Reconsider approach

THE Department of National Planning and Monitoring, through its agent National Statistics Office (NSO), need to redirect its current data collection approach that seems to be expensive and is costing the government too much – especially funding teams to carry out enumeration exercise nationwide.
There is no logic to spend millions of kina by sending teams to carry out national housing and population census or similar exercises.
The department simply need to allocate some responsibilities down to ward level.
We have an established third tier level of government system that can accurately and collectively bind those primary information and feed the national government for planning purposes.
Where does the national government get information and do planning? Was it from Waigani down or ward level up? Ward councillors and village recorders are the ones who poses local knowledge and they knew their surroundings better than anyone.
My view is not to destabilise NSOs role. Find a new approach to save cost and use people on the ground to collect reliable and accurate data and feed NSO for the government to plan upon.

Hanam Bill Sandu,
Lae