The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has gone full throttle training different organisations in readiness of Malawi’s population and housing census, which is to be held in June this year.
Malawi last conducted a similar exercise ten years ago although it was marred by a number of irregularities.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) has said the exercise will cost US13.2 million.
Commissioner of Statistical Charles Machinjiri said the last exercise established that the country’s population was at 9.3 million but the NSO projections indicate that by mid last year the population had shot to 13.2 million.
The 1998 census was marred with irregularities when school leavers that the NSO had employed as enumerators did a shoddy job where others were just filling the questionnaires with answers from their heads.
Machinjiri says the results were therefore questionable and other quarters dismissed it as unreliable.
“It was also established that some enumerators withheld information after the NSO failed to pay them,” he said.
Machinjiri said the 2008 census data would provide required benchmarks for monitoring progress towards meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and those of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS).
The Commissioner said the country will use 12,000 enumerators and would engage teachers to do the exercise that would last for three weeks and as a result, the actual date for the exercise will depend on the school calendar.
He said the exercise is normally conducted in the month of September.
The pre-census activities are being done with support from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
Some of the activities listed down include updating of census maps, testing of draft questionnaires, conducting of pilot census and a series of meetings where stakeholders will come up with suggestions and comment that shall assist NSO to refine and finalise the census questionnaire.
The National Statistics office conducted pilot census in nine districts of the country at a cost of US$ 320,000 in September last year.
Economic Planning and Development Minister Ted Kalebe said the pilot census acted as a test to the main census.
Enumerators in the pilot census were trained to walk door to door where they were interviewing people and counting houses.
The pilot project was conducted in three northern districts of Chitipa, Nkhata-bay and Mzimba, three central districts of Kasungu, Lilongwe and Salima as well as three other districts of Blantyre, Nsanje and Mulanje in the Southern region.
People in the districts were sensitized first to assist the enumerators, as the practice in the past had seen people shunning enumerators because of rumours that they wanted to draw their blood for rituals.
The history of census in Malawi dates back to 1891 when the colonial government conducted the first census. Since then, the country has conducted four post-independence censuses in 1966, 1977, 1987 and 1998.
Machinjiri said Malawi is emulating the international standard for population censuses saying since these are massive undertakings it is traditionally done every ten years worldwide.
“After each census, our office carries out projections for 20 to 25 years and for each of the following years after a census, there is always a projected census figure.
He said the next year’s census is expected to provide data for the population and housing census that was conducted in the controversial 1998 census.
“A census is the only source of data that provides comprehensive information at the lowest possible level like the village level,” he said.
Already money amounting to US$16.2 million has already been pledged for the exercise.
Government will contribute US$1.6 million, United Nations Population Fund US$4 million and US$10.6 million will come from other donors who have just indicated their intentions to help.
“We are 100 per cent sure that we will get the money. You can’t plan without the numbers,” Economic Planning and Development Minister Ted Kalebe made assurance at a news conference in Lilongwe.
Kalebe said the census would enrich the stock of available socio-demographic data, which will allow planners and decision makers to have more basic indicators necessary for monitoring development plans and programmes.
UNFPA assistant representative Boniface Kalanda said the UN body has provided support for the census since 2003.
The preparatory work where it spent the money on include the re-demarcation of enumeration area, provision of data processing equipment and pro-testing the census questionnaire, capacity building of officials.
“UNFPA is very much interested in the census because the exercise provides statistics to enable planners, policy makers, donors, private sector, academicians and others make correct decisions,” he said.