A survey by consultancy firm, Ernst & Young has indicated that Ugandan organisations have recorded an improvement in the way they protect data and privacy.
The report released on Tuesday at Serena Hotel in Kampala indicated that 74% of the organisations have data protection officers who are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019 with only 26% not having these officers.
On the other hand, most organisations in Uganda process financial data(30%),biometric data(26%) national identification data(22%).
"The report speaks to the progress achieved in terms of data privacy and protection. A number of organisations have progressed in as far as complying with laws and regulations of the land,"said Hercules Bizure, a consulting leader at Ernst & Young.
The report also indicates that 47% of organisations have put in place data protection and privacy policies whereas 22% have data protection and privacy frameworks but 10% don't have any of data protection and privacy policies, frameworks or strategy.
The survey also highlights that 78% of the organizations' employees receive mandatory privacy training, awareness and education, with most organisations( 57%) conducting these trainings annually whereas 14% do it semi-annually.
It is also indicated that 40% of the organisations give general privacy awareness for all employees with 27% being role-based training for specific employees.
Ernst & Young's Bizure said despite the progress, there are still issues that need to be addressed by organisations in the country.
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"There is more to be done in terms of understanding what consent is. There are certain challenges in getting consent from citizens of this country. The report speaks to limited or low awareness in regards the data protection and privacy law . This is an important observation organization should embed in their governance processes and programs to ensure their employees are aware Rank ( + / - )and extends to the organisations and citizens at large."
He noted that at least 33% of the organisations are doing business across not only East Africa but also across the world, which means a number of digital companies across Uganda are collecting citizens data from other jurisdictions with different data protection and privacy legislations which needs significant compliance observations and consents which must be complied with.
Stella Alibateese, the National Personal Data Protection director said the report indicates good progress by the country in terms of enforcing data protection and privacy.
"The report has brought out that since 2019 when the operationalization of the law started, more has been achieved. We have made some improvements. We are not at 100% but there are noted improvements in terms of compliance of ho organisations deal with our data and awareness they have in terms of their obligations under the data protection and privacy act," Alibateese noted.
She however noted that many organisations are not reporting data privacy breaches, adding that they are to raise awareness on the requirement under the law to report those breaches.
