By Our Reporters
During the Monday 30th April cabinet meeting in Entebbe State House, President Museveni led the way in emphasizing the essentiality of fully revamping Uganda Telecom into a viable telecom company with a significant shareholding by government. According to Daily Monitor of Wednesday 2nd May, Museveni bashed National Information Technology Authority (NITA) for exploitatively subjecting the government ministries departments and agencies (MDAs) to very expensive internet through what cabinet termed the very unfairly priced purchase contract that has for years been executed by Soliton Telmec that was hired by NITA. In existence is the NBI/EGI infrastructure through which internet is distributed and transported to hundreds of government MDAs at their various locations across the country. The NBI, which is like a road through which internet is transported, was constructed using the $300m Chinese loan which Museveni furiously told the Cabinet meeting was something he personally negotiated and obtained from China. He was furious NITA, which is charged with regulating internet providers but was now in the business of internet provision and thereby competing with them directly, had crafted Soliton into the business of internet delivery and maintenance of the NBI and thereby enabling the Kenyan company to annually reap hundreds of billions of shillings. What annoyed the big man even more was the fact that the same Soliton was billing the government MDAs at rates far much higher than what they charge private companies and entities in Kampala for the same services. “Who gave my NBI to Soliton? How come this was not brought to Cabinet for approval?” Museveni was quoted as saying totally disapproving the NITA/Soliton contract. According to Daily Monitor, Minister Frank Tumwebaze and other ICT sector leaders present said they aren’t aware how Soliton exactly got awarded a contract with such very generous terms. They preferred that NITA Executive Director James Ssaka should explain better but fortunately or unfortunately for them, the much-accused Saka wasn’t in the meeting. Neither was there time for him to be brought in. In the end, it was resolved in a move that enjoyed unanimous cabinet endorsement with the President leading the way that NITA hands over the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) to expedite the realization of the President’s dream for a revived UTL. In a session that saw all Ministers (with exception of a few like Luwero Triangle’s Dennis Ssozi Galabuzi) unanimously call for the speedy realization of the President’s vision for a revamped UTL, Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda went as far as saying that none of the telecom rivals beats UTL when it comes to having the most qualified, trained and experienced telecom engineers in the Ugandan market.
NITA SNUBS RUGUNDA;
At the Cabinet meeting, Rugunda was directed to urgently commence follow up meetings to ensure that NITA expeditiously complies with the day’s resolutions and the directives contained in the President’s earlier letters on the same matter. So the Premier on Friday 4th May called a meeting at his boardroom to get NITA’s proposed roadmap on how they intend to proceed in the implementation of the President’s and Cabinet directives regarding the UTL matter. UTL was represented by officials from workaholic Twebaze Bemanya’s URSB which is overseeing the administration period at UTL. Whereas a high powered delegation was expected from NITA, this never happened. Instead Research & Planning Director Dr. Fredrick Kitogo, not known to be among the most influential figures at NITA, is the one who came along with another junior officer to represent the once very powerful and mighty NITA. On being asked why Saka or Peter Kahigi and Vivian Ddambya, who are the most influential figures at the Lugogo bypass-based Authority were no show, Dr. Kitogo delivered their apologies specifically disclosing that his ED James Saka was down with a sudden illness and had sent his apologies. It was unclear why Kahigi or Ddambya, the two figures without whose input no major decision would ever be taken at NITA, too were no show. Theirs lately must be the hardest predicament because in the Entebbe Cabinet session it was implied that all the NITA heavyweights still interested in working for government should consider accepting deployment at the ICT Ministry where they are supposed to undertake policy advisory roles. Not bothered with Saka, Ddambya and Kahigi absence, Rugunda nevertheless carried on with his meting and many new positions were agreed upon all aimed at smoothening the unconditional handover of the NBI by NITA which is understood to be among the MDAs that are due for scrapping in line with the President’s last year directive to Honorable Rugunda to restructure government MDAs with a view of scrapping some while merging others. The big man believes there is too much duplicity and that many of these MDAs are good for nothing apart from merely bloating the government payroll.
