Begin forwarded message:
From: "Director" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 10 November 2003 13:07:43 GMT+03:00
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [ICS] FW: [i-network] Museveni-Natsios1: IT academies in Uganda
For your info.
-----Original Message----- From: Vincent Waiswa [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 12:37 PM To: I-Network Uganda Subject: [i-network] Museveni-Natsios1: IT academies in Uganda
Dear Members,
Some News for you.
Washington -- An information technology (IT) partnership between the U.S. Government, Uganda and the private sector is helping President Yoweri Museveni position his country as a major player and regional center for the burgeoning computer services market in sub-Saharan Africa.
Both Museveni and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Administrator Andrew Natsios made this point during a November 5 signing
near USAID headquarters of two public/private partnership agreements
with Cisco Systems and the EDS Corporation. The $14.3 million deal,
which
includes the establishment of ten Network Academies within Uganda's
university system, is partially funded by the Leland Initiative, a U.S.
Government effort aimed at connecting African nations to the Internet.
Natsios praised the collaborative effort as "another chapter in a very
successful information technology alliance [in which], since 1996, USAID
has invested $75 million to develop Africa's IT sector, much of it
through Leland Initiative partnerships, such as the one we are
celebrating
today."
The agreements, he said, were also "a testament to the leadership of
President Museveni....[and] also a reflection of the technical expertise
that Uganda's Makerere University has shown."
The impact on Uganda's and the region's economy could be considerable, a
USAID press release added, as "this innovative and pioneering
alliance...jumpstarts the foundation for an information
technology-trained workforce, and will provide the skills needed to
establish a vibrant private sector in Uganda."
Cisco, a computer software firm will partner with professional computer
trainer, EDS, to establish 10 computer network academies that will
include:
"Training and certification in network computing, information technology
essentials, programming languages and voice and data cabling
fundamentals." Uganda is a logical place for such an effort, the release
concluded,
because it "is a leader in bringing the Internet and improved
telecommunications
to Africa." President Museveni, who interrupted an investment tour of
the United
States to sign the agreements, said, "We have been working with USAID
for many
Years now," adding that he was looking forward to the new IT
Partnership, which he hoped would make his country a regional IT center.
Ambassador Edith Ssempala, who has been Uganda's envoy in Washington for
seven years, told the Washington File Museveni was in the United States
"basically to promote the tourist industry" as well as other investment
possibilities in Uganda.
Asked what she thought the role of the private sector in Uganda's development ought to be, Ssempala said, "We believe it has to be the real engine for change. This has been the missing link in development in Africa and so we have made it a central element in all of our development partnerships."
Ssempala said Uganda's message for U.S. investors is "that Uganda is a country that offers numerous opportunities to investors; where investors will make money -- about a 30% return in profits -- and Uganda and its people will benefit. We are ready; our investment climate is receptive; and the return on investment is great."
But just as important, "When you invest in Uganda, it is not just in That 24-million-person market. You are investing in the almost 100-million-person market of the East African community. So, it's a huge opportunity for Americans -- we are open for business!"
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) ------------------------------------------------- This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/
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