The ICT sector under the guidance of NRM government has seen tremendous positive growth since the late nineties to date. The liberalization of the telecommunications sector and formation of the Ministry of ICT has greatly guided the sector into the leading contributor to the country’s GDP. The effective dual use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become a very critical factor for rapid economic growth and wealth creation, and for improving the livelihoods of the world’s poor. In Uganda, in addition to ICT being taken as an enabler or tool in the service sector and executing government programs and projects, it has also been recognized as an industry that can significantly contribute to socio-economic transformation of a nation. It is against this background that the NRM listed ICT as one of the key priorities to be implemented by Government to enhance developmental transformation of the country in the last 5 years.
The NRM shall undertake the following in the next five years:
i) Operationalisation and commercialization of the National Fibre Backbone and e-government infrastructure to enhance service delivery;
ii) Extend the National Fibre Backbone to reach all district headquarters;
iii) Promote and market Business Process Outsourcing (Call Centres) industry to stimulate job creation and employment for the youth; iv) Develop human capital and critical mass of ICT skills to compete in the global market;
v) Develop a Telecommunication Resources Management Policy;
vi) Develop a National Postcode and Addressing System;
vii) Establish Information Technology parks for promoting ICT software and hardware development industry;
viii) Institutionalize the ICT function in Government by establishing ICT units in ministries, departments, agencies and local governments, and create common ICT cadre to enhance service delivery.
ix) Operationalize the migration of Analogue to Digital Television broadcasting;
x) Extend Television and Radio signals to all districts;
xi) Promote electronic Commerce and online services delivery to ensure efficiency, cost effectiveness , transparencyt and accountability;
xii) Operationalize the National Information Security framework to protect national resources and systems from potential cyber attacks and associated risks such as cyber terrorism.