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During Wednesday's plenary, Parliament voted against the dissolution of the National Information Technology Authority, Uganda (NITA-U).

This was by way of voting against the National Information Technology Authority, Uganda (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which sought to dissolve NITA and have its functions absorbed by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.

In a session chaired by Speaker of Parliament Anita Among (pictured below), part of the day's agenda was to consider the Bill, which is part of the government rationalization policy.

Dissolution would see NITA's functions maintstreamed into the ICT ministry. But legislators voted against the move.

According to the ICT committee report on the Bill presented by committee vice-chairperson Tonny Ayoo (Kwania county), the decision to dissolve NITA should be stayed because of its strategic role in spearheading the digital transformation programme.

The committee report said that although NITA has not generated money, it has saved the Government a lot of it.

"It has neither posted high cost in its administration nor drained the national treasury," said Ayoo (pictured below).

The report added that NITA has enabled Government to save up to sh49 billion.

This has been so by providing internet bandwidth by reducing the cost of internet from $70 (sh276,000) to $35 (sh138,000) per megabyte per second (Mbps), with a projection of a further reduction to US$20 (sh79,000) per Mbps.

Ayoo told the House that NITA also reduced duplication of up to $92 million (sh362.4 billion) by establishing the National Data Centre and the disaster recovery sites, hosting 287 critical applications in over 100 Government institutions.

Other legislators made a case for NITA.

Pakwach district Woman MP Jane Pacuto said the authority has in the past years contributed to the increase of mobilization of non-tax revenue in Uganda.

Adding: "And there is no way it is draining the national treasury".

Bugweri county MP Abdul Katuntu (pictured below) demanded justification backed by qualitative and quantitative research on the decision by Government to dissolve NITA.

Objectives and functions of NITA-U

(Source: NITA-U website)

▪️ To provide high quality information technology services to Government

▪️  To promote standardisation in the planning, acquisition, implementation, delivery, support and maintenance of information technology equipment and services, to ensure uniformity in quality, adequacy and reliability of information technology usage throughout Uganda

▪️  To provide guidance and other assistance as may be required to other users and providers of information technology

▪️  To promote cooperation, coordination and rationalisation among users and providers of information technology at national and local level so as to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure optimal utilisation of scarce resources

▪️  To promote and be the focal point of co-operation for information technology users and providers at regional and international levels

▪️  To promote access to and utilisation of information technology by the special interest groups.
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📸 Legislators pictured during Wednesday's plenary

House adjourned until Thursday 2pm...