By Our Reporter
The National Information Technology Authority (NITA) Uganda awarded the best online government bodies in the eGovernment Excellence Awards held at the Speke Resort Munyonyo on Thursday.
The ceremony, held under the theme “Bold Digital Government: Unlocking Service Delivery”, was aimed at recognizing government agencies that have been outstanding in digitizing and bringing their services online while also creating awareness of eGovernment services.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda who was also Chief Guest of Honour, revealed that the government has made deliberate effort to grow the ICT sector in order to harness the incredible potential it brings to Uganda’s development agenda.
“It is now common wisdom that the internet drives business transformation and economic modernization,” he stated. “However, world over, it is known that affordability is one of the primary barriers to Internet access and optimal use. I would like to acknowledge that there have been deliberate efforts by this government through the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda under the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance to increase internet penetration and reduce the cost of internet.”
The award ceremony was part of a month-long celebration to mark NITA’s 10 years of existence. The awards attracted over 75 nominations under various categories in which 16 awards were won.
Some of the winners included Uganda Revenue Authority which was voted the best Exhibitor at the e-Government Expo 2019; NSSF was voted the best Government Entity Of The Year 2019; while the CIO of the year award went to Martin Ssekajja, the Head of Information Systems at Kampala Capital City Authority.
The award ceremony was organised by Legend Events.
Here’s the full list of winners:
Chief Information Officer – Martin Sekajja
Outstanding Web-portal Award: Connected – Makerere University
Outstanding Web-portal Award: Interactive – UNBS
Outstanding Web-portal Award: Informational – Office of the Director Public Prosecution
Outstanding Web-portal Award: Local Government – Mbarara District Local Government
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Economic, Infrastructure and Competitiveness sector – UNRA (PDU E-Transit Ladder)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Tourism and Trade sector – URA (eBIZ)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Education sector – UNEB (eRegistration)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Health sector – National Medical Store (Smart Care)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Human sector – Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development (External Employment Information System)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Accountability and Governance sector – Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (Integrated Financial Management System)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Public Administrations and Management sector – Ministry of Local Government (ELogRev)
Outstanding Sector eService Award: Justice Law and Order sector – URSB (Business Registration system)
Best Exhibitor at eGovernment Expo – URA
Government Entity of the Year – NSSF
Citizen Choice – URA (eTax)