Dr Aminah Zawedde has left the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance after five years marked by digital reforms, youth employment initiatives, and the expansion of government services through technology.
Zawedde, who has served as Permanent Secretary since July 2021, was redeployed on November 9, 2026, by President Museveni to the Office of the Prime Minister, where she will coordinate.
Prof. Stephen Akandwanaho has been nominated to replace her as Permanent Secretary, subject to assessment by the Public Service Commission.
During her tenure, the ministry organised three national ICT job fairs in 2022, 2023 and 2024, exposing more than 11,000 young Ugandans to employment opportunities, internships and training programmes.
The ministry also reports that more than 160,000 citizens and small businesses benefited from digital skills training.
In February 2025, Zawedde launched the National Outsourcing Policy, which targets the creation of 150,000 jobs by 2030 through business process outsourcing.
Another initiative was a solar-powered mobile classroom that visited 58 locations across more than 25 districts and trained 8,192 people. Nearly 43% of the beneficiaries were young women.
One of the significant changes under her leadership was the expansion of ICT innovation hubs beyond Kampala.
The National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa was refurbished with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reopened in January 2024.
Other innovation hubs were established at Kabale University in June 2023, Soroti University in March 2024, Muni University, and Busitema University.
According to ministry figures, the national innovation hub supported 133 start-ups, helped 102 products reach the market and contributed to the creation of 726 verified jobs.
The ministry also trained more than 1,230 refugees alongside members of their host communities, with 619 receiving certification in 2025.
Within government, 5,587 public officers received training through the Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology, while 843 completed a national artificial intelligence programme during the last financial year.
Zawedde also oversaw reforms aimed at improving the careers of government ICT professionals.
In 2023, schemes of service for information technology and communications officers were introduced, giving government engineers and other technical staff a recognised career structure, professional grading and opportunities for promotion.
The reforms addressed longstanding concerns that ICT professionals in government lacked clear career progression, forcing some to seek opportunities in the private sector.
Businesses also benefited from the digital transformation programme.
The online business registration system, introduced in December 2022, reduced the registration period from between 10 and 15 days to approximately three hours.
The system has processed 279,567 business registrations, with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) collecting Shs71.81 billion in non-tax revenue through the platform in one financial year.
Uganda’s internet infrastructure also expanded during her tenure. The national fibre-optic backbone grew to 5,266 kilometres, connecting 1,682 government sites.
The government also reduced its internet costs from $70 to $35 per megabit per month.
In government service delivery, the ministry increased the number of national digital systems under its management from nine in 2021 to 43.
These include the Parish Development Model register, which helps verify beneficiaries and track government funds, and the national education information system, which contains records of more than 11 million learners and 145,000 education workers.
The ministry also established a Government Digital Registry to document the technology systems and business processes used across government institutions.
Zawedde’s academic background in software engineering, including 15 years of teaching and research at Makerere University, informed her approach to digital transformation.
She holds a doctorate in software engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Her contribution was recognised in 2023 when Museveni awarded her a national medal for distinguished service in ICT.
As she moves to the Office of the Prime Minister, her new responsibility will involve coordinating government institutions and ensuring that ministries work together to implement national programmes.
