NO AI LAW, NO PLAN, JUST CHAOS! NITA-U Exposed For Lacking Regulation Strategy On Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain As Top Bosses Face Heat Over Billions In Debt & Digital Failures
The National Information Technology Authority – Uganda, the very agency entrusted with driving the country’s digital future, is now staring at a storm of its own making—one defined by ballooning debts, weak planning, regulatory gaps, and a leadership structure now under intense scrutiny.
At the center of the unfolding crisis are Board Chairperson Alexander Kibandama and Executive Director Dr Hatwib Mugasa, alongside a powerful lineup of directors including Caroline Akello Mugisha, Arnold Ronald Mangeni, Richard Obita, Gloria Atwine Katuuku, and Julian Rweju.
Together, they preside over an institution that the Auditor General’s 2025 report has now effectively placed on the spot.
And the verdict is damning.
In a move that signals just how deep the cracks run, government has already decided that NITA-U will cease to operate by 31st December 2027, with its functions being absorbed into the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.
For insiders, this is not reform—it’s a quiet shutdown.
Behind that decision lies a mountain of financial and operational failures that paint a picture of an authority struggling to manage its own mandate.
At the heart of the crisis is a staggering debt problem.
NITA-U opened the financial year with UGX 77.71 billion in domestic arrears but shockingly budgeted only UGX 2 billion to settle them. That gap is not just poor planning—it is what the Auditor General describes as “a lack of commitment to pay them.”
Despite paying UGX 27.58 billion during the year, the situation only got worse. By year-end, arrears had exploded to UGX 109.43 billion, marking a 41% increase.
The bulk of this debt—UGX 100.51 billion—is owed to M/s Soliton Telmec Ltd, the company maintaining Uganda’s critical National Backbone Infrastructure. Additional obligations include UGX 0.93 billion owed to Uganda Telecom and UGX 7.99 billion tied to operational activities.
The Auditor General did not hold back, pointing to “weaknesses in commitment control and non-compliance with the Public Finance Management Act” as the root cause of this runaway debt.
Even more alarming is how NITA-U is handling money owed to it.
A total of 29 Target User Groups accumulated UGX 5.41 billion in unpaid internet and leased line fees, yet there was no evidence of any effort to recover the debt.
No legal notices. No enforcement. No action.
This is in direct violation of NITA-U’s own financial management manual, which clearly demands aggressive recovery measures.
The consequences are obvious and severe.
“Failure by the Target User Groups to remit payments… negatively affects the Authority’s cash flow and limits its ability to sustainably manage the NBI/EGI services,” the report warns.
But the problem goes beyond just 29 defaulters.
Across government, 56 Ministries, Departments and Agencies consumed ICT services beyond their approved budgets, while 14 underspent, creating a massive budgeting gap of UGX 53.15 billion.
At the same time, an additional UGX 17.84 billion worth of services was consumed by 179 entities—but only UGX 8.63 billion was paid, leaving a balance of UGX 9.21 billion hanging in the air.
In short, Uganda’s digital backbone is being used—but not paid for.
And the unpaid bills keep piling up.
NITA-U is sitting on UGX 14.29 billion in receivables that have remained uncollected for over 360 days, while another UGX 4.06 billion is owed by 101 MDAs and local governments currently benefiting from its infrastructure.
This is money that should be fueling innovation—but is instead trapped in a cycle of inefficiency.
Meanwhile, the authority’s planning and execution are falling short.
The overall implementation of its strategic plan stands at just 65%, dragged down by underfunding, limited technical capacity, and delays in project and policy approvals.
Even more shocking is that despite being the country’s top ICT regulator, NITA-U does not have a regulation strategy, framework, or white paper for emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain.
In a world racing toward digital transformation, Uganda’s lead ICT agency is operating without a roadmap for the future.
And when it comes to service delivery, the cracks widen further.
At least 10 institutions—including UNBS, Pride Micro Finance Limited, UNMC, PACEID, UPPC, UICT, RENU, NITA-U, SFC, and MoICT—had their applications for data centre services rejected due to insufficient resources.
Yes—the agency responsible for digital infrastructure does not have enough capacity to serve key national institutions.
Then comes a governance contradiction that raises serious questions.
The Personal Data Protection Office (PDPO) is administratively and financially managed by NITA-U—yet NITA-U itself processes personal data and should be supervised by the same office.
It is a classic case of regulating yourself, a setup that leaves room for conflict of interest and weak oversight.
Even procurement has not escaped scrutiny.
The Auditor General found that NITA-U’s procurement plan did not include any contracts reserved for registered associations, meaning out of UGX 10.27 billion, not a single award went to these groups, in breach of guidelines.
All this unfolds under a leadership team that has managed to spend 98.6% of its budget (UGX 45.87 billion out of UGX 46.50 billion)—yet still fails to deliver key outcomes.
For many observers, that is the most damning detail of all.
The money is being spent—but the results are missing.
As pressure mounts, the explanations are beginning to sound familiar.
Management says it has “consistently engaged the Ministry of Finance” and submitted arrears schedules, hoping for more funding.
But hope is not a strategy—and the Auditor General’s report makes that painfully clear.
With NITA-U now on a countdown to dissolution in 2027, the writing is already on the wall.
What was once envisioned as the engine of Uganda’s digital transformation is now weighed down by debt, inefficiency, and structural weaknesses.
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