The Minister of ICT Judith Nabakooba gave an update on the progress of the organization that oversees and enables Information Communication Technologies for the government which is National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U). She communicated to journalists on Wednesday 3rd March 2021 some of the Ministry of ICT’s achievements in Uganda and have been achieved through NITA-U.
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Here are some of the updates of the Ministry of ICT’s achievements in Uganda through NITA-U
Enhancing Security through ICT
In a bid to increase security in different parts of the country, there has been the wide installation of CCTV camera within Kampala and major city suburbs which has notably improved security and is one of the Ministry of ICT’s achievements in Uganda.
Read also: A summary of the Africa cybersecurity report 2019/2020 Uganda edition launched today
The CCTV cameras have made it possible for police and security to apprehend wrongdoers in major hot spots such as the taxi park, along the northern bypass and others. The success of these cameras largely relies on a good internet connection that is being facilitated through the National Optical Fiber Cable Backbone under NITA-U.
Government is utilizing the National Optical Fiber Cable Backbone installed along all highways to Kampala to connect upcountry street cameras to Naguru Police Headquarters.
Development of the ICT Park
There are plans underway for the construction of an ICT park in Entebbe under the watchful eyes of NITA-U.
Also read: A new ICT park in Uganda will be constructed in Entebbe to boost innovation
The Ministry of ICT through National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) is collaborating with other agencies like Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Ministry of Defense, Uganda Free Zones Authority, Urban Authorities and Local governments to implement the Government’s vision for a national network of IT parks linked to nearby towns.
The ICT park is expected to boost innovation since it will act as a hub for innovators to grow their ventures through research.
Improving Online Safety for our Children Campaign
The COVID-19 period has been a very challenging one, especially for children as they have been exposed to threats online. The threats increased during the lockdown period since many people were forced to spend most of their hours online to carry out the most basic activities like staying in touch.
This left many children exposed to a lot of online forms of abuse. Much of this was related to exposure of harmful content and online sexual abuse.
“The Ministry through NITA-U took up this matter seriously and entered into a collaboration with the Internet Watch Foundation(IWF). With this collaboration, we have been able to establish a mechanism for reporting online child sexual abuse content in Uganda,” said the Minister.
Also read: A brief report on online child sexual abuse in Uganda
An Online Child Sexual Abuse Reporting Portal (www.stopit.ug) has been set up and stands as one of the Ministry of ICT’s achievements in Uganda to enable citizens report online child sexual abuse content.
Last Mile Connectivity Project
A lot of the progress the country is making in the ICT sector is largely because of the National Backbone Infrastructure.
Government of Uganda through NITA-U successfully completed the implementation of 4 phases of the NBI project which connected 49 districts, 609 Government offices.
Uganda is now a fully-fledged communications hub with the Seven major border posts of Uganda with its neighboring countries all connected to the NBI further strengthening regional ties.
Government of Uganda through NITA-U is currently implementing the Last Mile Connectivity Project aimed at further expanding the coverage of the NBI through laying of approximately 732km of fiber optic cable and connecting an additional 700 sites to the NBI with an additional 300 Wi-Fi Hotspots.
So, far a cumulative total of 337 out of 700 sites including but not limited to Local Governments, hospitals, schools, universities, among others have been connected under the Last Mile Project.
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