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The executive director of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Chris Mukiza, has warned the general public against conmen who are targeting the recruitment exercise of census workers.

Mukiza said they have received complaints from applicants countrywide who have not been shortlisted yet they consider themselves suitable for the jobs.

He said there is a fake census recruitment advert online which people should disregard since it is not from their organisation.

He clarified that the UBOS Census recruitment portal was closed on March 22, 2024 and that no more applications for supervisors and enumerators are being received.

Mukiza said they have also received reports that qualified applicants have been replaced by unqualified ones.

He said these conmen have asked applicants to pay a fee of sh100,000 for interviews.

“There is no money paid during the recruitment process. Anybody who asks for money from any shortlisted candidate should be reported to the nearest police station,” he said.

Mukiza made remarks on April 8, 2024, while addressing a press conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala.

He said they are currently carrying out the geo-mapping process of taking location-based data and activity ahead of the major census event to increase accuracy.

“By April 12, 2024, we should be at 100% in terms of mapping so that we can finalise the budgets for the districts,” he said.

“In this census, we do not want estimations since the census needs accurate data. By census night, we shall have listed every household and every village,” he said.

The country is to conduct the National Population and Housing Census 2024, with the reference night being May 9, 2024. The census will take place between May 9 and 19, 2024.

Mukiza directed that the ongoing display of shortlisted census field workers from the e-recruitment process be extended to Friday, April 12, 2024, so that the public can verify those who have been shortlisted for interviews.

“The objective of displaying the shortlist is to ensure that those who were erroneously shortlisted are reported for administrative review.

And all those with issues regarding recruitment should lodge in their complaints, with evidence of having applied, to be reviewed by the recruitment team at the district who are working closely with the UBOS human resource team,” Mukiza said.

He said UBOS is an all-equal-opportunity employer and assured the general public that the utmost transparency is undertaken in their recruitment processes.