Provincial officials prepare for census

Provincial coordinators are being trained in preparation for next year’s national housing and population Census, acting national statistician John Igitoi says.
Conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) outside Port Moresby, the week-long programme will end on Friday.
According to Igitoi, the training is aimed to equip coordinators on procedures and how the counting will be conducted.
He said the coordinators were expected to return to their respective provinces and disseminate information to districts and wards.
“The main idea is to have everyone on the same page so delivery of the census is effective,” he said.
Igitoi said some changes and procedures to be used should be firmly understood by those carrying out census.
“In doing so, they will be in a better position to ask the relevant questions or, more importantly, make the population understand what information is required by the government.”
NCD and the Morobe have two coordinators each, one responsible for the metropolitan area and the other for rest of the province.
The housing and population programme will be launched by Prime Minister James Marape on Aug 17 in Port Moresby.