Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Executive Director and Census Commissioner, Dr Chris Mukiza, has called upon the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Dr Stephen Kaziimba, to champion the census exercise.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), I visited the Prime Minister of Buganda Kingdom and he accepted to become a census champion in Buganda. He (Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga) said he will be counted in front of cameras to assure the population,” said Dr Mukiza.
Dr Mukiza was speaking during the Church of Uganda Family TV’s breakfast launch for the “Safe Screens-Safe Kids” program held at Serena Hotel in Kampala on Wednesday.
The “Safe Screens—Safe Kids” program is aimed at building a multi-stakeholder approach to protecting children in the digital age.
The launch running under the theme “Building a Multi-stakeholder approach to protecting children in the digital age” was attended by Hon. Miria Matembe, Hon. Rachel Magoola, Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, Information and Guidance Minister Hon Chris Baryomunsi, among others.
In his speech, Dr Mukiza utilized the platform to emphasize the importance of religious institutions encouraging their congregations to actively participate in the upcoming Census.
“We want to know your identity. When we ask your religion, for Anglicans, you are saying Anglicans/Church of Uganda. We have another problem of born-agains, of course, they are born-agains in the Church of Uganda. If not, then they are the Pentecostals. We are going to lump them together because those are not religions but faiths.”
He called upon the Archbishop, House of Bishops and the clergy to popularize the census. “Of course, you are the census champions.”
His Grace Rev. Dr. Kaziimba who was the Chief Host, pledged his support and called upon Ugandans to fully embrace the forthcoming National Census.
“This will be the only way we can have development that is data-based, among which is statistics of screen usage among kids, which data will be collected during the National Census,” he noted.
The Archbishop advocated for the need for safe screens in order for families to watch TV without feeling embarrassed.
According to Fred Otunnu, Director of Corporate Affairs at the Uganda Communications Commission, there are several online crimes and UCC has realized that regulation alone cannot protect children online, necessitating a joint approach.
“The largest nation is the online nation, with about 5 billion individuals. According to the studies, one in every five children has seen sexual imagery and also, 7 out of 10 children have never discussed what they saw with their parents,” he said.
Census Night
According to Dr. Mukiza, the census will start on the night of the 9th and 10th of May, 2024.
“We shall consider the person who stayed in the household that night. The household doesn’t necessarily mean the family. We mean people who ate from the same pot that night,” he explained.
He said those who don’t have permanent households will be enumerated according to their routines.
“We have a short questionnaire for the fishermen, truck drivers and street children. We call them the floating population. They are floating. They have no address. They will be enumerated wherever they are. We will catch them at midnight. If you are in a bar, we will find you there,” he explained.
According to him, UBOS also has a provision for Ugandans in the diaspora but these will not be considered for the census night since they will be outside Uganda.
