Last week, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja launched the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC) Service Portal, a one-stop centre for all your printing, publishing, and gazetting needs.

The portal was launched during the UPPC’s stakeholder engagement, which was held at Hotel Africana. The digital platform grants users seamless access to diverse range of services and publications.

“Over the years, the Uganda Gazette has been available only as a traditional hardcopy newspaper. We are now pleased to introduce the E-Gazette, enabling the public to submit documents electronically. The digitization of the Gazette not only enhances convenience but also significantly reduces the time required for submission and publication,” Professor Sudi Nangoli, managing director of UPPC, said.

He noted that a one-stop centre will provide a seamless end-to-end experience, making it easier to access the official government newspaper, The Uganda Gazette. With this new development, the online Uganda Gazette is now available for as low as Shs 3,000, compared to Shs 5,000 for the hardcopy.

Professor Sudi said, “The online UPPC service portal and online help desks have made our services more accessible, providing convenience and saving valuable time. The reduced turnaround time for submitting and gazetting documents has significantly sped up the submission, approval, and publishing processes. The service is at a click of a button, as you will later see, taking less than five minutes.”

Additionally, Nabbanja launched the Online Bookshop, another milestone in the UPPC digital transformation journey. It makes our vast collection of publications easily accessible to everyone, reflecting our commitment to leveraging technology to provide better services and make our products globally available.

Represented by Robert Kasule Sebunya, the former MP of Nansana Municipality, Nabbanja said conducting business in an intensely competitive marketplace is no child’s play. It is more than just conducting transactions; it is more about cultivating trust, enhancing loyalty, and establishing enduring relationships to ensure business continuity and success.

“UPPC has recently been recapitalized with state-of-the-art tech-print high-quality jobs and deliver them on time. This technological advancement has revolutionised our turnaround time, making the corporation more efficient and responsive to client needs,” she said.

She said leveraging technology has made UPPC’s services more accessible, providing convenience and saving valuable time. The reduced turnaround time for submitting and gazetting documents, coupled with the digital application and online help desks, has significantly quickened the approval and publishing processes.

Milly Babalanda, the minister for Presidency, said the partnership with the German consortium of Veridos and the collaboration with the Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC) to print secure documents such as passports, driving permits, and land titles mark a new era for UPPC.

These initiatives enhance UPPC’s capabilities and broaden its service offerings, ensuring that it meets the highest standards of security and quality. It is estimated that Uganda has spent approximately $10 million annually on outsourcing printing work abroad. This expenditure not only drains our foreign exchange reserves but also has a ripple effect on the growth prospects of our economy.

By keeping printing jobs within the country, we can redirect these funds to support local businesses, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth. The impact of such a shift cannot be overstated, as it supports our national agenda of self-reliance and economic resilience.

She urged all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to continue prioritising UPPC for printing jobs to ensure sustained growth as well as save the government foreign exchange for the printing works that would have been outsourced.