Go to your districts for interviews, Ubos tells un-shortlisted census job applicants

The executive director of Uganda National Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) Dr Chris Mukiza has told applicants of the 2024 national census jobs who were not shortlisted but possess required qualifications to go to their respective districts for interviews. 

Speaking at the sidelines of the Ubos breakfast meeting with Members of Parliament (MPs) on Tuesday, Dr Mukiza acknowledged complaints regarding advertised jobs of enumerators and supervisors. 

“The biggest issue was a complaint that many of the applicants who qualified have not been shortlisted… that is the review we made the whole of last week.  We were supposed to have started interviewing last Monday but they are interviewing effectively since April 15,” Dr Mukiza observed. 

“If there is anybody who has not been shortlisted and qualifies and has evidence that they applied, we are asking them to go to the districts and be interviewed,” he appealed.

Ubos officers representing the Census Commission will be setting off on April 17 to ensure that complaints are resolved, according to Dr Mukiza.  

Previously, numerous complaints from applicants alleging unfair shortlisting processes had forced Ubos to extend deadlines for the display of shortlists by a week from April 8.

Districts were instructed to suspend interviewing processes until the review of complaints was complete.

Meanwhile, Dr Mukiza on Tuesday emphasized that it is wrong for one person to hold two positions as an enumerator and supervisor concurrently.

The national population housing census is planned for May 10-19, 2024 with May 9 the census night.

At least 114,460 enumerators and 18,483 supervisors are expected to participate in the exercise.

But Dr Mukiza says recruiting university students as enumerators and supervisors, will not be possible since learners have a tight academic schedule.

“If they have not been trained as enumerators which we are starting on April 29, then they can't count.  So, I have advised universities to keep their students in universities when they do exams. We shall count them from there using the institution questionnaire,” he remarked. 

He added: “For other learners, they will be in holidays. Those are the most important people wanted at home. The dynamics of these children matter for the welfare of their households.”

While census night will be on May 9, May 10 “will be a public holiday so that people can be found at their residences.” 

Enumerators are expected to count people who will have stayed in the country effective census night.