National census needed for better planning

NO one can say safely today what the exact population of Papua New Guinea is.
There are estimates but we will not know until a national census is conducted.
The next one is scheduled for 2020.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill raised this important point when he opened the 10th Parliament in August last year. He stressed the need to reestablish the National Data Collection Centre to tell us how many citizens there are “so that we can plan better, and develop policies even better. Accurate population data is key to proper public policy planning and monitoring”.
When the general election was conducted last year, the Electoral Commission could only estimate the total number of voters which resulted in many people not being able to vote.
Government planners rely on such vital data to accurately map our way forward.
National Planning and Monitoring Minister Richard Maru recently appointed Michael Kumung as the acting National Statistician. He is expected to lead the preparation and conduct of the 2020 national census. Kumung’s background in development statistics will be needed to manage this important project.
The last attempt to conduct a national census was in 2010. It failed. The 2012 general election, like the 2017 one, was conducted with no one having any clue about the exact population, apart from the number of eligible voters.
The National Identification (NID) Project failed to produce the vital information everyone wanted to know. So was the Health Demographic Survey which has been pending for three years now.
We now have been told by the Finance Department that the National Statistical Office overspent its account by more than K24 million in 2016 and 2017. One can safely conclude that there are some management problems at that office which need to be sorted out before the 2020 national census is conducted – successfully.
All eyes are now on Kumung to deliver.
He has the qualification and experience to carry out the task required of that office so that we can be told the exact population of this nation before we return to the polling booths in 2022.
Preparation work takes about three years for the census. It is just over a year to go before 2020.
Northern Governor Gary Juffa, one of the staunchest critics of the Government, had thanked O’Neill for biting the bullet and admitting that no one knew the exact population of the country.
Everything hinges on how successfully, effectively and efficiently the 2020 national census will be conducted. The data provided will help the national planners work out the national budget, development programmes and sector allocations.
They have not been able to do that for at least a decade now and no one should blame them for that. But they cannot be expected to continue pulling figures out of the air or making estimates all along. It is risky and unprofessional to say the least.
The planners and the nation are looking to Kumung and his team to do a complete and thorough job of the next census in about 14 months’ time.
It is a vital piece of information which we all deserve to know about.
The country’s future depends on it.