Ministry of ICT Officials Outline Achievements of the ICT Sector in last 5 years

The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, represented by Amos Mpungu; Principle IT Officer, Shirley Gladys Nakyejwe; Senior IT Officer, and Michael Ocero; Asst. Commissioner E-Services were on Monday evening hosted at NBS’s Monday Special talk show to highlight some of the achievements the ICT sector has had in the last five (5) years. During the show they discussed among other things the digital transformation roadmap, NBI, cybersecurity, startups & innovation, and e-government services, to mention a few.

In the last five years, the Ministry has had three Ministers; Frank Tumwebaze (2016/19), Judith Nabakooba (2019/21), and then (current in office) Chris Baryomunsi (2021/26). Within their tenure, they have worked on several projects including the NBI/EGI & Last Mile Projects to provide connectivity to government MDAs/LGs in the country, pushed for the Data Protection and Privacy Bill to be signed into law, supported startups & innovation through NIISP, availed MyUG, and drew plans for the construction of innovation hubs across the country, to mention a few.

The ICT sector is one of the key sectors that will help modernize the economy. At the moment the sector is contributing about t 9% of the country’s GDP. “What we know is the ICT sector has been growing at a rate of about 14.8 percent contributing 10 percent to our GDP,” said Michael Ocero; Asst. Commissioner E-Services at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.

The achievements of the ICT sector (from 2020-2024) as highlighted by the panelists;

1. 13,000 unregistered businesses have been registered using the Uganda Registration Services Bureau’s (URSB) Online Business Registration System (OBRS). The goal is to register 873,546 businesses to the system by the financial year 2026/27.
2. The e-visa system has been able to boost tourism.
3. 90% of the country has internet coverage —”Of course with a combination of fiber, and wireless connections,” says Amos Mpungu; Principle IT Officer at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.
4. The cost of the Internet has dropped by 50% on mobile devices and fixed Internet to about 28%.
5. More than 4,353.87 km of fiber optic cable has been laid across the country —with connections at every border (Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, DRC, and South Sudan). “At this moment, we can pick internet from Kenya, and Tanzania because that is the access we have to sea cables. We are well connected,” Mpungu.
6. The Minister of ICT and National Guidance has been advocating for young people to develop solutions for the country’s problems and has also put in place platforms including Intellectual Property (IP) management, to provide innovators with knowledge and the necessary awareness that they can use to secure their IP while creating their innovations.
7. Helped innovators showcase their work at international events such as GITEX Africa as well as forge strategic partnerships with industry leaders, technology providers, and international organizations.
8. The Ministry has conducted awareness and training programs regionally with various programs being put in place to ensure that citizens fully utilize the ICT services being provided.
9. Invested in technical knowledge and infrastructure —acquired two computer emergency response teams to look out for the country’s critical infrastructure.
10. Establish a Tier 3 National Data Center and a Recovery site to host all government applications, systems, and data.
11.  Entered into partnerships with various governments, development partners, and agencies like JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) to facilitate business acceleration programs.
12. The ICT Ministry signed an MoU with the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) marking a pivotal moment in the Ministry’s e-governance journey. The MoU outlined a roadmap for joint initiatives between Uganda and Estonia, encompasses developing ICT architecture, and fostering innovative projects, among others.
13. Established four innovation hubs to equip the youth with innovation space, digital skills, and connectivity. The hubs include the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa, and three others attached to universities; Kabale, Soroti, and Muni. “These places are always open to be utilized by the young people,” said Shirley Gladys Nakyejwe; Senior IT Officer at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.
14. The government has invested in 25 passive sites across the country so that telecommunication companies can distribute internet at a minimal cost.
15. The Parish Development Management (PDM) information system has been a game changer in terms of traceability, and monitoring compared to many of the initiatives that have gone on in the past.
16. Established the UG-Hub, an infrastructure to integrate government systems to enable seamless sharing of data in a rational, secure, efficient, and sustainable manner across the government.

In parting shots, Nakyejwe and Mpungu touched on the progress of the digital transformation roadmap, Nakyejwe noted that the government has achieved a quarter of what they have set to achieve before 2027 with the roadmap among which includes infrastructure, digital skilling, readily e-services, and cybersecurity awareness & training among others. “So believe that by 2027, we would have achieved what we have set up ourselves for,” ends Nakyejwe. Mpungu on the other hand said the roadmap target is achieving 60% of services online.

Michael Ocero; Asst. Commissioner E-Services at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance on further reducing the cost of the Internet to make it affordable and available for citizens, said the availability of requisite infrastructure will affect the cost of the Internet. “The government is expanding the requisite infrastructure, they have expanded the NBI which reaches all the borders of the country and the internet will go through the fiber (4,000 km long),” said Ocero. Adds “The passive sites as well are going to reduce the cost of the internet.”

Watch the full conversation on NBS