Establishing a National Statistical Information Repository in Uganda: Prospects and Challenges

Uganda Bureau of Statistics is a semi-autonomous government agency established under the 1998 Act of Parliament to spearhead the development and maintenance of the National Statistical System (NSS). In order to develop a coherent, reliable, efficient and demand-driven NSS that supports management and development initiatives, the Bureau in collaboration with key Ministries Departments Agencies (MDAs) under the Plan for National Statistical Development namely, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Local Government , Bank of Uganda (BOU) and Uganda Police Force generate a lot of statistical information which is scattered in various locations in the MDAs. Access to a wide array of statistical information is a challenge because there is no established mechanism or facility were this information or access modalities can be centralized, coordinated and managed. Such a facility once set up would act as the digital preservation repository/hub for data/information to inform and support evidence based decision making for better socio-economic development outcomes. This paper outlines the proposed digitization process and the prospects of this system and the challenges that are likely to be met.