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National Census Commissioner cautions public against feeding enumerators
SPECIAL CENSUS REPORT | ALFRED GEESOM MUSAMALI | The National Census Commissioner (NCC) Dr Chris Ndatira Mukiza has cautioned members of the public against feeding enumerators who visit their households to collect data during the National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) enumeration exercise that starts tonight (Thursday).
The Government of Uganda (GoU) has gazetted the transition between today and tomorrow (Friday, 10th May) as the Census Night, the reference date for all questions regarding the Census 2024.
The night will be followed by a gazetted public holiday not only to mark the first day of enumeration but to also give opportunity for more respondents to remain and home to await the enumerators. After the Census Public Holiday will come Saturday and Sunday, during which respondents who stay at home over weekends will also await the enumerators. The exercise is expected to end on Sunday, 19th May.
Limited Enumeration at Night
Potential respondents have also questioned the rationale of being counted at night. But Dr Mukiza, also the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Executive Director (ED) dismissed the worries, explaining that enumeration in household will take place during normal government working hours. He said that only trucks, buses and other vehicles that move at night will be subjected to roadblocks so that their occupants can be enumerated. A special card will be issued to each of such travelers so that they are not counted again at their destination.
Security Personnel and Hotel Guests will be Counted
Dr Mukiza dispelled media reports that security personnel will not be enumerated. He said he recently attended a closing ceremony for 500 soldiers who have been engaged as enumerators. “There is nowhere we shall not reach,” he said.
Enumeration exercise will involve the use of five types of questionnaires. The main one will be for the Household but there will be others for Hotel Residents, for Institutions and for Floating Populations such as street children. There will as well be a Community Questionnaire to be administered by parish supervisors. The questionnaire is to collect information about how the community accesses services.
Media Question the Need for 180 Questions
Certain media houses have, however, raised alarm over the 180 questions to be asked during the data collection. But Dr Mukiza, also the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Executive Director (ED) dismissed the worries, explaining that not every question is relevant to all respondents. For instance, he added, if the household does not have anybody with a disability then all the questions referring to disability will have to be skipped.
He said the Pilot Census conducted in May last year showed that some households are so small that enumerating them could hardly take 15 minute but that where a household has around six members the enumeration could take an average of forty-five minutes if the enumerator’s concentration is not disrupted.
It is a Ugandan tradition to offer even strangers at least a glass of water when they visit a household. However, Dr Mukiza said, “These are not your visitors. They have come to work. So do not delay them by offering them food.”
He was at the Pre-Enumeration Media Briefing held at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) head offices on Statistics House, Kampala on Tuesday.
Present was State Minister for Finance in charge of Planning, Amos Lugolobi.
Yesterday, Dr Mukiza also issued a circular on the payable rates for various officials handling the Census. The rates include an out of pocket allowance of UGX10,000 per day for enumerators during their nine days of training. They will also be paid UGX50,000 for each of the ten days they are expected to work. The parish supervisors will be paid UGX20,000 per day during their nine days of training and UGX60,000 per day for the ten days of work.
By end of April, 97 percent of the districts had completed the household listing exercise whose information was used to generate Enumeration Area (EA) maps. The decentralised approach to data collection exercise was conducted between April 2023 to April 2024. Training of grass-root level enumerators countrywide had been completed by yesterday (Wednesday) and Local Council I (LCI) officials were seen guiding them to familiarise themselves with the geography of their EAs.
Heavy Publicity Engagement
UBOS has engaged the media through various media to publicise the exercise. “These have been running throughout the country where UBOS staff have participated in the radio and television talk shows in the various regions of the country,” said Hon Lugolobi during an earlier engagement.
“The Census Commissioner has conducted a number of high level advocacy meetings with key influential persons. The print media houses have been running updates on a weekly basis. A media firm has been hired to engage the youth through social media platforms. The District Communication Officers (DDCs) have been facilitated and engaged to handle the census publicity issues at the district level, through community engagements, talk shows among other activities,” he added.
First Digital Census
Unlike in previous census and survey exercises, the enumerators will not be carrying around pencils, rubbers and bulky books. Instead, the GoU has invested in 120,000 computer tablets into which the enumerators will feed data. Telecommunications service providers MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda have supplied the SIM Cards through which the data will be transmitted from every part of the country to the processing centre in Ntinda Industrial Area on the outskirts of Kampala. About 80% of the computers were manufactured in a factory based in Mbale Chinese Industrial Park while the rest were imported from China. Due to the computerization, UBOS has promised to release provisional results of the Census within three months and to launch the final results (analytical report) during the second week of December 2024.
It Matters to Be Counted
The slogan for the Census 2024 is “It Matters to be Counted”. Go tell it on the mountains, over the hills and every; Go tell it on the mountains that “It Matters to be Counted”.
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The Writer is the Publicity and Advocacy Advisor for the National Population and Housing Census 2024.
Why is that up to now we have not received our training allowances in Butaleja