STAFF WRITER
ZIMBABWE’s statistical agency has started preparations for the country’s fifth population census that have been slated for August this year.
The population census is conducted every 10 years in Zimbabwe. The last population census which was conducted in 2012 put the country’s population at just over 13million.
In a statement, Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) director general Taguma Mahonde said they are undertaking a field mapping exercise.
“The enumerators will be collecting the following information, name of head of household, number of persons in the household, number of male and female, Agriculture status of the household, home address and contact details,’’ said Mahonde.
“Enumerators will be moving from one household to the other and will be identified with Government and Covid-19 essential services identity cards together with any one of the following: branded hat or cap t- shirt or work suit.”
The census was initially slated for 2021 but has been brought forward to pave way for a delimitation exercise – the carving out of new constituencies ahead of the 2023 elections.
Government gazetted the Census and Statistics Amendment Bill of 2020 in June which seeks to amend the Census and Statistics Act (Chapter 10:29) to allow for the delimitation exercise to be conducted well before the 2023 polls.
The Bill seeks to ensure that the delimitation exercise – creation of new electoral boundaries – is conducted using census statistics as required by section 161 (1) of the Constitution and not the voters roll as has been the case.
