By NCHIMUNYA MIYOBA
Minister of National Development Planning Alexander Chiteme has launched the 2020 census Mapping and listing roll out exercise for Eastern, Luapula, North Western and Western provinces.
And Mr Chiteme has disclosed that a transparent system was devised to spearhead the recruitment process to mobilize youths between 18 to 25 years to work as as MDCs in the respective districts.
Mr Chiteme said the mapping exercise will will demarcate the country into small manageable Enumeration areas that will ensure that all areas are covered and efficiently counted during the 2020 census.
Mr Chiteme emphasized that the mapping exercise will capture all infrastructure such as housing units, including vacant houses, nonresidential buildings, buildings under construction, schools and health facilities.
He noted that the government will employ people to work in areas where they live as this will make it easier for them to get information in familiar communities.
” Government is committed to hiring people in areas they live as they are familiar with the people, the language, culture and places within their communities. Those who meet the requirements will be short listed and aptitude tests administered in their respective districts,” he said.
Meanwhile Zambia Statistics Agency interim Statistician Mulenga Musepa disclosed that the agency needs about 45,000 tablets to be used for the 2020 census mapping and listing.
Mr Musepa said for the first time in the history of the census the agency will do away with using paper but instead will use tablets to collect information hence the need to have enough tablets.
He said the agency has only 15000 tablets currently to undertake the exercise and has since asked government to consider procuring more tablets for the exercise.
Speaking on the side lines Zambia Statistics Agency National Census Manager Frank Kakungu said a total o
Sf K713 million will be spent in the 2020 census with K100 million to be spent on the mapping exercise.
Mr Kakungu noted that K24 million has been spent so far including Lusaka province which has already been done adding that the census mapping activities will kick start in the five provinces namely Eastern, Luapula, Northwestern and the Copperbelt provinces.
