Document(s) 11 of 16

7.1. CONTEXT AND POLICY

7.1.1. The governance system and the main reforms in Uganda

Uganda, a former British colony, is a sovereign state and a republic. In January 1986, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became the President of the Republic of Uganda after leading a successful five year liberation struggle. He then introduced the Movement System of governance, which theoretically, was a broad-based, inclusive and non-partisan political system (Art 70, 1995 Constitution). In implementing the Movement System, political party activities were suspended, except for operating party offices in the capital city, Kampala.

In July 2005 however, the people of Uganda voted in a referendum to adopt a multi-party political system. The Parliament of Uganda discussed and promulgated a new constitution in July 2005 as a basis for subsequent legal reforms. The new constitution is in the process of being ratified by District Councils as required by law.

The Government of Uganda is comprised of the Executive (headed by the President and assisted by the Vice President, Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers), Parliament (headed by the Speaker) and the Judiciary (headed by the Chief Justice). Article 176 of the 1995 Constitution further provides that the system of local government in Uganda should be based on the district as a unit under which there should be lower local governments and administrative units. A decentralisation system applies to all levels of local government.

The Public Service Reform in Uganda has been going on since the early 1990s. It is spearheaded by the Ministry of Public Service.

Key areas of reform include:

1. Restructuring and downsizing.
   
   
2. Introduction of Result Oriented Management (ROM) methodologies, to improve performance in government ministries and departments.
   
   
3. Promoting efficiency and cost reduction in government services by introducing e-government systems, including integrated payroll and pension systems.
   
   
4. The design and implementation of public sector pension reform and the introduction of a self-financing contributory system for future pension obligations, intended to control the growth of pension commitments.

At the same time, the Law Reform Commission is completely reviewing the legal system in Uganda to bring it into compliance with the 1995 Constitution (and now with the Uganda Constitution 2005). Some laws are obsolete and create red tape, while others are discriminatory towards the poor. Women's access to justice, in particular, is hindered by discriminatory laws such as land legislation, where inequities in land ownership were not corrected by the Land Act. The Constitutional Court has been instrumental in amending offending legislation including the abolition of corporal punishment and abolishing the inequality of access to divorce between male and female petitioners. Many reforms in the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) comprising of the Judiciary, Police, Prisons, and Directorate of Public Prosecutions are also under implementation.

7.1.2. The Poverty Eradication Action Plan and economic development

The Government of Uganda has formulated a number of programmes to address the key areas of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Government interventions to this effect included the formulation and implementation of the Uganda Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), which included elements such as Universal Primary Education (UPE), and the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA), Vision 2025 (being revised) and Medium-Term Competitive Strategy for the Private Sector (2000-2005), to mention but a few. The President of Uganda launched the Presidential Investors Roundtable (PIRT), a top-level Business Advisory Council, on 30th. September 2004. This Council has five working groups: Agribusiness, ICTs, Education, Infrastructure and Regulatory Environment. The mandate of the Council is to advise the Government on the steps that should be taken to improve the investment climate and increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows to Uganda.

According to the PEAP, which was prepared through a consultative process involving the Central and Local Government, Parliament, Donors and Civil Society, Uganda's overall strategy and goal is aimed at improving the welfare of all Ugandans and the eradication of poverty. It is believed that under this plan Uganda will be transformed into a modern economy where all sectors will actively participate in economic growth.

The PEAP is grouped under five 'pillars': (1) Economic management, (2) Production, competitiveness and incomes (3) Security, conflict-resolution and disaster-management (4) Good governance and (5) Human development. The four core challenges for PEAP implementation are (a) the restoration of security, dealing with the consequences of conflict and improving regional equity (b) restoring sustainable growth in the incomes of the poor (c) human development (d) using public resources transparently and efficiently to eradicate poverty.

With regard to human development, the PEAP document reported that recent years have seen major improvements in the following areas:

1. Education and literacy, through the introduction of Universal Primary Education and functional adult literacy programmes;
   
   
2. HIV/AIDS prevalence rates stagnated between 6% and 7%;
   
   
3. Child nutrition, together with infant and maternal mortality; health reforms and the construction of health centres in rural areas;
   
   
4. Improved access to public services through decentralisation;
   
   
5. Infant and Maternal Mortality strategy to address child and maternal health. The key interventions in this strategy are: Improving the quality of health care and the treatment of malaria, sanitation, community mobilisation, and family planning;
   
   
6. Improved access to water supply.

The expansion of production and incomes in rural areas is addressed by a large number of interventions, which are grouped under the Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture (PAM). This plan focusses on agricultural modernisation and commercialisation by a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the constraints facing agriculture-based livelihoods. In September 2001, the government launched the Strategic Exports Programme (SEP) aimed at increasing competitiveness by stimulating value added investments in selected sectors of the economy and removing bottlenecks that hindered the private sector's ability to take advantage of emerging trade opportunities under various initiatives including African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) of USA and Everything But Arms (EBA).

7.1.3. Local Governance Policy and strategy

Decentralisation in Uganda has been implemented for over 12 years now, guided by the Local Government Statute of 1993, the 1995 Constitution and the 1997 Local Government Act. This was based on the conviction that decentralisation comprehensively facilitates the realisation of development and political objectives for Uganda through democratisation, equitable distribution of resources between and within districts and improvements in public sector performance. Democratic participation advocates popular participation, empowerment of local residents and regular local elections. Decentralisation is intended to improve transparency and accountability in local governments and promote good governance and participatory democracy.

The system of local government in Uganda is based on the District as a Unit under which there are lower local governments, the Administrative Unit Councils. Elected Local Government Councils which are accountable to the people are made up of persons directly elected to represent electoral areas, with special seats for persons with disabilities, youth and women councillors. There is a legal requirement that 30% of the Parliament and Local Councils should be comprised of women representatives in addition to provision for representatives of young people and people with disabilities.

The Local Government Council is the highest political authority in its area of jurisdiction. The councils are corporate bodies having both legislative and executive powers. They have powers to make local laws and enforce implementation. On the other hand Administrative Unit Councils serve as political units to advise on planning and implementation of services. They assist in the resolution of disputes, monitor the delivery of services and assist in the maintenance of law, order and security.

There are five tiers of local government in Uganda. Most executive decisions are taken at the Local Council 5 (district LC5) or Local Council 3 (sub-county LC3) level, although the Local Council 1 (village LC1) level has important responsibilities, for instance, in administering the Local Council courts.

Local governments are empowered to make and approve their own budgets and development plans. They raise their own revenue from a range of local taxes and allocate expenditure on decentralised and transferred services. They also recruit and manage personnel and make bylaws. Local governments receive financial support from central government in order to supplement their recurrent and development budgets. In this regard, they receive three types of grants namely, unconditional, conditional and equalisation grants. This financing arrangement is stipulated in the Constitution and the Local Governments Act.

Bilateral and multilateral donors have also continued to support local governments, through the Ministries of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Local Government, in order to deepen the process of decentralisation and socio-economic transformation. The donors include the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union, DFID, DANIDA, USAID, Irish Aid and the Dutch Government to mention but a few. Without this support, decentralisation would have taken longer to take root.

Some reported progress in improving service delivery under decentralisation are as follows:

1. Decentralised primary school classroom construction has demonstrated substantially reduced unit costs and faster construction rates than previous centralised programmes.
   
   
2. The economic evaluation of the Local Government Development Programme (LGDP) quotes research by UNCDF, DANIDA and others showing Social Returns on Investment (SRI) for investments by local governments ranging from 12% upwards and which compares well with returns on central government investment.

In the further implementation of decentralisation, the government's objective was to increase local autonomy while strengthening upwards and downwards accountability, so that the autonomy is used to meet the needs of the population. Other issues being addressed are the restructuring of local governments to make them cost effective and efficient, computerisation, establishment of standards for service delivery, improving urban planning capacities, financial management, gender mainstreaming and legal reform. This would include the revision of laws such as the Country and Planning Act (1964), the Public Health Act, the Trading Licensing Act, and the Markets Act which need to be revised to make them consistent with the Constitution and the LG Act (1994). A review is also needed of the legislation which governs poverty reduction activities such as the Local Government Act 1997, LG Financial and Accounting Regulations 1998, the Internal Audit manual, the Town and Country planning Act 1964, the LG Rating Decree 1979, the Trading Licensing Act 1964 and the Markets Act 1942, to bring them in line with the changing environment.

7.1.4. ICTS STATUS, POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

The government of the Republic of Uganda recognised the important role information and ICTs play in national development. To this end, the Uganda ICTs Policy framework was finalised in 2002 and adopted by Cabinet in 2003. Its vision is "a Uganda are national development, especially human development and good governance, are sustainably enhanced, promoted and accelerated by efficient application and use of ICTs including timely access to information".

The main policy objectives were:

• To sensitise and create awareness among the general public and all stakeholders about the role of information and ICTs in Uganda's development process.
  
  
• To increase the level of ICTs functional literacy and build human resource capacity.
  
  
• To promote and enable the building and establishment of an appropriate infrastructure that supports ICTs development and at the same time meets universal ICTs access goals.
  
  
• To promote fair competition and private investment in the ICTs sector with particular emphasis on development and encouragement of local participation including specific incentives for investing in ICTs.
  
  
• To identify and establish innovative financing mechanisms that address the specific needs of ICTs development.
  
  
• To promote the use of ICTs in the stimulation of production, storage, and dissemination of in-country information and knowledge in both the public and private sector.
  
  
• To facilitate the broadest possible access to public domain information, especially development information.
  
  
• To promote a conducive environment for media pluralism that will enhance cultural identity and national sovereignty.
  
  
• To promote multilingualism and other efforts to provide access to information by the disadvantaged groups and communities.
  
  
• To ensure gender mainstreaming in ICTs development.
  
  
• To provide for the establishment of an enabling and desirable, legal and regulatory framework that among other things takes into account the convergence of technologies.
  
  
• To encourage and support Research and Development in ICTs.
  
  
• To accord due regard, recognition and protection of intellectual assets.
  
  
• To enhance collaboration and co-ordination in ICTs development at the local, regional and international level.

The ICTs Policy has led to several ICTs initiatives and investments in the country. Each sector, including local governments, is required to develop ICTs implementation strategies in conformity with the National ICTs Policy.

Further, an e-Readiness Assessment Study was conducted in 2003, to pave the way for the promotion of e-government in the country. Currently, the e-government Strategy Framework is being finalised in 2005. Its main objectives are:

1. To continuously improve the efficiency of, and access to, government information and services.
   
   
2. To use the successful development of the e-government initiative to promote Uganda as an Information Technology centre in Africa.
   
   
3. To address privacy and security issues related to e-government implementation.
   
   
4. To ensure sufficient revenue streams and funding that enable the development of core e-government competencies.
   
   
5. To establish leadership and partnerships that advance e-government services.
   
   
6. To develop and maintain a seamless and comprehensive e-government interface.
   
   
7. To manage the cost of e-government implementation through effective use of technology.
   
   
8. To institutionalise the use of e-government information and services through the adoption of appropriate organisational models.

The Uganda Communications Act, 1997 (Cap 106 Laws of Uganda) established the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), and the rights and duties of the state, enterprises, institutions, organisations and individuals in the use and management of the means of communication, in the establishment and management of communications networks, in the rendering of communications services as well as the general responsibilities if there is violation of the law. Regulations made so far under the Act include the Communications (Establishment and Management of the Rural Communications Development Fund) Regulations of 2002; and the Uganda Communications (Enforcement Procedures) Regulations of 2004.

Other ICTs related legislations in place include:

1. The Press and Journalist Statute 1995 (Cap 105), The Statute extended Article 29(1) (Freedom of expression) of the Constitution to the print media. It also created the Media Council, the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda and a Disciplinary Committee within the Media Council. The Council is responsible for regulating eligibility for media ownership and requires journalists to register with the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda.
   
   
2. The Electronic Media Statute, Cap 104, Laws of Uganda provides for the establishment of the Broadcasting Council that licenses radio, television and video rental licences. The purchase, use and sale of television sets is also subject to licensing by the Council.
   
   
3. The Access to Information Act, 2004, that makes provision for access by individuals and/or corporations to information of interest relating to a public company.

Proposed legislation due for consideration include:

1. National Information Technology Authority—Uganda (NITAU) Bill. The proposed Act establishes an Authority as a co-ordinating, monitoring and supervisory body to promote National IT development in support of the principles of modernisation within the context of poverty eradication; to provide a national IT-policy framework and technical support for IT related services for government-wide use; and for other matters incidental to these.
   
   
2. The Electronic Transactions Bill, 2003 proposed an Act to provide for the use, security, facilitation and regulation of electronic communications and transactions and to encourage the use of e-government services. It intended to inter alia promote e-government and e-commerce in Uganda.
   
   
3. The Electronic Signatures Bill, 2003 proposed an Act to make provision for and to regulate the use of electronic signatures. It attempts to do this through provisions relating to the establishment of the Public Key Infrastructure for authenticity and security of documents.
   
   
4. The Computer Misuse Bill, 2003 proposed an Act to make provision for the safety and security of electronic transactions and information systems; to prevent unlawful access, abuse or misuse of information systems, including computers, and to make provision for securing the conduct of electronic transactions in a trustworthy electronic environment.

The ICTs needs for Uganda are identified in the National ICTs Policy (2002), and the Uganda e-government Strategy Framework The Uganda e-Readiness Assessment Study revealed the following as the main ICTs needs in the country:

1. Conducting a study at every central and local government office to identify information system needs.
   
   
2. Development of ICTs infrastructure.
   
   
3. Need to reduce connectivity costs and promote universal access.
   
   
4. Equipping every desk with a PC and every government office with email, and office productivity and collaboration software.
   
   
5. Setting up a metropolitan network to connect government offices, with gateways to connect to the Internet and the telephone networks. This network should link central and local governments.
   
   
6. Setting up pilot e-government kiosks (starting with existing telecentres) to test the newly developed content and e-delivery mechanisms as well as the economic and technical sustainability of the proposed kiosks.
   
   
7. Setting up the ICTs co-ordinating agency for the government.
   
   
8. Setting up a payment gateway and public key infrastructure to enable online transactions.
   
   
9. Development and standardising ICTs education and training.
   
   
10. Setting up an ICTs incubator for encouraging investments in the sector.
    
    
11. General sensitisation on the benefits of ICTs and e-government to public servants, citizens, business, civil society and other groups.
    
    
12. Legal and regulatory framework to promote and safeguard ICTs.
    
    
13. Promotion of ICTs in schools.
    
    
14. Development of local content.
    
    
15. Addressing problems of multilingualism.
    
    
16. Development of a sustainable and affordable alternative power supply to electricity, especially in rural areas to address the limitations of the electricity grid.
    
    
17. Financing of ICTs development activities.

To address some of the problems mentioned above, the Uganda Telecommunications Sector Policy (2005) proposed to undertake the following specific initiatives by 2010:

1. To ensure the ubiquitous presence of telecommunications infrastructure and services that will enable sustainable human development through the ease and affordability of access to relevant, accurate, and timely information (actual content being the responsibility of the various public sectors as well as civil society and private sector initiatives).
   
   
2. To facilitate the delivery of the high level information and service needs to all sectors of society, especially the marginalised sections of society that comprise rural or poor communities, women and people with disabilities, through close integration with the following: IT sector, Broadcasting sector, Media sector, and Postal sector.
   
   
3. To promote the growth of the production and service sectors related to or closely supported by the telecommunications industry in Uganda (research and development, fabrication and manufacturing, training, consultancy, outsourcing services, etc).
   
   
4. To ensure that all aspects of processes and operations in the sector take full account of the following cross-cutting issues: Gender concerns, the physically disadvantaged and sustainable exploitation of the environment.

Although there has not been a comprehensive survey of human resources in ICTs in Uganda, it is fairly obvious that the need for some ICTs skills exceed the current supply. Various levels of skills are required and the existing training institutions are meeting some of the training needs.

There is need to assess the national requirement for ICTs skills, establish how much of this is available, and then determine the best strategy of meeting the appropriate ICTs skills demand. However the ICTs skills that will be needed, and therefore the kind of training that will be required, depend very much on the ICTs policy adopted by Uganda as a nation, and by the Government in particular. For example if government should adopt a policy of information sharing using modern ICTs, Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN) will be introduced in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies. This would require government employees to acquire a range of ICTs skills that would otherwise not be required.

In order to ensure equitable geographic distribution of telecommunications services in the country, UCC developed and is implementing the Rural Communications Development Policy. Having identified the challenges to the achievement of the 1996 Policy targets, the following common challenges and interventions were adopted under Uganda's Rural Communications Development Programme:

1. Awareness and literacy – support a vanguard training institution in each district to create literacy and awareness about the potential of ICTs; support district websites to demonstrate some benefits and use through relevant content;
   
   
2. Access – support an internet PoP in each district; set up a national IXP; ensure the provision of a phone in each sub-county (the smallest local administrative unit in Uganda)
   
   
3. Affordability – give outright one off grants to small start-ups and partial one off grants to bigger rural operators; permit or require asymmetrical interconnection settlements in favour of rural telecoms operators.

A 1% levy on all telecoms service providers is the main funding driver for the Rural Communications Development Fund. Development partners have also come in to give additional support, including: International Development Research Centre (IDRC) which supported the policy and strategy research (Canadian $200,000); The World Bank which has given a grant of $5 million (under the Energy for Rural Transformation Project) towards actual implementation.

Through subsidies from the Fund to various companies, the following projects have so far been implemented:

1. 20 internet PoPs were established in various districts.
   
   
2. Establishment of 26 district websites (www.dip.go.ug)
   
   
3. Establishment of 4 Internet cafes.
   
   
4. Establishment of 3 ICTs training centres.
   
   
5. Provision of 66 public payphones.

The following projects are in progress with most of them nearing completion in 2005:

1. Establishment of 30 district websites.
   
   
2. Provision of Internet cafes in 11 districts.
   
   
3. Establishment of ICTs training centres in 45 districts.
   
   
4. Provision of 200 public access points.

In April 2005, at the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET/OWA) consultative meeting in Kampala, participants identified the following issues for Uganda with respect to the WSIS and the National ICTs policy:

1. Financing mechanisms: Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF), National Budget from the Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning and Development, Development partners, Private sector, Financial institutions.
   
   
2. A centralised ICTs co-ordinating agency should be established to collect funds in one centre. This centre should co-ordinate other matters relating to ICTs.
   
   
3. On the issue of Internet governance, there should be a regulatory framework as cyber crime is becoming a concern in Uganda.
   
   
4. Need for capacity building in both ICTs use and application
   
   
5. Need for sharing of experiences: both best practices and failures.
   
   
6. Need to review the ICTs policy with a view to mainstreaming gender within the policy
   
   
7. Need to put emphasis on mainstreaming ICTs in the agricultural sector
   
   
8. Need to mobilise the involvement of communities in ICTs-related activities in their respective areas.

7.1.5. Vision 2035: Towards a Modern Industrialised and Knowledge Based Society

In March 2005, the ICTs/e-government Inter-Agency National Planning Team was established, under the co-ordination of the National Planning Authority. The main goal of this team was to discuss ways and means of ensuring that ICTs/e-government services were undertaken by the Government of Uganda as one of the core priority sub-sector in the execution of the proposed "National Vision 2035: Towards a Modern Industrialised and Knowledge Based Society".

To realise this vision, and consistent with the new policy reforms for the transformation of the Ugandan economy suggested by Hon. Dr. Ezra Suruma, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, it was necessary to spearhead the process of ensuring that ICTs/e-government Sub-sectors are given due and quick attention under the National Development Planning Framework. As a result the Inter-Agency Team was set up and asked to involve informed members from various sectors (Government, Private, Civil Society and other stakeholders) in discussions in a participatory and transparent manner and to come up with realistic and acceptable National ICTs/e-government frameworks in the perspective of long and medium term Master Plans for implementation.

The Inter-Agency Team is chaired by the National Planning Authority (NPA) that also ensures the monitoring and evaluation of the overall process following the same participatory model. The team held its first two meetings on 24th. March, 2005 and 20th. May, 2005. During these meetings, the main challenges which faced the ICTs/e-government initiative implementation were outlined and discussed. These included:

• Inadequate funding for ICTs/e-government initiatives both in the national Recurrent and Development budgets, as well an inflexible and ineffective budgeting process;
  
  
• Inadequate ICTs/e-government basic infrastructure;
  
  
• Inadequate awareness of the benefits of ICTs/e-government in national development;
  
  
• Lack of co-ordination leading to duplication of efforts;
  
  
• Very minimal standardisation of ICTs infrastructure across institutions;
  
  
• Lack of integration and harmonisation of ICTs systems, initiatives and activities (leading to wastage of financial, material, human and other resources);
  
  
• Limited levels of e-Championship at the highest political and technical levels;
  
  
• Widening digital divide between rural and urban communities;
  
  
• Lack of enabling legal frameworks (e-transactions, Public Private Partnerships, etc.);
  
  
• Lack of a functional and effective Monitoring and Evaluation framework for ICTs/e-government initiatives;
  
  
• Limited operationalisation of the National ICTs policy;
  
  
• Inadequate practice of the participatory/all-inclusive national planning process;
  
  
• Lack of scientific, transparent and universally agreed upon national prioritisation Framework that would facilitate ranking of national development priorities for each planning and development period;
  
  
• Inadequate capacity (human, institutional, technological and financial resources).

Within this context, the Inter Agency Team recognised the importance of ICTs in national development, being central to the pursuit of productivity driven growth in all sectors of the economy, hence, having a cross-cutting impact, and stated the need to develop a long-term comprehensive national programme to promote ICTs awareness, confidence and utilisation in public and private sector institutions including those of communities.

The Inter Agency Team had the objective of co-ordinating activities intended to make the National e-government Strategy framework operational. This was prepared under the guidance of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, formed to spearhead the formulation and implementation of the National ICTs Policy 2003. The Committee is co-ordinated by the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (UNCST) and its secretariat is at the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC). Other initiatives carried out by the Committee include the establishment of the e-government Task Force, under the chair of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications (MoWHC).

During the first two meetings of the Inter Agency Team, the need for involvement of all interested stakeholders, and the commitment at the highest political level was underlined. The participation of the Office of the President is a positive contribution to the possibility for increasing the minimal e-Championship of the Presidency so far.

The participants also called for a greater appreciation of ICTs in the country by integrating ICTs in the National Development Planning Framework. It was also resolved that the committee should take advantage of the ongoing national budgeting item in their medium term and annual plans and, on a long term basis, it was recommended that the government should be lobbied to designate a Ministry solely responsible for the ICTs sector regulation and development, in line with the recommendations from regional and international organisations.

In order to implement these decisions, participants called for a national round table meeting involving all stakeholder institutions to harmonise and rationalise ICTs sector development policies, plans and activities. This process would lead to the formulation of Vision 2035 and multi-annual, annual national and sectoral plans of action.

7.2. THE DISTRICTNET PROJECT

7.2.1. Background and Justification

Districts, counties, sub-counties and parishes have been empowered by the Uganda "Local Government Act 1997" to be self-governing. This means that planning and implementing projects, identifying revenue streams and managing revenue and human resources, budgeting and control are now done by local governments and not central government. In the local government structure, the district acts as a focal point to account for resources while lower councils act as centres for implementing district programmes.

The District Local Government (LC V) and the sub-county local governments (LC III) are the most important administrative units in the district local government, as per the Local Government Act 1997. At present there are 56 Districts with over 900 sub-counties in Uganda.

A lot of financial resources (from both donors and the government) are going into financing various projects at local councils level in various districts. The concern in all cases has been that money must be used for the purpose for which it was intended. The overall management of a local council now requires that the council make considerable investment in human resources and infrastructure to manage these increased responsibilities.

To discuss these issues, a Roundtable Workshop with the theme "ICTs for Rural Development" was held in March 2001, in Jinja, with participants from rural and upcountry institutions in the public and private sectors. Four pilot districts of Kayunga, Lira, Mbale and Mbarara were represented, including senior district officials. A number of ICTs projects were proposed and prioritised. One of the six projects selected was the District Administrative Network Programme (DistrictNet) at the district headquarters and lower local government and council level.

A project proposal was then finalised by the districts to support and complement the ongoing process of policy decentralisation and public participation.

The major problems identified during the workshop and which resulted in the DistrictNet project were:

• Lack of a convenient mode of communication between the district and the lower local governments, leading to poor follow-up and co-ordination of activities, which further resulted in delays and inaccuracies;
  
  
• Poor delivery of public services due to inefficient record keeping of a variety of paper based data and information, including council minutes and statistical data. This resulted in records being lost and those which were available were in a form that made it difficult to find and share information;
  
  
• Financial records were maintained and processed manually, and often not up-to-date and inaccurate leading to a lack of transparency and accountability;
  
  
• Public information on government programmes was lacking due to an absence of information in a publicly useable format, resulting in limited transparency and public participation.

To mitigate these problems DistrictNet was designed and implemented, as an attempt to support the overall objective of the decentralisation programme by providing the district and lower councils with tools and infrastructure to handle increased responsibilities and, at the same time, promoting transparency and improving the provision of public information.

DistrictNet is funded by the International Institute for Communication Development (IICD) in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Local Government and the beneficiary Districts.

The districts manage the project, with the support of the Ministry of Local Government, as pioneers for the benefit of a future possible national approach.

7.2.2. Strategy and Objectives

The project aim was to improve the performance of local governments by establishing functional data/information management and public communication systems for effective and efficient decentralised service delivery.

Based on the analysis of the administrative activities at the district/Sub-County headquarters and the findings on the infrastructure available then, DistrictNet was conceived to improve performance in a number of specific areas:

• To reduce administrative costs by providing a quick and direct means of communication between districts, lower councils and central government.
  
  
• To improve the overall efficiency of the district by introducing a common and shareable databank that could be used by all officials (the executive and civil servants) at the district and lower governments level.
  
  
• To provide interface/linkages with external parties and sources of information so that information is available to all key stakeholders.
  
  
• To train local government staff in basic ICTs skills and on the technical solutions being provided under the project.
  
  
• To improve on the accuracy of service delivery data; and
  
  
• To enhance transparency and accountability and strengthen the public information function in local governments.

7.2.3. Rationale and Structure

During the first year, the project was planned to be implemented in the four pilot district headquarters and 11 sub-counties. External donor funding was secured to finance the first/pilot year's investments and some of the operational costs. The districts and the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) also contributed to some of the set up costs in the pilot year.

The four pilot districts were selected so that there would be one from each of the four 'regions' of Uganda. Additionally a 'new district' was required to have the experience of the unique challenges of such districts, hence the choice of Kayunga District. They contain a total of 112 sub-counties, distributed as follows:

• Kayunga District: 09 Sub-counties
  
  
• Lira District: 25 Sub-counties
  
  
• Mbale District: 31 Sub-counties
  
  
• Mbarara District: 47 Sub-counties

During and following the pilot year, it was expected that the benefits of the project would emerge, and useful lessons learned. The project also provided for a seminar to share experience, with other districts, but it was not within the scope of the project to roll out to all districts and sub-counties. However, it was planned that 11 more sub-counties were to be covered during the second year, and a further 21 sub-counties in the third year, in the four pilot districts only.

Moreover, considering that many government programmes and projects were already focussing on building the capacity of local governments to manage their affairs more efficiently and more transparently, the project proposed to set up a Steering Committee to, among other things, liaise with other districts and other Ministries to ensure rollout of the project to the remaining sub-counties and districts. In the pilot phase, the project plan was to:

• Introduce data and voice communication links between districts and lower local governments; and
  
  
• Introduce electronic data processing in financial management, data communication, data storage and analysis.

The technical solutions to be adopted involved:

• Installing a Local Area Network (LAN) with a file/email/internet server and at least 10 personal computers (PCs). In addition, installing one PC in each sub-county.
  
  
• Installing a data/voice communication link between district headquarters and the pilot sub-counties. The minimum requirement for data is access to an email service. A variety of technologies were proposed to be used, depending on the connectivity infrastructure present. Connectivity solutions included a fixed land line with a modem, mobile phone with data accessories, HF radio with data accessories, Broadband wireless radio with data and voice channels and VSAT terminals.
  
  
• Setting up a computerised data bank, vote books, work plans, financial accounting and report preparation; and
  
  
• Starting a training programme for users in basic ICTs skills, and use of computerised applications.

The districts were intended to fund investments and operational costs from their budget after the pilot year, including all sources of revenue for the districts, which include Internal (District) tax collections, budget support from central government and donor funding.

7.2.4. Organisation and Management Arrangements

The Project owners are the District Local Governments of the pilot districts.

The Chairman of Kayunga District Local Council, Eng. Stephen Dagada, had the responsibility of co-ordinating project implementation between districts for the first year, a role that was planned to rotate to other District Chairpersons annually. Actually, given the quality of the leadership of Eng. Dagada, he was reconfirmed as Co-ordinator of the project for the entire period of execution and for its future implementation.

DistrictNet's organisation was innovative within the public sector. In order to be successful, it required sufficient staff time with external support. It was fundamental that District Councils allowed for sufficient staff time. The project was planned to be implemented as a mainstreamed activity within each pilot district, and the District Executive was to oversee its implementation as part of its normal duties. A Project Implementation Team (PIT) of three persons was formed in each district, headed by the Chief Administrative Officer. The implementation team consisted of executives of the district council together with the civil servants of the pilot districts and sub-counties in the pilot districts. The PIT had to spend at least two person-days each per month on project implementation during the first year. A "Technical Manager/User Support Officer" was hired in each district on a fulltime basis in the first year to ensure adequate human resources to start the project. However, the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) was involved in the implementation of the project as external "Technical Advisor", and providing facilitators and materials for awareness seminars and ICTs skills training.

Figure 1. Eng Steven Dagada and Gianluca Misuraca at the Nile River after visiting the Project's site in the Kayunga District.

The financial plan has been drawn up showing investments, expenses and revenues over a five-year period. The project started with ICTs installations in a limited number of sub-counties, to be expanded later. Investments were to be made in the four districts' headquarters and 11 sub-counties in the first year, with an additional 11 sub-counties in the second year and completion in the third year. Development of information management and sharing mechanisms was planned to take place in the first year, with more district officers benefitting from the results as the project progressed. The total budget is shown below. It includes both the financial contribution of the donor agency (DFID through IICD) and the Ministry of Local Government and Districts.

DistrictNet's Project – Budget:

Source: IICD, DistrictNet (Pilot Phase), Finance Account, 2004.

The external funding was originally ensured for eighteen months, but a second refinancing by IICD was decided in 2005.

An important role in the project was played by the Chief Administrative Officer of each of the pilot districts, this functioned as the Technical Project Planning Group.

One of the main challenges arising from this project was how to rollout to other districts and sub-counties. One way to assist the rollout process was to ensure co-ordination of the leading role of the four pilot districts and other relevant stakeholders, including other districts, Governments Ministries and development agencies with similar initiatives. For this purpose the project proposed to establish a Steering Committee with the following membership:

• The Four Pilot Districts (Represented by the Chief Administrative Officer);
  
  
• Ministry of Local Government;
  
  
• Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development;
  
  
• Uganda Local Authorities Association;
  
  
• National NGO Forum;
  
  
• IICD (with advisory role).
  
  
• The role of the Steering Committee included:
  
  
• Promoting the harmonisation of ICTs solutions, especially software implementation;
  
  
• Ensuring harmonisation with existing projects similar to this project;
  
  
• Ensuring that the lessons learned in the 4 pilot districts will be shared with other districts.

The Ministry of Local Government functioned as a "secretariat" for the Steering Committee.

7.2.5. Activities and Results

a) Strategic and Technical management support

The implementation of the project followed a detailed project implementation plan, under the wise leadership of the project's coordinator, the Ministry of Local Government and IICD.

The first activity was the appointment of a steering committee comprised of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, a representative of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda Local Authority Association, Chief Administrative officers and the chairpersons of the pilot districts.

Under the four pilot districts, different officers were appointed to be part of the project technical implementation team (PIT). These included; the District Planner, Information Officer, PIT co-ordinator, Sector Heads of Departments and a representative from the Chief Administrative Officer's office. A district PIT Co-ordinator was appointed. A communication by each district on the composition of the PIT team and its co-ordinator was submitted to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government.

In addition to the PIT, dedicated ICTs support officers for each of the pilot districts, instead of one Technical Manager handling all the districts, were recruited by the Ministry of Local Government to ensure full time backup, technical support and guidance to the local governments.

To ensure sustainability and ownership, all the four pilot districts opened up DistrictNet project accounts. Each district made a contribution of 8 million Ugandan shillings for the local project operational costs. The main project account was opened by the Ministry of Local Government to which funds were transferred from the IICD.

b) Sensitisation and awareness creation

DistrictNet Project's awareness was carried out in all the pilot districts and other fora by the technical implementation team i.e. the National Co-ordinator, the Project Technical Manager, ICTs officers and the district project implementation teams.

A one day awareness seminar in each of the four pilots was held. The district officials were sensitised on the importance and uses of ICTs and the benefits of the project in general.

Dissemination of information about the project were also ensured by IICD and specific informative workshops were held at the beginning ("kick-off"), medium term and final stage of the first phase of the project.

To reinforce awareness building, for this and other initiatives, IICD contributed to establishing the I-Network Uganda, the main objective of which is to advocate the use of ICTs for rural development, especially considering that Ugandan poverty largely occurs in rural areas, varying from 60 to 70 percent.

c) Installation of equipment and development of databases

Soon after the "kick-off" of the project, an ICTs infrastructure site survey was carried out in each of the pilot districts by the ICTs officers together with two engineers from One2net (a local company) both at district and sub-county levels. During the survey different solutions for the LAN, internet/email connectivity and telephone intercom were proposed, taking the distance into consideration, an Internet point of presence (POP) and electricity structures among others. A report with the findings (technical specifications) of the required items was produced. This provided a guideline on what hardware and software solutions to acquire.

Based upon the results of the survey, the installation of a Local Area Network (LAN) and a Wide Area Network (WAN) started, including email and internet systems, as well as data and voice communication networks within district headquarters, and between these and the pilot sub-counties and the central government headquarters (Ministry of Local Government).

In some cases, solar panels were installed in those sub-counties which had no power, apart from Lira Local Government whose sub-counties are still faced with insecurity. User acceptance tests were carried out and acceptance certificates issued by the local governments after completion of the works by the contractors who carried out the installations.

Figure 2. A satellite dish for communication, installed in a District in Uganda (photo made available by Arjan De Jager, IICD)

Also database systems were developed and rolled out to the districts to facilitate data collection, entry, analysis and generation of reports for planning and decision making functions. These database systems included:

1. Local Government information communication System (LoGICS)

LoGICS is a database system, designed to help Local Governments (LGs) monitor their own performance. Although the reports LoGICS produces may be useful to Ministries and outsiders (such as donors), the system was primarily designed to benefit local governments by providing them with data for use during planning and other decision making functions.

2. Local Government Financial Information and Analysis System (LoGFIAS)

LoGFIAS is a database system that stores, processes and analyses revenue and expenditure data. This system enables LGs to track their performance with regard to revenue and expenditure processes and projections.

3. Lower Local Government Revenue Master (LLGRM)

LLGRM is a database system designed to assist sub-counties and to collect and analyse data on Graduated Tax (GT) collections. This tool enables management of GT up to the village level, helping to track tax defaulters and duplicate tax tickets among other items.

In order to develop and implement the databases and the relative information gathering process, an Information Flow Analysis within local governments was carried out by the technical team of the Ministry of Local Government, with the backup support of two IICD Consultants. The main objective of carrying out the information flow analysis was to strengthen information dissemination in local governments. The output of the exercise provided an insight in the flow of information from the databases for officers involved in information dissemination at Higher Local Government Level (LC5 and LC4) so that they could strengthen their linkages with the planning Offices at LC5, LC2 (Parish or ward) and LC3 (Division, sub-county or town council)

d) Capacity Building and technical training

An important aspect of the project was that, through DistrictNet, the Ministry of Local Government initiated an extensive training programme for users (district officials) in basic ICTs skills and the use of basic computer applications.

A first "Information and dissemination skills training workshop" was organised with a main objective being to equip key district officials involved in the dissemination of information within and outside the district (i.e. the District Planners, Community Development Officers and Information Officers) with information dissemination skills.

The specific objectives of the training were to:

1. Equip participants on how to use existing database systems e.g. LoGICS to generate and disseminate information about their districts;
   
   
2. Equip participants with desktop publishing skills;
   
   
3. Equip participants with skills in website updating;
   
   
4. Train participants in media and information packaging;
   
   
5. Enlighten participants on the different methods of information dissemination e.g. print and electronic media.

At the end of the workshop, participants developed an action plan and a workplan on how they would carry out what had been learned during the workshop, in their respective districts. Some funds were assigned for this particular purpose. Follow up activities by the technical team were carried out to ensure that the expected outputs were attained.

After the first workshop, a training needs assessment was carried out, in all the four pilot districts, which formed the basis for the development of relevant basic computer application training materials. Development of the training materials was carried out under the guidance of a local consultant (International Data Network). As an output of the assessment, training manuals were designed covering four modules including; computer appreciation, Windows operating system, Microsoft Word and Excel, the Internet and email.

Figure 3. A training room equipped in a District in Uganda (photo made available by Arjan De Jager, IICD)

Following this, basic ICTs skills training of the district staff was carried out in the pilot districts, a four day programme per district. The district headquarter staff was trained first since there were already easily available computers at the district which had been supplied under other existing projects and programmes. Each district had fift of its staff trained. The participants were trained on the four modules for which the manuals were developed.

Also basic ICTs skills training for the pilot sub-county staff was carried out in the Local Governments of Mbale, Mbarara and Kayunga. Due to the insecurity in the Northern region, training of sub-county staff in Lira was not conducted. The sub-county staff were trained at the district premises using the computers procured under the District-Net Project. Three members (Chief, Accountant and Chairperson) per sub-county were invited for the training. The participants were trained on the four modules mentioned above.

At the end of each session, participants evaluated the training. Key responses from the evaluation were: there was a need for more training on the internet/email, training time was too limited, there was the need for customised training packages especially in financial management, database management and statistical analysis among other things.

7.3. CONCLUSIONS

7.3.1. Impact on decentralisation policy

ICTs in local governance in Uganda have been identified as major tools for achieving socio-economic development. In order for government to implement the long term national development programmes, timely and relevant information must be available at all levels of implementation. The National ICTs Policy Framework (2003) was intended to stimulate more participation in the socio-economic-political and other developmental activities, so as to lead to improved standards of living for the majority of Ugandans and enhance sustainable national development.

So far, the four pilot districts where the project was implemented have made savings in administrative expenses thus freeing these funds to be used for other more pressing economic activities geared towards economic development initiatives. This is also due to the fact that, in addition to improvement in the communication channels, users now have easier access to useful information for planning purposes.

In social terms, the communities in the districts covered by the project have been sensitised to the usefulness of utilising ICTs and how these technologies can bolster development. One of the main results is that there is now an increasing demand for accurate and timely information, from technical staff, by the politicians to support their decision making functions.

A project evaluation report was released in January 2005. It was based upon answers to a questionnaire distributed to forty end users of the DistrictNet: 83% were staff and the rest Heads of Departments in the Ministry of Local Government.

50% of the respondents gave a positive feed-back, due to the improvement of their ICTs knowledge; 35% saw an improvement in the flow of information and communication with the Ministry of Local Government, and 15% because of the possibility of having access to a broader information and knowledge-base via the Internet. A total of 38% of respondents said that they had already benefitted from the project: 50% because of the improvement in their work and 50% due to the improvement in using ICTs.

In describing the positive impact of DistrictNet, 53% of the respondents said that the project enabled them to improve ICTs awareness, while 25% claimed to have been empowered to make informed decisions in their departments using their new ICTs skills. In addition, 25% thought they had been motivated by the decreased costs in their work and 20% had seen an improvement in reporting, documentation management and levels of transparency.

Thus, higher levels of ICTs awareness are now helping development and this success has been duly noted: Members of the Parliament have in fact promised to ensure the resources to roll out DistrictNet to the rest of the country.

In fact, the project has now achieved a strong appeal in other districts. Reinforcing ICTs infrastructure and capacities is really viewed as a key component in the development of local governance systems. Once completed, the transformation of a district's administrative structure and general operating systems, the districts are in a position to communicate fully with sub- counties and the central government through increased used of computers for documentation, storage, transfer of information and file sharing.

This allows for a reduction in the costs of communication (e.g. transport and production of documentation) and an increase of public information and service delivery, as well as easier and more accurate data collection through the use of standardised pre-designed forms.

All this will allow the constituents (citizens and private companies) to better interact with the local government, thus enhancing their capacity to produce socio-economic development at the local level.

Figure 4. Department of Education, Kayunga District Council; one of the sites of the DistrictNet Project.

7.3.2. Obstacles and challenges in implementation

Despite the success of the project in its pilot phase and the mentioned interest in replicating similar initiatives in other districts and some sub-countries not covered, it is critical that the pilot project is recognised as a success by completion of the implementation. In fact, some obstacles have been encountered in the implementation of activities, delaying its completion.

One of the main problems is related to the delays in the procurement process (government procurement systems) that resulted also in delays of contractual arrangements and in the supply of equipment by some providers.

This produced a limited impact of the training activities, since in some cases training was not supported by the presence of equipment.

There were also some delays in carrying out scheduled training due to busy schedules in the districts, as well as delays in releasing project co-funding by the districts.

Moreover, the training workshops lasted only two days and this was considered not sufficient for learning the system. A number of staff needed additional training to master the specifics of the packages and programmes. Limited ICTs skills in the pilot districts and sub-counties still remain, and so some of the equipment was underused due to lack of knowledge. Another obstacle came from the inadequate transport facilities for the ICTs support officers to go to the various sub-counties for follow-up and back stopping. This necessitated some full time technical staff being seconded from the Ministry of Local Government to go to the districts for trouble shooting.

Financial resources resulted in not being fully adequate to purchase technical equipment not previously budgeted for i.e. technical support equipment for maintenance purposes, and there were limited options for connectivity solutions especially in sub-counties.

Internet connectivity is still a problem in all the districts, although it has been tested in Kayunga, Lira and Mbale. In the specific case of Lira district, problems of insecurity threatened the effective implementation of activities. In particular, despite the need to link up with the sub-counties, technology compatibility is still not achieved, and as a result the effective connection with sub-counties is not yet a reality.

In all, despite the sub objective being fulfilled, the project (at the time of the mission) was not yet completed. The success of the project is perceived to be measured by Internet connectivity and the subcountys' ability to communicate with the districts' Chief Administration Officer (CAO).

It was also noted that the sub-county Chiefs were not fully informed of the planned activities and benefits of the project. Some were not aware of the equipment expected on completion of it. Moreover, the PIT did not meet regularly to review the progress of the project, only the technical managers met regularly. This was despite the fact that it was necessary for monitoring and policy advice for the PIT to meet on a quarterly basis, as well as having a more regular external and independent assessment based on clearly identified indicators.

7.3.3. Lessons Learned

The pilot phase of the project, and in particular its assessment and evaluation, outlined a number of recommendations and lessons learned that should enable the completion of the activities still to be fulfilled in a successful manner, and provide elements for further implementation and generalisation, through replicability. These elements apply to this project, but also have a broader relevance.

First of all, despite the very positive approach undertaken since the beginning, with the full involvement of all relevant stakeholders: political and technical staff of local and central governments, what has to be underlined is the need to enhance the role of the National Co-ordinator in the policy implementation and monitoring of the completed and uncompleted activities.

Ownership of the project is important to be claimed at the district level. Therefore a specific process of transfer from the Ministry of Local Government to the districts is required, eventually identifying a Technical Manager employed by the four districts, who will report directly to them.

Specific attention has also to be given to the management of funds, and the tendering process, that should be shifted to the local district boards.

The districts should be in position to supervise the contractors employed to implement the project or install equipment. Central reporting leaves gaps in the response to some of the project objectives. This is also valid for the procurement of equipment. That however should be given to a third party, to ensure impartiality and efficiency. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Local Government should have a role as Technical Supervisor.

Communication between the district staff and the Local Ministry staff should be improved to allow all stakeholders to share in the implementation snags.

At the same time, leaders at the district should be educated about the project before the junior staff, so that they can promote and encourage staff to adopt and use the system. This will in turn increase their appreciation of the programmes.

To avoid problems due to limited technical skills for maintenance, a specific budget line to take care of maintenance should be identified and made available also when there is the need to purchase unplanned for equipment. This should be complemented by the design of a specific maintenance strategy and technical backstopping plan. At the least each district should have a dedicated maintenance officer in order to avoid importing technicians from the central government based in Kampala or using incompetent technicians in the towns.

A policy on information backup should be developed and adopted by the district to safeguard data storage. Staff in the district registry were still reluctant about the new development due to their feelings about the unknown cost of information loss. This should be handed over to a fully fledged information department which is headed by a competent ICTs manager with at least one or two support technicians who have knowledge of data storage and network troubleshooting skills.

With regard to the training of staff, a structured training programme is required, so as to engage in an effective "transfer" of skills from trained to other officials. This could be done through holding some "training of trainers" courses, in addition to the technical training, guaranteeing that enabling staff learn from the job and have a continuous update in new technologies. Eventually, it could also be complemented by having a specific resource person who works for more than one district.

Finally, the assessment and evaluation exercise should be more frequent and be supported by the development of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, both at district level and at the Ministry of Local Government. This will also facilitate building awareness of the importance of the project among community leaders, thus ensuring long-term sustainability of the activities.

7.3.4. The way forward: the future of DistrictNet

By the start of 2005, the project had entered into a mainstreaming phase, and has now acquired private sector partners in addition to local and central government, IICD and DFID.

During the Final Workshop of the Project, (Ridar Hotel, Seeta, 17th.-18th. May, 2005), the activities of the Pilot Phase of the Project, from its inception to its conclusion, and the final report of evaluation were presented, assessed and discussed. The workshop also discussed the main challenges and obstacles encountered and the need for improvements to complete the Pilot Phase (by an extension of the project) as well as to plan the way forward. This was done through presentations and discussion in plenary sessions and workgroups. The workshop was attended by about 30 participants, including the Chairpersons of Kayunga, Lira and Mbale Districts. As a result of the overall implementation of the project, it can be said that today, there is a fast growing realisation in Uganda that e-governance can bring individuals into close contact with decision makers and officials in the government, especially at the local level.

But e-governance can only be implemented effectively if the right human, technological and financial resources are available and the citizens are ICTs literate and sensitised. As a result, the government is currently in the process of acquiring more funding to extend the project to other districts.

This is based on the lesson that is learned by many projects all over the world "think big, start small, scale fast"! The pilot activities are in fact now under analysis in order to be replicated in other projects and implemented in other districts, through a national programme.

However, the growth and significance of the project will depend on the effort by the Ministry of Local Government, working together with other ministries and districts, to integrate all operations and, in particular the database, to avoid duplication.

It is therefore important that the Ministry of Local Government should maintain control on the design and choice of technologies so as to ensure standardisation and interoperability.

It is also pivotal to reinforce the dissemination activities, through advocacy campaigns and specific national and local workshops. In particular, the importance of data collection and information management should be raised, especially at the lower level of government.

Hopefully a result of the process in the action to "scale up" District-Net, will be the possibility of creating a "multiplier effect", encouraging local governments (both districts and sub-counties), to invest their own resources in ICTs equipment and training, as well as to develop planning and assessment activities at the lower local level.

To have a greater impact, it is also envisaged that districts and the national government will continue to follow the participatory model that is at the heart of "DistrictNet", and include all stakeholders and beneficiaries when designing the projects.

The current approach of "networking-communities" developed for example in the "I-Network Uganda", as well as the national Inter Agency Team, is promising, but there is still the need to undertake research in appropriate technology that is free or affordable, especially for the marginalised groups like the disabled, the illiterate, and use ICTs for rural transformation. It is also important to research on how ICTs can effectively transform the agricultural sector in Uganda and increase household income. This will involve the implementation of large-scale projects, which call for research in areas such as information system design and management in order to minimise project failures.

There is also the need to undertake research on how ICTs can improve health service delivery especially among the poor in the rural areas. These could be some additional components of a further broader "DistrictNet" Programme in Uganda.

References

Baryamureeba Venansius, State of ICTs and Local Governance, Needs Analysis and Research Priorities in Uganda, Report to the CAFRAD/IDRC LOG-IN Africa Pre-Project Consultative Meeting, Nairobi, 3rd.-5th. September, 2005;

Bitwayiki Constantine, Ministry of Local Government, District Administrative Network Programme, Implementation Report, draft - September 2004;

Dagada, Eng. Stephen, District Net Chairperson – Communications to the Local Government P. Secretary;

De Jager, Arjan, IICD, Programme Manager, Presentations to the "District Net Final Workshop", Seeta, Uganda, 17th.-18th. May 2005;

FIT Uganda Consultants, DistrictNet Uganda: Output to Purpose Review, Draft Report by Robert Kintu & Enoth Mbeine, 4th. October 2004;

FIT Uganda Consultants, DistrictNet Uganda: Project Completion Report, by Robert Kintu & Enoth Mbeine, draft May 2005;

International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), and the District Local Governments of Kayunga, Lira, Mbale and Mbarara, ICTs Round Table Process, Project Proposal: District Administrative Network Programme, Kampala, 11th. February 2002;

International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), "i-connect collected: experiences in ICTs for education, livelihoods and governance in six African countries", October 2005;

I-Network Uganda Newsletter, Volume 4, N.1, April 2005;

Laws of the Republic of Uganda. Revised Edition. Vol. I. 2000

Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic development, Poverty Eradication Action Plan 2004/05 – 2007/08

Ministry of Local Government, Ministerial Policy Statement for Financial Year 2003/2004. Kampala, June 2003.

Ministry of works, Housing and Communications, National ICTs Policy. Kampala, 2002

Ministry of works, Housing and Communications, National ICTs Policy for Uganda Implementation Framework, Final Draft Report, Feb 2005

National Planning Authority, e-government Strategy Framework for Uganda (Draft). Kampala, August 2005.

National Task Force for the Development of the ICTs Master Plan, Final Report on e-government Strategy and Action Plan.

Uganda Communications Commission, Telecommunications Sector Policy 2005

Uganda, Telecommunication Sector Performance and E-Usage, Draft Final, Research ICTs Africa, April 2005.

Weddi David, "Transforming local government: e-governance in Uganda, in "i-connect collected: experiences in ICTs for education, livelihoods and governance in six African countries", IICD/UNECA, October 2005.

Document(s) 11 of 16