The Government says there will be no counting of people in barracks during the census. This is because all enumerators have been barred from accessing all security installations, including Uganda Prison Services, Uganda People’s Defence Forces and the Uganda Police Force premises.

Instead, the security forces will collect the data and transmit it to the data collection centres.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) head of communication, Didacus Okoth, said yesterday that the decision is premised on the fact that some of the information in these areas is security-sensitive, thereby making such areas no-go zones for civilians.

He said, however, that they have been working with all security forces, including the Uganda Police and UPDF, adding: “They gave us a team that we have trained and they are going to be ones carrying out the data collection on our behalf.”

The census is scheduled to take place from May 10 to 19, during which data about social demographic characteristics and various other factors will be collected for planning purposes.

During this period, enumerators will not only go to homes but also knock on hotel room doors to administer questionnaires, which will help the Government generate vital data that will be crucial for planning purposes.

Overall, there are about 120,000 field staff members who have been given tablets to utilise for data collection during this period.

Okoth Addressing The Press During The Police Weekly Meeting At Their Headquarters In Naguru

CENSUS NIGHT

In an exclusive interview with New Vision yesterday, Okoth also clarified on the census night, noting that this is being emphasised because world censuses are done at a specific period.

“We are looking at a reference night; hence, we will count the people who will have slept within the boundaries of an enumeration area that night,” he said.

He said this night will be a reference point for all questions that are related to the census.
“For example, if Masaba slept in Mbale on the night of May 9, crossing to May 10, and they find him days later in Kampala, where he practises journalism at New Vision, he will be captured as to where he slept on the night of May 9 (census night),” he said.

He said even when a man has two homes, he will be captured based on the home where he spent the census night.

“We are asking people to be conscious of where they want to be captured. If someone wants to go to the village, they should not hesitate to go because they will be captured where they will have spent the night of May 9,” he said.

He also clarified that there will be no work on that night and the actual activities will be done on May 10, which has been gazetted as a public holiday to allow all people to participate in the exercise.

“People should not think we are going to be working at night,” he said.

PROGRESS SO FAR

He also gave an update on the preparedness for the census, adding that they have finished counting staff in the town council, municipalities, and cities and at the district level.

He noted that they are winding up with training at the county level, including sub-county supervisors, parish supervisors and enumerators.

During the census, Ugandans will be asked questions regarding their age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, religion, marital status, and country of birth, among other questions.

He said the questions would be obtained according to the kind of questionnaire administered.

Some of these include household questionnaires, floating population questionnaires (for people who are constantly on the move, such as fishermen), and institutional questionnaires (for the security forces and other institutions).

Okoth said all the questionnaires comprise different questions, adding that, for example, a household questionnaire addresses the household characteristics, the demography, and household characteristics in a particular household.

“The community questionnaire will address the issue of social services, including access to road networks, police posts, banks and health centres,” he said. He noted that these will be asked of community leaders, such as local council chairpersons.

Okoth said all the security forces will be counted using the institutional questionnaire. He said if anyone spends the night in Uganda on May 9, they will be counted as whether or not they are citizens or immigrants.

UBOS officers will administer a digital questionnaire for those admitted to the hospital, travellers and street families.

According to Okoth, those outside the country’s borders, including persons in the diaspora, will not take part in the count. However, UBOS has developed a form where households will declare if they have relatives living outside the country.

APPEAL

Addressing the media at the Police headquarters in Naguru yesterday, Dr Albert Byamugisha, the chairperson of the UBOS board of directors, said the census has five key questions the public will be required to answer.

These include “How many are we?” “How are we living?” “What do we own?” “Where do we access services’? and “What our sex, age and religion are”.

Byamugisha implored members of the public to embrace the census, noting that a country with no data is like a bird without a nest.

“People should not defy this exercise because it is very critical for them and the Government in planning,” he said. He said the people living in the streets, those who will die on the census night, and those born that night will also be counted.

“We urge the public to be sincere while answering the questions because this is for your good. People with no homes will be counted from wherever they are, but the questions will be about the census night, which is May 9,” Byamugisha said.

Byamugisha said that while the law allows them to arrest and arraign in court the defiant members of the public, they have chosen to instead, educate the public about the importance of the exercise.

“We have reached out to several stakeholders, including the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRC), among others, so that everybody embraces this exercise,” he said.