By:EnumeratorsBrandon Shilongo
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) will payN$250 million inallowances to its ad hoc staff who will be involved in the conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
The governmentallocatedN$706 million for the national exercise.
This was revealed by NSA’s Statistician General and CEO Alex Shimuafeni at the launch of the 2023 Population and Housing Census by President Hage Geingobat State Houseon Wednesday.
The agency has deployed 13,000 ad hoc staff who will be paid after the completion of the census exercisewhichstarts from 18 Septemberto 3 November 2023.
“The government has spent a significant amount of funds which is N$706 million for this financial year for this project. The funds will mainly be allocated to enumerator training (N$108 million) and enumerator remuneration (N$250 million),” Shimuafeni explained.
He said the government-provided funds will also be used to pay for private vehicles which will be used during the exercise, estimated to cost N$187 million.
The Statistician General indicated in June of this year that the NSA wanted to assemble 2,837 vehicles from individuals around the country.
At the launch, President Geingob stressed the importance of census exercise, saying it is a critical tool for critical for providing information for policy-making, planning, and administration, as well for achieving overall development, welfare, and prosperity for the people of Namibia.
He said the census would provide the government with information that is expected to modify demographic characteristics since it is an important factor in policy creation and source allocation.
”Indeed, in a land such as ours which is blessed with abundant resources, it is paramount that we are able to know the total number of our most valuable resource – our human capital, our citizens,” he said.
He underlined that population counting permits is a necessary condition for the creation of suitable socioeconomic policies aimed at improving population wellbeing.
The President thus invited Namibians to take part in and cooperate with the census exercise in order to ensure its success by giving correct information and assuring the dependability of census data.
”Let us all cooperate wholeheartedly with those who will be conducting the census because our participation as citizens is an act of civic and national duty to contribute to the betterment of our Namibian House. Our participation will help the government make informed decisions, allocate resources more effectively, and plan for the future of our generations with greater accuracy,” Geingob urged.
Speakers also encourage the public to participate in the 2023 census by using the slogan “play your part, be counted.”
