Govt airlifts 100 additional census enumerators to Garissa County
The government has airlifted 100 census enumerators to Mbalambala area in Garissa County in compliance with a court order.
According to Police Spokesperson Charles Owino, there are people who went to court and the court gave a directive that 60 more census enumerators be added into Mbalambala area.
But the government, he said, had decided to almost double the number and has flown the additional 100 enumerators in efforts to achieve 100 percent enumeration of Kenyans.
Quizzed on what measures the government will take if there arises a court battle over the census exercise and figures, Owino said, “We are a well-established country with a very good judicial system and the government has the Attorney General (AG) and the Solicitor General to handle court issues and if legal issues arise they will be handled according to law.”
Giving an update of the census exercise on Thursday at the government media centre, Owino said they had put in much more effort to ensure that the exercise which is now less than 48 hours away from completion was concluded safely.
BOAT CAPSIZES
“We are now on the homestretch and in our place they say the boat capsizes at the shore and we do not want it to capsize,” said Owino.
Kenya National Bureau of Statics (KNBS) Director General Zachary Mwangi while highlighting the importance of the census exercise said Kenya was one of the few African countries that had held census every 10 years since independence.
“In this area, Kenya is also unique in that the census is fully financed through taxpayer’s money, which underscores the importance that the Government should accord to this national exercise,” said Mwangi.
Mwangi explained that for the Government, census data is the most crucial ingredient for facilitating evidence-based planning processes.
“Given that the data is being collected from the lowest administrative level, it will help the country to ensure that no one is left behind as we progress in the middle income status in line with Vision 2030, the Big Four Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.