If executed with a state of the art statistical method and free of political motivation, the 2019 census is much more than a head count; it reflects an image of the country that determines how parliamentary seats are apportioned, and how the state and federal budgets are distributed. To do all that as it should be, the census needs to be accurate, politicians argue.
As enshrined in the constitution, conducting the 2019 census is inevitable and crucial to care deeply about the rights of citizens to be counted every ten years, that has to be operational in a way that earns public cooperation and respect, they stress.
Previously, Ethiopia conducted three national censuses which conunted the total population over 34 million in 1984, 53 million 1994 and 71 million in 2007 fiscal years.
Decided to be held in the upcoming April, the Fourth Housing and Population Census became a more controversial issue between and among various segments of the society.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, chairman of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Forum Medrek Prof. Beyene Petros says the desire for an accurate census makes sense, and the result needs to be an interesting move to hasten the premeditated consequences of political choices.
“The problem can be worse if the enumerators abuse the census process by passing over representation for one state and under representation for the other.”
Many people trace that college students are often over-counted, listed both in dorms and at their parents’ houses. But, the introduction of new digital tools will reduce extensive records and avoid any form of political motivation.
According to Prof. Beyene, conducting census is important to determine the number of constituency for voters across the country. It should be conducted by professionals and has to be restricted from the control of the politicians; as well as must be checked by unbiased inspectors, he suggests.
In this regard, Head of the Research Department with the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) Wasihun Tesfaye agrees with the importance of the census not only for undertaking political commitment but also for implementing other socioeconomic developments.
He also agrees that the census must not be guided for particular political interests. It needs a careful management system to be operational by professionals.
As there is relative peace in most parts of the country, now is the right time to conduct a national census, which was postponed two years ago due to the instability that flared up in some parts, Wasihun believes.
With regard to the schedule, Spokesperson of the National Movement for Amhara (NAMA) Christian Tadele argues opposes the idea of conducting the census at this unstable political situation, and argues that it would be better if it extends to some other time.
According to Christian, his party previously asked for an extension of the census even if the government is currently moving forward and ready for operations in the coming months.
Prof. Merara Gudina, Chairman of the Oromo People’s Congress, says for his part that conducting census is essential and mandatory to measure the density of the national demography; it requires government’s careful execution and vigilance of other participants.
Like in many countries, the issue of census cannot be out of political intervention; although the incumbent takes the responsibility to conduct the census by professionals supported with information communication technologies, the estimation result won’t be contentious, Prof. Merara sustains.
Regarding with the significance of the census, Christian also agrees with others saying that Demography is the issue of life and death for any country. And it has core place in the politics.
Christian also says it has more meaning for a country like Ethiopia that follows the federal system which determines budget distribution for individual states and their representation in the parliament based on respective totals.
Christian stresses that it is appropriate to conduct a census that must ensure unbiased proportional representation between and among states.
Quoting the affirmation of the previous parliament, Christian says that 2.5 million Amhara people had been lost during the previous census due to inaccurate and deliberate miscalculation.
If the same case happens in the fourth census, the states will not able to get appropriate budget to finance their development projects, he doubts.
As some parts of the country are now still in turmoil, it is suspicious to effectively conduct successful census operational across the country.
In this regard, Prof. Merara also highlights that the government will not get better time to conduct census using the relative peaceful and stable political environment. Despite it needs the intervention of third party, it should not be sources of conflict in the political arena, Prof. Merara adds.
On the other hand, Wasihun worries about that the issue of conducting census in some parts of the country where there is public unrest falls in question. It might need the intervention of the federal government to make the area more peaceful during the time of survey.
Like Christian, Wasihun also suspicious of the administrator of the census that might be engaged in misinterpreting the survey data for hidden political purposes. Because, it was obvious that the previous census was controversial, even among the members of the house of peoples representative.
Then, “the incumbent must focus on curing such kind of unprincipled acts, and must re-establish the organization in the way it develops trust among the people. Apart from being neutral from any form of political sides, the enumerators need to have the required skills and knowledge,” Wasihun stresses.
According to the politicians, all segments of the society must play their part in supporting the professionals giving appropriate responses and keeping their environment safe and stable so as to make the census effective.
The politicians spoke of fairness, improve census accuracy, and must not collide with partisan interests. As many agreed, the steering committee would hopefully execute the census, evaluate its work, and then decide whether it needs adjustment if inaccuracies perhaps observed during the raw count.
Apart from developing sufficient experience over the last three censuses, the CSA has recently confirmed that the census process is now supported by the state-of-the-art technologies and skilled professionals.
The Ethiopian Herald March 9/2019
BY ZELALEM GIRMA
