By Karim Muyobo
Uganda has signed a pact with the People’s Republic of China to boost development, cooperation and digital transformation. Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the Minister for Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance, speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday in an interview, said the government has been working with China to lay the backbone infrastructure to ensure everyone has internet.
“China is ahead of us in terms of technology and has been a key pillar in connecting internet cables to different parts of the country. Through this cooperation, we shall build new infrastructure, equipment, training and provide services to all Ugandans,” Mr Baryomunsi said.
He added: “We are now linking urban and rural areas using the China companies to ensure that no one is left behind and we want everyone to enjoy internet connectivity.We are building towers so that we have full inter- net coverage.”
The pact was signed on October 19 in Beijing,the capital of China,where the China-Africa digital capacity-building cooperation forum was held. According to the Uganda Communication Commission 2022 Market Performance report, the total number of internet-enabled gadgets connected to the networks stood at 10.9 million, as at June 2022.
This implies that about 20 percent of the population in Uganda is connected to the internet.
