By Wadulo Arnold Mark.
KAMPALA – Uganda has launched its National Data Strategy, backed by a projected investment of over 1.6 trillion shillings over five years. The strategy was launched today, in Kampala, by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance and its partners UNDP and UN Global pulse, with Permanent Secretary Dr. Aminah Zawedde underscoring the plan’s importance.
The ambitious five-year framework seeks to improve how data is collected, managed, protected, shared, and used to support national planning and development. By creating a reliable data ecosystem, the strategy aims to strengthen coordination among government institutions, identify service delivery gaps, and allocate public resources effectively across key sectors, including health, education, agriculture, and financial inclusion.
Speaking at the launch, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, emphasized that reliable data is vital for informed government decision-making. “If you have the numbers, if you have the data to know how many people are in a community, what distance there is between parishes?…do we need a hospital there to serve the number of people that can accommodate that hospital?Should it be a Health Center III or Health Center IV? all that will be based on data that will inform the decisions for government planning,” Dr. Zawedde stated.
Beyond public planning, international partners highlighted the role of data in meeting global development targets and laying a foundation for artificial intelligence. Nwanne Vwede-Obahor, UNDP Resident Representative, underscored that structured data is essential for progress. “With only four years remaining until 2030, better data is central to the promise of the 2030 agenda and is essential to accelerating progress towards sustainable development goals,” Vwede-Obahor remarked. “This is why the national data strategy matters”.
However, lawmakers raised critical questions regarding data safety, cloud hosting, and citizens’ privacy. Hon. SheilahAmaniyo, Woman MP for Mukono District, expressed concern over data protection. “This has been launched and Ugandans will receive it,” Hon. Amaniyo noted. “But are we going to protect it, is it going to be safe? Because right now I think most of our data is on a certain cloud in America?” she asked.
Hon. Andrew Ojok Oulanyah, MP for Omoro County and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on ICT & National Guidance, urged a review of device import duties. “All this will be meaningless if the users cannot actually access those services,” Hon. Oulanyah cautioned. “And one of the biggest challenges is that the devices are very expensive at the moment, as we’re among the only countries in the original East African Community charging a 10% import duty on entry-level devices,” he added. “Rwanda experimented and removed the 10% in 2022, and they got an increment of 26% in terms of adoption of ICT services”.
As Uganda advances its digital vision, officials affirm that success will depend on effective institutional coordination, device accessibility, and robust safeguards to protect personal information.
