Data experts have asked the Government to empower all its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to embrace Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve planning and service delivery to the population.
GIS is a computer-based tool for collecting, storing, updating, controlling, analyzing, and displaying information about the earth. It relates to land information; environment and natural resources management, planning, and engineering among others.
The experts who included specialists, planners, monitoring and evaluation officers, decision-makers, and technology providers made the call during the 9th utility GIS conference at Kabira Country Club in Kampala.
Under the theme, ‘Location Intelligence Powering Sustainable Energy’ the experts from the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and key energy sector players have been discussing best practices for spatial data collection, data analysis, map presentation, and system integration.
David Otieno, the Head of GIZ energy and climate initiatives in Uganda says that Government needs to invest in the integration of reliable data to inform its intervention decisions aimed at improving the desired services to the population.
Sidronius Okaasai Opolot, the State Minister for Energy and Mineral Development observed that GIS has been an integral part of planning, monitoring, and managing assets in the energy sector, and other utility sectors of Uganda in line with Uganda’s National Development Plan (NDP III).
In his keynote address read by Dr. Brian Isabirye, the Commissioner-Renewable Energy, Okaasai pointed out that GIS has been a vital tool for various actors in the Energy sector including utility companies, private sector actors, as well as some government agencies.
In 2011, the Government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development formed the Energy Sector GIS Working Group to address the challenge of data intelligence to promote the use and development of GIS as a management decision support tool within the energy sector.
Uganda and the other East African countries have been using GIS to tap into the potential of the massive renewable energy resources their countries are blessed with and to monitor the vast infrastructure utilized to deliver that energy to its people.
