Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli has emphasised the importance of the work done by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) in aiding government to plan and deliver services to citizens.
“The data you produce enables the government to see where schools, clinics and essential services are needed, where resources must be redirected, where progress is being made and where it is not,” Mhlauli said.
Speaking on the occasion of Celebrating the Stata SA Census 30th Anniversary in South Africa, Mhlauli said the team made evidence-based planning not just possible, but credible.
Credibility, in our constitutional democracy, is the precondition for everything,” she said.
Mhlauli said Statistics South Africa cannot count a single person who does not open the door.
“Every number in every census, every finding in every household survey, begins with an ordinary person who said yes. Who let a fieldworker into their home. Who answered questions about how many people lived there, what work they did, whether they had access to water, whether their children were in school, and whether they had lost someone in the past year,” she said.
The Deputy Minister said that by participating in the census, households invest in their community's future.
“Not everyone realises this when the enumerator knocks. And that is one of our most significant ongoing challenges.
“Across the world, census participation is becoming harder. People are busier and more mobile. A significant number of people live in gated estates, secure complexes and high-rise buildings that are difficult to access.
“Some are anxious about privacy, about who will see their information and how it will be used. Others are skeptical that responding will change anything in their lives. In some communities, legitimate frustration with service delivery turns into hostility towards any official who arrives at the door.”
She said that public trust must be earned continuously.
“The lesson is clear: public trust must be earned continuously, not only in the census year. It requires transparency. It requires communication in all our official languages and through channels that people use. It requires partnership with traditional leaders, faith communities, councilors, residents' associations and community development workers,” she explained.
Mhlauli said after a census is conducted, communities must be shown what was done with their information and how it enabled decisions.
Census 2022 was conducted in February 2022 and was the fourth population and housing count in post-apartheid South Africa, with the first conducted in 1996, with subsequent censuses being conducted in 2001 and 2011.
A census provides comprehensive data on population size, demographic trends, and other service delivery-related information.
Act of citizenship
She thanked all who opened their doors over the past 30 years for a census, a General Household Survey, an Income and Expenditure Survey or any instrument through which the country learns about itself on behalf of government.
“Your participation was an act of citizenship. It was more significant than you may have realised,” she said.
Calling on South Africans to continue participating in future data collection exercises, she urged residents to cooperate when Census 2031 gets underway.
“And when that enumerator comes - or when the invitation arrives to complete the census online - I ask each and every South African: open the door. Take part. Your answers are not merely data. They are your voice in the planning of your country's future.”
The Deputy Minister concluded by thanking Statistics South Africa employees for their dedication, saying their work has helped shape government planning, budget allocations and service delivery improvements throughout the democratic era.
Stats SA is mandated to collect, process, analyse, and disseminate official statistics for South Africa. It publishes key indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), employment, household surveys, census results, and provincial financial statistics. – SAnews.gov.za
