Overview:
Dr Baryomunsi explained that to facilitate a smooth exercise, the government has declared 10 May 2024 a public holiday which shall be officially announced before the 10-day enumeration exercise.
Uganda’s Cabinet has approved the postponement of the National Population and Housing Census to May 2024.
The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, said the Cabinet acknowledged that due to logistical challenges, the census could not be held in August this year.
This comes a month after Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) postponed the exercise, citing delays in procuring crucial equipment. The population census which will cost the government Ugx339.6 billion.
Dr Baryomunsi explained that to facilitate a smooth exercise, the government has declared 10 May 2024 a public holiday which shall be officially announced before the 10-day enumeration exercise.
“We declared that day, 10th of May, as a public holiday. We shall still announce towards the time of the census, but we took this decision as Cabinet. The census shall be carried out beginning on the 10th of May 2024,” he told journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Thursday, 28 September 2023.
According to Dr Baryomunsi, they will use the defacto method of carrying out the census.
“There are two ways of carrying out the census, but the type we are going to use is the method called the de facto method. So, now the night of 9th leading to 10th shall be the census night,” he said.
“We mark one night as a reference point, and then we count people who spent the night in Uganda on that night. That’s the method which is going to be used. It’s called the de facto method of carrying out the census,” he added.
Uganda Bureau of Statics (UBOS) in July revealed that it was not feasible to conduct a census in August because a number of pre-census activities like procurement of the tablets, publicity, recruitment and training of census staff plus developing digital maps were still pending.
Godfrey Nyabongo, the Deputy Executive Director UBOS said: “The delay in procurement of the tablets estimated at a tune of 132 billion shillings being handles by the UN has caused postponement in the date to carrying out the exercise.”