Georgetown: The Bureau of Statistics announced that four of the ten Regions are in excess of 90% completed for the 2012 Census enumeration exercise. In addition, the second phase – the editing and coding of the completed questionnaires – has simultaneously commenced, for which a further eighty-one (81) temporary staff were trained and are now employed.
Noting that the census has continued into the current month of November, Chief Census Officer, Lennox Benjamin, said that “… the concept of the census is that there should be a total count, therefore the enumeration period would be brought to a close when the enumerators have completed a total count of the resident population.”
Adding that the enumeration staff in the face of some challenges experienced in the field during the initial six week period, he explained that the enumeration exercise commenced on Census Day, September 15, 2012 and was projected to last for an initial period of six weeks.
Benjamin explained that “the six-week time frame was an administrative decision based on best estimates at the time and was not a legal requirement for the conduct of the Census.” The Census Officer has the freedom to extend the period in the interest of the quality of the enumeration.
As reported earlier, the census exercise has moved apace in many areas of the country but challenges remain in some remote areas of Regions one, seven, eight and nine and in pockets of densely populated areas, especially Region four.
Overall the enumeration exercise benefited from the prevailing weather conditions which made travel to many locations easy. However, in some areas the low rainfall caused considerably reduced water levels in rivers and creeks making access along some of the waterways difficult.
You must be logged in to post a comment.