Ubos assures on data protection

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) has assured citizens about the privacy of the information that will be collected.

Civil society organisations, the private sector and political leaders yesterday expressed fears about the secrecy of their information.

Mr Salim Uhuru, the mayor of Kampala Central Division, said some households are worried about disclosing their property to enumerators because it would expose them to Uganda Revenue Authority, which may impose taxes on them.

“Similar issues were raised by traders while meeting the president the other day...,” Mr Uhuru said.

But Mr James Muwonge, the Ubos director of methodology and statistical information, said the Bureau would exercise high confidentiality as set out in the Ubos Act, 1998.

 “We shall not share any individual information with URA or anyone. All information will be confidential as stipulated in the Act,” Mr Muwonge said.

The Ubos Act, of 1998, provides for confidentiality on all data collected from any respondent. The Act says all persons carrying out a census exercise are expected to swear an oath of secrecy, to ensure the information collected is used purely for statistical purposes.

Representatives of persons with disabilities (PWDs), including Mr Joel Kawanguzi, a programme officer at the Foundation for Persons Affected by Dwarfism, asked how persons with invisible disabilities like epilepsy and those with hearing impairment would be handled.

Dr Albert Byamugisha, the Ubos board chairperson, assured the PWDs that some sign language interpreters had been recruited as enumerators.

 Mr Shafik Kalyango, who represented the ghetto youth, inquired whether their community would be included in the census. In response, Dr Byamugisha said the government would count everyone who spends the census night in Uganda, including foreigners, street children, and the ghetto community.