Uganda's online services index improves

Uganda’s online service index has improved from 50% in 2016 to 57% in 2018 according to the United Nations E-Government survey 2018.

The Online Services Index is a component of the E-Government Development Index(EGDI) which measures the use of ICTs by governments in delivering public services at the national level.

It examines how digital technologies and innovations are impacting the public sector and changing people’s everyday lives.

The survey is the only global report that assesses the e-Government development status of all member States of the United Nations.

It measures e-Government effectiveness in the delivery of public services and identifies Patterns in e-government development and performance.

Results are tabulated and presented as a set of standardised index values on a scale. Uganda’s e-government development index (EGDI) also improved from 36% in 2016 to 41% in 2018, which is above the African average of 34%.

Vincent Bagiire, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of ICT & National Guidance, attributes the growth to government’s deliberate efforts to automate majority of its systems to ensure that citizens can access government services efficiently.

“Through technical support from the National Informational Technology Authority a number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have taken services online, this has resulted into the automation of processes and development of services which are already improving efficiency and transparency. As a Government, we have realised a saving of Shs 4million working hours that can be attributed to this automation," he said.

With a grading of High eParticipation Index, Uganda was lauded for the improvement in this score as it showcases Uganda’s commitment in implementing further tools for engaging citizens.

There was some improvement in the Telecommunications Index from 11.3 percent in 2016 to 15.7 percent in 2018 and the Human Capital Index from 46.7 percent in 2016 to 49.6 in 2018 which is still a major challenge in most African countries including Uganda.

The report affirms that Africa has large gaps in infrastructure, including broadband infrastructure and access to broadband services, where it exists, is very expensive.

This is evident in the region’s low Telecommunications Infrastructure Index score of 20.3 percent.

According to James Ssaka, the executive director of the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U), the government deliberately invested in the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) aiming to close such gaps and to ensure effective service delivery riding off the robust infrastructure.

It aims to connect all major towns within the country onto an optical fibre based network and to connect all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), local governments and institutions.

NITA-U has completed the implementation of all the three phases of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI).

In a bid to improve communication via internet across the remote rural areas of Uganda, the Government through the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has launched a pilot remote broadband connectivity project.

In the project, UCC has joined forces with International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO), Intelsat and Gilat Satellite networks.

According to the survey, the three most commonly used online services in 2018 are utilities payment, submission of income taxes, and registration of new businesses.