Remarks to the Smart Africa Summit in Kigali by Hon. Frank Tumwebaze
Panel on Big Data
I bring you Greetings from Uganda and from H.E Yoweri Museveni. He was not able to be here because of another equally important engagement.
I also join others in thanking H.E Pres. Paul Kagame for this initiative that seeks to mobilise and whip the continent to up its digital credentials…
What is Big data?
Big data refers to extremely large data sets which can be analysed using a computer or computers to make meaning of certain things such as human behaviour and other interactions. The advent of big data is premised on the evolution of technology; from 1G to 5G which has created opportunities for SMART economies. The interoperability of ICT infrastructure and services has today created enormous data outputs and all these create an opportunity to leapfrog. Building infrastructure and developing data plans. Internet of things will enable Integration in transportation, education, health care and many other public services such as providing smart cities and embracing safety.
As we embrace big data however, we must pay attention to security of data. The citizens want to know, what are governments, telecoms, banks etc doing with the data? Security of data here therefore becomes paramount if Big data is to be positively harnessed. We must build capacity of analytics. Big data without analytics is not useful. IFMS is a good example. GoU can now tell whether most of its budget is spent on the core activities that stimulate growth by analysis of all the financial data across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Flow of data on income of an individual vs. The assets they have helps in many ways of fighting crimes like tax fraud, money laundering among others. This ability to detect would certainly be anchored on artificial intelligence. The ability to integrate IT systems based on a National ID Number would create fundamental checks and balances in our economies and by and large create the smart economy we aspire to achieve.
The fourth industrial revolution by and large comes with challenges. Technology can be positively and negatively disruptive and so governments as well as other private entities must harness it to be an enabler. In that regard, as we adopt, we must pay attention to the disruptions with a view of addressing them.
What opportunities does big data present for governments in the service of the Public?
Having said the above, the benefits of big data are enormous.
These include the ability to simplify decision making, minimizing waste of scarce resources, easing service delivery to the citizens by harnessing data such as the National ID registers. In the past, organisations responsible for elections collected data from the citizens, the same data was collected for purposes of driving licenses. This duplication can now be a thing of the past if we plan our big data strategies to ensure a single source of truth on an individual. That way the citizens seamlessly get services without repeatedly presenting personal information to various agencies.
The food for thought is how do we prepare our students to fit in to the now evident changes that big data is going to present?
