The government of Zimbabwe has announced plans to conduct economic and agriculture censuses as well as revive one for the transport sector which was last done nearly 30 years ago.
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) made the announcement and said they are also in the process of producing quarterly unemployment reports which the country is not providing at the moment. According to Zimstat director general Mr Taguma Mahonde, the census move aims to provide important data needed to assist Government as it directs development towards achieving Vision 2030. It will revive and reintroduce some surveys that will improve policy making.
“Statistical information is critical as the country works towards attainment of an upper middle-income economy by 2030. There are many other surveys that had gone dormant that we are reviving. We have a census for the transport sector which was last done in 1992 or so. We want to revive that. We have the economic and agriculture censuses which we are planning to conduct for the first time. The transport sector survey can also assist the country in fighting global warming through understanding the level of pollution caused by vehicles,” said Mahonde.
Quarterly GDP reports
“There are some interesting things that are coming up. We have never produced quarterly GDP reports ever since the formation of the Central Statistical Office. So, we are working on quarterly statistics and very soon we will be producing them. We have never done quarterly unemployment figures, others are doing that and right now we are in the process of doing quarterly labour force surveys. This is why I’m saying there are a lot of issues, some of them were not being done, some of them had gone dormant but we want to revive and introduce these surveys so that policy makers are given the right statistics to guide decision making,” he added.
Zimbabwe Farmers Union president Mr Abdul Nyathi said a census of the agriculture sector will provide vital information to farmers.
“The census will guide farmers on what to produce and the quantities needed. It will also help farmers in addressing some of the shortcomings that we are experiencing. It will ensure that when farmers present their issues, especially challenges they are facing, many people will support them because they will be having the correct information,” said Mr Nyathi.
