Commentary WHY CENSUS SHOULD BE ABOVE POLITICS Census is the process of proper planning to enhance good governance. It is the bedrock through which government can properly plan a secured future for its citizens by determining the strength of the population. Knowing the strength of the population, government and development partners can equitably distribute wealth depending on the size of the population. Most development experts believe that the conduct of Housing and Population Census should be devoid of politics and should be undertaken by highly professional authorities who are not political. Professionals who put the country above all else should spearhead the process because development should start with a reliable data. It was against this backdrop that the government of Sierra Leone established the Statistics Sierra Leone office by an Act of Parliament in 2002 to promote reliable, credible and well researched data that would spur development. The mandate of the office was to carry out a more expanded function relating to data rather than undertaking census with the belief that sound data ensures a brighter future. It is compelling for every country to count its population after every ten years. If Sierra Leone is to successfully conduct this census, it will be the second after the 11 year rebel war in 2004. The process of conducting a national census should be transparent, assuring all parties a very transparent process for the outcome to be accepted for the credibility of elections starts at this process. To prepare the future, government needs to know how people live to provide the type of services needed. Therefore, the census results will matter to you, your children and your grandchildren. With the results of the census, central and local governments can allocate funds, decide future policies and plan important services based on how many people live in an area to help the central government allocate funds to the local government and statistics should provide data to plan what is needed in the local areas. In the area of health and disabilities, health services and policies are planned around the census data for the provision of necessary services for the people, the same applicable for housing. Better plans would be put in place if we know what the demands are now and likely to be in the future. This is the same with employment. The public should know how many people work in different companies and industries. Census information can be used to help allocate resources and monitor policies to ensure that all groups are treated equally. In the area of transportation, census information can identify how and where people travel to, work and this study will help us understand the pressure of our transport system and improve in planning of resources in such direction as schools and teachers. This can be equitably done by government. The reason census should cover all shades of opinion with no regard to political affiliation, color, religion, tribe because such boil down to the process of natural development. Census should therefore be held in a conducive atmosphere for census officers to move freely without hindrance like in the era of Ebola .Therefore if government wants to undertake such a venture, it has to consider the ramifications of conducting a census at a time when Ebola is ravaging the country.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:45:51 +0000
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