ICT Minister Frank Tumwebaze(L) and Tony Thompson, the Country Manager of WorldBank at ICT offices in Kampala. (PML Daily PHOTO) .
KAMPALA – The minister of ICT and National Guidance, Frank Tumwebaze held talks with World Bank Country Director Mr. Tony Thompson on key issues including integration of the digital agenda in the Bank priorities.
This was confirmed by minister Tumwebaze in a statement on social media without giving more details. The dual met on Wednesday.
“We discussed ICT projects being supported by the bank and discussed more to do with integration of the digital agenda in the bank priorities,” he posted.
The World Bank supports the digital transformation agenda in Uganda and digital technologies that the minister says can be a powerful enabler of inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development.
The World Bank Group’s portfolio in Uganda is worth US$3 billion in credits, grants, and guarantees covering national and regional operations.
About half of this supports infrastructure development—energy, roads, urban infrastructure, and ICT among others.
The projects are instrumental in developing Uganda’s ICT infrastructure, promoting public sector reforms, unlocking the country’s export potential, and creating new investment opportunities for Uganda’s businesses, as well as new quality jobs for the people.
Uganda’s current IDA credits attract only an administrative service charge of 0.75 percent on the amount disbursed, with repayments stretched over 38 years and a 6-year grace period.
On his part, Mr Thampson said World Bank will also support building regional cloud-based data-center infrastructure and platforms for the government and the private sector to deliver better and more secure services.
“Another important element of the project is the creation of an enabling environment for the digital economy,” he said in a statement.
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