The government is currently struggling to compile lists of people who will benefit from the Shs100,000 Covid-19 relief package.
Cabinet approved 16 vulnerable groups of beneficiaries, including boda boda cyclists, tax and bus drivers and conductors, salon workers, bar attendants, ghetto people, and street vendors, among others. Cabinet also approved a budget of Shs54b and Shs100,000 for each of the targeted households to buy 20kgs of maize flour, 10kgs of beans, cooking oil, a bar of soap and a balance of Shs20,000 for emergencies.
However, the method used to collect data used to compile the list of beneficiaries has already generated confusion. Already some people are accusing their local leaders of putting dead people on the list. According to the Gender ministry, town clerks are supposed to compile the list of beneficiaries with technical support of Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA). But UBOS says that the only data they have is from the list of people who received Covid-19 food relief last year.
But experts say it is high time the government embarked on a robust central data collection and storage system to allow sharing of data and improve government efficiency and transparency.
“The current method of relying on mobile phone transactions is both subjective and open to abuse. A more reliable method should use data from the National household survey of UBOS, the National identification system, bank transactions, mobile money transactions and information from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development as well as feedback from the ground,” Mr John Walugembe, the executive director of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (FSME), says.
Artificial intelligence (AI), Walugembe adds, can be employed to mine the above data and provide a more reliable list of beneficiaries. AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions.
Under National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U), government is planning to launch a secure digital integration platform for Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Local governments and other stakeholders to allow sharing of data and improve government efficiency and transparency. This is expected to ease e-service delivery to citizens both in urban and rural areas which would have otherwise required long travels, resultant delays and frustration.
“E-services will be a priority deliverable in every sector of the government in line with the Third National Development Plan (NDP III). Making digital services remotely accessible to citizens for the health, education, agriculture, trade, tourism among others will be high priority,” says Collin Babirukamu, the director E-Government services at NITA-U.
Raymond Amumpaire, a tech lawyer and digital rights activist, says failure to harmonise data between government departments such as NIRA and URA can result in compromising of the information thereby crippling the economy.
“For example, the breach of the police data system could lead to exposure of intelligence information, a scenario that would jeopardise national security,” he says.