–Finance Minister says
SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, on Tuesday, said that the preliminary report on the 2022 national population census is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2024.

He made this disclosure during the 70th sitting of the 12th parliament, in response to questions posed by opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson.
Dr Singh said that the latest information available from the Bureau of Statistics is that they should have the preliminary report by the second quarter of 2024. The bureau will then require an additional four to six months for the preparation of the publication of the data.

“We would like the census exercise to be completed as quickly as possible, but we would also like it to be completed without the compromise of its rigour and comprehensiveness,” Minister Singh said.

The minister was also asked whether provisions were being made for persons who were not at home at the time census activities were being conducted.
In response, Dr Singh said the census requires one responsible adult in the home to be available to answer for the entire household.

He added that where no one is present in the household upon the time of the initial visit, the enumerator will make two return visits to the home, and if they are still unable to make contact, they are required to leave a call back card to inform the household of the visit and the date and time of the next visit.

Further, subsequent visits are made and the area supervisor also makes visits to those homes.
Against this backdrop, Dr Singh said that there are indeed households that are yet to be enumerated, so the Bureau of Statistics has provided an online portal for persons who might not have been counted to indicate same and they will be counted.

Meanwhile, he said that the bureau is working diligently, and the government is ensuring that there is maximum coverage in the census and that they minimise and eliminate instances of non-coverage.