Govt earmarks Shs740b for digital transformation

Barcelona, Spain. The government has stepped up efforts to invest in cloud technology to enable ministries, departments and agencies to store and retrieve information with ease from a central pool, a minister has said.

Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the minister for Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance, speaking at a media roundtable during the Mobile World Congress underway in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday, said information was a key pillar of proper governance and development.

Under the arrangement, Immigration, Police, Nira, Electoral Commission and others would benefit from the central information system which also would include latest data from the upcoming national census. 

The government, he said, has earmarked $200m to fast track digital transformation, and is expecting another $150m from the China Exim Bank to lay the last mile of the fibre cable so that all data of Ugandans are pooled together and government information is stored in cloud.

“We are in the process of establishing a national cloud and data centre for all our data and systems and we are already at 30 percent. We have been working with Huawei Technologies to lay the backbone infrastructure which covers more than half of the country, and I must thank them for the work they have done for this transformation journey, we are now going to the fifth phase, which is the last mile, this year” he said.

“Cabinet and Parliament already approved a loan of 200 million dollars to finance the Uganda Digital Acceleration Project (UDAP), which is being handled by National Information Technology Authority-Uganda. We already have the money and should complete the backbone infrastructure by the next quota; say May or June,” he said, adding: “The money from Exim Bank will help us distribute internet to the last mile and rural areas, which in turn will lower the cost of internet because of reach to many.” 

Digital transformation, he said, would be seen in e-governance, improved healthcare systems, better education facilities, modern agriculture, e-commerce, taxation, and using the internet to fight climate change.

The media roundtable themed ‘Accelerating Digital transformation’ was also attended by officials from Uganda Communications Commission, Uganda Telecom, Ministry of ICT, NITA-U, Parliament, and Foreign Affairs dignitaries.

The Mobile World Congress, commonly referred to as MWC, is an annual event organised by global mobile association GSMA to showcase the latest technology trends in the mobile and telecommunication industry since 1987. It is being held for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the globe in 2020.

The panellists included Mr YB Datuk Haji Julaihi, the minister for Utility and Telecommunication of Sarawak, Malaysia, Hong-Eng Koh, the Global Chief Public Services, Industry Scientist at Huawei, and Mr Juan Luis Cruz Navarro, the CEO of Consorcio Fernando de los Rios, Spain.

Dr Baryomunsi said the country – like many sub-Saharan nations - still has a long way to go to catch up with technological trends.
 

“We want to ensure that we have a national ICT policy that guides all that we do, which is also anchored on the Vision 2040. We do believe Digital transformation is at the centre of all this if we are to improve the lives of Ugandans. We should have transformed society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous one by 2040.

 “We are looking at networks, artificial intelligence energy, etc. The digital framework answers the journey. Digital transformation, cloud platform, smart health, smart customs, smart taxation, intelligent connectivity. We are also looking at solar energy. We have sufficient sunshine for renewable energy and environmentally friendly forms of energy.

The minister also made recommendations for the government and stakeholders in the transformation.

“As we move in this journey, we need sufficient political will and commitment. And Uganda has the commitment to support the agenda. We also need to address the digital divide. The west is ahead of Africa and all of us should work towards bridging this. As government we must allocate sufficient resources. We must also embrace digital sovereignty so that we build our own capacity to build solutions to address our own problems.

“We should build partnerships, south to south, triangular cooperation; from across the world so that we have skills transfers and knowledge to share. We are ready to partner with you and work with the rest of the world, he said.

In reference to Uganda’s journey, Mr Julaihi said to speed up development and digital transformation, Sarawak put emphasis in bridging the connectivity between rural and urban areas, and also a development strategy 2030, which has digital transformation at the centre of development efforts.  

“We shall build new infrastructure and provide services. We are now linking urban and rural areas using the SALURAN to ensure that no one is left behind and we want everyone to enjoy internet connectivity. We are building 7,000 towers so that we have full internet coverage,” he said.

Utility

The event is held at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via, usually in February or early-March.

It is attended primarily by device manufacturers, network equipment providers, representatives of wireless carriers, and the press, among others. Its annual attendance is generally around 100,000 people, while mobile phone manufacturers often use the conference to unveil upcoming devices.

GSMA has extended the MWC brand to two other trade shows in Shanghai, China (MWC Shanghai) and Las Vegas, United States (MWC Las Vegas, formerly MWC Los Angeles), but the brand remains most synonymous with the Barcelona event.