Digitization of systems saves gov’t shs4 trillion annually, says NITA-U

Uganda is now saving shs 4 trillion shillings annually in costs because of the digitization of its systems, the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) has revealed.

Speaking during the Huawei ICT Congress 2022 at Sheraton Hotel Kampala, the NITA-U Executive Director Dr. Hatwib Mugasa after the National backbone infrastructure project ensured that government services go online and that more than 1,400 ministries, agencies, and local government offices can now utilize electronic services such as integrated management systems, e-tax, e-passports, hence saving a huge chunk of money and time that would have been spent on making services available to Ugandans.

“NITA-U has been working with Huawei for more than 10 years since the National Backbone Infrastructure/e-government project was started. We have rolled out over 4172km of backbone fiber cable in over 62 Districts of Uganda. We are also rolling out last-mile fiber cable to extend connectivity to the grass-root user all the way to the Parish. In a few weeks from now, we shall have completed 764km under the Last Mile Phase and citizens shall be able to access e-government services at 1,400 administrative locations. By digitalizing government processes and hosting them at the National Data Centre, NITA-U has managed to save the government more than shs4 trillion annually in direct public expenditure. This cost would have been spent on paper, manual processes, and data centers service fees for each ministry, department, and agency.” he said.

Amy Xia, Huawei’s Vice President of Enterprise Business group emphasized the need for digitalization because it is currently an industry consensus.

She added that Huawei has heavily invested in research and development to benefit countries like Uganda and aid them in their digital process.

“As digital transformation has become an industry consensus, the focus has been shifted from “whether or not to go digital”, to “how to go digital!”. Huawei has invested heavily in research and development for Uganda so that we can achieve the creation of new value together. We have carefully considered today to exhibit the various technologies you see here so that we can together walk the digital journey of Uganda,” she said.

The Huawei ICT Congress 2022 is a mirror of the Mobile World Congress always held in Barcelona where Huawei has been a top exhibitor showcasing the latest technology.

The Huawei ICT Congress 2022 with the theme “Lighting up the Future” organized by Huawei Uganda is aimed at helping businesses and ICT users such as governments, telecoms, regulators, and enterprises innovate business models, improve quality and efficiency, enhance the experience, and strengthen resilience in their digital work and productivity, and digital service processes. Huawei exhibited technology in smart homes, smart offices, cloud solutions, safe and smart cities and so much more.

This is the first of its kind by Huawei in Africa