Following the expiry of the previous 2003–2008 policy, UCC has been developing a new RCDF policy for 2009-2014. A stakeholders' workshop was organized on 30^th July 2009 to discuss the draft policy for RCDF II at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala. The second phase of the rural communications development policy (RCDP-II), while continuing to address the broad underlying issues of underserved areas, will particularly focus on three aspects that are key for the development of Uganda as an information society.

These include:

• ·         Broadening coverage of RCDF intervention in order to build on the gains of the first RCDP-I phase as well as reduce the percentage of Ugandans that are underserved and thus attain the WSIS target for access to basic information and communications services.
• ·         Addressing the country’s future goal of a broadband-enabled information society especially with respect to education institutions and government’s service delivery plans.
• ·         Local content production and utilization are essential for the entrenchment and consolidation of information society in any country  
• In the context of the second phase of the policy RCDP-II, the term phrase “rural and underserved” shall encompass all those communities that are not able to have access to information and communications services as well as those that are underserved either due to geographical isolation, poverty or any social exclusion factor such as gender, disability or age.
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• The RCDF will support or work alongside other ministry programmes to enable essential interventions to ensure more equitable development of communications services by complimenting the general national ICT policy and supporting the information requirements of other sectors of government that drive Uganda’s development agenda. 
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• The factors considered in the development of the Draft RCDF policy are;
  • ·         Rural Development needs.
  • ·         Government policy goals.
  • ·         Experience from RCDP-I, SWOT analysis, achievements, challenges and lesson learnt.
  • ·         Issues emerging from review of relevant literature
  • ·         International best practice
  • ·         The current status of the communications sector
  • ·         Input by key players (including steering committee & UCC)
  • ·         Input from Stakeholders Workshop (including major sector players)
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  • High-level government objectives that the RCDP is intended to facilitate are derived the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to which Uganda was one of the 189 signatories in 2000 and the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) that was originally linked to the national vision called Vision 2025.

Comments on the Draft RCDF policy should be submitted to UCC by Friday August 14, 2009.