The Directorate of Geological Surveys and Mines (DGSM) in Uganda has recently contracted Spatial Dimension, a Trimble Company, to upgrade its mining cadastre to an e-government based mineral licensing system.
“Most of our internal processes are still paper-based and can be quite cumbersome. This sometimes leads to delays or incorrect decision making by officials. By moving our mineral licensing system online we are essentially digitizing both our data and our processes,” said the Commissioner of Mines, Mrs Agnes Alaba Kuterema.
“Our customers will now be able to submit applications online as well as undertake all other statutory business processes such as making payments, submitting reports and production returns as well as undertaking renewals and relinquishments.” “In addition to these productivities wins, the online mineral licensing system will significantly enhance our revenue collection abilities. Not only will the online system assist in attracting additional responsible investments, but it will also enable the DGSM to close the net on non-compliance in the sector.”
“This means that the cost of the e-government system will be recouped quickly though better efficiencies, compliance and revenue collection activities,” concluded Mrs Alaba Kuterema. “Uganda is joining a growing list of our customers who are embarking on e-government initiatives and launching online transactional mining cadastre systems. These systems all leverage the power of our flagship solution, Landfolio, meaning that existing customers can transition seamlessly from traditional back-office mining cadastre systems to online transactional ones,” said Mr Bill Feast, President of Spatial Dimension.
“I am looking forward to working with the team from Trimble as we upgrade our processes and systems to support our transition to e-government. While we have benefited significantly from running Landfolio in the back-office for many years, the transition online is an important one as we position Uganda as a mining destination of choice,” concluded Mr Vincent Kedi, Principal Mining Engineer at DGSM.
