Summary:
- Addressing the media shortly after the enumeration exercise, the vice president emphasized the critical role of census figures in guiding planning, policy formulation, and program implementation, as well as monitoring development progress in alignment with national goals and objectives.
KATAKWI: Vice President Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Alupo, along with her family, on Tuesday completed the enumeration exercise in their village of Oigo Imomwa, Ongongoja sub-county, Katakwi district.
Uganda conducts a national census every ten years, with the last one carried out in 2014.
Addressing the media shortly after the enumeration exercise, the vice president emphasized the critical role of census figures in guiding planning, policy formulation, and program implementation, as well as monitoring development progress in alignment with national goals and objectives.
Alupo urged the general public to actively participate in the ongoing national population and housing census, highlighting its crucial nature in enabling effective government planning.
“The questions asked are essential for better government planning because you cannot properly plan for people you don’t know. Let us obtain the census data so that it provides us with the necessary insights to assist our people. The primary purpose of counting is for planning,” she asserted.
She praised the government, under the leadership of President Museveni, for prioritizing the 2024 national population and housing census as a significant milestone.
“Census is a vital undertaking. I want to reassure Ugandans that participation in the census is beneficial. Being counted means the government acknowledges your presence, plans for your needs, and ensures better service delivery. I echo President Museveni’s call for Ugandans to participate in this exercise,” she emphasized.
Alupo expressed gratitude to the management and staff of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics for their efforts in ensuring the success of census activities in the country.
She emphasized that the census provides a detailed understanding of the entire population and its characteristics, serving as the main source of demographic and socio-economic statistics in any country. It collects information and generates indicators such as household-based data on population, housing, agriculture, micro and small enterprises, as well as community-based data.
Alupo underscored that the census offers the government a comprehensive snapshot of the nation at a given time, including the number of people residing in specific areas and the conditions in which they live.
The Census 2024 marks the sixth such exercise conducted since Uganda gained independence in 1962. Notably, it will be the third to be conducted by UBOS, established by an Act of Parliament in 1998, and is being conducted digitally.
