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OPINION

By Moses Watasa

“I would like to announce the sixth National Population and Housing Census (NP&HC) that will start on May 10, 2024”— President Yoweri Museveni in a statement last week.

The National Population and Housing Census (NP&HC) will generate updated data and information about Uganda’s population size, distribution and its attendant demographic and socio-economic characteristics. This is the basis for evidence-based planning, policy formulation and implementation, by the Government, for impactful service delivery.

With activities being undertaken by Uganda Bureau Of Statistics (UBOS), through multi-level partnerships, census enumeration will run on May 10-19, 2024, across Uganda. May 9, 2024 will be our census night, with May 10, 2024, designated a public holiday. The President’s message is laudable, considering that the preliminary activities of the NP&HC are underway.

These include listing households, in Uganda, an exercise currently going on in Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA), encompassing Mukono and Wakiso. This commenced early in March 2024, and is to be concluded this week, in the case of Wakiso and Mukono districts. In Kampala, listing ends by April 15, 2024. Listing in all areas is from 8:00am to 6:00pm.

It entails updating the particulars of administrative units, including geographical details, down to ward and village level, as applicable. UBOS is mapping and documenting households, buildings and their location, including personal, commercial and institutional structures.

At the end of this, UBOS will be equipped to ascertain the finer functional requirements for the census, including personnel, vehicles, ICT devices and other logistics. UBOS will also identify convenient enumeration locations, up to the lowest administrative units. In so doing, UBOS and partners are referencing the data from Ministry of Local Government, about the units.

Basing on the statistics from the last NP&HC (2014), the ongoing listing will capture those changes that have since taken place. Automated from end-to-end, the exercise guarantees confidentiality, for the data and information collected. Field officers are under strict oath to protect the same. To pre-empt impersonation, the officers bear identification credentials and introductory letters issued by UBOS.

Under our first ever digital census, this listing exercise will also deliver interactive satellite maps, with digitally locatable enumeration points. This will ease the enumeration, uploading and transmitting of data to UBOS’ main processing centre. This is one reason the final census results will be issued in real time.

For respondents’ convenience, UBOS is going where all the people (nationals and non-nationals) are, including residences, workplaces, etc. When flagging off the NP&HC road map in December 2023, President Yoweri Museveni stressed that: “We cannot properly plan for people we don’t know.” Which is why census questions for UBOS to administer to our people are meant to ascertain how many they are, where they are, their conditions, what they own and where they access essential services.

Success of the ongoing listing and the subsequent NP&HC activities will hinge, significantly, on participation. Thus, in his statement of last week, the President also urged: “When enumerators come to you, please avail yourselves and provide honest answers to their questions. This will enable them process the most accurate information about you, your household, institutions and community.”

He similarly called for support from influential centres: “I call on political, cultural and religious leaders, private sector players, civil society, the media and institutions of government, to support this key national programme.”

Yes, let’s support the ongoing household listing in GKMA and the subsequent census activities. For continuous engagement, UBOS has issued contacts including; 0772 — 407 860 (director, methodology & statistical co-ordination) and 0772 — 492 162 (director, population & social statistics). It matters to be counted.

The writer is a commissioner, communication Ministry of ICT & National Guidance X: @MosesWatasa