|
There is
need to regulate IT laws in east africa, says buturo
01 May 2006- Uganda-The State Minister for Information, Dr James
Nsaba Buturo, has urged the East African governments to harmonise the
Information Communication Technology industry. He said for a meaningful
regional integration, the member states must have hamornised policy,
regulatory and legal framework in various sectors that span all the
member states.
The EAC is the regional
intergovernmental organisation of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and the
three heads of state signed a treaty in 1999 to forge a regional
federation. "We need to come up with a joint policy to counter evils of
technology like homosexuality and pornographic trade that are morally
repugnant to the majority of our peoples," said Buturo.
He added, "Other evils like
internet fraud, illegal access to systems, loss of confidential
information and cyber terrorism have to be disabled before taking a
centre stage in the region."
Buturo was opening a two-day
regional information security consultative forum at Grand Imperial Hotel
on Thursday. The forum is aimed at creating awareness, sensetitisation
and advocacy on the significance of cyber laws and electronic justice,
economic development and the impact of their continuing absence in the
East African region.
It was organised by the East
African Community and supported by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Canadian electronic Policy
Resource Centre.
The Kampala forum is a follow-up on
the recommendations of the second electronic government stakeholders
meeting held last June in Nairobi. The participants including senior
government officials responsible for legal and security dockets and ICT
experts deliberated on ways of formulating an information security
policy for the EAC region.
Buturo said Uganda had already
developed a national electronic government strategy that would address
the concerns of information security. "Though we have moved a step
further as far us information technology is concerned, we still lack
cyber crime laws yet information security is very vital for all
organisations," he said.
He said the government had drafted
the Computer Misuse Bill and soon Cabinet will approve it.
|
