Minister Karooro Okurut asks government spokesperson to embrace technology
The Minister in charge of General Duties in the office of the Prime Minister, Mary Karooro Okurut has asked government spokespersons to make use of technology to communicate government programs to the public.
Okurut made the remarks at the Government Citizen Interaction Centre (GCIC) open government workshop at Mestil hotel in Kampala on Thursday.
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“We must learn to communicate effectively by putting information in the right form and in the right hands. Notwithstanding, we must also seize the opportunities that the technology offers us to improve our means of communication,”Karooro said.
The Minister said citizen participation in government operations allows government to better understand citizens’ true needs and how to appropriately respond to them but noted this can only be achieved if spokespersons inform the public of what is happening.
“I make my impassioned plea to all the Government Communicators gathered here today to keep up the morale and continue to be the gatekeepers and conscience of public information.”
Karooro said through communicating programs to the public, it helps promote transparency in government operations as well as building a strong foundation for enhanced efficiency.
She also noted that government has made considerable gains towards improving access to service delivery adding that it is a good step for moving forward.
The minister quoted the UN E-Government survey for 2018 that indicated that Uganda’s online service index improved from 50% in 2016 to 57% in 2018 putting the country in the high online service index bracket.
She added that the UN survey also indicated that Uganda’s E-Gov't development index (EGDI) improved from 36% in 2016 to 41% in 2018 which is above the African average of 34%.
“Already, government is making progress in ensuring automation of service delivery for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Local Governments. Approximately, 248 gov’t websites and 297 applications are in place.”
