How open data could transform the citizen-government relationship in Uganda | Open Knowledge Foundation Blog

"This Saturday is Open Data Day, a global initiative that encourages citizens around the world to show support for and encourage the adoption of open data policies by the world’s governments. It’s an exciting time for Uganda because on Saturday we have jointly organised a hackathon with the Open Development Partnership and a group of Ugandan journalists, HacksHackers Kampala and in March, a CSO-led Open Data Platform will be launched.  We hope this might spell the beginning of the end to the many years Ugandans have been waking up to alarming reports and news of mismanagement of public resources, in particular of multi-billion aid-funded development programmes and projects.  The open data portal should be among the Government’s planned anti-corruption interventions. This would enhance the effectiveness of all the other actions they have taken in this area.  Open data initiatives have the potential to nurture a culture of transparency and openness among public institutions and officials. Moreover, the information can be made simpler and more user-friendly for anybody who wants to know about what their government is doing ... "