I welcome you all to this Stakeholder consultative workshop on e-government readiness assessment. I also wish to thank the organizers, National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA U) for this timely stakeholder engagement.
You may recall, in July 2011, Cabinet approved the National E-government Policy Framework with the overall objective of improving public service delivery through systematic transformation from manual to electronic-based systems and practices. The policy framework broadly defines e-government to include all electronic transactions that facilitate service delivery among Government organs, Ministries, Institutions, Departments and Agencies (G2G); between Government and the private sector (G2P), and between Government and the citizenry (G2C). The e-government policy framework, which is currently being implemented calls for transformation in many ways, we conduct business as Government. They include;
1. The need to institutionalize IT and e-government services in public service including e-Cabinet.
2. Expansive use of shared services such as Government web portal, unified messaging and collaboration services, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) across Government.
3. Creation of relevant and sharable content by the different Government MDAs
4. Development of a National Information Security Strategy to protect electronic information storage and usage; and
5. Development of a National Strategy for Internet Resource including Country Code Top Level Domain (CCTLD) Management Policy, among others.
As a first step to operationalizing the e-government policy framework, Government enacted three cyber laws, namely;
1. E-Transactions Act
2. E-signatures Act
3. Computer Misuse Act.
Before ensuring full deployment of e-government services, Government, found it necessary to establish the current status of e-government services in the Country based on a number of indicators for access, penetration, utilization and usage of ICT facilities and services. Thus conducting of the national e-government readiness assessment/survey. The specific objectives of the e-government survey are:
i. To raise awareness as to the bottom line motivations and capacities that have to be in place in order to assure a reasonable basis for success in the e-government development process;
ii. To establish and assess the current practice on public management and service delivery and capacity to use ICT in the public sector;
iii. To usefully describe the environment in which e-government development will occur and confirming the viability of application of e-government approaches;
iv. For pinpointing the “weak links” in this environment (e-government) – for remedial action and, in this way, enhancing the chances for eventual success of e-government development;
v. In extreme cases, advising against application of e-government approaches in a given public administration, at a given level or in a given organizational part of it;
vi. Forming broad or sectoral e-government strategy and action plan development;
vii. Providing an e-Government monitoring and evaluation tool.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED), in the November 2011 Budget Call circular decried the fact that “several Government agencies have continued to procure inappropriate and fragmented IT systems”. As such, urged NITA-U to expedite the rollout of implementation of the National Data Transmission Backbone and e-Government Infrastructure and provide the necessary technical assistance to Government MDAs in order to ensure full harmonization of IT operations in institutions. The MoFPED has also directed NITA-U to ensure that the above information is availed to all spending agencies not later than 13th January 2012, to ensure effective finalization of Sector Budget Framework Papers in general and budget estimates at Vote level in particular.
Consequently, NITA U, in line with her mandate to coordinate and rationalize the use of IT equipment and services in Government has commissioned a mini survey of the national IT initiatives that will take place between 19-23rd December, 2011. The survey will feed into the comprehensive e-government readiness survey. I wish to take this opportunity to urge you to support these two parallel initiatives with a common goal of ensuring well developed, integrated and interoperable IT systems and services in the country.
On behalf of the Ministry of ICT and the ICT sector, I thank you all for your support to the sector and look forward to similar collaboration in 2012.
I may not have another opportunity to meet some of you before the Christmas, therefore I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I also take this opportunity.
I now take the honor to declare this stakeholder consultative meeting on e-government readiness assessment survey officially open and wish you good deliberations.
FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
