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Population council unveils National Data Bank
Left to right: National Population Council (NPC) Board Vice Chairperson Prof Florence Mirembe, State minister for Finance Amos Lugoloobi, and Acting Director General of NPC Samuel Omwa during the launch of the National Data Bank in Kampala yesterday. PHOTO | ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- While launching the data bank in Kampala yesterday, State Minister for Finance and Planning Amos Lugoloobi said the government has previously built markets and schools in areas with insufficient populations, resulting in wasted funds.
The National Population Council yesterday unveiled a National Data Bank, which will house information on health, the economy, education, and other sectors to guide infrastructure development decisions.
While launching the data bank in Kampala yesterday, State Minister for Finance and Planning Amos Lugoloobi said the government has previously built markets and schools in areas with insufficient populations, resulting in wasted funds.
He cited the government-constructed markets in Lukaya, Ntungamo, and Busega that remain unused despite an investment of more than Shs25 billion.
“The government has been making decisions without evidence, only to realise that the money was put into ventures that were not useful,” Mr Lugoloobi said, adding, “For instance, there was a school built in some district but it has only 56 pupils. This is a waste.”
He said future infrastructure projects must be supported by data from the new data bank to ensure they are placed in areas with sufficient population to utilise them.
“It is going to become a policy that before any infrastructure is put in a district, it should be backed with information and evidence from the launched bank. One should ensure a project is set up in a place with the population,” he added.
The Acting Director General of the National Population Council, Mr Samuel Omwa, said the data bank will be a one-stop centre for all data produced by the government to guide planning and policy formulation.
Mr Omwa said data from the recent population census by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) will be analysed and uploaded to the bank alongside other data.
“It will be having all the data and will bring out all the population trends so that we make sure that we plan accurately as we already know, the population is both the focus and the target,” he said.
He added: “Our key focus will be monitoring the number of the population, the growth rate, migration, the total fertility rate, and the mortality rate. We shall analyse in terms of economic indicators, unemployment, and health. The value addition is that we analyse these trends and come up with policy implications.”
Senior business analyst Augustine Ssekyondwa said some government agencies have failed to make their data accessible to the public and urged the National Population Council to address the issue.
“You should make sure that the information is accessible to the public as long as they meet the criteria,” Mr Ssekyondwa said.
“The quality of data housed in most government systems is wanting. The National Population Council should also ensure that as they pick data, they make sure it’s of quality, frequent, and accurate,” he added.
Mr Lugoloobi also faulted Ubos for failing to compile data on housing, which makes it difficult for the government to assess housing conditions in the country and provide necessary support.
“Why ignore issues of housing? This explains why we live in poor houses and have poor roads which are not even named. If we go out to count people, we should also look at the type of houses they are staying in,” Mr Lugoloobi said.
