The recently concluded commonwealth heads of government meeting in Kampala Uganda (CHOGM), has started to bring back some positive fruits for the country. Not only did we experience a clean and organized city for the first time down here, many hotels were built to accommodate the delegates. This is therefore a bright opening into the tourism investment in the country. Many people here do want to know more about there country and continent indeed, but they simply don’t know how and where to visit. The social working class of Uganda is steadily growing with more spending being realized. So a good tourism investor would not need foreign market has the people here simply need to be guided on where to visit and how.

Anyway that’s part of my opinion regarding the CHOGM and what Uganda is getting form it. But the main point that I want to bring home today, is the good news about the Commonwealth’s intention of investing close to 4billion shillings in the ICT project here.
One write who goes by the names “whiteafrican”,here on africanews,wrote a good article wondering weather Africa needs ICT or food first. I don’t know the real answer to this as humanity cant do without the later,tho also in this information era,ICT is becoming one of those basic needs of society to compete and live fairly as human beings. So I will leave the answer to that to individuals. Some need ICT now and indeed others need food to survive. That’s to say,refugees,sick persons in hospitals, people in camps etc…

But with this huge investing in the ICT by the commonwealth, Uganda is bound to get to a more advanced stage. So below is was is transpiring as regards this project.
An initiative worth 1.2million pounds(4billion shillings) that will see all rural communities in the African countries with access to inter-net and telephone services launched by the commonwealth union.

The iniative is meant to promote faster telephone and internet connectivity for Africa according to Dr Ekwo Spio-Garbrah the chief executive officer of the commonwealth telecommunications organization (CTO), the organization spearheading the initiative.
He said the I initiative is known as the the commonwealth Africa Rural connectivity Initiative(COMARCI) is designed to identify and assist in connecting rural communities in the 18 commonwealth African countries.

Dr Gabrah was speaking at press briefing at the commonwealth media centre in Kampala last month. “It will minimize digital marginalization and use of ICTs to propel Commonwealth countries into the new age”
Dr Gabrah said the government of Malta had already pledged pounds 50,000 for the project, which he said had already kicked off.
“We are mobilizing other partners but the plan is already in motion and those who would like to join us can do so,” he said.
He said the rural people have been deprived of such services for long leaving them under-powered technologically and without enough knowledge.

The Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)
Its no longer a debate weather ICTs play a role in the development process, and especially how mobile phones and Inter-net are helping to transform Africa’s economies” he stressed.
He said if Africa is t attain the millennium Development Goals, it must address “quickly and creatively” the special challenges posed by the poor, illiterate, marginalized, disadvantaged rural populations.
“COMARCI aims to take into account the technology transfer opportunities and will look to assemble a body of knowledge that could constitute a connectivity roadmap for Africa,” he said.
The project will be one of the many projects under the commonwealth connects programme, which aims at bridging the digital divide in the commonwealth countries.
The initial phase of the project will take place in the first six months and the next twelve months will be used to identify pilot projects that can be scaled up and spread across Africa.

Uganda Milestones

Uganda’s ICT minister, Mr Ham Mulira said under the Rural Development Fund that is financed by revenue from telecommunications companies, the government was making ICTs available to the rural areas.
‘We have pay phones at village trading centres,tele-centres,and also provided computers to schools,”Dr Mulira said.
He said that this financial year, the government would give another 80 primary schools computers. He also said that mobile phone ownership has risen to 4.3 million from 2million. He however said that this is only 20% of Uganda’s [population and with the majority concentrated in urban areas.

So with this projects comes many opportunities for the African communities in the bracket of the coomonwelath,and also those intending to join like the Rwandesse.Not only will it avail the ICT elites on the continent with jobs, but it calls upon them to get involve in the search of areas that surely need this project. Its time they put their brains to positive innovation.
Chris in Kampala