­APA-Kampala (Uganda) The Uganda Communications Commission on Friday marked its 10 years of existence at a symposium at the Serena Hotel in Kampala during which President Yoweri Museveni commended the technocrats whom he said were the driving force in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for their ingenuity.

He observed that before the ruling Movement government came to power, technology had lagged behind in Uganda. He, therefore, observed that it was imperative that the government in power should avail resources related to ICT in order to match development in ­other countries.

The President lauded UCC for working closely with the private sector especially in the telephone industry whereby fixed lines increased to 50,000 in 1998 while the mobile networks clocked 6.8 million. This, he said, made an average of 1 line to 5 people as apposed to 1 line to 400 people in the past.

The President said that the national economy has benefited directly from the communications sector as evidenced by the creation of employment opportunities. He reported that the sector currently employs 350,000 people.

Mr. Museveni commended the private sector for being a partner in the transformation of the country. He reminded the sector to identify the kinds of ICT that have value for money and beneficial to the least developed countries.

He disclosed that with the use of the help lines that have been established by the Faculty of ICT at Makerere University, 10,000 students have so far been admitted on both diploma and degree programmes which he noted was a significant shift towards qualitative development.

President Museveni said that there are many jobs in the country but people lack skills to occupy those slots. He therefore advised the ministry of Finance and that of Education and Sports to publicize a career guidance to assist parents and their children choose courses at the tertiary level.

He further commended the Faculty of ICT for establishing the largest computing centre in East and Central Africa capable of accommodating 12,000 students. He described this as an indication of a visionary and focused investment.

The president called on universities to get fully involved in multi-disciplinary research to enable people gain patent rights over their innovations. He observed that this will enrich and develop Uganda.

Earlier, the President commissioned the ICT laboratory for schools intended to enrich students with enough skills in ICT.

Source:cellular-news