Museveni tasks experts on industrial revolution
Tasked. President Museveni (left)interacts with the team of experts who will champion Uganda’s quest for industrialisation at State House Entebbe on Monday. PPU PHOTO
What you need to know:
- The taskforce members have been told to add computer designers to the group.
- Mr Nasasira said they will work to ensure that Uganda takes the right path towards the fourth industrial revolution. He called for government support to ensure that the set targets are achieved.
Kampala. President Museveni on Monday inaugurated a 32-member team of experts drawn from different fields to champion Uganda’s quest for industrialisation.
The team under the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) led by Mr John Nasasira, the former Works and ICT minister, among other things, will study the current trends in ICT and industrial innovations and advise the government on how to move forward.
Other members of the team are Prof Mary Okwakol, the Vice Chancellor of Busitema University, Prof Tony Oyana, the principal of Makerere University College of Computing and Dr John Okuonzi, the director of ICT at Kyambogo University. The team also has several other private practitioners and government officials drawn from different agencies and departments.
Caution
While inaugurating the team at State House Entebbe, President Museveni challenged the members to ensure that Uganda and Africa as a continent is not left behind.
“I am glad that you have formed this taskforce. Africans were used by the capitalist to support capitalism. Be very careful here, I don’t want us to move on uncoordinated. What I want to warn Africans on is that the fourth industrial revolution must be built on the earlier efforts,” the President said.
“Africa must carry out market integration so that we have one big African market. If we have one big economic and political integration, we can decide which things come in,” he added. Mr Museveni said a number of people from other continents have been saying Africa doesn’t need manufacturing, but services, which he said is very wrong.
“I call upon the team to think in a holistic manner I don’t accept the notion that Africans should not manufacture goods,” he said.
The President tasked the team to ensure that they add computer designers to the group, noting that Ugandans must start designing and manufacturing their own computers.
“I have my group I have been telling to make computers. Africans should not only be users of computers, but designers of them. It’s very good that you have formed the taskforce, but I want the taskforce to include our own computer designers,” he said.
Task
Mr Frank Tumwebaze, the minister of ICT and National Guidance, said “the taskforce will study the country’s chain of technology and advise us on how best we can harness the emerging technologies for development.”
“This taskforce will guide us on whether we need to change our ways of teaching in schools or we need adult literacy in digital information,” he added.
Mr Tumwebaze said government spends a lot of money on purchasing management software from foreign companies, yet the same can be developed locally by Ugandan innovators.
“Why should government procure software from multinational companies and continue to maintain it by renewing licence when our own innovators can make the same apps from within,” he questioned.
He said the ministry has created the national ICT innovation support to help the young innovators. A facility has already been constructed to house young innovators at the Institute of Information, Communication and Technology at Nakawa for the purpose.
