GRAND KRU COUNTY — Grand Kru County Senior Senator and President Pro Tempore of the Liberian Senate-Senator Albert Tugbeh Chie has called on the Citizens of Grand Kru County to make themselves available to be counted in the County during the pending 2021 national census.
According to a Statement issued by the Press and Public Affairs at the Liberian Senate, says ahead of the Census, on a vigorous tour of various cities, towns, and villages Pro-Temp Chie told his fellow kinsmen that in order for Grand Kru to reap the dividends of development, there is a need to make themselves available during the conduct of the census. He said, there has been major population growth in the County, but that can only be captured in the national data when citizens and residents of the county take advantage of the upcoming numeration exercise. “ There will be census this year, you have to turn out to be counted, everyone is talking about road, yes we can have more money coming to the County if we do the census, based on the number we can have more funds allocated in the National budget for development in our county” Pro-Temp Chie noted.
Grand Kru and River Cess are the two Counties in Liberia with only two Political Districts due to low population.
Liberia’s next round of National Population and Housing Census which is likely to reveal the country’s constantly growing population, is set for March 2021 and it is expected to be the fifth in Liberia’s 173–year history. The first four modern censuses were conducted in 1962, 1974, 1984 and 2008, and have revealed how the population has increased differently beginning at 1.1 million, 1.5, 2.1 and 3.5 million, respectively.
As Pro Temp Chie advised, during the conduct of previous national Census, Citizens in Grand Kru and other leeward counties often take interest in their farming and boycott the exercises, but for the pending census, he is pleading with them to take serious interest in the process so that the representation at the Legislature can be increased and development can flourish therein
The statement quoting the Senate Press Department further noted that Sen. Chie also called on other Citizens and the Nimba Community in Grand Kru to ensure that they remain in the County and be counted, because they are equally part of Grand Kru.
The current census, which was postponed, is in violation of the Constitution, which mandates in Article 39: “The Legislature shall cause a census of the Republic to be undertaken every ten years,”. According to the entity responsible for the Census, the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), this year’s Census is expected to be the first census to use digital technology at all phases of preparation, geographic planning, census-taking, data management, processing, tabulation, publication, archiving and dissemination.