countries in Africa but each has less than 60 districts.

This has certainly placed great strain on the limited physical and human resources with some districts having hardly any competent technocrats to run them. Another area of our public life that has been affected by the proliferation of districts in this country, is the coordination of both policy and institutional structures.

Read more: Uganda: This country urgently needs the E-government

The forthcoming African Union (AU) summit in Kampala is meant to find solutions to the high maternal deaths in Africa. Uganda has been chosen as the host for the 15th AU summit scheduled for July 25 to 27, because of its contribution towards peace and stability in Africa.

Uganda sent troops to Somalia to contribute to the peace in that region and she is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Prior to the summit, an African Youth forum will be held in Entebbe from July 17 to 19. This is a good initiative by the African governments to involve young people in matters that will affect their future.

Read more: Uganda: Save mothers’ lives using mobile phones

Education and research institutions should form partnerships to access cheaper broadband connection for e-learning, an information systems expert has said.

Prof. Meoli Karshoda of the Kenya Education Network Trust, said most institutions still rely on local Internet service providers to get bandwidth, which he said is expensive and unreliable.

“If the institutions come together, they can negotiate to get better bandwidth at lower costs for their online teaching and learning programmes,” he said.

Read more: Uganda: Education institutions advised to partner to access cheap broadband

Five weeks to the commencement of the East African common market, Uganda still lacks a standard travel document.

The protocol that will become a reality on July 1, presents one of the easy to solve logistical issues through a simple standard travel document compared to the several legal and political complexities of integration.

A common market will among others allow free movement of people and labour. Uganda does not have a standard national identification system, meaning this will present the first challenge to exploiting the common market.

Read more: Common Market: Will Ugandans survive without national IDs?

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