Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has so far covered 96 percent of the 70,000 villages in Uganda, according to Stephen Baryahirwa, the head of the Department for Social Surveys and Censuses.
Baryahirwa, a Principal Statistician at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, made the revelation on Wednesday while meeting Local Council Chairpersons of Kampala at Bart Valley Primary School.
The meeting was aimed at rallying Local Council (LCs) and other local leaders to participate in the ongoing listing and mapping exercise in preparation for the forthcoming National Housing and Population Census.
“The purpose of this exercise is to help the enumerators who will be moving from house to house. We may have big villages and knowing the number of households will help us plan for the number of enumerators we assign to each village so that everyone is counted,” said Baryahirwa.
He added: “We have over 70,000 villages nationally. As I talk now, we have covered 96%. We are now trying to get 100% in the cities. We have a group which is completing Mukono, we have another group which is completing Wakiso and then in Kampala, we started this week.”
He said the exercise started two years ago from rural areas coming to urban centres because, in towns, people keep moving, the reason why UBOS is listing and mapping Kampala last.
He said they will be counting people and households or where those people live as well as looking at the conditions of those households.
“We will also collect information on schools, health centres etc. to make sure every structure’s location is acquired. We will be using tablets with maps of every enumeration area. Once you are counted, it will reflect green on the digital map. We are doing this for planning purposes.”
He asked the local leaders to cooperate with the Bureau for the effective execution of this exercise.
“What we want from you, as leaders, is cooperation. In every LCI that we go to, our people will ask for a guide. That’s why we want you to help us in this exercise.”
Okoth Didacus, a Senior Public Relations Officer, said the LC1s and LCIIs are great ambassadors in this exercise.
“I’m pretty sure that all of us here have participated in the past censuses (2002 and 2014). The exercise of listing will help us identify households, the name of the household and the geo-coordinates so that we are able to locate each and every house and institution.”
He said this will ensure that support can be given with just a Google search. “They can easily locate a pregnant mother who needs an ambulance or a fire outbreak. So we are here to request you to support us as local leaders so that we are able to know the unlisted households.”
He added: “Once we leave out a household without listing, it has a very big impact when it comes to the census. So we want to urge all of you to participate in this exercise. We are not doing this for property tax. That’s not our role.”
The office of the Town Clerk pledged to support UBOS in conducting the exercise, saying its offices will remain open.
“I’m the coordinator for the central division, the focal point. If you find a challenge, please don’t hesitate to call us directly and your issues will be addressed,” said a representative from the Office of the Town Clerk.
The Representative of the Kampala Lord Mayor lauded UBOS for engaging the local leaders who know the households and who will help during this exercise. She further encouraged the LCs to support the exercise.
On his part, John Igumira, UBOS Public Relations Officer, said the meeting was part of the preparations towards the household listing and mapping and later the census exercise.
“We want to know the number of structures in this division and get their maps so that we know where to start from once the exercise begins. That is why we called you here because you are the key people who know the local person.”
“We are counting on you to champion this exercise. We have supervisors here who will be working with you. They have listers who will be listing and mapping the households,” he explained.
He alerted them on the fact that if an area is not listed or mapped, that area will most likely miss out on services.
“That is why we need you to become ambassadors as LC1s. Take this gospel to your people. The exercise is not about tax collection but for planning purposes,” he explained.
