ZIMSTATS, formerly Central Statistic Office (CSO), has been heavily criticised by various sectors of the economy for failing to give accurate figures that assist in the development of the countrys economy. Finance Minister Tendai Biti recently announced that there was need for a total overhaul of the department as it was critical to the development of the country.
ZIMSTATS acting Director General Moffat Nyoni said: “We need resources which will be utilised for the next five years. We need close to US$116 million to successfully fulfil our mandate but we need to transform our operations first”. Nyoni said the next years census was scheduled for August and there was need to mobilise resources to conduct various surveys. A local economist Jabulani Ndlovu said money should be invested to capacitate ZIMSTATS to fulfil its mandate and restore public confidence by transforming it into a viable source of data.
“A number of companies closed down and 90 per cent of the population is unemployed so there is need for ZIMSTATS to collect such data to help the government in economic and investment planning,” said Ndlovu. ZIMSTATS is currently carrying out the diaspora census to ascertain the number of Zimbabweans living outside the country. “We are also undertaking surveys to determine agricultural and industrial productivity levels,” said Nyoni.
Post published in: News