UBOS Assures Kampala Lord Mayor of Quality Data Output After National Census - ONLINE

Source: Red Pepper Uganda
Author: Brian Musaasizi

Kampala - Upon arrival from New Delhi, India where he underwent disc and fusion surgery, Kampala Lord Mayor Elias Lukwago immediately started from where he stopped.

While interacting with census enumerators on Saturday morning at his home in Wakaliga Rubaga Division -, Mr Lukwago expressed his displeasure with the way the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) handled recruitment of census enumerators and their supervisors in the capital city.

Lukwago tasked UBOS officials to explain why most of the people who were recruited to work in Kampala city didn't begin as they were expected. He also tasked them to explain the criteria that were used in recruitment exercise.

The Lord Mayor was also concerned about the quality of data that will be collected, saying that there have been several challenges with the number of people working in Kampala during daytime and those at night. He reminded the Bureau that the previous census of 2014 had captured a total of 1.5 million people sleeping in Kampala but did not give the exact figure on who are in Kampala during daytime.

"It better to know these figures and this will help us as the Authority to plan for our people," said Lukwago. He added that it has been a challenging factor in explaining to the development partners who at times would want to give the city financial help. "We have been guessing especially when we move outside Uganda and we are asked how many live people in Kampala," he noted.

According to Lukwago, the Bureau should this time round be able to answer the cluster of people living and working in Kampala especially; Boda boda riders, taxi drivers and operators, and vendors among others.

In his reply, Dr Vicent Ssenono, who is currently in-charge of enumerating special areas and high-profile people, assured the Lord Mayor that the Bureau has prepared everything to bring quality data for the betterment of government planning.

Dr Ssenono also noted that the issues raised by the Lord Mayor have been considered in the type of questionnaires and will help to answer all the concerns of government and politicians who will be able to make good policies for the citizens.

Concerning the issue of recruitment of supervisors and enumerators, Dr Ssenono informed the Lukawago that, when UBOS advertised for these jobs, there was a low turn-up in the number of applicants and few people were shortlisted which prompted the Authority to seek for manual hunt of the people to work.

He added that the Bureau together the KCCA agreed to use local leaders to get more numbers.

He further explained that this led to the delay in entering them into the system hence the delay in beginning the exercise.

He also stressed that by the morning of Saturday, all people were uploaded had already got logins, and were ready to work.

Dr. Ssenono informed the Lord Mayor that Kampala has a total of 5,909 enumerators who will be paid Shs500,000 each, adding that because of the expected number of households, each enumerator has been allocated 80-100 households, unlike other districts.

The Lord Mayor conclusively said that as the Authority they will be eagerly waiting for the results and that those who spearheaded the shoddy recruitment process will be brought to book.

He also emphasized that the Bureau should look into the payment package of Shs500,000 for the enumerators and Shs600,000 for their supervisors compared to the work they are doing which is hectic in nature given the duration.