UBOS postpones national census

The Deputy Executive Director of the statistical body, Godfrey Nabongo, told the media during a press conference at UBOS headquarters in Kampala that they have completed the majority of the pre-census activities but still need some time to complete the procurement of tablets, which are essential items in the enumeration process.

"The government funds for conducting the census have been obtained by UBOS; the only remaining tasks are publicity, procurement, recruitment, and training of census employees, all of which are currently underway," he said.

He added: "There is still some work to be done, and the big question is whether we can conduct the census in August. The purchase of tablets is currently the main concern, and the August deadline is starting to look unworkable."

According to Nabongo, they are now working on the report that they will provide to the Ministry of Finance and Cabinet in order to obtain fresh dates for the census.

"While we are submitting suggestions to the Government for the new date, we are unable to provide a specific date for the census. As of right now, we are operating on the assumption that the census will take place in August, but we anticipate receiving a stance from the Government by next week," she said.

The Deputy Executive Director revealed that census committees have already been constituted from the local to the national level.

"The pre-testing exercise has been completed, and questionnaires for households, institutions, and communities have been produced. Data from the pilot census is now being analysed. The completion percentage for geo-mapping of houses and enumeration borders is 62 percent," he revealed.