ICT ministry, communication stakeholders call for affordable internet, smartphone taxes
Zawedde said the government is engaging stakeholders on reducing taxes on smartphones and internet access, with a policy paper expected to be presented to Cabinet soon.
Amina Zawedde, permanent secretary, Ministry of ICT and National Guidance. (Courtesy)
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Fostering digital inclusion means promoting digital literacy and ensuring device affordability, as highlighted by Harouna Musinguzi, director of finance, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), at this year’s state of the digital economy symposium on Friday, July 24, 2026, at the Next Conference Centre, Naguru.
Progressive government policies, sustained private-sector investments, effective regulation, and strong partnerships are reflected in the statistics, as per Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) figures. He noted that on connectivity and devices, there are 37.5 million active SIM cards. And this, he explains, is measured by whether the SIM card performed any activities in the past 30 days. There are 20 million internet subscriptions, measured by devices that use more than 30MB of data per month. Plus, there are approximately 20.3 million smart devices within the country.
On financial inclusion, there are 36.5 million mobile money subscriptions, measured by accounts that are active over 90 days.
“Our success can no longer simply be measured by the number of towers we construct, kilometres of fibre we deploy; the opportunities connectivity should increasingly measure it creates.”
Access to internet and smart devices
Kin Kariisa, the convener of the symposium, observed that smartphones are no longer luxuries but tools of work because people no longer need to be in offices to work; they only need smartphones and internet, but they have been frustrated by taxes that, in effect, have in effect rolled back digital inclusion efforts.
“In East Africa, it is only Uganda that charges heavy taxes on phones. Not Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, or Nigeria. Once you empower these Ugandans, there is a lot of creativity. We don’t want Ugandans to escape to Kenya, Rwanda or Tanzania to buy phones there to come and use in Uganda. With these phones they will buy more data, you will get more in taxes.”
Government intervention
Musinguzi says they have started discussions with the ministry of finance to see how, as regulators, smartphones can get into the country affordably with low taxes.
Amina Zawedde, permanent secretary, ministry of ICT & National Guidance, says they are already engaging the different stakeholders and have come up with a paper. “We are working with the private sector to see that if we reduce taxes on entry-level devices, the young people can afford them.”
And on reducing costs of internet access, “It is also a conversation we are having. We know that when we reduce taxes on devices, we will have many devices and eventually the cost will go down. So, we will strike one bird, and it will come down with all the others. The paper is ready, and we shall be taking it to cabinet soon, probably before the end of this quarter.”