SYDNEY SAIZE IN CHIPINGE
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has embarked on a countrywide field mapping and household counting exercise in preparation for a population census next year.
The exercise also set the base for delimitation exercise of electoral constituencies by the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC).
ZimStat director general Taguma Mahonde (pictured) told Business Times on the sidelines of a field mapping exercise at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Chipinge last week that the exercise whose aim is to capture every individual in Zimbabwe will run until next year in all the country’s districts.
“We are embarking on this exercise to count every person in Zimbabwe between now and April 22, 2022.
“This is irrespective of them being eligible to vote or not. We want to ensure and be certain that everyone has been counted, and that no one has been counted twice so that we are sure that the total figure we shall have is accurate and this will assist in other policy formulation issues,” Mahonde said.
He said the government has set aside US$98m for the entire exercise, a figure that increased from US$87m owing to the prolonged length caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.
“The government and other development partners that have always been involved in such programmes are working together to ensure this exercise is a success.
“We are set to meet them for a penultimate meeting to get their thoughts on what they can assist the government with but ultimately this is a government programme,” Mahonde said.
Tongogara Refugee Camp manager Johane Mhlanga said the bulk of the refugees were from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC followed by Mozambique.
“We have 15 134 foreigners here comprising those from, the DRC, Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Mali, Ivory Coast, Eritrea among others.
“These people and families would be fleeing from political disturbances as well as religious beliefs. They have seen Zimbabwe as a safe haven as we are a peaceful country where they can settle well,” Mhlanga said.
Mhlanga said the ZimStat mapping exercise at the Camp is in line with the government pledge to include those who sought refuge status or asylum in national development processes.
The field mapping exercise involves the subdivision of the country into small census geographic units called Enumeration Areas (EAs) on the basis of Zimbabwe’s administrative divisions and to produce EA sketch maps with identifiable boundaries and unique codes.
The field mapping starts at least two years prior to the population and housing census enumeration.
A population and housing census is undertaken in terms of the Census and Statistics Act (Chapter 10:29, November 2007) and can be divided into three phases, that is the pre-enumeration, enumeration, and the post-enumeration phases.
The 2022 population and housing census field mapping exercise is unique in that the household listing is being carried out using tablets (CAPI- Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) instead of paper which was used over the years and the data collected is sent to the central server for use.
