Census results out soon

Results of the population census that took place recently will only be released at the end of the year as the statistical office, Zimstat, is still processing the data, Population Census Director, Washington Mapeta has said.

The delay is likely to affect government and other stakeholders in planning future budgets. The enumeration exercise took place in August and Mapeta insisted that they were not lagging behind.

“We are still within the stipulated time frame as we are only required to produce the results before the end of the year. We need time to verify and quantify the data which is something that cannot happen overnight.

“We have cases where families were counted twice, so those are some of the issues we are dealing with,” he said.

He added that accuracy was important as the results would enable education programmes, healthcare services, housing and community development to be factored in the budget.

“Some individuals have already started visiting our offices saying they require the results to plan and budget but they should hold on because the results will soon be available,” he said.

However, some analysts are of the opinion that census results will trigger a number of issues – including vote rigging in previous elections.

This year’s census was initially marred by disturbances when thousands of prospective enumerators wishing to take part in the process, among them soldiers, turned up at various centers countrywide. Late disbursement of materials and transport shortages also affected the deployment of officers to remote areas.

The United Nations Population Fund released $12 million for the exercise while the government came up with $8 million for payment of the enumerators.

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