Stefanus Nashama
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has urged Census 2023 enumerators involved in fieldwork, who have yet to receive their remuneration, to remain patient.
The agency is actively addressing the issue, aiming to complete all payments by the end of October.
At a media conference in Windhoek, updating on the 2023 population and housing census and the launch of the post-enumeration survey, NSA Statistician-General Alex Shimuafeni assured that payments would be expedited.
Shimuafeni revealed that 60% of the enumerators have already been compensated, leaving only 40% awaiting payment.
“The funds are in the NSA bank account. Payments will be completed as swiftly as possible and before the month’s end. All enumerators will receive their full payment,” he vowed.
He further explained that the payments are being processed by the constituency to streamline the process.
Shimuafeni reported that all regions have shown satisfactory progress, albeit with minor hiccups like inadequate network coverage and challenging terrains.
He also noted that while there haven’t been any arrests, the agency has encountered threats and intimidation from the public during the census process.
“Some respondents attempted to politicize the Census,” Shimuafeni observed. In response, the agency deployed field teams to address these issues, ensuring comprehensive participation.
“While it is unlawful to refuse being counted, our primary goal is to guarantee everyone’s involvement in this vital exercise,” he said.
He informed journalists that, to date, 94.5 percent of households have been enumerated. The remaining 4.5 percent are slated for completion during the mop-up period from 9-15 October 2023. Shimuafeni added that the NSA is currently verifying the collected data.
NSA Deputy Statistician-General, Ottilie Mwazi, pointed out a general misunderstanding regarding the concept and significance of the Census.
She appealed to those who hadn’t yet participated to utilize ‘a call back card’ for scheduling if they were unavailable during the initial enumeration.
The NSA disclosed that they’re now entering the third phase: the post-enumeration survey. This quality assurance measure aims to gauge the accuracy of the census results.
For this phase, the NSA plans to hire 644 individuals from the pool of candidates who applied for Census positions in July 2023. This will focus on those who weren’t chosen for listing and enumeration tasks.
In this phase, only 284 private vehicles will be deployed nationwide, in contrast to the 2,719 vehicles utilized during the primary Census phase. This count will include vehicles from the first and second phases.
