| By
our reporter
During its re-election bid in 2006, the NRM as a contesting
party came up with a campaign manifesto short-listing measures
it would adopt in order to improve the country, if it was
elected to power. One of the clauses in the document pledged
that ‘…..NRM shall pursue the promotion of ICTs
to increase [Uganda’s] competitiveness in the globalized
economy.’
Recently, a local NGO, Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
commissioned a study to measure the progress of Information
Communication Technology implementation in Uganda. The study,
carried out by Julius Torach, Dorothy Okello and Goretti
Amuriat found that whereas the policy and legislative framework
was in place and the political will existed, ICT development
in Uganda was being constrained by a number of factors,
including the rural/urban divide, a lack of awareness about
the advantages of ICTs, and a low level of skills.
The study used the objectives laid out in the World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS) Plan of Action as its
benchmark. The WSIS Plan of Action provides a global reference
point for setting targets to improve access to ICTs. The
plan includes addressing the urban/rural divide, and connecting
educational institutions, health facilities, public libraries
and cultural centres, among other objectives.
It has basic e-government targets (such as providing government
departments with websites), and encourages countries to
adapt school and tertiary education curricula to meet the
needs of the information society. It also states that people
should have access to broadcast services and that content
should be localised.
Among the strides made by the government towards reaching
the WSIS Plan of Action includes the creation of a ministry
to oversee the development of ICT in the country, the deregulation
of Telecom markets, ICT trade liberalisation, and abolition
of taxes on computers. The setting up of the Rural Communications
Development Fund (RCDF) under the Uganda Communication Commission
was another notable change. The study found that these measures
have promoted the proliferation of ICT usage in the country.
Implementation
The implementation of the National ICT Policy in Uganda
involves various ministries, district and local authorities,
development partners and non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), as well as the private sector. The study found that
progress had been made in a number of areas, including developing
a national backbone, rural access, education, systems integration,
and stimulating private sector investment.
It’s government policy to develop ICT infrastructure
that will enable connectivity in schools, health centres,
agricultural extension units and administrative and commercial
centres throughout the country.
According to the study, the government is currently conducting
an e-government and national backbone infrastructure study
in partnership with the government of China, as part of
its responsibility. This will lead to the laying of a fibre-optic
backbone that will extend high-speed connectivity across
the country. It is expected that the national backbone will
enable the setup of an integrated e-government system and
extend the current communications network to rural areas.
To facilitate rural access, subsidies have been granted
to service providers by the RCDF. These subsidies contribute
towards the provision of communications services in various
parts of the country in the form of:
• ICT training centres and internet cafés.
More than 54 ICT training centres and 50 internet cafés
have been set up countrywide through public-private partnerships.
The target was to cover all the districts of Uganda by June
2006. New districts have since been created and will be
catered for under the same arrangement.
• Internet PoPs. In order to facilitate local internet
access and reduce usage cost in the country, the UCC subsidised
the installation of internet points of presence (PoPs) in
32 districts (out of the then 56 districts – the number
of districts has now been increased to over 80).
• District information portals (DIPs). The UCC also
facilitated the development of information portals for all
the districts to allow information to be shared with local
communities, development partners and the outside world.
• Public payphones. The UCC has facilitated the installation
of public payphones in 316 selected sub-counties across
the country since 2004. The government plans to provide
access to a public telephone for every 1,200 people in the
rural areas by the year 2010.
ICTs are being integrated in educational institutions at
all levels.
Most universities and other tertiary institutions are currently
offering ICT-related courses. In addition, there are several
initiatives and organisations promoting ICTs for development
in schools in both urban and rural areas.
Some government departments are using ICTs to enhance service
delivery.
Impact and challenges
While the prevailing policy and legislative environment
in Uganda supports ICT development, actual implementation
is being hampered by a number of challenges on the ground.
Another study conducted by Tusubira, Kaggwa and Ongora concerning
telecommunications and e-usage in Uganda revealed that access
to basic telephony services in rural areas is still unacceptably
low. The study notes that mobile telephony has the potential
for the rapid achievement of nationwide access if key barriers
– such as the initial cost of the phones, the absence
of convenient ways of recharging, as well as the high taxes
on airtime – are addressed.
The same study also revealed that access to the internet
across
the entire country is far below what would be expected with
the
policy and regulatory environment in Uganda. Key issues
such as supporting the generation and dissemination of relevant
content; developing the national fibre optic backbone and
connecting Uganda to the global network; encouraging the
local assembly of computers to bring down costs; and integrating
ICT skills training at all levels of education, must urgently
be addressed by both government and the regulator.
According to the Telecommunications Sector Policy Review,
only about 25% of the population in rural areas utilises
payphone services on a regular basis. Regular usage in urban
areas is just over 60%, due to higher incomes, greater ease
of access and awareness.
There is also no access to voice over internet protocol
(VoIP) in rural areas (it is still very limited in urban
areas) and there is almost insignificant access to and utilisation
of computers and the internet in areas outside the major
urban centres.
The e-Government Strategy Framework shows that most government
offices do not have an internet connection, that bandwidth
is overpriced and concentrated in cities and a few major
towns, and that there is a general lack of awareness of
ICTs in both the urban and rural context. Furthermore, it
says that Uganda has difficulty in attracting, recruiting
and retaining skilled ICT personnel.
Finally, the government has so far not developed adequate
strategies to integrate ICTs into national development plans,
including the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), a
comprehensive poverty eradication and development strategy.
However, the National Planning Authority (NPA) has now taken
the initiative to correct this.
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