KAGERA Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Albert Chalamila has hailed the government for providing five vehicles to be used in the ongoing Population and Housing Census (PHC) which kicked off countrywide on Tuesday.
Speaking during the handing over of the vehicles to the District Executive Directors (DEDs), he cautioned that the vehicles should be used for the intended purposes.
“The data collected through the census will enable the government to provide requisite social services such as education, health and water and address challenges facing some sections of the population such as people with disabilities,” he said.
Elaborating, he said population censuses are conducted to enable the country to know the number of its people and use the data for various development plans. Just like the previous census, which is conducted after every ten years, the aim of the 2022 PHC is to provide a clearer snapshot of the country’s demographics and living conditions.
Mr Chalamila expressed satisfaction on the progress of the exercise thus appealing to all the residents to give support to the census clerks and provide the right answers.
“I ask people to remain calm. Do not panic because everyone will be reached. If you do not get counted today, you will be counted in the remaining days before the end of the exercise,” he said.
Equally, he urged them to continue according their cooperation to personnel collecting information without fear. The results of this survey are crucial for the government to plan development for its people.
“I take this opportunity to assure the public who will be reached by this data collection programme that the information collected will be kept strictly confidential and will be used for statistical purposes only,” he said.
According to data by the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), the Population and Housing Census (PHC) will cover 4,263 streets and 12,319 villages in addition to 3,956 wards and 64,384 hamlets across the country.
Censuses are among the most important sources of demographic and socio-economic data in the country for preparation, monitoring and evaluation of social and economic development policies and programmes such as Tanzania Development Vision 2025.
Likewise, census data with other information from administrative sources and surveys are of paramount importance in evaluating and monitoring international development programmes like Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 and Africa Agenda of 2063.
