The Central Statistical Office (CSO) begins undertaking preliminary activities this week, ahead of the official start of census activities November 10.
Activities include field staff familiarizing themselves with enumeration district boundaries and a refresher training to ensure comprehensive understanding of census methodology, key concepts, and definitions, and the use the tablet devices and the electronic platform.
When the census officially begins it will comprise mainly of a listing activity, collecting basic information, including telephone numbers from households.
This will facilitate the full interview which will be administered via the telephone from January 17, the new census reference date.
The CSO advises that some full interviews may be conducted during the listing period and assures the public that in such instances, the COVID-19 protocols for census enumeration will be adhered to.
However, telephone interviews are the preferred method to ensure as much as possible, a contactless census, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to minimise face-to-face contact.
The Director of Statistics, Halim Brizan, tells us all about it.
Brizan says that the enumerators are being trained to conduct the survey, noting that expectations are that the interviews be conducted with the highest credibility.
Brizan says all COVID protocols are in full effect.
The Central Statistical Office is reminding the public that it’s important for everyone in each household to be counted and all their required information captured, since it says decision-making is most effective when it is informed by the needs of everyone, and, as the census slogan states, “Nothing About Us Without Us, Because We All Count.”
