Dr Albert Byamugisha, the Board chairman of Uganda National Bureau of Statistics, says that Uganda is best placed to host the bureau since the UBOS office in Entebbe was established in 1946 to collect and disseminate statistics for the East Africa Protectorate under the British colonial government.
Uganda is seeking to host the East Africa Community Bureau of
Statistics.
In November 2018, the East African Legislative Assembly-EALA
passed the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017. The Bill among others seeks to
establish a statistics bureau for the community as one of the key institutions
for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union. EAC is expected to
achieve the monetary union by 2024.
Dr Albert Byamugisha, the Board chairman of Uganda National Bureau of
Statistics, says that Uganda is best placed to host the bureau since the UBOS
office in Entebbe was established in 1946 to collect and disseminate statistics
for the East Africa Protectorate under the British colonial government.
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The office in Entebbe continued to carry out the same role after
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania gained independence and formed East African
Community in 1967. However, Uganda maintained the bureau offices after the EAC
collapsed in the 1970s.
According to Byamugisha, Uganda has the capacity to host the
bureau like it did in the past. He adds that hosting the bureau will provide
job opportunities to Ugandans and also boost Uganda's influence in the region.
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Dr Chris Ndatira Mukiza, the UBOS Executive Director, says that if Uganda
hosts the statistics bureau, it will be housed at the new UBOS whose
construction is yet to commence.
The new UBOS offices will be constructed on the plot that is
currently being rented out to the Special Forces Command- SFC on Airport Road.
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The East African Community Secretariat is yet to invite countries
to submit bids to host the statistics Bureau.
Dr Mukiza says that providing credible statistics will however
have to start with all local governments, ministries, departments and agencies
feeding credible statistics to the National Statistical System, managed by
UBOS.
The system will be developed between 2020/2021 and 2023/2024 financial years,
so that UBOS fulfills its mandate as the source for official statistics.
