Disregard baseless rumours! UBOS boss speaks out on expiry of his contract

By Our Reporter

Kampala – The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has downplayed the rumours making rounds on social media about the expiry of the executive director’s contract.

Speaking to the media on Friday, the executive director, Dr. Chris Mukiza dismissed the reports as baseless and without any pinch of salt. Dr. Mukiza said that he was appointed to the position of ED on March 30, 2019 and that his contract runs for five years.

He said that his contract runs up to March 30, 2024. He added that there are no plans for him to leave Statistics House very soon. “We are busy with preparations for the national census due later this year,” Mukiza said.

He explained that whoever says or thinks that UBOS is in disarray because of a power vacuum created by the alleged expiry of his contract lacks accurate information and in any case day dreaming.

The executive director noted that, he has not talked to anyone about the renewal of his contract which is still running. “Those claiming that I met the president with the late Keith Muhakanizi for contract renewal are trending false news,” he said.

Sources within Statistics House say there is infighting among senior officials who are apparently eyeing Mukiza’s job when his contract expires.

Other sources say that the same officers have been facing disciplinary action for acts of indiscipline. Another source from the Ministry of Finance said the same officers are trying to undermine the exercise of the national census hence threatening the work of the top executive.

This development comes at a time when the UBOS Board were on a retreat that ended on Friday, April 20, 2023. And according to Mukiza, this was aimed at generating key decisions on improving the performance of the institution.

He further noted that UBOS will use the balance score card as a tool for managing and measuring the performance of staff, starting with the executive director. “This tool will be scaled down to the lowest-ranking members of staff,” Mukiza noted.

He also believes that, this will upscale the performance of the institution at individual level, but most importantly as an institution.

Concerning the national housing census, the National Census Council chaired by the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee, of which Mukiza is a member will meet next week to discuss more about the project activities.

The two meetings are expected to inform further preparatory activities ahead of the census enumeration.

The national census preparations have since gained traction with UBOS mapping areas for the counting of persons later this year. “We will not be diverted,” Mukiza said in response to saboteurs.

He added that: “We have so far mapped 48% of the enumeration areas in terms of coverage and are working hard to ensure we complete the remaining 52% by the end of June as we draw much closer to the census date of August 25, 2023.”

He also said that for the first time in Uganda’s history, UBOS was mapping the whole country using electronic gadgets in form of digital tablets called Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) which they also hope to use during the actual census exercise.

In addition to the census preparations, UBOS is planning to undertake the national household survey, which is periodically conducted after every 3 years.

This survey facilitates the availability of high-quality data on demographic and socio-economic characteristics of households for monitoring the development performance of key indicators in the various sectors such as health, education, finance, information and communication technology among others.