Museveni commends NITA-U, ICT ministry on e-government rollout

President Yoweri Museveni has commended the National Information Authority Uganda (NITA-U) and the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, for the decision to procure internet bandwidth in bulk.

Speaking at the Fifth Phase of Presidential Investors’ Round Table (PIRT) at State House, Mr. Museveni noted that with the reduction in the cost of internet connectivity, from $1200 per Mbps in 2011 to the current $70 per Mbps in 2017, connectivity across government agencies is now effortless, translating into greater efficiency across the board.

On their part officials from NITA-U and the ICT ministry observed that this is expected to go lower in July 2018, putting the new price point of $50 per Mbps for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

‘With robust infrastructure in place, bespoke eGovernment services, are the next frontier in digitizing Uganda. With our partners, both Private and Public Sector, we remain committed to driving the IT revolution in the nation, our roadmap is rich and Ugandan citizens can be confident that they will start to conveniently access a number of services in the near future,’ said Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, the Permanent Secretary, the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.

‘NITA-U has ensured that a number of online Government services have been rolled out as part of eGovernment services roadmap,’ NITA-U officials added.

Some of the e-government services rolled out by NITA-U

1. e-Log Rev System: This is an online system that has been developed to help local governments to efficiently correct revenue in their districts to support service delivery.
2. Government ePayment Gateway: A Government e-Payment gateway that will facilitate electronic payments for Government services in a bid to make service delivery more efficient and responsive to the needs of the citizens and as well promote online business.
3. Electronic Government Procurement: A web-based system that covers the full procurement lifecycle, all procurement modalities, and keeps a record and audit trail of all procurement activities. This will ease & automate the government procurement process
4. Unified Messaging and Collaboration System: A system that will provide Email, Voice, Video, Social and Instant Messaging services to government offices. This will promote collaboration among Government Departments and Local Governments.
5. Government SMS Gateway: The Government SMS Gateway will allow government entities to push SMS notifications to citizens through its various eservices and applications. This will allow for a rich online experience.
6. Electronic Voucher (eVoucher): Already being piloted in Kalungu, Iganga, Ntungamo and Amuru, the eVoucher provides farmers in the a specific cluster with subsidized farm inputs, improved agricultural infrastructure, post-harvest handling technologies and competitive price for inputs and outputs.
7. Government System Integration: This Integration of all Government systems will ensure simplicity, efficiency of access to Government services in a secure environment.
8. Using a single User ID (National Identification Number), citizens will have easy access to Government services. Additionally, this will promote transparency for Government as data sharing across agencies will be seamless and digitized.