Horrendous scenes of national census enumerators being verbally abused, specifically at commercial farms in the country, have no place in a free and fair Namibia. 

These hard-working young men and women are only doing the jobs they have been assigned  - to gather accurate data on the Namibian population for the country’s decision-makers to be able to formulate effective targeted intervention policies. 

Accurate census data is valuable and essential for a wide range of national interests, including economic development, transportation, healthcare, education and business planning and overall decision-making. Government agencies use census data to inform their planning, enforcement and policy directions.

The sole purpose of a census, being conducted by the Namibia Statistics Agency, is to produce accurate results and to take every member of the country’s population into account when authorities make decisions. 

As such, the national census is a crucial exercise for the entire country, meaning all citizens should embrace it. This message needs to be spread by all stakeholders, including traditional authorities, and churches. These entities need to inform their subjects and congregants about the importance of this national endeavour. 

A census provides a rich set of data that businesspersons and industrial policy
makers can use to ensure effective economic development and planning. For example, the construction sector, housing development, finance institutions and manufacturers of construction and building materials and equipment can use census information to make realistic projections of housing demand due to such a rich set of data. 

This is because the census provides reliable data that enables good decision-making and business planning. The location of businesses and services that satisfy the needs of the populace are influenced by indications of population sizes and characteristics emanating from the census. 

In addition, from a policy-making perspective, having a national population census enables the development of economic censuses such as enterprise census, agriculture and industrial or manufacturing census.

The current ongoing census has been running from 18 September throughout the entire country and in all 121 constituencies. 

A census has four main features which include a specific reference date, a specific boundary, timeline, and singular counting. The idea of a reference night is simply to refer to data collected on a specific control date – in this case, 24 September 2023 – which means this was the overall situation in the country. 

The specific boundary means a census must be confined to a certain territory. In the Namibian case, the census is confined to the natural borders of the country and everybody in the territory, as per the reference date, must and will be counted, irrespective of nationality, creed, or any other characteristics. 

The timeline of the census means it must take place every 10 years and it is imperative to note that everyone must be counted, but only once. Thus, the reference date ensures people are counted where they slept so that there is no duplication. 

According to NSA executives the census has been quite successful so far. Enumerators were trained and dispatched to various constituencies, where they were recruited. 

Enumerators were recruited from all 121 constituencies with the purpose of ensuring opportunities are spread throughout the entire country. Socio-economic conditions necessitate those opportunities must be shared. 

A massive project such as the national census naturally also comes with challenges. So far, the most significant challenge involves certain individuals who refuse to be counted. 

The major reasons why people do not want to be counted include joblessness, lack of economic opportunities, not receiving all government services, and those who felt they were either not recruited in the census or given opportunities to provide their vehicles. 

Many of these reasons make sentimental sense, however, the NSA has reiterated that it is impossible to have recruited all applicants for job opportunities or to have taken in all vehicles that were made available. 

The NSA has also reminded all Namibians that it is against the law to refuse to be counted and enumerated. This refusal comes with a significant fine and even a potential jail sentence. However, the NSA is not of the view of always enforcing this law in such a manner but cautioned it would do so when challenged. 

In this regard, the NSA has urged all Namibians to comply by reserving a few minutes of their busy schedules to be enumerated and to ensure statistics data is properly collected.  The information gathered in the census is used for planning, monitoring, and guiding various decisions, for both public and private usage. So, even those who might not want to provide their personal data could benefit from this very data soon. 

Also, while some citizens have expressed concern about the nature of the questions asked, they should note it is important the census does not just count people but also counts and record the living conditions of all people in Namibia. 

This includes socio-economic information, as well as access to services. For example, enumerators want to know if the particular dwelling has access to water, electricity, sanitation and information and communication technology devices. 

This includes whether citizens have phones, televisions, radios, or other household appliances. Questions also revolve around employment particulars as it is important to understand if people are employed, where they work, what their income brackets are, and to understand the unemployment picture in the country. 

All data collected is confidential by law and is never divulged or associated with unauthorised identities. 

The NSA has also emphasised that safety remains critical and is a concern for all enumerators, and all households, to be counted in a safe manner. 

This is why the NSA has asked law enforcement agencies to assist in making the census safe and would-be criminals have been advised to desist from harassing enumerators, or to masquerade as enumerators to commit crimes. 

As Namibian citizens, it is our duty to fully participate in the national census that is conducted only once a decade.