The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has strongly rejected the National Data Strategy launched by the Ministry of Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance (MoICT&NG), arguing that the initiative breaches the law establishing the statistics agency.

In a public statement issued on Wednesday, UBOS said the strategy violates the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act, 1998, Cap. 333, which establishes the Bureau as the principal agency responsible for collecting and disseminating data and coordinating, monitoring and supervising Uganda’s National Statistical System.

The Bureau expressed concern over the Ministry’s decision to launch the strategy, insisting that matters relating to official statistics fall within its statutory mandate.

According to UBOS, the law assigns it responsibility for providing high-quality central statistical information services, promoting standardised methods of data collection and analysis, and ensuring consistency, adequate coverage and reliability in the publication of statistics.

The Bureau also cited its responsibility to review data-collection initiatives at national and local government levels and approve instruments used in statistical exercises, including census frames, registers, sample designs and questionnaires.

UBOS further said it is mandated to organise and maintain a central repository of statistical reports, publications, documents and data from within and outside Uganda.

On the basis of these responsibilities, the statistics agency argued that MoICT&NG has no legal mandate to spearhead matters incidental to statistics, maintaining that the authority rests with UBOS.

The Bureau described the launch of the National Data Strategy as an existential threat to the UBOS Act, characterising the initiative as “illegal, irregular, redundant” and adding no value to the National Statistical System.

UBOS also argued that the areas the new strategy seeks to address are already covered by existing frameworks. These include the Plan for National Statistics Development, which covers the National Statistical System, the UBOS Strategic Plan and the Data Quality Assessment Framework.

The agency consequently urged the public to reject the strategy in unusually strong language, advising people to treat the document “with the utmost contempt it deserves.”

The dispute follows the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance’s launch of a five-year National Data Strategy intended to improve how government institutions collect, manage, store, share and use data. Earlier reports indicated that the initiative envisages investment of more than Shs1.6 trillion over five years and aims to support public planning and the country’s digital transformation.

The disagreement raises questions about the respective roles of government institutions in coordinating official statistics and managing data across the wider public sector. While UBOS maintains that the new strategy encroaches on its legal responsibilities, the full scope of the strategy and the relevant statutory provisions are important in determining the boundaries between statistical oversight and broader government data governance.

The UBOS Act identifies the Bureau as the principal data-collecting and disseminating agency responsible for coordinating, monitoring and supervising the National Statistical System. The legislation also assigns it responsibilities for standardisation, cooperation among data users and providers, and serving as the source of official statistical information.

However, UBOS’s public statement represents the agency’s position on the legality of the strategy; it does not, by itself, establish that a court has declared the initiative unlawful.

Despite its objection, UBOS reaffirmed its commitment to providing high-quality statistical services to support evidence-based planning, policy formulation and decision-making.