By:Josefina Lukas
People who will be outside Namibia on 24 September2023, would not be counted as part of the country’s population, said the Statistician-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), Alex Shimuafeni.
The NSA provided an update on the impending 2023 Population and Housing Census on Tuesday.
Namibia’s census started on 18 September and will continue until 3 November 2023.
“Everybody who finds themselves outside of Namibia on 24 September 2023 will not be counted as part of the population,” Shimuafeni said.
He stated that every individual located inside the borders of Namibia on 24 September 2023, known as the Census Reference Night (CRN), regardless of nationality, age or socioeconomic standing, will be tallied.
This will include newborn newborns, the elderly, and all persons, whether Namibians or non-Namibians.
The CRN is set to run from 12 a.m. until 6 a.m.
According to the Statistician-General, census enumerators began moving to all corners of the country on Monday to start with the systematic acquiring, recording and calculating of population information.
“It is important to understand that the census does not only count people, but also enumerates the housing and living conditions of people in Namibia,” he said.
Shimuafeni said statistics on the nation’s workforce will be collected during the census.
This is to better understand many parts of the nation’s economy, such as employment and unemployment rates, and that it aims to determine which industries individuals work in, questions about commercial companies, and a variety of other labour market statistics.
He stated that the NSA had made arrangements with Namibian police regarding safety.
“Safety for our enumerators, safety for households and safety for all Namibians during the census period is mandatory and we would like to advise those that have criminal intentions to desist from such practices as they would face the full wrath of the law,” he stressed.
Shimuafeni further added that three toll-free lines for reporting any illegal activity done during the census will be made available soon.
He advised that it is a criminal under the Statistics Act to refuse to submit information to census enumerators without reasonable cause.
“The information is by law confidential, anonymised and encrypted. This is done to ensure that confidential information remains confidential, therefore, make sure to play your part and be counted,”the Statistician-Generalentreated.
Deputy Inspector General of the Namibian Police Force (Nampol), Elias Mutota, noted at the same occasion that the law enforcement officer are required to ensure safety and security as well as maintain law and order during the census period.
In this regard, Mutota urged the people to collaborate and provide the census enumerators with the required help during this time.
“Many people become victims of criminal activities as a result of some criminals who impersonate or pretend to be census enumerators or police officers. This is a period where many people are vulnerable to becoming victims of criminal activities,,” Mutota cautioned.
He said the Nampol, in collaboration with other partners, will conduct vigorous police operations throughout the country.
“Therefore, we as citizens must protect our properties, be vigilant and always scan the environment around us in whatever we do,”he advised.
Mutota also asked citizens to report any suspicious activity to the local police station, while sternly instructing criminals not to take any chances during this period.