IDG News Service —

Uganda's Ministry of ICT has commenced discussions on a new IT policy for the country.

The new national policy is intended to address the shortfalls of the 2003 IT policy, explained Williams Dembe of Precision Innovations Systems, one of the drafters of the document, at a national dialogue on the draft policy.

Areas of interest that the new policy will address include IT infrastructure development, IT education, public-private partnerships, trade and commerce, rural-urban development, popularization and awareness of IT, gender mainstreaming, and e-waste management.

To implement an IT policy, the consultants have recommended that the government review current policy and consolidate it into the IT Act.

That act should encourage the integration of IT into key strategic areas of government and private enterprise, the draft policy states.

It further states that the government should support public-private partnerships and higher education through funding in order to train people in the IT skills that the market demands. These trained IT professionals should be held to standards enforced by an umbrella body created by the government, the draft adds.

The draft also states the need for tax holidays and rebates in the IT sector, which should be led by private enterprise, in order to boost development.

In order to attain the key strategic goals of this IT policy, the draft notes that the Ugandan government will establish the National IT Authority of Uganda (NITA-U). NITA-U's mandate will be to implement, regulate, monitor, evaluate and verify progress on the policy on a day-to-day basis under the supervision and coordination of the Ministry of ICT.

Additionally, NITA-U will foster IT research and development in Uganda and help regulate the industry in terms of Internet usage, e-waste recycling, IT education and cybercrime.

The creation of NITA-U would help in the elimination of the ills that have been associated with globalization and the advancement of communications technology, said ICT Minister Dr. Ham Mulira.