Stats office workers attend workshop to prepare for census

THE management and staff of the National Statistical Office (NSO) attended a three-day workshop on procurement to prepare for the 2020 census.
The three-day workshop which ended yesterday was run by the Central Supply and Tenders Board (CSTB).
Chief Statistician Roko Koloma said that based on past experiences, procurement was a “very challenging task”.
He said the workshop was to educate and prepare his staff for the three main projects the office would undertake.
These projects are the survey of business activities this year, the household expenditure survey in 2019 and the census.
“It’s about ensuring that we do things properly,” Koloma said.
“There will be millions of kina invested in these projects.”
He said the office aimed to conduct its projects efficiently by procuring services through best practices.
Koloma said this would be through following the Finance Management Act and the CSTB process.
The board is responsible for government procurement.
CSTB compliance and audits principal coordinator Andrew Oa facilitated the workshop.
He said the workshop was to help the NSO staff to understand the general process in procurement.
Oa said understanding the procurement processes would help NSO seek funding and be transparent at the same time.