Wednesday 19 June 2024
Minister for Administrative Services, Hon. Richard Masere, today addressed concerns over the delayed census data collection process, however, he assured the public of the government’s commitment to providing an accurate population count, despite setbacks.
“We’ve had some issues with fuel and cargo delivery, which has caused a slight delay, but we’ve worked around it by encouraging provinces to start manual counting using paper and pen,” said Minister Masere during an NBC Talkback in Port Moresby this morning.
“We’ve had a quick brief from ICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) last night that our cloud-based numbers are running smoothly, and we’re expecting all data to be collected across the country by the end of the month.”.
The Minister acknowledged that about three provinces are yet to complete the data collection process, however, he emphasized that they are working closely with provincial districts to ensure a smooth transition.
“We’ve got strategies in place to deal with any issues that may arise, and we’re providing daily updates to the Prime Minister and government officials,” Minister Masere assured.
He also highlighted the importance of accurate population data for national planning, emphasizing that it is crucial for the government to have an accurate count to inform policy decisions.
“We want to make sure that by the 30th of August, we can provide an accurate population report to the Prime Minister, so he can make informed decisions for the country,” he said.
When asked about concerns over enumerators’ training and workload, Minister Masere assured that a one-day training period will be provided once tablets arrive at each province, allowing them to continue where they left off and upload manual data as they progress.