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(LUSAKATIMES) Zambia: Conflicting statistics: Zambia Needs a Bureau of Statistics and Archives

Conflicting statistics: Zambia Needs a Bureau of Statistics and Archives
By Henry Kyambalesa

I wish to comment on discrepancies in the reported levels of poverty in Zambia following a recent Zambia Daily Mail report in which the Director of Central Statistical Office (CSO) is quoted as having said that the poverty level in Zambia had declined from 68.1% to 59.3% between 1996 and 2006.

It is regrettable that, over the years, there have been serious discrepancies in the reported levels of poverty in Zambia. In this regard, I wish to cite a few of such reports, which may be paraphrased as follows:

Times of Zambia (October 2005), “Poverty Levels Drop to 68 p.c.,” by Times Reporter: Poverty incidence in Zambia has dropped from 73% in 1998 to 68% in 2005, a CSO survey has revealed. According to a statement released by CSO director Buleti Nsemukila, the preliminary results of the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey of 2004 revealed that the incidence of poverty in terms of head counts had reduced by 7%.

Times of Zambia (November 2009), “Poverty Levels Go Down,” by Times Reporter: Zambia recorded reduced poverty levels from 80% to 64% midway through the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), according to Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane.

Zambia Daily Mail (January 2010), “Poverty Levels Drop,” by Nancy Mwape: Zambia’s poverty level has declined from 68.1% in 1996 to 59.3% in 2006, CSO director Efreda Chulu is quoted as having said this at a press briefing in Lusaka recently.

There is clearly a need for the government to create an autono­mous “Bu­reau of Stati­stics and Ar­chives” to replace the CSO so that it can freely and inde­pendent­ly collect, process, maintain, and publish essen­tial data and infor­mation about our country. The Bureau should also assume complete res­ponsibility over the operations of the National Archives of Zambia.

Such a Bureau is necessary if we are to forestall the potential for fudging and/or manipulating of vital data and informa­tion. The autono­my of the Bureau could also lend a great deal of cre­dence to the data and informa­tion publi­shed about the country. There is perhaps no other way in which leaders in the MMD, the ruling political party, are going to exonerate themselves from suspicions that they are trying to fudge national statistics for political gain.

Labels: CSO, HENRY KYAMBALESA, STATISTICS

posted by MrK @ 6:20 PM