ICT For Poverty Reduction In Apac

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ICT For Poverty Reduction In Apac

• Presenter Geoffrey Agoi
• Communications Officer
• Ministry of Works, Housing and Communications

2
Meaning and Scope of ICT

• The various technologies that enhance the
  creation, storage, processing, communication and
  dissemination of information
• ICTs also refer to the different infrastructures
  used in these processes, their applications and
  the numerous services these infrastructures
  render.

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Main Elements of ICTs

• Media of Communication (e.g radio,
  television,)-Broadcast services
• IT equipment (Information machine) (e.g
  Computers, musical instruments)
• Telecommunications equipment (Satellites, phones,
  Facsimile machines)
• Telecommunications infrastructures (fiber optic
  cables, microwave links )

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ICT applications

• Public Administration
• where public information is made available to the
  community at large. E-Government for example
  entails the installation of Internet kiosks say
  at district Hqs or in post offices all around the
  country. The kiosks will provide instant access
  to the Internet, e-mail, government and
  educational services as well as e-commerce to
  provide for universal access.

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ICT applications cont

• Urban and Rural Development
• ICTs can help in supporting economic and social
  developments of a community economic development
  can be fostered by tele-working and tele-services
  in some of the unprotected counties- use of
  Telecentres and Mobile telephony to keep rural
  entrepreneurs in touch with the markets outside
  their communities e.g. the Cabbage and Tomato
  farmer who had no access to information

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ICT Applications cont

• Generally ICTs applications are found in all
  sectors of the economy including and not limited
  Transport, Health, Education, and Manufacturing.
• In line with Government efforts towards rural
  access, the Government of the Republic of Uganda
  recognizes that there is a correlation between
  the expansion of ICTs and the expansion of
  economic productivity for national development
  and consequently supports the development and use
  of ICT in the country in various ways

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Policy, Legal and Regulatory framework governing
ICTs Applns

• The communications sector is governed by-
• Uganda communications Act Cap 106 Laws of Uganda
  and other regulations soon to be passed by
  Parliament
• Government of Uganda through the Ministry of
  Works, Housing and Communications (MoWHC)
• Enforced by Uganda Communications Commission an
  independent regulator established in 1998.

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Structure of Communication in Uganda
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Programmes and Initiatives for Rural communities

• Rural Electrification and Transformation
• Poverty Eradication Action Plan
• Health Improvement and Delivery
• Uganda Information Infrastructure Agenda etc.

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Rural Access- ICTs Initiatives

• To supplement Govt efforts in directing the
  development and delivery of communications
  services in rural areas
• RCDS was established whose mission is to support
  the development of communications infrastructure
  in rural Uganda, and ensure that people in the
  Rural areas have access to affordable
  communication services
• To achieve this mission, RCDF was then set up.
• Through RCDF, 154 sub-countries in Uganda were
  declared as unprotected (not served) by the two
  national operators (MTN UTL) due to commercial
  or technical viability.

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RCDF Specific Policy Objectives

• Universal Access (UA) to voice telephony
• which is the provision of at least one public
  telephone per 5,000 people at the sub-county
  level throughout the country in the 154
  unprotected sub-counties by the year 2005
• Promote ICT usage in Uganda
• By providing Internet Access at every District
  headquarters through the implementation of POPs
  and promote ICT training to enable the creation
  of Multi Purpose Tele-centers (MTCs) located at
  vanguard institutions

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RCDF Specific Policy Objectives cont

• Ensure effective utilization of the Rural
  Communication Development Fund (RCDF) subsidy for
  Rural Communications Development and
• Provide innovative solutions to turn rural
  communications into a profitable business.

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Current Status of ICT services in Apac
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Current Status of ICT Services in Apac

• The map shows the extent of coverage with a few
  major population centers are uncovered.
• On an average, even in areas with access,
  villagers in rural areas have to walk 2 kms or
  more to reach a phone
• Internet connectivity in rural areas is almost
  inconceivable with almost 0 of rural households
  having electricity connection.

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The 9 RCDF sub-counties in Apac
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Access to RCDF Fund for local Initiatives

• For local initiatives, RCDF grants are given
  along two basic principles
• For public telephony projects, Internet points of
  presence and training contacts, RCDF are
  disbursed through open tender
• For applications seeking provision of rural
  packages to enhance access to services for a bulk
  of public telephony kiosks / telecentres not
  exceeding five access points, RCDF is obtainable
  directly from UCC.

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Subsidy amount

• For Internet Cafes and ICT training centres, the
  maximum subsidy is about 40 of the investment
  costs set up to a maximum of USD 6,000
• For Public access phones or payphones, the
  subsidy is 50 of the investment costs up to a a
  maximum of USD 400 per access site

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Conditions for award of subsidy

• The secret is the presentation of a business plan
  indicating the viability and sustainability of
  the project for a reasonable numbers of years
• Presentation of evidence of the availability of
  counterpart funding
• Adequate professional know-how and operation
  experience to operate the service once the
  subsidy is awarded in order to provide
  satisfactory service to the target community
• Cost considerations and sustainability of the
  project

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Content and Format of Proposals

• Executive Summary
• Description of the project/entity
• Physical location, telephone, postal, email etc
• Owners/Directors
• Objectives
• Market analysis
• Project implementation
• Project budget and cash flow
• Mobilized resources and required funding
• Sustainability
• Benefits to the community
• Conclusions

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Minimum Requirements for ICT Training centers

• Not more than five computers with a maximum of 2
  persons at the computer terminal during training
• Course content
• Introduction to computers
• Word processing Spreadsheets
• Introduction to internet use including use of e
  mail
• At least one computer with internet access
• Skilled and competent staff
• Minimum capacity of 128MB of RAM, 10GB of each
  computer

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Activities Underway
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Way forward (Suggestions)

• Three questions need to be answered
• What are our communications needs?
• What are our Information needs?
• What are the appropriate Technologies that meet
  the above information communications needs ?

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Way Forward (Suggestions)

• Conceptually, five broad information categories
  may be identified
• Education (e.g. schools, libraries and colleges)
• Industries (Agriculture)-Production
• Broadcast services (eg. Radio, TV, and Internet
  for advertising and other information sharing
  purposes)
• Information services (e.g law, medicine)
• Other information activities (e.g research and
  development, non-profit activities).
• Form groups with similar interests at community/
  Sub-county levels

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Way Forward (Suggestions)
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Conclusion

• The world is for both Man and Woman who have
  learnt to accept to live with each other, and so
  is ICT to us all