31 Mar 2022

The 2022 Population and Housing Census exercise will now end on April 4 following an extension of four days. 

A press release from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development says the extension is necessitated by logistical challenges that confronted the exercise during its commencement. 

“The extension will allow for completion of the exercise,” it says. 

The Ministry encourages cooperation from those that are yet to be counted and to also welcome enumerators into their homes during the extended data collection period. 

Meanwhile Thuso Kgakatsi reporting from Moshupa says the sub-district’s Deputy District Commissioner Mr Thabang Waloka warned, when briefing the District Population and Housing Committee Wednesday, that people who refused to cooperate with enumerators would face the full might of the law. 

He said the aim was not to convict anyone but to ensure a successful census process. 

He quoted Section 49, sub-section 6 of the Statistics Act which stipulates that any person who refuses or neglects to fill and supply particulars required or to answer any questions or inquiries put to him under the act shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding P10 000 or to a term not exceeding one year, or both. 

Briefing the committee, Population Census Sub-district Coordinator, Mr Tshepo Kgotso shared that currently, the process was almost halfway complete. 

He indicated that most of the work had been done in smaller settlements. 

“Currently Moshupa is at 40 per cent completion and because of its vastness, it may take time to complete,” he said. 

Mr Kgotso cited shortage of transport and poor road conditions, which he said affected their pace in carrying out the exercise. 

“We are experiencing more cases of revisits as our work schedule corresponds with that of our respondents, rendering them unavailable at the times when our enumerators are on duty,” he said. 

He said they had since advised enumerators to work beyond their stipulated times so as to be able to attend to such cases, adding that the counting was also made slower in dwellings where there were more households. 

Mr Kgotso added that network challenges also affected their work, especially in cattle posts as it became difficult to process data since the whole process was done electronically.  Ends