UBOS Executive Director Dr. Chris N. Mukiza addressing reporters at Media Centre in Kampala
By George Bukenya
The Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic development Amos Lugoloobi has revealed that 60.2% of the targeted 10,470,000 households have been covered in the on-going Census activity as the exercise reach day seven.
He revealed this while giving an update on enumeration exercise for the National Population and Housing Census 2024 at Media Centre in Kampala. He said that despite a few challenges, the exercise is moving on well.
The minister said that the only challenges met by the enumerators include failing to login the tablets by 20,000 Enumerators was due to lack of access credentials and the missing Enumeration Areas in the system and these were experienced on day one and were quickly rectified.
On the issue of training allowances the Minister said that the cause of the delay in payment was due to the delay by District and local government officials uploading names of their enumerators on the recruitment portal.
This has been since done and so far payments for 63 districts have been effected via mobile phones of the enumerators for those districts whose chief Administrative officers shared the names on the government portal.
He said that the Local governments that are yet to submit the names and details of the enumerators and supervisors have been asked to so immediately to enable the Bureau process their training allowances.
The Executive Director of Uganda Bureau of Statistics Dr.Chris N.Mukiza clarified that each Enumerator will receive UGX 50,000 per day while a Parish Supervisor will be paid UGX 60,000 each day for 10 days of work and this totals to UGX 500,000 and 600,000 respectively upon successful completion of the exercise.
He also revealed that the guides who are in this case LC I Chairpersons or their designate will also be paid allowances basing on the rates prescribed for each given area although he didn’t give the figure.
“Enumerators should be disciplined, we can’t pay for no work done, we can as of now effect payment for training allowances which we have done for some districts but for work they need to complete.” Dr Mukiza noted.
“Government officials like me and the ministry are paid upon successful completion of work at the end every month and the enumerators are asking payments what government is paying for.” He challenged.
He said although the exercise is moving on well in many parts of the country, some districts have not yet reached average coverage while others have even surpassed the Bureau’s expectations.
According to Dr. Mukiza, Districts like Mityana, Kasanda and Mumbende are below 50% coverage, some Northern districts like Oyam and Norya have also performed poorly due to conflicts arising from the challenge of district boundaries where leaders in Norya even arrested and confiscated gargets of the enumerators.
There are also districts that have performed excellently for instance Fort portal enumerators in the seven days have covered 102.4% while Agogo, Budaka Butambala, Manafa, Kibale, Zombo, Rubirizi and Shema have surpassed 80%.
Meanwhile two enumerators have died on job, Ssali Emmanuel of Najeera B, Kira Municipality, Wakiso District who was attacked and beaten by goons on his way home after enumeration and Tibiwa Annet from Namayingo District died after registering signs of illness and she rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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