A legal fight is brewing between two government entities after the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has come out with guns blazing to state in a public notice that the so-called National Data Strategy which was recently launched by the Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance (MoICT&NG) is null and void with no legal efficacy .
The UBOS statement signed by its Executive Director and Chief Statistician Dr. Chris Ndatira Mukiza,:
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has with great concern learnt of the launch of a “National Data Strategy” by the Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance (MoICT&NG). The so-called “National Data Strategy” breaches the provisions of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Act 1998, Cap 333.
The Act provides for establishment of the Bureau as the principal data collecting and disseminating Agency responsible for coordinating, monitoring and supervision of the National Statistical System.
The UBOS Act mandates the Bureau as the Agency responsible for data and statistical objects including but not limited to: i. Providing high-quality central statistics information services; ii. Promoting standardization in the collection, analysis and publication of statistics to ensure uniformity in quality, adequacy of courage and reliability of statistics information; iii. Reviewing all initiatives to collect data at the national and local government levels and approving instruments developed for data collection including Census frames, Registers, sample designs and questionnaires; and iv. Organizing and maintaining a central depository of statistical reports, publications, documents and data from both within and outside Uganda. UBOS informs the public that the MoICT&NG has no legal mandate to spearhead matters incidental to statistics.
That mandate is vested with the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. The launch of that “National Data Strategy” is an existential threat to the UBOS Act and is, therefore, illegal, irregular, redundant and adds no value to the National Statistical System.
The public is further informed that the areas the impugned “National Data Strategy” purportedly intends to address are already comprehensively catered for under the UBOS Act, the Plan for National Statistics Development which covers the entire National Statistical System, the UBOS Strategic Plan and the Data Quality Assessment Framework.
The Public is strongly advised to treat the impugned “National Data Strategy’’ recently launched by the MoICT&NG with the utmost contempt it deserves.
UBOS remains steadfast and committed to providing high-quality central statistics services for evidencebased planning, policy formulation and decision making. UBOS maintains that the Ministry of ICT holds no legal mandate to spearhead statistical matters.
The Bureau reassures the public of its continuous commitment to delivering high-quality central statistics services for evidence-based national planning and policy formulation. The UBOS Act designates the Bureau as the principal agency responsible for coordinating, monitoring, and supervising the National Statistical System.
UBOS’s core mandates now under threat include : Providing high-quality central statistics information services, Promoting standardization, uniformity, and reliability in data collection and publication and Maintaining a central depository of local and international statistical reports and data.
The Minister of State for ICT and National Guidance, Joyce Nabossa Ssebugwawo, officially launched Uganda’s five-year National Data Strategy (NDS) under the theme “Unlocking the Power of Data for Uganda’s Transformation”.
The strategy aims to streamline how government bodies collect, secure, and share public information while laying the foundations for the nation’s upcoming National AI Strategy. Over the next five years, the initiative will require UGX 1.6 trillion in funding.
The state will provide UGX 1.2 trillion, with the rest generated through private sector partnerships, development partners, and commercialized value-added data services.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics the nation’s principal data collection agency, operates fully within its independent mandate under the Ministry of Finance to complement rather than conflict with the new ICT framework.
