By Abass Jalloh
In a reaction to the censuses of 2015 and 2021, the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) has urged Statistics Sierra Leone to take urgent steps to regain citizens’ confidence in the results.
The report from IGR states that over the last seven years, Sierra Leone spent a little over twenty million dollars ($ 20,000,000) on the population censuses of the APC-led administration in 2015 and the ruling SLPP in 2021.
“It is disappointing that a country with such an acute shortage of reliable statistics can spend over $20m on two censuses within seven years only to end up in boycotts and controversies over results, and sadly, with no one to be held accountable,” IGR states.
The report said Stats Sierra Leone should provide an estimate of the effect of the opposition boycott on the census coverage and similar feedback “to allay the fears of citizens who say their homes were not visited.”
Since 2015, political actors have failed to see the importance of a census beyond the allocation of constituencies and amassing votes at the expense of laying a solid basis for planning, according to the report.
The institution also suggested that there are clear roles for Stats SL, political parties, CSOs, and development partners in helping to depoliticize the census and promoting a “more constructive” conversation on the way forward.
They recommended that given the controversies around Freetown figures, a detailed study be made to understand the changes in population dynamics in the capital.
The 2015 census was conducted amidst controversy, it stated. IGR and other CSOs monitoring the process raised questions regarding the accuracy of the cartographic mapping process, the enumeration coverage, and the lack of inclusivity in the process. These claims were confirmed by Stats SL in 2020 after the change of the administration that conducted the census.
In addition to the boycott, IGR highlighted that there were also technical difficulties with the process. “Some households, especially in Freetown, complained that they were not visited. Stats SL extended the enumeration period by two weeks, established a toll-free line for the public to call and be counted, and re-assigned some trained enumerators who had completed their work in districts in the South and East to support household counts in Freetown,” according to IGR.
In comparing the census results of 2021 and 2015 for each district for the variances, the report of the IGR shows six out of the 16 districts that have the same share of the national population in both censuses.
IGR believes that there should be less contention on districts such as Kailahun (7%), Karene (4%), Kambia (5%), Koinadugu (3%), Port Loko (7%), and Tonkolili (7%). Freetown lost almost half of its population, while Western Rural saw the most significant increase, followed by Bo district.
IGR added that according to the Statistician-General, his office could not account for 59% of the total enumeration areas covered in 2015, and most completed hard copies of the questionnaires were no longer in the archives. The institution stated the implication of this is that 59% of the 2015 census can neither be audited nor used to compare figures of localities (town and villages) with previous or future censuses.
Speaking at a press conference hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communications yesterday 9th June 2022, the Statistician-General, Professor Mallam O. Sankoh assured that they went through the process, having conducted the Pilot Census which he claimed was effective before they went to the enumeration.
Prof. Sankoh said they will stand by their figures. “What we want to assure you at Stats SL is that we have counted; we were given the tasks, and we went there, and we were not influenced by any kind of motivations. We have produced the result. We can assure you that what we produced, what we saw, what our enumerators had provided to us is what we have produced.”
He cited for example that if what they reported was 5 million for 2021, after 7 million was reported by the same institution in 2015, then Stats SL would have been thinking that something went wrong. “But we reported 7.5 million, five-six years down the line would give you the dynamics of, and that is expected,” he said.
He added that every enumerator who worked would be paid, adding that payments are still ongoing. He said the tablets that people might be holding on to have nothing to do with the information in the tablets.
Responding to the issue of those who did not work but are trying to receive payment, Prof. Sankoh said they are yet to confirm whether they actually went to the field.
The total national result of the Sierra Leone population based on the just concluded census is estimated at seven million, five hundred and forty-one thousand, six hundred and forty-one (7,541,641).
Claims of discrepancies in the census by opposition parties and organizations such as National Elections Watch have emerged ever since the provisional results were announced.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (10/06/22)
