By Frank Kamuntu
Makere: Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Hon.Frank Kagyigi Tumwebaze officially opened the Makerere University 5th National Conference on Communication (NCC), which will run for two days starting today Thursday, October 17, 2019 to 18, 2019 under the theme : ‘Harnessing Opportunities in Emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Tumwebaze, who was the guest of honour, officiated the ceremony together with Engineer Godfrey Mutabazi, the Executive Director Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).
Tumwebaze started by thanking Makerere University for being the a vital agent of ICT development, adding that they had been involved in most ICT fields and duties.
He requested students to use such conferences to get ideas on how to ease the world by focusing on using internet to improve their lives instead of concentrating on social media for unproductive propaganda.
“What youth must focus on today is to use internet as the power for innovation and this will increase jobs, their earning and uplift their standards of leaving,” he said.
Tumwebaze urged Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO’s), UCC and the government to keep skilling and mentoring youth to learn how to apply the little experience gained from their institutions, giving examples of youths he has always met who have innovated and established Apps like Uber, Taxify and others from which they are gaining income and at the same time giving services to people.
Tumwebaze noted that as ICT ministry they’re unhappy with some service providers who con Ugandans by selling fake internet (Mbz) and when questioned they deceive that their customers fail to set correct internet settings.
He warned that the ministry was designing measures to end such acts and would soon start penalizing the culprits of the vice.
The Minister also said they removed airtime scratch cards to take transactions online and influence more E-lectro commerce (E-commerce) innovators to invest money in this business and also to favour those who had already subscribed to this business to gain some profits and also create employment opportunities to those who can operate their jobs online.
He promised that as a ministry they are still open to work with whoever aims to develop his/her country through ICT and urged every one to use Fourth Industrial Revolution as the knowledge revolution to end challenges in our every day life.
In the same vein, UCC boss Engineer Godfrey Mutabazi tasked government to stir up Uganda’s Education system so that students are taught and given skills that match the jobs of the coming industrial revolutions. “Those media houses that lack and have refused to implement Media ethics but rather say that UCC is against them have always been misleading people by communicating false and unreliable information. So I warn them to stop it because they are to be dealt with to the latter until they attain the broadcasting standards,” Mutabazi warned.
NCC is an annual institutional event hosted at various universities with an aim of providing solutions using internet; the first and second conferences were hosted by Makerere University, third by Ndejje university, fourth by Mbarara University, and fifth back at Makerere University
