The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Communication and ICT
Libreville, Gabon | NEWS CORRESPONDENT | Uganda is poised to accelerate its national digital transformation agenda as senior government officials and experts gather in Libreville, Gabon, for the 6th Ordinary Session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and ICT (STC-CICT). The high-level forum, which opened Monday, serves as a critical platform for member states to coordinate policies and advance the continent’s digital priorities.
For Uganda, officials said, the deliberations are not merely diplomatic; they are an economic and security enabler. As the country transitions toward developing its own artificial intelligence capabilities—supported by the Aeonian Project’s supercomputing infrastructure powered by domestic hydropower—the STC-CICT’s push for a unified continental approach to AI governance is timely. By aligning with AU frameworks, Uganda aims to safely deploy AI across public sectors, mitigate algorithmic bias, and secure its data sovereignty while transitioning from external hosting to local Tier III data centers.
The meeting comes at a strategic juncture as the theme of the upcoming 34th AU Summit in January 2027 is “AU at the Dawn of its 25th Anniversary: Leveraging the Full Potential of SAATM & New Technologies for Continental Integration.” The STC-CICT outcomes are expected to directly inform the ministerial decisions that will shape this summit, making Uganda’s participation vital for shaping the continental agenda on digital trade and infrastructure.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Kamugisha Kazaura, Director of Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission, underscored the strategic importance of emerging technologies. “Connectivity, secure data exchange and interoperability are foundations for integrated public services and digital innovation,” he stated, calling for practical technical recommendations to inform ministerial decisions.
Officials have said the harmonization of e-government standards at the AU level will ensure that Uganda’s public digital architecture — used by entities like the Uganda Revenue Authority—integrates seamlessly with regional immigration and trade systems.
Furthermore, aligning with the AU’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa strengthens Uganda’s position to secure international financing and establish cheaper, more robust cross-border fiber-optic linkages, a key objective of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and UCUSAF projects.
As the session elects a new Bureau, chaired by Ghana with Kenya as First Vice-Chair, Uganda’s delegation will be focused on ensuring that the resulting recommendations are practical and responsive to the realities of all Member States. By actively participating, Uganda ensures that its domestic investments in digital infrastructure, AI technologies, and local data center capabilities remain scalable, secure, and globally competitive.
Officials at the African Union said the outcomes of this session will ultimately contribute to the continental strategies that will define Africa’s digital future, ensuring that Uganda’s tech startups can scale across borders under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) without facing fragmented regulatory barriers.
