The State Minister of Finance in Charge of Planning, Hon. Amos Lugoloobi, has flagged off the first batch of enumeration material which will be used in the National Housing and Population Census 2024.
The event, held at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Warehouse in Ntinda, Kampala on Saturday, saw the release of official enumeration materials, which included Tabs, T-shirts, bags, and enumeration aprons, among others.
The release of these items is part of the preliminary actions that UBOS is carrying out to guarantee a seamless execution of the census 2024, which is just 11 days away, according to UBOS.
“The procurement of materials has been included. The materials include the tablets or electronic devices that we are going to use during the census. We have ordinary and more sophisticated devices that are waterproof and can withstand any conditions,” said Minister Lugoloobi.
According to the minister, the tablets have batteries that can last for over eight hours but also have powerbanks which can be used to recharge them.
“This is also going to help us with other processes of government including elections, National Identification & Registration Authority (NIRA) identity card registration and Parish Development Model (PDM) we are going to be using these same devices,” he pointed out.
He also spoke about the recruitment of the census staff; supervisors and enumerators at the district and sub-county levels.
“Interviews at the lower levels have already been concluded. The training of census staff at different levels; national, regional and district levels has been concluded. The final level is for the enumerators and their supervisors which is sent to commence on Monday, April 29, 2024.”
He went on: “This is therefore to confirm to the country that we are on track for the census due on May 10, 2024. Almost over 80 percent is done.”
He said what is remaining is the provisioning of the software and delivery of the devices to the various districts.
He urged leaders to mobilize their communities to participate in the census exercise.
Trackable tablets
On his part, UBOS Executive Director and Census Commissioner, Dr Chris Mukiza, said to ensure security, the tablets are trackable with a serial number, and even in case of theft, they can easily be retrieved.
“These tablets are government property and have a lot of value, including post-census utilization,” said Dr Mukiza.
He said each tablet is availed with a SIM card and the SIM cards are for data collection and transmission and not personal use by the enumerators. “Where there are continuous internet challenges, Bluetooth tooth will be used between enumerators and supervisors to have the information cast,” he noted.
He said a total of six districts are set to receive their census materials including; Gulu district, Gulu city, Apach, Alebtong, Amolatar and Otuke.
