Census to be conducted on shoestring budget

Statistician-General Alex Shimuafeni says while the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) would have loved to have more money to conduct the national census, it will do all it can to ensure the resources it has at its disposal ensure a good outcome.

He was responding to questions on whether he believed the funds allocated to the NSA are sufficient.

During the delivery of the budget, finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi announced that the agency would receive N$706 million to conduct the census. The NSA had been unable to do so in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and again in 2021 and 2022 due to budgetary constraints.

Inflation affects budgeting

Shimuafeni said planning for the census had been done a long time ago and inflation has made the cost of procuring goods and services needed for the process a bit more expensive.

“Things have changed, prices have gone up, but...the funds we have, [we] will be to make it count, to make sure the census happens,” he said.

A larger budget would ensure the NSA could employ more resources to meaningfully carry out the census, he said.

“You might want to have a larger budget to have even more enumerators and make sure that you are going to cover all the households in a very short time and also to make room for those people who come back if the people are not at home [on the day of the census],” he said.

Government last conducted a census in 2010 under the auspices of the National Planning Commission (NPC) before the establishment of the NSA.

Shimuafeni outlined that 13 000 individuals will be employed on a part-time basis while approximately 2 900 vehicles will be required.

NPC director-general Obeth Kandjoze is set to announce the official date of the census in due course.