Aborted census not cause for concern, Ubos says

The executive director of Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) has said the country’s failure to conduct a census this year shouldn’t trigger panic.

Speaking at the high-level reflection dialogue on August 31, Mr Chris Mukiza revealed that the census, originally slated for August 24-25, has been pushed to 2024.

“It is not substantive to cause worry because we shall still get the baseline and benchmark indicators when we conduct the census. The good thing is that we are still within the UN 2020 round of conducting the census,” he said.

According to the 2020 round, UN member states are required to conduct a national census after 10 years to ensure proper planning.

Ubos recently announced that the census had been postponed due to delayed procurement of tablets. The statutory body failed to secure Shs132 billion from the Finance ministry that is grappling with financial bottlenecks.

The government is yet to announce the date for the next census. During the last census conducted in 2014, the country’s population stood at 36 million. It is estimated that this number has since swelled to nearly 45 million.

At the same reflective dialogue, Ms Sarah Opendi, the chairperson of Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), said Uganda was struggling financially due to ‘wasteful expenditures.’

“We have resources as a country, but the money is not being utilised well. When you talk of prioritising amid limited resources and then you see wasteful expenditures, it bleeds my heart,” she said.

“Most of you could have seen a report that was discussed in Parliament on Tuesday that shows how one ministry spent Shs570 million on transporting documents from Kampala to Entebbe.

Besides, we have ghost cooperatives and ghost districts where ghost members and chief administrative officers and chairpersons have been paid using public funds,” she added.

Ms Opendi also noted that the government performance on equity interventions does not show significant progress in financial allocation.

She further revealed that although gender and equity compliance certificate spearheaded by Equal Opportunities Commission compels ministries and departments to promote gender sensitive budgets, implementation is still a challenge.

Gender minister Betty Amongi said addressing gender and equity concerns in the development paradigm is a legal requirement rather than choice. She revealed that Article 32 (1) of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda requires the State to take affirmative action in favour of groups marginalised on the basis of gender, disability, or any other inequalities created by history, tradition or customs so as to address imbalances.

Minister Amongi added that gender and equity planning and budgeting is key in supporting wealth creation, employment and subsequently improves the livelihoods and welfare of the population.

Ms Safia Nalule Juuko, the chairperson of Equal Opportunities Committee, said there is a paucity of allocations made towards gender and equity implementation.