People need to feel safe when giving info: NSO

By MARTHA DERUAGE
People in remote areas feel insecure when giving information to officers, according to the National Statistical Office.
Head of economic statistics division Tony Waisa said people in the remote areas did not cooperate well in giving information.
“They are afraid to give their information, maybe because they do not understand the purpose of our work,” he said.
Waisa said collecting data was important because it would be used by Government to provide services to those areas.
He said the attitude of people made it difficult for field officers to collect basic information.
“This information is important,” Waisa said,
“If we do not carry out this data collection, how will the government provide services for these people?
“Statistically, there must be evidence before the Government bring services to those areas.”
Waise said other challenges included geographical location, lack of human resources and lack of equipment.
Ten NSO officers will be in Australian this month for a week-long training programme on data analysis and report writing thanks to the partnership of Australian Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Acting deputy Statistician Henao Kari said this programme was a first and it was very important and would be useful for statistical officers to improve their work.
“We need capacity building in the field of statistic for planning and policy making,” Kari said.