Here comes the Husky

D.J.T is awfully silent about the endorsement from the Tea Party Stalwart from the cold place up north and understandably so. About eight years ago, a floundering John MaCain brought her into his camp and quickly began to earn some points for his choice of a female running mate but it did not take long before the barrage of the attacks began and that with quite a lot of justification. 

This time around D.J.T just stood there and watched as she sprang into action rather glad to have an opportunity to get back into action after a long time away from visibility. The occupy movement is in hibernation and the tea party is probably watching the action for a chance to emerge with plenty of competition from the coffee bean. Any new movement that emerges would have to center around this essential new beverage that has redefined the manner in which the corporate class lives and works. 

Yes 2008 is upon us all over again. The markets are threatening to pull moves similar to what they did back in the day. The air is fresh for some sort of change and the grand old party can make a case for this kind of shift after eight years of democrat rule. 

Already we began to see moves to prevent Donald J. Trump from traveling to the U.K (in an effort to punish him for making anti islamic statements). 

We are yet to hear some major pronouncements around Israel and its powerful lobby, we are also still waiting to see what kinds of views he presents regarding the second amendment which seems to have been mistakenly intertwined with the right to bear arms, and then, on he has not meet with the secretive Bilderbag Group or the Council for Foreign Relations (two of three powerful groups which it is said often will guarantee one a place on the helm of the great Casa Blanca). 

D.J.T has also expressed some rather caustic remarks about illegal immigrants what we are not certain of is if this will affect that very important voting minority block which seems it have had a hand in putting the Republican George Walker Bush into office...for two terms. 

This voting block matters because experts continue to see a rise in population of Hispanic Americans. This could have a major effect on the vote come November but clearly Republican Dominated states will not let the current administration use his presidential power to create blanket decrees legalizing those with questionable paperwork. 

The same experts have placed D.J.T on the same level as Ted Cruz which is interesting because it gives the republicans an opportunity to vote for a change at least with regards to age and style or character as represented by D.J.T. Another possible beneficiary would be the other Bush who has run his state well and who is...you guessed it-married to a Hispanic American Woman-talk about being strategic!

Now Florida as you will remember came to the fore in the Bush Versus Carey an election that ended up begin much too close to call. But as we have noted before the dynamics in Florida have changed a lot since that vote almost 12 years ago. For starters, Cuban American Relations have undergone a seismic shift that will probably determine a lot about how the swing state votes. 

In addition to this, it is reported that B.H.O's presidency has been characterized by more deportations than any other presidency(earning him the title deporter in chief). So the number are not necessarily in favor of minorities. Besides that there is a possibility that much of the energy that existed in 2008 amongst African American voters (who if you will remember had to be encouraged to vote) has vanished driven to some extent by a surge in public murders (some argue executions) of mainly young unarmed black men. 

So all this should be featuring somewhere in the mind of the quintessential performer and entertainer as he watches his space of influence and as he begins to think of a strategy for the next phase of his campaign. It would be interesting should he go through, to see what choices he would make for running mate and if these choices would be centered on the need to appeal to minorities. What he has demonstrated though so far, is that he is in no hurry to bow down to anyone and is leaning heavily on his wit, intellect and straight shooting style. 

Post Debate Analysis

The venue 

Victoria Hall at the Serena in Kampala was chosen and a guest list of about one thousand people was selected. On the whole this went well but could have been worse had the proverbial net been cast a little wider on the lake. Across the road from the venue, crowds of enthusiastic late comers were seen gathering and cheering for their candidates with a touch of drama which is usually the back drop upon which campaigns in the rural parts of the country often take place. At some point, it was evident that certain aspects of 'culture' had been left at the door as Alan Kasujja was forced to take up the task of defending his co-host Nancy Kacungira against a barrage of agitations that was rising from the crowd. 

The hosts 

The choice of hosts was interesting. The first-Alan Kasujja a former radio personality who cut his teeth on a local station (Capital FM) the other Nancy Kacungira currently working on KTN (a station that has quite a large audience in Kenya and that was set up in the late nineties to provide an alternative to the media-government-led giants like KBC). 

Interesting because they are both currently working outside the country and carrying the flag...whether they want to or not. They are de facto ambassadors of culture and national thinking. If anything goes wrong back in their yards, they are bound to asked for some commentary. So we do understand the frustrations they expressed when they asked some of the questions and when they received some of the responses. 

The second idea that I think these host represented was that of a coach who seems to want to beat his student and who has to deal with the idea of being misunderstood by the same in order to transfer a useful skill to the understudy. In that sense the hosts were supposed to be coaches and to be as hard as possible on the candidates in order to give them a feel of the global stage and its cut throat attitudes and practices. 

We have managed to find our list of journalists on the local scene who we know can give the candidates a run for their money. Maybe there should be three sets of debates. One hosted by local journalist, the other by not so local journalists and then finally one by heavy hitters who can make them squirm. 

The candidates 

The case can be made about the choice of candidates with many being viewed as merely plants by higher powers. But if those were the initial intentions of those above to give an illusion of a democratic process, the result was devastatingly bad. These plants quickly decided to milk this thing for all it is worth demanding body guards and cash payments and jumping on planes to extend their influence. 

The experts decided that this really was a debate to select the candidate that would be most fit to stand in opposition to the presidency. And yes even if the chair was empty, this was the position for the debate only. The chair even at a time of elections is still being used to fund large chunks of the campaign and the house of state is still centre stage in the organization of state machinery to facilitate the elections process. 

The questions 

The first was really a standard question. It was the leaders pitch. The forum for democratic change and it's candidate stood out and took advantage of the idea that they had similar debates in the choice of front runner and so he really was in his space. Mr. Mabirizi started off well making full use of his age and the idea that he amongst all the candidates the least tainted. Mrs. Kyalya used the stage to the maximum making a distinction between herself and the men and presenting a historical case of a nation which in her view has a fault in its systems. 

At some point those present were asked to direct questions to the other candidates. Maybe this was designed to allow for some more confrontation between the guests. And it did result on some interesting responses.

The crowd

The one thousand person crowd started off well but soon there were deteriorations in its demeanor. Maybe they simply wished to express disappointment in the the types of questions and the appearance of bias. Maybe what we missed most from the crowd was a census from them to give us an idea how they viewed the debate. 

The missing 

The chair was empty but some errors in response from the former prime minister made it look like he was really just a representative of his former boss. This emerged when he failed to ask anything from the others who shared a stage with him and then went on to look rather condescendingly at them. In a sense he was saying publicly what his former boss had said privately (in part by not showing up). 

In addition to this, it became clear that unless a change In the constitution took place, the one who would win this election...if he came from one of the seven would simply be too powerful and extend or even worsen the state of politics in the country. 

In addition to this it was rather interesting that at the time of his absence that the president was busy in Kizza Besigye backyard of Bushenyi campaigning as his Doctor was debating. 

The organizers 

The man who stole the show at least at the start was the retried judge James Ogoola who over the years, like a U.S president has had a fair measure of grey over his head. We did not see too much in terms of input from the overall group of religious leaders who formed the heart of this debate but we did see the judge and did hear his poetry. 

The candidates (General Biraro-of the farmers party) viewed the event as the only level ground they had in the whole election process and rightly so. It was in the interest of the candidates therefore to make the most of the public space and to take advantage of the publicity. Maybe the organizers need to make sure that the debate finds its way into the election process so that future presidents are forced to participate. 

The president and his crew on the other hand had the advantage of watching from a distance in one of lodges, using this as a learning opportunity and gathering material for use in his future operations. The difference between a strategist and a tactician is really about the length of time within which they must execute their plans and the ability to use and judge current circumstances. 

The coverage 

NBS has benefitted greatly from a mass exodus of some of NTVs most experienced hosts. Some of these have also joined the group from WBS. Maybe the state of play at the media houses is also a reflection of the election process and the importance many of us attach to the work place and the bottom line. NBS chose to have a group of hosts to cover the event and took full advantage of location and crews across key spots in the country. Much like the coverage of the NRM primaries (which was also brilliantly covered). For the primaries they had coverage across the city with some very experienced journalists trading places in the studio as in the field mixing both humor and analysis. At some point it was frightening to watch the dance between the view points wondering if those who had stayed in the office, really should have been on site. Overall coverage for NBS was therefore a marathon of sorts reminiscent of the recent MTN race which had three distinct groups, 10KM, 21KM and then the whopping 42KM. The journalists clearly chose the full marathon and were present for the full exhausting day for most of the stations. 

The comforts 

At the end of the day perhaps the best thing to watch about the debates was the point at which the candidates settled down and began to express themselves as career people. 

It was great to hear Dr. Besigye speak not as a candidate necessarily but as a doctor. Yes the hippocratic oath was obvious as he spoke and I did feel like he should have spoken at length about health for one and possibly education. The exhaustion of being in the proverbial battle field was probably much too excessive to the point where we all forgot to see him as the doctor. In hindsight maybe controversial trip to the hospital now makes a little more sense. Since his detractors are attempting to take steal his thunder (and the change message) he should begin to think of his campaign in terms of health and present himself as the candidate who can heal the nation. 

Mrs. Kyalya on the other hand made full use of of her credentials in the social space and chose to market herself as a social scientist. 

Mr. Mbabazi gave us a glimpse into his background in intelligence work when he attempted to explain with humor the difference between a safe house and a 'safe' house. Some of his training in law also came to the surface but overall his experience in government became both an asset and a liability. 

Dr. Bwanika should have made a lot more use of his experience in Agriculture which in a sense he did when he responded to the question regarding Agriculture and it's role in the economy. 

Pastor Mabirizi attempted to read his youth manifesto but was prevented from doing so. He may have come up ahead of the rest of the crew as quite a number of ads begin to emerge post debate with the request and demand that we read the youth manifesto. 

Putting my money where my mouth is-a Kadaga Presidency?

A few months ago. I stated how most of my political money was placed in favor of a certain Lady from Busoga- currently doing quite well in Parliament. I attempted to place or create some parallels with the elections in the U.S which post B.H.O are still struggling with the idea of change. I argued that the next choice of presidency would attempt to use the change mantra in either extending its reign (for the democrats) or demanding the same (republicans) except with possible majorities where it really matters. 

So I was concerned whether we Hillary Clinton would campaign mainly as a women in which case push further for change and yes a possible first of a woman in the White House. Perhaps she would use her husbands amazing appeal to catapult herself into the oval office. Then there was Carla Fiorina who made some splashes of her own and that with the extra bonus of quite a lot of business experience. 

Broadly speaking therefore I wondered about the idea behind families as centers of power and at Americas futile attempt at monarchical rule. The Kennedy family was probably a notable group that made this first dash at this idea albeit with complex consequences. So one one side we had the families and the idea of firsts. The first female president, the first family to return to the white house. Then there was Jeb Bush who would also be quite a record breaker were he to make it. He would have to use the advantage of race in the process. He would have to leverage his wife's ethnicity and draw in the Hispanic vote. Whether or not the black vote would buy into this would prove important. 

The other idea that would drive this can force would be the tendency towards post card moments and Hollywood. I argue that even against better judgement many Americans would want to have been part of the major historic moments of firsts. This and the "better the devil you know than the angel you don't". But this places both the Clinton's and the Bush family on the same footing. 

Uganda now has similar challenges. Kiza Besigye has managed to bring the idea of change to the heart of his message. He has personified in some respects the notion of change. I am not certain who borrowed from who but 2016 feels a lot like 2008. Change we can believe in-Barack Hussein Obama's famous campaign slogan. Amama Mbabazi has also latched onto the change agenda but has added the dimension of an rather extensive intelligence based campaign strategy. He argues that the bulk of the NRM party is on his side even if a good number of former colleagues and understudies have found it easier to avoid him. He has also made full use of social media (utube,twitter and Facebook) much like President Obama. The only difference is that he has not at least on the surface managed to create massive registration drives of marginalized youth as well as a collection of volunteers to support and drive his process. The FDC candidate on the other hand continues to control the passions of city dwellers who from the very start would make massive attempts to give him money (notable because we this is a very tight fisted populace). 

So Rebecca Kadaga's reported decision to stand in 2021 is interesting because she seems to guarantee a victory for the president (by claiming that she will stand against him). Which would seem impossible we're he to be defeated in 2016 (it would be very difficult to re-enter the political space). This also means that she may be seeing light at the end of the tunnel after attempts by Miria Obote who took jabs at the presidency knowing quite well that the machinery of her once powerful Uganda People's Congress would be useful in getting her close to the coveted seat. Others with similar chromosomes where Betty Olive Kamya who made Federo the heart of her campaign. And now Maureen Kyalya. 

Kyalya hails from the Busoga region which to be fair is on the up even if it could be better (if compared to the per-independence years). But like Buganda both have monarchies which are barred from major political events and whose monarchies have struggled under the weight of intrigue. She (Kyalya) has used the tribal card very well. She simply rebuked her people and stated that they should cease voting in people who are not Basoga. She expressed sentiments that are very often right under the surface of culturally sensitive tribal-rich African states that could be used anywhere on the continent where one tribe or two have continued to dominate the politics on the proverbial hill. 

So this is interesting because the resistance movement is losing its sense of awe and fear of the first family. This has come about after a series of similar and related events most notable of which was the exist of the blue eyes boy-Amama Mbabazi. 

But another major fissure has arisen in the political space which is the realization for many youth that there is an entrenched older elite that unlike the president has created a massive banyan root structure in the rural political sphere. Kahinda Otafire, Rebecca Kadaga, Amama Mbabazi, Sam Kutesa to name just a few are some of members of parliament that have kept their seats with as much fervor as has the president the bigger seat. A fellow solider took on General Otafire but you know 'Military is as military does'. And maybe these historicals as they have come to be know are teaching us something about the political thought in Uganda. That in some regards one must protect the rural seat and use it to as capital to gain and advance career and rule. 

Cyber Security in Uganda and the Region.

There is a direct link between the development of technologies and the threats that emerge within that society. 

Computer Related Threats 

Your computer is safest as long as it is not connected to the internet. The advice given to people who are connected to computer networks is therefore to restrict access to certain computers in order to reduce the threats that may emerge from the Internet. This in the present age can be asking for too much. This new age in computing has created a corresponding rise in providers who specialize in the development and creation of anti-virus software. Because most computer users are more accustomed to windows operating systems, they have been much more vulnerable to attack. As such others have chosen to adapt to additional technologies and operating systems like linux. These systems see also vulnerable except the threats have a different nature. 

It is common to see unusual files while using a Linux devices which would be undetected in the windows environment. 

Peripheral Devices and Security 

The increase in capacity and speed of devices has meant that the flash disks has experienced a greater use. As a result these devices have been used and designed to get full access to Unsuspecting PC users. Mini programs can be created and stored on Flash Disks these can then load once the devices are detected by the computer. These mini-programmes can then sit in hidden parts of the system structure where they can wreck havoc to users. Windows has created a unique system especially with it earlier versions of windows experience that repeatedly questions the administrator of the computer whether he/she is sure that the software they are installing is from a verified source. 

People who traffic In malware often take advantage of people and their unwillingness to purchase software. So free software comes with all sorts of hidden programs and viruses that are used to gain access to the user. 

Mobile Technology Related Threats 

Mobile Phone use has increased exponentially in the third world and with this increase we have also seen a rise in harmful software. The rise in usage also created a rise in creation of mobile applications. The same systems that were designed to sit on the desktop have had to be scaled down to mobile. A lot of revenue has been generated by mobile application developers. Unfortunately, these development have also brought with them some major Security challenges. 

Some systems take advantage of the web and use the browser to get into the mobile phones system. The most common use of these invasions is to capture user data, in order to get access to contacts and images stored on the mobile phone. In addition to this there have been attempts to use turn on the microphone or the cameras that sit on these phones in order to gain control of user data for the purpose of blackmail. 

Banks and threats relating to computerization (ATM-asynchronous transmission)

The developed world having made more strides in the use of ATM technologies often employs the same methods to attack less developed countries. There have been attempts before to replicate user data and ATM cards by capturing four digit codes and then withdrawing money. 

Others have bought and installed fake ATM machines where they install cameras in order to see the details of people as they withdraw their Money. 

The ATM systems are connected to Windows Xperience which Microsoft is no longer supporting. This means that to be safe, the bank has to make sure that it is using the latest server systems in order to make sure that they can get access to updates from Microsoft as well as Fixes. 

Payment platforms and banks

The arrival of mobile platforms and the decision to connect this with banking means that an extra level of vulnerability now exists. Because these systems are built by people using certain platforms, there is a great need to secure them to avoid attack. The mobile device has been a breakthrough for banks because it allows the users to be identified as a unique individual and can transform the manner in which the bank relates to the user. The banks have seen this as a calculated risk and have therefore designed systems to match this need. In addition to the changes in banks, the governments in most of Africa have had massive registration drives that have enable most phone users to sign up and therefore have unique identifiers with their mobile phones. This should make the job of banks a little easier. 

Payment platforms for mobile and Telecom Companies

We have seen an invasion of sorts of the telecom company into the finance industry. The reduced costs of mobile devices as well as the registration of mobile devices has brought services closer to people in the third world who are often rather suspicious of large financial institutions. The rise of the micro finance and micro lending systems has also made the adoption of mobile and finance related technologies much simpler. 

The challenge of Security in this regard has therefore given birth to threats from three directions. Telecommunications, Finance and Mobile (device). We have also found the challenge of dealing with the human resource in each of these industries. 

Mobile Money

 

According to an article written recently MTN is said to have traded about 16 Trillion UGX on its mobile money platform (http://www.telecompaper.com/news/mtn-uganda-mobile-money-value-increases-by-24-in-2015--1108916). 

The success of mobile money platforms are part of much bigger coming together of several related and unrelated events or happenings. Digitization or computerization, a change in the fortunes of the middle class, an age of relative stability, changes in Economies that have favored the largely agrarian class, a tendency away from traditional banks and other financial behemoths, as well as the corresponding rise of alternative small lending services. 

Digitization or computerization.

There is no continent on earth with a greater cell phone penetration and in which the citizens have access to more hand sets. This is in part due to the aggressive computerization and digitization policies that have been it into place by governments and their partnerships with Mobile Operators. The decision to privatize many of these telecom operations brought about a sea change in thinking and resulted in much greater investment into these sectors. This also brought about much needed change in the Education Sector as well as in Employment as thousands of students found themselves needed to acquire a fresh set of telecommunication related skills. Others in government identified additional linkages that would cut across sectors and created outsourcing centers and schools which developed call centers, enhanced customer care services and boosted sales and advertising strategies. 

Changes in the fortunes of the middle class.

Employment opportunities and a rise in income mean that citizenry can demand access to better services and enhanced lifestyles. A thriving and active middle class can then begin to engage directly with with an innovative business, entertainment and educational sector to create modern services which favor a group of citizens that control a lot of the cash that circulates in the Economy. 

An age of relative stability. 

The business people and investors often find it easier to invest in stable countries than they do in unstable ones unless off course they are in the business of Relief or the sale of Arms and munitions. 

Changes in Economies that have favored the largely agrarian class.

An economy that is driven by agriculture finds great benefits in payment methods that are simple to engage with and that can guarantee results for the trader, the farmer and the consumer. This works hand in hand with a well established transport system which ensures that goods get to the market within time. Other innovators saw not just the opportunity to revolutionize payment but also to add other related services that would help the farmer interact better with his colleagues (farmers' associations)

As well as with suppliers of machinery, and extension services. 

Tendency away from traditional banks.

Smarter banks on the local scene quickly realized that there were some changes taking place and decided to create smaller but more intimate settings. This took place as small lending services were taking over the business of lending (in places like Bangladesh). In addition to this new banks were starting small and expanding and realizing that the bulk of the users had a bigger preference for small operations.

The rise of alternative small lending services. 

The most natural thing to do for poor communities with limited income was to create small groups to help them save money and also to support larger group projects. Because very few of these groups so the need to leave their traditional settings, small lending platforms were born. They were really community banks run by local citizens and supported in a large part by non governmental organizations which had done the ground work necessary in meeting the citizenry. 

Concerns and threats. 

The platforms have been on the whole effective and have not been designed to operate fully as technical groups in mobile platforms. In suburbs all over the city, we have seen mobile money agents set up small kiosks where users can make payment for essential services like water, power and TV subscriptions. Others have integrated fuel payment options while others are working on enabling users to pay for their groceries. The smarter kiosk owners has therefore found himself having to expand and transform his business to favor the changing needs of his populace. Perhaps the weakness of these platforms has been in not being able to fully eliminate the large amounts of cash that are traded in these spaces. This has therefore made the agents vulnerable to attack and theft. 

Other threats have arisen from software and hardware as wells as from disgruntled employees. 

Job Market in Uganda and the Region

There are many sources of employment in Uganda. the major ones are:

1. Government

2. Non Governmental Organizations 

3. Telecommunications Companies

4. The Education Sector

5. Media

Government

The role of government in Employment cannot be down played. In this regard the nature of politics has meant that to a large extent most opportunities have had to be distributed to trusted mainly pro-movement supporters. This has been an unavoidable path for a system that is built and that depends wholly on presidency as the supreme source of leadership and in respects the only true fountain of honest leadership. This is reflected in many ways and manifests itself in the numerous demands for responses from the president to help mitigate land issues, local disputes within families and many more often trivial issues that many feel would remain unresolved without his hand. While you could argue that this is a weakness in the presidency and especially one that has been in place for so long, we have similar effects in the neighborhood of Tanzania where a party takes that place of the presidency (which is better regulated) and manages to entrench itself in other significant but in some way unrelated aspects of local life such as the employment of citizens and their access to opportunities. 

Local government in the attempts to improve service delivery have found it useful to create patterns similar to those that are used in the health sector where there has been a push to have a health center accessible at a distance of about 4 miles. 

Even if the growth and emergence of more districts has been pushed by many locals, the same has been criticized by others for creating governance and employment complexities. That said, the District Service Commission of Arua For example was responsible for the creation of 55 jobs in health as well as general office management. Gomba advertised 5 jobs, Kabarole Advertised 2 (New Vision Monday 17th February 2014) 

Non-government Organizations 

The civil society groups in the region have played a prominent role as the de facto supporters of the opposition as well as the attempt to play the role of the nations' conscience. By establishing NGOs foreign governments have had the ability to engage with government in creation of employment opportunities as well as in the management of funds often sent in through partnerships with these NGO. The job seekers therefore often has to watch the local space for funds that are released in areas like Roads (European Union), Disease Control (USAID) and Trade Related issues such as AGOA (where the U.S sought to create opportunities that would enable locals to take advantage of American Markets). Because of the linkages between government and NGOs many of these opportunities often take place at the time when government announces the release of funds for specific needs. Reproductive Health Uganda had 11 offers, PACE had an opening for team leader in reproductive health as well as a quality assurance position. In addition to this and in relation to the previous two, there was an opening for marketing and health officer for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (Monday 17th February 2014). 

Telecommunications Companies

The emergence of new players in the always presents new opportunities for employment. The only challenge is that often these companies tend to recruit professionals that are already in place with other local players and that are familiar with the local market. This leads to a recycling of ideas so that the marketing campaigns of new groups bear frightening similarity with those of previous players. 

There is also a balance of hires and fires which means that if 10 jobs are created fifteen can be lost in the same breath. In addition to this it is important to identify jobs that are dependent on larger industries. As such marketing, sales, client support (call centers) are also bound to thrive as an indirect result of the rise of a new player in the industry. 

The Education Sector 

The rise of new technologies and new opportunities often causes a growth in the Education Sector. This growth in Uganda for example would bring about the expansion of programs to include oil and gas (extraction and exploration) as well as other development that sought to capitalize on Uganda unique geographical location (Business Process Outsourcing). 

Gulu University had one opening for an accounting assistant, Kumi University had 2 major top level appointment that were advertised for Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Uganda Christian University had 17 opening for administrative as well as for lecturing and teaching positions (Monday 17th February 2014)

Media (Print, Audio and Visual and Publishing)

The decision to transition from analogue to digital signals has brought about a increase in providers. This has meant that the visual space has flourished. As a result the need to producers, editors, directors as well as presenters has increased. The Vision Group has emerged as a significant player in this sector and had managed to expand the scope of its services from print to visual in not just one language but also into regional coverage, to exhibitions of all sorts from weddings to construction, to business development and innovation and much more. The Vision Group had 39 job openings ranging from camera operators to accountants to engineers and editors. (Monday 17th February 2014)

Regional concerns and other trends 

The push towards regionalism has meant than anyone with any serious career development prospects has had to think critically about the region. This means for example having a knowledge of different policy documents in the area regarding employment and to some extent travel, import and export, infrastructure development, minerals as well as the complexities around governance and leadership. So knowledge of local languages is a plus, ability to travel, a background in consultancy is also recommended. 

These regional concerns also force the keen observer to watch foreign players like China, the U.S, Europe as well as the activities of regional giants like Egypt (which influences development on the Nile), South Africa (which has played a major role in calming political tensions in the region), Nigeria (which is defining the manner in which emerging oil economies in the area navigate with other suppliers and processors). 

The Entrepreneurs

It is also important to take into account the demographics in the region which favor youth. Anyone who ignores the young populations does so at their own risk. It also valuable to realize that the bulk of this group thrives on small business. This is why there must be a deliberate action to create and promote more innovation spaces and to push for more business development services like PAKASA (From The Vision Group) which should be expanded to function regionally and to provide business support services much like the Agricultural Extension Services that were designed to function with NAADS programs. Efforts must also be made to re-connect the young people that have fallen out of the system of education to get back into it and to get hands on training to boost their employability. The entrepreneurs have to be given a unique space because there are very few ads in the paper for this specific group. 

Digitization in Uganda and the Region in the last five years.

The changes that have taken place in the last five years in the digitization space have been monumental. The best way to understand these changes is to restrict this description to the transition from analogue to digital that has been the topic of debate in the region for the last few years. It would be foolhardy to attempt to describe the changes covering digitization as a subject and more so taking on the effects on the region. Restricting this conversation to broadcasting is useful because it presents some of the major ideas in micro form while also allowing us to chart or expand these observations in other related fields (macro). 

It should be understood that the broad term 'digitization' in my view covers a lot more and could be stretched out to include some of the other developments such as the computerization which has invaded many of our service industries from banking, to insurance to the delivery and payment for power and electricity (utilities) and much more. 

The Local Stations

Five years ago, we had about six notable local stations. WBS (Wavamuno Broadcasting Services), UBC (Uganda Broadcasting Coperation), TOP Television (Tower of Praise-Pastor Senyonga), NBS (a fairly recent entrant), NTV (owned by the Nation Group), Bukede TV(Owned by the Vision Group). 

Most of all media activity in the country revolved around the work of the National Broadcaster which held the greatest coverage and had the deepest reach. Every four years when the World cup was held the eyes of over a billion people would focus on the single country which would host the event. The national carrier would then have the rights to broadcast the event. The same would take place for the olympics after two years (but also in the cycle of four). The hold the national broadcaster holds is still significant but a marked change in the effects of this, lies in the decreasing effect armies on the continent see in seizing the national broadcaster for significant military events (insurrections and coup detas). This discussion has to emerge in some part from the national broadcaster because even with the advent of the cable TV (and the decoder), the national broadcaster in conjunction with the UCC (Uganda Communications Commission) has played a central role in managing the transition both technically as well as in logistics and policy. For example, the UCC has been responsible for managing the content of certain broadcasters and the approval of devices which have flooded the market (this development a direct result of the march towards digitization).

As we mentioned earlier, the debate around digitization is much broader and in some regards covers computing and the internet where data transfers of information (which travels in bits) has to be managed and moved by modems which are modulators and signal translators. The same can also be said of telephony from which we have seen the move from cumbersome handsets to hand held devices that have become a multi billion dollar industry.

The Cable TV Providers

On the local scene, the largest foreign cable TV provider was DSTV which has its headquarters in South Africa, the same benefitted from from the popularity of sports (soccer in particular and more specifically the premier league and Champions league). Popularity of this platform led to the entrance of other providers such as Sports TV, Go TV, AZAM (very recent entrant) and Star Times (a chinese owned provider). Some of the providers have taken the industry by storm by merging the software side of the business with hardware as well as broadening the concept of digital space with that of telephone and broadcasting. The chinese for example broadened their reach on the continent by creating an equivalent platform to take over the internet connection space with companies like Huawei (modems, phones, routers, switches, hubs). But the internet device business has on the whole capitalized on the inroads were made much earlier by Telephone Service Providers which in the attempt to expand were also forced to adopt additional technologies.

Policy Issues and Legal Subjects 

The proponents of the digitization have pushed this whole process with ideas such as freedom of information and right to access-information as key policy guidelines and directives aiming to place this at the heart of citizen development. In addition to this the MDG (Millennium Development Goals) and more specifically the goals regarding education, were also concerned in some regard with the transformation of the Education Sector by the inclusion of Information Communication Technology. The argument was that the internet and access to it would help improve learning and integration of students as well as interaction in a world that was increasingly being viewed a a global village.  

Soon access to information was being viewed as a human right and a guarantor to development and the lifting of many in the third world from a viscous cycle of poverty. So while many providers benefitted from the massive profits that were being made at the start of this push for digitization, the United Nations began to push for legislation that was designed to reduce the cost of these services. The figure on the left shows consistency in off-net traffic but a marked rise in on-net traffic and a fairly low amount of outgoing traffic. This could mean that there maybe more opportunities to engage with local audiences than foreign ones and that these linkages may need to be expanded. 

In addition to the policy issues we watched as countries at the coast made attempts to connect to underwater cables that would give them access to much faster fiber optic cabling that would increase the speed of internet. It is in this environment that NITA (currently headed by James Saka) was born to help manage internet infrastructure in Uganda. Already, the ICT Ministry at the time headed by Dr. Ham Mulira (currently advisor to the President for ICT) had already put in place the infrastructure for ministry to ministry meetings that would have completely simplified the meetings and dramatically reduced the need for costly Workshops (and the per diem that goes with them!).

The Rise of New Players

To date there are over twenty local station with a notable advantage over their former competition in that they now have access to a global audience. The right to religion and information have had the combined effect of increasing the stations that are run by religious groups which has also benefitted the faith based groups. New notable players are Urban TV (English channel owned by the vision group), HTV (Horizon TV), Delta TV, ABS TV (Started by a local Pastor-Pastor Yiga), Life TV (Tom Sembera), Lighthouse TV and many more. The figure below shows the annual telecommunications tax revenue figures for the year 2013 to 2014.