ICT in Civic Participation and Democracy in Uganda: Citizens’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

"The findings show that some people have proactively utilised ICT to monitor and report on the performance of government projects and services, including demanding for accountability. This, they do in a variety of ways through making phone calls, sending email, interaction on social media platforms with the relevant duty bearers. However, the numbers of those utilising ICT are very few, and responses from duty bearers are often not forthcoming.""

This is a key conclusion from research conducted to assess the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use, skills and needs of Ugandans, related to citizen participation and engaging with governance processes, including monitoring for accountability. The study sought to investigate citizens knowledge around ICTS, and explore attitudes and practices towards using ICT tools for civic and political participation. The research and report were produced by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in order to better understand the use of ICTs in democratic processes and what needs to be done for more citizens, the media, civil society, and government departments to embrace the use of ICT for democracy.

Conducted between July and August 2014, the research used a variety of data collection methodologies and techniques, including a 20-part questionnaire administered amongst 322 internet users. Seven focus group discussions were conducted with individuals from academia, students, local government, civil society, media, and the private sector in nine districts.

The report begins by sharing findings related to demographics, access to the internet, and knowledge and proficiency in use of select ICT tools and services. It was found that mobile phones were the preferred way to access the internet. As well, "Short Messaging Services (SMS) emerged as the top tool most survey participants (41%) had excellent knowledge of and proficiency in using, followed by social media (39%) and search engines (32%). Blogging and video conferencing were the least known and used, with 38% and 20% of respondents reporting having no knowledge or proficiency in using them respectively." The most frequently accessed tools were Facebook (used daily by 60% of respondents), followed by SMS (58%), search engines (46%) and email (42%). Just over a quarter of respondents did not use Whatsapp and Twitter.

Looking specifically at governance information, "mainstream media, specifically newspapers, radio and television, were cited as the most important sources of information on governance matters with 55% of respondents citing both newspapers and radio as most important. Television was ranked next by 51% of respondents. Interestingly, 35% mentioned word of mouth from individuals including family, friends, and colleagues, while direct interactions with government officials were among the least popular sources of governance information." The majority of respondents (85%) indicated that they shared information on governance, usually with friends, workmates, and spouses.

The report then goes on to discuss key findings about the use of ICT for monitoring government programmes and services. "Nearly half of respondents (48%) strongly agreed that use of ICT made it faster, effective and more productive in monitoring government programmes and public services." On the other hand, "17% of respondents strongly disagreed, arguing that since not everyone used ICT, this limited the tools’ usefulness for monitoring government programmes and public services." It is also noted that "only a third of respondents were involved in monitoring and reporting on government/public services delivery in their communities. It was mainly male respondents (62%) and the 25-34 year age group (37%) who actively participated."

In terms of how ICTS are being used to engage other citizens on issues of community or national concern, of the surveyed respondents, 43% engaged with other citizens through posting social media updates on Facebook and Twitter. This was followed by 39% who shared concerns through text messages. Key factors hindering greater use of ICT to engage with other citizens were illiteracy, the lack of knowledge and skills (66%), and language (62%). The third most hindering factor was cost at 59%, followed by lack of awareness of availability of tools (54%). The factors hindering greater use of ICT to engage with duty bearers was slightly different, with personal security concerns emerging top at 61%. This was followed by low confidence in getting feedback and responses at 45%. As with engagement with fellow citizens, cost of tools emerged as the third hindering factor.

In conclusion, the findings show that while some people have proactively utilised ICT to monitor and report on the performance of government projects and services, including demanding for accountability, the numbers of those utilising ICT are very few, and responses from duty bearers are often not forthcoming. From the key research findings and conclusions, the report offers a number of recommendations, which include the following, among others:

• "There is need for continuous capacity building for ICT users with the knowledge and skills to innovatively and effectively make use of the available ICT platforms to share news and information as well as monitor the performance and demand for accountability from duty bearers."
• "Government should consider the use of toll free numbers as a means to facilitate citizen participation in service delivery monitoring. The anonymity offered by toll free numbers and the fact that citizens can report without spending on airtime would serve to further promote the elevation of issues, especially in remote/rural settings."
• "Government together with other stakeholders should start providing information in multiple languages using multiple media platforms such as newspapers, radio, television alongside social media to enhance peoples’ accessibility to relevant news and information."
• "Key steps to ensure online safety and security, including user identity protection and confidentiality of whistleblowers must be taken in order to increase the trust and confidence of those monitoring and reporting on government services and programmes."
• "There is need to start and/or build the capacity of civil society organisations to document and disseminate stories of change on how citizens are using ICT to monitor and report on government service delivery for learning and reference purposes."