The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Frank Tumwebaze has revealed that the only sure way to kick corruption out of Uganda is Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) embracing ICT based solutions.
Tumwebaze (in featured photo) made the remarks Tuesday morning while briefing the press about the ICT Innovations Expo scheduled to take place on Tuesday 17th December 2019 at the Nakawa based Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) Grounds.
The Minister said there are so many advantages of e-government including efficiency, time saving and elimination of corruption.
“You hear them talking of corruption but they never discuss the ways of mitigation. Going online, paying your taxes online, bidding for procurement online, applying for a job online, applying for admission to University online eliminates 100% human contact. So the question is; where will somebody delay you for you to give kintu kidogo (bribe)? Digitization is really the solution to inefficiencies, corruption,” Tumwebaze said.
He added that the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance has embarked on various programs to transform Uganda digitally.
The Minister said connectivity is one of government priorities in as far as digitizing the country is concerned.
“Government passed broadband policy which recognizes ICT of broadband infrastructure as a public good…. the government of Uganda is investing in optic fiber; connecting West Nile, the East. We are trying to cover the gaps that the private sector can’t cover to make sure that the entire country is connected,” he said, adding: “We can’t transact online if connectivity is not adequate.”
He added that a number of government agencies are going online.
“We are thinking of coming up with a law to compel them to take their services online. We are appealing to Parliament and Ministry of Finance to add (ICT) on the budgetary certificates. For example, a budget of an entity doesn’t pass in Parliament if it doesn’t have a gender equity certificate, if it doesn’t have a procurement plan. We would like to condition every agency to ensure that of the services they are offering to the citizens, they take part of it online,” he said.
