In a bid to merge government agencies and authorities whose roles seem to be duplicated, the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U), might be abolished or merged with the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). This information was leaked from a secrete government document this tech website has been privy to.
This follows recommendations from both government and a separate review team set to see the fate of the different government agencies, commission authorities, and public expenditure to ensure there is no duplication with existing ministries. The recommendations from both teams do favor NITA-U’s continuous operation as an autonomous authority.
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While the government recommended for NITA-U to be restructured into a department under the Ministry of Information, Communications Technology and National Guidance (MoICT), the independent review team for it to be completely abolished and merged with UCC which will be retained as an autonomous body as it regulates some of the biggest taxpayers in the country.
If NITA -U is merged with UCC, it means UCC will operate huge projects like the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) which means the regulator will be directly competing in the market it regulates.
Alternatively, the NBI could be transferred to be managed by Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) under the supervision of MoICT. But at the end of the day, this is still on paper and may not be implemented any time soon.
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