The Executive Director of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Chris Mukiza recently scoffed at Ugandans by telling them how he is the best statistician Uganda has ever had.
Mukiza has been under fire after releasing fake census results that made Ugandans call him out for resignation. Mukiza himself accepted and acknowledged the errors but said he could not resign.
Instead of apologizing to the taxpayers who funded the exercise, the Executive Director instead scoffed at them with impunity and showed them they were not important.
It should be noted that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics had ten years to prepare for the exercise, and almost half a trillion shillings was allocated to them for the same; however, they came out with forged results.
Such incidences are not new in Uganda. Many government officials concentrate on how much they are stealing off projects instead of ensuring they produce quality work. It is a norm that government officials in Uganda do not resign, and President Museveni has been so lenient to them that he rarely sacks them even after they have swindled billions of taxpayers’ money with no visible work produced.
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National Planning and Housing Census results are very vital in the development planning of the country, and therefore, it is unfortunate that educated officials decide to forge the results and mislead policy formulation and the citizens.
It is high time the president acted and sacked the UBOS Executive Director and a thorough audit be conducted to ascertain how the funds were used. For instance, towards the end of the census exercise, Mukiza openly told Ugandans that the supplier of the census bags had disappointed the bureau by failing to deliver the bags in time despite having received all the funds. He said this while appearing on the Capital Gang radio talk show, and nobody has asked him if the money was refunded.
Sources that preferred anonymity indicate that the UBOS staff who have complained about the mess in the recent exercise have had their contracts terminated and others intimidated by the executive director. It should also be noted that the digital system that was being used to carry out the exercise had issues, so the enumerators had no option but to forge data after they reported the matter, but the UBOS boss paid a deaf ear.
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Additionally, government officials in this country have turned the organizations they lead into family entities; they care less about what the government and citizens expect from them but instead concentrate on enriching themselves by stealing every penny meant for the government projects. The unprecedented corruption levels need to be checked; otherwise, the dream of attaining middle-income status will just remain a dream without realization.
President Museveni needs to act and show that he is on the side of Ugandans; otherwise, the unchecked impunity showcased by people like Mukiza and other government officials will see Ugandans hating their country. These officials are turning Ugandans hopeless.
