01 Aug 2019

The Continuous Multi-Household Survey (CMTHS) launched July 31 will elevate Botswana to the level of countries that track national labour statistics, says Statistics Botswana’s Dr Burton Mguni.

Speaking during the launch, Dr Mguni, who is the organisation’s statistician general, said the survey was therefore an important milestone for the country.

He said the survey was important because until now, Statistics Botswana had only been conducting formal sector employment surveys which were not sufficient to produce national employment and unemployment statistics. 

The survey, Dr Mguni said, was a response to stakeholder needs to make timely policy interventions on labour and poverty interventions.

 He pointed out that there was now a general trend internationally towards monitoring poverty using multi-dimensional indicators on a  regular basis which necessitated the availability regularly.

That, he explained, demanded more work to provide data obtained through poverty predictors.

Dr Mguni said the objectives of the survey included provision of a comprehensive set of household level indicators for poverty and the labour market such as poverty incidence data and employment and unemployment level data.

He it would elevate labour statistics to the level of high frequency statistics such as Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and international merchandise trade statistics.

It would thus bring the country closer to achieving a higher International Monetary Fund (IMF) rating of Special Data Dissemination Standard from the current General Data Dissemination Standard, he said.

He explained that the core labour force modules of the CMTHS would produce labour force and economic activity indicators on a quarterly basis.

Other modules such as ICT, access and use, consumption and expenditures, stunting and malnutrition would be included to ensure the survey maintained its multidisciplinary dimensions.

“These modules and other selected Social Development Goal (SDG) indicator modules will be included on a rotational basis in different quarters depending on resource availability and stakeholder needs,” he said.

Dr Mguni further said poverty predictors would be covered on an annual basis while core poverty indicators would remain at five-year intervals.ENDS