UBOS Explains Delays in Census Personnel Payments

Dr. Chris Mukiza, the Census Commissioner, has addressed the reasons behind the delayed payments to thousands of personnel involved in the recent census exercise.

In an August 8 statement, Dr. Mukiza noted that a total of Shs88.7 billion has been disbursed to census staff via the E-Cash platform, ensuring direct payments to beneficiaries.

Dr. Mukiza provided the following breakdown of the payments:

• Enumerators: Out of 115,846 enumerators, 114,327 (98.7%) have been fully paid. The remaining 1,519 are yet to receive payment due to issues such as mismatched names, loss of census equipment (tablet, power bank, or accessories), or unsubmitted names by local government accounting officers.

• Field Guides: Of the 112,970 guides, 109,730 (97.1%) have been paid. Payment for the remaining 3,240 is pending due to mismatched details.

• Enumeration Supervisors: Out of 14,643 supervisors, 13,272 have been paid, with 1,371 awaiting correction of their details.

• Sub-County Supervisors: Among 4,713 participants, 4,686 (99.4%) have been paid, leaving 120 still unpaid.

• District Officials: This group includes Chief Administrative Officers (CAO), District Chairpersons (LCV), Resident District Commissioners (RDC), Resident City Commissioners (RCC), District Police Commanders (DPC), District Internal Security Officers (DISO), District Census Officers (DCO), Assistant District Census Officers (ADCO), District Internal Auditors, and District Information Technology Officers (DITO), totaling 1,635 officials. Payments for this category were phased, with 912 (55.78%) paid so far, and the remaining 663 to be paid in August 2024.

Dr. Mukiza also mentioned that all service providers, except those with incorrect account numbers, have been paid. "These have been requested to re-submit the correct account details," he added.

Regarding equipment retrieval, UBOS deployed 122,026 tablets for census enumeration, with 121,197 (99.3%) retrieved from the districts and cities. Additionally, 119,418 power banks were deployed, with 107,685 (90.2%) recovered so far.

Dr. Mukiza assured the public that efforts are underway to ensure all pending payments are made.

The National Population and Housing Census, conducted by UBOS in May 2024, revealed a preliminary population of 45.9 million people. The census was 99% funded by the Government of Uganda, with Shs328.74 billion allocated for the exercise. Development partners, including UNHCR, UNDP, and UNFPA, contributed 1%, amounting to Shs18.5 billion.