NAMIBIA’S statistician general Alex Shimuafeni says official statistics are valuable for informed policy and decision-making.
He was speaking at a high-level seminar, titled ‘Why Official Statistics’ on Monday, during which he said the compilation of statistics relies on high-quality and up-to-date data sources as the NSA (Namibia Statistics Agency) does not collect statistics “for ourselves, but for the users of statistics”.
He said after the government introduced austerity measures in 2016 to curb spending, the economy did not perform well until it was struck by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a result, most of the NSA surveys, such as the national household income and expenditure survey, the labour force survey, the agricultural surveys, and the census could also not be undertaken due to financial constraints,” Shimuafeni said.
He said the NSA started looking at alternate data sources, such as big data, administrative records (from the ministries of home affairs and of health), earth observations, mobile phone data, etc.
Salomo Hei, chairperson of the NSA board, said due to knowledge-based age, power had shifted from those who own physical resources to those who have intellectual capacity – to produce and manage data, knowledge and information.
“You would agree with me that statistical information is now a development issue, and not just a technical issue as it was earlier perceived,” he said.
He said official statistics follow internationally agreed fundamental principles that are meant to give a level of confidentiality, trust and reassurance to the users of statistics.
“Official statistics are therefore different from much other information provided at national and international level because of the agreed-upon fundamental principles that include aspects of statistics that need to be relevant, accurate and timely.
“Trust and confidentiality, as well as reassurance of statistics are crucial because data is a critical ingredient in decision-making and policy formulation.
“With better information one is empowered to make decisions that have a significant impact on a population instead of decisions that may not improve service delivery,” he said.
Among the fundamental principles is also the independence of official statistics which deals with key aspects of providing all users with neutral information.
When statistics are not considered neutral, or distributed impartially, users may not have faith in them, and they become essentially of no use, since nobody thinks they are relevant and accurate, Hei said.
Accessibility of statistics is also crucial.
“There is absolutely no use having the latest relevant, timely and accurate statistics that remain in the same office it was produced in. Statistics need to be accessible for all at the same time, and efforts need to be coordinated to ensure that statistics are disseminated and are freely and easily accessible.
“This is not just a wish, but actually a legal requirement,” he said.
Email: matthew@namibian.com.na
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
