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Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
THE Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) has said preliminary work in preparation for the upcoming Population and Housing census is at an advanced stage and Zimbabweans are ready to be counted.

In an effort to reach out to every citizen in all parts of the country, Zimstat has been embarking on roadshows and courtesy visits to traditional leaders to spread awareness about the census to be held from April 21 to April 30.

The country conducted its first population census in 1982 and in the years that followed in 1992, 2002 and 2012 respectively.

In an interview after a roadshow in Gwanda last Friday, Zimstat public relations officer Mr Roland Chiringa said the response to awareness campaigns had been positive across all provinces in the country.

“We’ve been going around all provinces and the reception has been phenomenal so far. We have been targeting people with little or no access through these sensitisation meetings and roadshows. We have met chiefs and continue to do so in other provinces to make sure that the word reaches everyone in the country. Going by the results and the responses we’ve been getting, I’m positive that Zimbabwe is ready to be counted,” said Mr Chiringa.

He said enumerators have been recruited to work in their home areas where they’re familiar with the people and surroundings.

“There are however a few technical things that we’re working on because this particular census is incorporating housing which was not included in the previous censuses.

There are certain areas in our country that have little or no reception or even media access hence we embarked on engaging the chiefs and local leadership. We still trust the traditional means of communication so through our chiefs, we’re getting down to the villager and they’re getting the message using traditional means of communication.

I’m sure by the time we go for enumeration on April 21, people will be prepared. We’ve engaged people to do the enumeration in their communities.

The people that are going to do the enumeration are familiar with their surroundings and the communities they’re going to be working with. We’ve also hired all-terrain vehicles to offer support to the enumerators who will be enumerating in the hard to reach areas,” said Mr Chiringa.

He said provisions have been made to ensure everyone is counted including people from isolated areas such as the Khoi San communities.

“We’re working with local leadership to make sure everyone is counted. Planning for this census started in 2019 and we’ve been working with stakeholders coming from the disability groups. It’s an inclusive programme that has taken on board all stakeholders. We worked on the questionnaire itself and how it can be interpreted using sign language and brail for those who have difficulties seeing.

We have people that are trained to administer questionnaires to these special groups of people,” said Mr Chiringa.

Speaking during a courtesy call by Zimstat staffers at his homestead in the Mzimuni area, Chief Masuku of Gwanda said the census was an important exercise which is essential for the country’s planning.

“If we fail to plan then we plan to fail. We have been spreading the word about the census in my area and we will continue to do so until census night. It’s important to make sure that everyone is counted and that they participate in the census so that its objectives are met,” said Chief Masuku. – @Yolisswa