Congo Town – President George Manneh Weah said a national census is key to developing timely, relevant, sufficient and reliable data-sets to help support development efforts in Liberia.
Speaking at the launch of the National Population Housing Census last President Weah noted that cnsus information has a direct impact on service delivery for citizens at the grassroots level, adding that statistics are important for planning and implementing development programs.
“A census is usually the largest peacetime undertaking of a government. Because it is very involving and costly, a census is normally conducted only once every 10 years, but its products and tools could be used for over a decade,” President Weah said.
“If you cannot measure accurately then you will not be able to manage the fair distribution of resources and delivery of services.”
He said a national census is key to addressing poverty effectively, through targeted interventions that can be measured, while the people can be consulted about their own development.
President Weah believes it is crucial that the entire population be mobilized to come forward and be counted, so that the results of Census 2021 can be used as a tool to improve service delivery.
“After the Census, we will have accurate data for the formulation of policy as well as implementation, monitoring and evaluation,” President Weah averred.
He further sees the results from the census useful in providing government with a unique opportunity to realign development strategies, policies and programs.
In Liberia, the conduct of a census is guided by a constitutional provision that mandates the Executive Branch of Government to undertake the exercise.
However, President Weah said since it is not every government that could conduct a census, it is incumbent upon his legacy to do so.
In addition to such commitment to fulfilling this crucial constitutional requirement, he promised to ensure that development is equitable and in the public interest.
He further maintained that such “a huge national exercise” needs a considerable amount of technical, financial and logistical resources.
But President Weah was quick to note, that at this time of Liberia development drive with a pandemic looming large, Government cannot provide all the necessary inputs.
He therefore welcome help from development partners to ensure that such an endeavor from the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo Information Services is successful.
He said: “The United Nations Population Fund, as the lead international agency on population data and statistics, is organizing the Liberia Census Program in conjunction with LISGIS by providing technical, financial, logistical support to the process.”
“Through their instrumentality, the 2021 Liberian census will be the first all-electronic census to be done anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. The census operations will use computers, laptops, tablets, modems, satellite imagery and cloud computing.”
He in the meantime described the launch of the 2021National Population and Housing Census Project as a ‘key milestone’ that will enable government, through the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), to go to each and every household and count the people throughout Liberia.
This, according to Weah will enable government know the numbers making up Liberia’s population to include, women, men, children, young people and old people.
Also, according to him, it will identify their various localities, livelihood conditions, educated class and means of survivals.
In December 2018, President Weah constituted and inducted the Census Commissioners into office.
Prior to that time, the body had not met regularly for more than two years.
Shortly thereafter, in May 2019, government pledged US$3,000,000 (Three Million United States Dollars) towards the census budget and provided US$700,000.00 (Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) plus $US48,000,0000.00 (Forty-eight Million Liberian Dollars) as ‘seed money’ to set up a Census Basket Fund to be managed by United Nations Population Fund.
“In support of these efforts, we received further contributions to our Census Basket Fund from several of our international partners,” President Weah explained.
“The Government and People of Sweden, through their Embassy near Monrovia, was the first and remains the highest contributor to the census budget by making contribution of Seven Million Eight Hundred Thousand United States Dollars. (US$7.8 million).”
He disclosed that The World Bank, for its part, is contributing Six Million United States Dollars (US$6.0 million) to the census program and the Government and People of Ireland, through its Embassy near Monrovia, has donated Five Hundred Thousand Euros, (Euro 500 thousand) to the Census Basket Fund.
President Weah said ECOWAS Radio will also lend assistance to the census with advocacy and sensitization of the population.
President Weah has, meanwhile, expressed appreciation for the support government has received, and continue to receive, from all of its International Partners.
Weah, therefore, urges everyone to fully cooperate with this exercise, as it is for the general good, as LISGIS will embark on a massive public awareness exercise in order to educate the people on why a population census is necessary for the coming weeks.