Census: How to ensure you are counted as deadline looms

By CLAIRE WASILWA
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Have you been counted yet? If not, there is no need to worry.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has provided guidelines to be followed in case your household will not have been counted by August 31.

According to a notice published in the dailies on Friday, these are the steps to take: 

• Recall your memory for where you were on the night of August 24, 2019.
• Check if the enumerators have left a Call Back Card, slipped under your door. The card contains the enumerators’ phone numbers and other relevant information. Use the card to book an appointment with the enumerator so that they can come to your house.
• Call the toll free number, 0800221020 and give your location and sub-location.
• Contact the chief or sub-chief of your area.

Kenyans are also urged to be vigilant and report any cases of criminal activity to the Census Toll Free contact.

The regular police emergency lines 999, 112, 911 can also be used.

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STATUS

So far the census has been smooth with a large percentage of Kenyans enumerated.

“The progress so far is encouraging, and we are confident that the count will have registered universal coverage by Saturday, 31st August 2019,” KNBS states in a statement.

However, there have been reports of cases where heads of households have been hostile to enumerators or refused to be counted.

KNBS says this is an offence contrary to the provisions of the Statistics Act, 2006.

If convicted, the law provides for a jail term of six months or a fine of Sh500,000 or both.

A number of people who have run afoul of the law and are facing charges in court. Sixteen such cases have been filed so far.

OFFENCES

On Tuesday, three chiefs based in northern Kenya, a policeman and an enumerator were arrested on suspicion of inflating the population.

Elsewhere, 35 people were arrested for obstructing enumerators’ work.

Several cases of enumerators being chased away or attacked have been reported in Kisumu, Kiambu, Nairobi and Isiolo.

“Regrettably, some of our personnel are not treated well, yet they are our sons and daughters doing a national service and earning an honest living. Please treat them with dignity,” Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna said.

Fights have also broken out over boundaries in some areas like Baringo where residents, afraid that their constituency might be merged with another because of their low numbers, have refused to be counted.

In Makueni some residents have declined to have their data taken because the enumerators come from the neighbouring Machakos county.

PLANNING

The sixth national census since independence started on the night of August 24 and is expected to be concluded on August 31.

It is the first time for Kenya to count its people using digital gadgets with over 165,000 tablets in use.

The survey — carried out by the KNBS — involves 138,572 enumerators, 22,268 content supervisors and 2,467 ICT supervisors.

The data obtained will be used in guiding the government in planning, resource sharing and location of important public amenities.

Planners will use the information on the number of people to forecast the demand for schools, hospitals and administrative offices among others, for the next 10 years.