The training of about 25, 000 enumerators to conduct Zambia’s 2010 census of Population and Housing commenced today (Thursday) and is expected to be completed on 10th October, this year.
Central Statistics Office (CSO) announced during a media briefing in Lusaka today that progress in preparations had been made for the exercise which would gobble about K200 billion and kicks off on October 16, this year.
CSO Acting Director John Kalumbi disclosed that President Rupiah Banda is expected to launch this year’s census on 15th October adding that various preparatory activities which include Cartographic census field mapping and the training of master trainers and Assistants trainers have been recruited from various Ministries and Institutions of government.
Mr Kalumbi also disclosed that basic school teachers have also been recruited and trained in readiness for the exercise.
He said the countrywide enumeration exercise which commences on 16th October is expected to last for four weeks during which enumerators would visit each and every household to collect information about each household member.
Mr Kalumbi has since called on political parties participating in Chilanga and Mpulungu by elections to help disseminate census messages as they campaign for their parliamentary candidates.
He noted that political campaigns would compete with campaigns for Census as the dates have collided saying this was unavoidable and that the census or by elections dates could not be changed as they happened according to the law.
He, however, appealed to cadres not to mistake officers sensitising people in the community for political party cadres saying that enumerators and other officers spreading census messages were non partisan.
Mr Kalumbi also recognised the efforts cooperating partners have played in the preparations for the exercise.
Zambia will in two weeks time conduct the Census of Population and Housing as the fifth in the series of comprehensive census that the country has conducted.
So far, the country has conducted census in 1969, 1980, 1990, and 2000.
[ ZANIS ]
As much as this programme would provide short term employment opportunities for the lucky few who will take part, it is a waste of money.
Government has, at its disposal, many programmes involved in data collection, like the Ministry of Health, which has a very reliable household head count system which is very well spread out across the whole country and hold accurate population figures for all districts in the country. It records all births, deaths, and numbers of membes in a family per each household.
All that government needs to do is to hire a few extra IT literate staff, pull out all the records from all the 72 districts and reconcile them into a dynamic dependable national population data base. Its less expensive, more accurate and efficient.