

Cabinet in the process to endorse new UBOS board
A new board of Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) is set to be approved following expiry of old board.
It has been announced today that Cabinet is set to endorse nominees for the new board of directors for the body.
The previous’s board tenure ended on June 30, 2020.
“The names of the proposed new board members are now before Cabinet for approval,” said UBOS Public Relations Officer, Edgar Mbahamiza.
The development comes amid growing concerns over the delayed formation of the new board at the sensitive government body.
Some members of staff expressed concern that the lack of the board would negatively affect the operations and governance of UBOS.

They further alleged that absence of the board was fueling financial improperly.
However, Mbahamiza said the “delay in the appointment of the Board is not intentional in any way,” adding, “the board meets only once each quarter, as such, is not involved in the day today management of the operations of the bureau.”
UBOS is the principal data collecting, processing, analysing and disseminating agency responsible for coordinating and supervising the National Statistical System.
The staff also complained about rotation of staff, citing unfairness.
They claimed UBOS Executive Director Dr. Chris Ndatira Mukisa was running the institution like a street kiosk characterized by internal Staff transfers that are said to be favoring those he considers close confidants.
“They are so frequent falling all the time like torrential rains,” the staff alleged, according to a report seen by ChimpReports.
They also accused Mukiza of “flouting standard employment Guidelines”, questioning the internal transfers that have pitted senior staff against the junior, and less experienced.
“Dr. Mukiza and his team are enjoying un-vetted powers since the institution has no Board to supervise them, hence the unsanctioned expenditures, internal transfers and leverage to settle scores against Staff he thinks are opposed to his leadership.”
On his part, Mbahamiza said the bureau is undergoing a transition at both strategic and operational levels and therefore, the changes are inevitable to improve her operations.
“All the UBOS staff and management without exception are eligible for rotation in line with the human resource manual,” said Mbahamiza.
“The staff deployments carried out by the ED have been done in his capacity as the CEO of the Bureau and in accordance with the law, policies and guidelines. It is therefore not true that the bureau is run like a street kiosk as alleged but run professionally,” he observed.
Mbahamiza said the expenditures are approved by the Executive Director in his capacity as accounting officer, adding that the line Minister David Bahati does not handle the day-to-day operations of the institution.