What Uganda’s AI-powered security systems mean for sustainability and public finance

For civil society, this is not just about technology but how public resources are planned, utilized, and monitored to ensure that innovation serves citizens 

COMMENT | HELLEN DIANA ZAWEDDE | Uganda’s decision to deploy artificial intelligence (AI)–powered drones to enhance border security marks a milestone in the country’s digital transformation. The innovation promises to reduce smuggling, improve surveillance, and strengthen revenue protection along Uganda’s borders. Yet, as government embraces emerging technologies, questions arise about their fiscal sustainability, environmental footprint, and accountability within the national budget framework.

While AI offers exciting possibilities, its long-term success will depend on whether Uganda can strike a balance between innovation and responsible public spending. For civil society, this conversation is not just about technology but about how public resources are planned, utilized, and monitored to ensure that innovation serves citizens and protects the environment.

The promise of smart security

The deployment of drones for border monitoring is part of Uganda’s broader Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Strategy, which emphasizes the use of AI, robotics, and big data to improve service delivery. The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance notes that smart border systems could help cut operational costs and enhance efficiency by replacing resource-intensive manual patrols with automated surveillance technologies

In practice, these technologies could improve coordination among security agencies, strengthen customs enforcement, and increase trade transparency. For instance, a study along the Kenya–Uganda border has found that digital surveillance systems can reduce illicit trade and revenue loss when properly managed. And if well-implemented, AI-driven security could therefore enhance both national safety and fiscal integrity.

Hidden fiscal and environmental costs

However, innovation comes with costs that extend far beyond procurement. Maintaining drones, upgrading software, storing data, and training operators all create recurrent obligations that must be reflected transparently in both national and local government budgets. Without clear cost–benefit analyses and open reporting, AI projects risk becoming hidden liabilities within Uganda’s public expenditure framework.

Equally important are the environmental implications of AI adoption. Globally, AI systems are increasingly recognized as energy-intensive and carbon-heavy.  The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that global data centres fuelled by the explosive growth of AI and cloud computing are on track to consume about 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity by 2030, accounting for nearly 3% of global demand. If current trends continue unchecked, this share could surge beyond 4% by 2035, effectively doubling the world’s data centre energy use within a decade.  Additionally, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) analysis found that training a single large AI model such as GPT-3 required over 1,200 megawatt-hours of power and emitted 552 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂), and the data centres that support such models also consume millions of litres of water annually for cooling, adding pressure to already water-stressed regions.

Meanwhile, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that indirect emissions from major tech firms rose 150% between 2020 and 2023 due to the demands of power-hungry data centres.

These figures reveal that the true cost of AI extends beyond fiscal expenditure to include its growing environmental footprint. As AI-driven systems expand, their demand for energy, data storage, and cooling infrastructure risks straining national power grids and reversing hard-won climate gains. In this context, unchecked technological expansion could transform innovation into a new source of fiscal pressure and environmental degradation.

Aligning AI with sustainable public finance

Given the fiscal and environmental pressures linked to AI adoption, Uganda must shift from technological enthusiasm to accountable investment. AI projects should be integrated into the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and evaluated like any other public project through clear costing, impact reviews, and sustainability checks.

Government agencies should disclose both capital and recurrent costs, assess environmental risks, and align digital investments with the National Green Growth Strategy and Vision 2040. Integrating green audits and regular reporting on the energy use and emissions of AI-driven systems such as drones and smart surveillance technologies would ensure that digital transformation supports both fiscal discipline and environmental sustainability. The Public Finance Management Act (2015) already provides a legal basis for this integration. Applying its provisions to AI investments would help ensure that innovation strengthens rather than undermines Uganda’s goals of efficiency, equity, and long-term fiscal health.

A Call for accountable innovation

Uganda’s AI-powered border surveillance initiative reflects the government’s ambition to modernize and secure the country. Yet innovation must not outpace oversight. Transparency in procurement, energy use, and budget reporting will be essential if these technologies are to deliver genuine public value.

Ultimately, technological progress should go hand-in-hand with fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship. Only through deliberate planning and open governance can Uganda’s AI revolution become a model of smart, sustainable, and accountable digital development.

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Hellen Diana Zawedde is an Economics-Graduate Trainee at Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG)