Census begins in Serere despite technical hitches

SERERE | The highly anticipated National Population Census exercise has commenced in Serere District, despite initial technical challenges with the digital machines.

The exercise aims to collect vital data on the population, housing, and living standards in the area.

At Kakus Parish in Olio Subcounty where the State Minister for Fisheries, Hellen Adoa, comes from, the exercise started at 10.30am.

The delays and rains forced her to appeal for an extension of the census exercise period, citing technical glitches and the challenging terrain characterised by poor road network that enumerators in her district face.

Charles Otim, a census enumerator in Kakus-Igoola Village, expressed concerns about the impact of poor roads on the movement of enumerators.

Ms Adoa argues that the initial 10-days period allocated for the census exercise is insufficient, given the difficulties enumerators are facing in accessing remote areas due to heavy rains and poor roads.

She asked the government to consider additional five days to ensure a successful and accurate census.

"If I had not called the IT expert the exercise wouldn't have started like it's happening in some areas," Ms Adoa said.

"It took the district specialist to work on the machine for the enumerators to work. The IT experts didn't set the machine well."

The census exercise, which began on today May 10, aims to collect vital data on the population, housing, and living standards in the country.

However, the challenges in Serere and other areas with similar terrain and weather conditions that may hinder the accuracy and completeness of the data collected.

However, the process got off to a rocky start as the electronic devices used for data collection malfunctioned, causing delays and frustration among enumerators and residents.

According to Silas Emunyu, an ICT expert for Serere, many enumerators faced challenges as the machines experienced software glitches, rendering them unable to capture the required information.

"Several enumerators had difficulties synchronising their devices, leading to further delays and this was cross cutting .also some of them used different logging numbers which I later corrected," he said.

Despite these setbacks, Emunyu assured the public that they are working tirelessly to address the situation and explore alternative measures if the system fails.

He emphasised that measures have been put in place to ensure the success of the exercise. Emunyu urged the public to cooperate with the enumerators and provide accurate information to ensure the success of the exercise.

The census data will be used to inform development planning, resource allocation, and policy decisions at the local and national levels.

The exercise is expected to run for 10 days, ending on May 19, and will cover all households and institutions across the country.

The exercise involves 601 enumerators and 68 parish supervisors, who will be collecting data from households across the district.

Despite the challenges, Charles Otim, a census enumerator in Kakus-Igoola Village, said they are committed to ensuring a successful census.

The public is urged to support the enumerators and provide accurate information to ensure the success of the exercise.