The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and the Tooro Kingdom have reached an agreement to work together on the creation, sharing, and use of data to support planning and development. The commitment, which comes after two years of waiting, was made at UBOS headquarters in Kampala and witnessed by senior officials from both institutions.
Dr. Chris Mukiiza, the Executive Director and National Statistician at UBOS, said the agreement will strengthen cooperation between the two sides. He explained that the partnership will make it easier and cheaper for UBOS to access data from the Kingdom. “This will ease my work because I will be able to receive statistics directly from the Prime Minister without extra costs,” he said.
Dr. Mukiiza noted that the relationship between UBOS and Tooro Kingdom started during the 2024 National Housing and Population Census. He praised the Kingdom for providing reliable and unbiased enumerators, which helped ensure accurate results. He added that UBOS plans to set up a statistics committee and a special unit to further improve collaboration.
He emphasized that proper statistics are important for development because they help leaders make better decisions. “With accurate data, planning and budgeting will be based on facts instead of rumors. This helps avoid under budgeting or over budgeting,” he said.
The Prime Minister of Tooro Kingdom, Armstrong Akiiki Rwomiire, said discussions between the two sides began in 2024 but were delayed due to changes in administration. He expressed happiness that the agreement is now being put into action.
Rwomiire added that having reliable data will help the Kingdom understand its population and plan better. “We now have proper statistics, and this will guide us in budgeting and resource allocation. We know our population and can plan for development more effectively,” he said.
