By Ashnah Kalemera With three years to the global deadline for shifting from analogue to digital broadcasting as set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), some African nations are falling worryingly behind schedule. Among countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda, there are variations in implementation progress, policy frameworks, service cost and offerings, […] Read more
By: Caroline Wamala A number of organizations in east Africa are using ICT to hold leaders accountable, fight corruption, monitor service delivery, and contribute to building a democratic culture. The East Africa ICT4Democracy Network, supported by Spider, was launched in June 2011 to enable the participating organisations to have stronger impact, build a more sustainable […] Read more
A new report by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) illustrates how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are aiding citizen participation in Uganda, but also points to the challenges that need to be overcome for these technologies to have a wider impact on governance. The report reviews various ICT […] Read more
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is undertaking a study to establish Uganda’s Open Government Data readiness. The study, which will form the basis of advocacy, awareness raising, and network building activities, is gauging political willingness, public administration readiness, and civil society interest and readiness. We are also assessing […] Read more
February 28, 2012, New Delhi, India The ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network, which brings together various partners in the region – among them CIPESA will hold a stakeholder workshop on mobile phone enabled democracy at the 3rd International Conference on Mobile Communication for Development(M4D2012). The workshop will showcase innovatice cases from East Africa. Organisations and inidividuals interested in the […] Read more
SMS for Human Rights In addition to Lindi, Mwanza and Iringa regions, the Tanzanian Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) extended its field studies to gather user requirements to Dar es Salaam. With a clearer indication of what citizens want, the Commission has now started work toward the system requirements and features design of […] Read more
By Ashnah Kalemera According to data from the IER 2011, the 51 mobile money deployments in Africa as of April 2011 are creating new opportunities for small businesses to access financial services. The real time money transfers and payment transactions are enabling small enterprises to better manage their cash flow and speeding up the delivery of […] Read more
By Ashnah Kalemera What role are Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) playing in enabling private sector development in developing countries? And what are countries in Africa and other developing regions doing to enable ICT play a greater catalysing role in national development? These were some of the questions discussed at the launch in Kampala of […] Read more
The inhabitants of Bushenyi District in Uganda have seen their right to access information blatantly violated by public bodies; reflecting the plight of thousands of ordinary citizens who wish to hold their leaders accountable. Unusual and suspicious delays in the execution of a contract to build a new stadium in the District of Bushenyi amid […] Read more
In this issue of the newsletter, read about concerns that Tanzanian authorities are growing intolerant of online activity deemed critical of the government; the link between ICT and open government; how social media could promote democracy; the challenges of accessing public information in Uganda; the ICT-for Democracy in East Africa project; and the Uganda national […] Read more
By Ashnah Kalemera Social media is fast becoming one of the major uses of the Internet. Wikis, blogs and other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have been added to the Internet as enablers for developing, storing and disseminating instant information to audiences of people in diverse locations at a fairly low […] Read more
