• Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Login
Watchdog Uganda
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
Watchdog Uganda
No Result
View All Result

OP-ED: Taxing data could be counterproductive

watchdog by watchdog
6 years ago
in Conversations with, Op-Ed
9 1
ShareTweetSendShare

By Dr Ian Clarke

The URA has proposed that we abolish OTT on social media and apply it to data instead. This is because many people bypass OTT using a VPN. Taxing data makes sense in terms of increasing tax collections, but it will make the use of data even more expensive than it already is. In many developed countries data is cheap so that consumers can obtain very fast broadband, which makes all the benefits of the Internet readily accessible.

In Uganda we pay for small bundles and wait patiently as little circles go round and round. So is making our already expensive data even more expensive the right thing to do since it limits our access to the many benefits of the internet, particularly in the fields of accessing information and education?

I have just read a book called ‘Bored but Brilliant’, which extolls the virtues of restricting the use of smartphones. The author found that she had become preoccupied with scrolling through her smart phone, and as a result she had lost the ability to concentrate and read properly. She was so used to scanning that she no longer had the attention span to read a whole book. So she limited the time she spent on her smart phone, and as a result found she had more time to think and be creative.

I have five grandchildren who have grown up in the digital age. For them tablets are not something that one swallows, they are electronic devices on which one plays games, can access the internet or even read an electronic book, but I don’t think their lives have been adversely impacted by these developments. My wife is an English teacher and has spent time reading with them, as a result of which they have developed good reading habits.

In Britain and America there are many parents who limit the amount of time their children can spend on their smart phone, tablets or laptops because children can grow up relating to the world only through social media. Rather than forming real relationships, they become used to relating through texts, photos, and shared media and lose the ability to have face to face conversations and interactions.

These issues are more pertinent in western countries where smart phones and fast internet speeds are the rule, but it got me thinking about how we use smart phones and the internet in Uganda. It is probably fair to say that we are already handicapped by the high costs and slow speed of the Internet, but this does not stop young people using social media, taking selfies, posting them on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, scrolling through their phones and playing Candy Crush. Most Apps are designed to be addictive and they measure success by how long they can keep the customer scrolling on their App, so it is common to see young people in Uganda who are constantly looking at their phones.

I don’t think that overuse of smartphones is any more desirable in Uganda than in New York, but we should not forget the educational use of the internet (I don’t know how I would check facts and get information without Google), and perhaps before the URA adds more cost they should pause and ask what is keeping Ugandan young people occupied and entertained when they have nothing else to do? This week we have graduated thousands more young people from Makerere, but how many of them will find gainful employment as a result of their degree? It will be a small fraction, while the rest will join the world of the unemployed, or start hustling for a living.

So it is a chicken and egg situation: there is a huge unemployment problem in Uganda for which the government must take some share of responsibility. Scrolling through one’s phone is not a particularly constructive pastime, but it is all that many of these unemployed young people have to occupy their time. But the URA is going to make it more expensive for them to enjoy this pastime.

Could such a move be counterproductive or even dangerous in terms of preserving the status quo? In Sudan the government progressively made life harder for young people. There was no employment, there was no music, there was no entertainment, and the internet was strongly controlled. Eventually these unemployed bored young people rose up and brought down the President. Now there has been a change in government policy and there are now concerts, music and Internet access again.


Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
Share2Tweet1SendShare

Related Posts

Kagenyi Lukka
Op-Ed

KAGENYI LUKKA: Why President Museveni Deserves Another Term in Office from 2026-31

19th October 2025 at 07:43
Dr. Samuel B. Ariong (PhD)
Op-Ed

DR. SAMUEL B. ARIONG: Cattle Restocking and Livelihoods Authority (CRLA): The institutional cure for poverty reduction

17th October 2025 at 08:28
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Op-Ed

MATHIAS LUTWAMA AFRIKA: On Museveni’s strategic enterprise for modern Uganda 

17th October 2025 at 08:20
Next Post
Brig Geoffrey Katsigazi Tumusiime takes over office as Deputy Commander Air Forces

Brig Katsigazi takes over office as Deputy Commander Air Forces

  • NAGRC’s Super Goat Breed Poised to Transform Uganda into a Major Exporter

    3202 shares
    Share 1281 Tweet 801
  • Chris Rwakasisi: From Obote’s Security Minister to a Symbol of Forgiveness in Today’s Uganda

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • 10 dangerous hotspots known for prostitutes in Kampala

    1292 shares
    Share 517 Tweet 323
  • Gen. Chefe Ali: The Silent Storm Behind Uganda’s Liberation and Kenzo’s Legacy

    31 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
  • Col. Samson Mande: Why I fled Uganda and how I reconciled with Museveni

    31 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
Facebook Twitter

Contact Information

Watchdog Uganda is a portal for solution journalism, trending news plus cutting edge commentaries in the fields of politics, security, business, tourism, entertainment, technology, agriculture, climate change, environment, public health et al. We also give preference to Ugandan community news and topical discussions. The portal also publishes community news and topical discussions.

Email: editorial@watchdoguganda.com
To Advertise:Click here

Latest News

State House Comptroller cautions skilling hub SACCO leaders against misappropriating funds 

19th October 2025 at 19:30

Minister Babalanda Urges Religious Leaders to Promote Mindset Change on Poverty and Criminality

19th October 2025 at 14:03

Check out

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

NAGRC’s Super Goat Breed Poised to Transform Uganda into a Major Exporter

17th September 2025 at 08:52
Minister Muruli Mukasa

LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

24th May 2020 at 10:45
Sudhir Ruparelia is the undisputed king of Kampala

Billionaire Sudhir’s wisdom on how to invest in real estate

0

How a boy’s destiny turned from cotton grower to communications guru

0

State House Comptroller cautions skilling hub SACCO leaders against misappropriating funds 

19th October 2025 at 19:30

Minister Babalanda Urges Religious Leaders to Promote Mindset Change on Poverty and Criminality

19th October 2025 at 14:03

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda