The Director General of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ms Albina Chuwa, told the Parliamentary Committee for Finance and Economy yesterday that the funds would come from the government and its development partners.
To start with, she said the NBS plans to initiate a one-stop centre where all national statistics and data would be stored for easy access. Ms Chuwa was briefing the legislators on various NBS activities and plans ahead of 2012 national population and housing census, most of whom wanted to be appraised of any experiences from the 2002 census.
She pointed out that the pilot project for the statistic master plan would include data from Dar es Salaam, Kagera, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Mjini Magharibi and Mbeya regions, both to be funded by the World Bank and the Census Commission of Africa.
Overall, the DG said the NBS was up against many challenges, the most serious being poor infrastructure at its head office in Dar es Salaam, where some 325m/- was spent on renovations from the 2007/08 budget and that another 500m/- would fund the next phase of renovations from the 2008/09 budget.
She added that the NBS was also short of transport facilities, but added that the government had since earmarked a billion shillings for the purchase of vehicles. Ms Chuwa also expressed concern over low salary packages at the NBS when gauged against emoluments of other civil servants.
That is a real threat to our institution … there is a possibility of losing our limited workforce that may leave for greener pastures elsewhere, she said, in response to calls by MPs who advised her institution to recruit more staff. The legislators also called on the NBS to conduct researches on current national hotspots such as inflation, HIV-AIDS and division of the national cake on the basis of gender.
Tanzanians need to know how the national cake is shared out according to gender and which part (between the Isles and the Mainland) of the country is benefiting more than the other … and why, said Ms Devota Likokola, (Special Seats MP — CCM). She added that the services of microfinance facilities were a far cry in the rural areas, despite various financial service providers including the Presidential Fund popularly known as the Kikwete Billion Kitty.’
She also urged the government to support it substantially instead of depending on foreign donors who may affect its operation if they refused to release funds or even slightly delay them.
You should co-operate with local non-governmental organizations and local government authorities to gather more statistics … especially in rural areas, she said Another MP suggested that the NBS should collect reliable data on the remaining population of Albinos in the face of their recent killings – and tell the public about the loss likely to face Tanzania. – Daily News