GEORGE NEWS - George Mayor Leon van Wyk welcomes Statistics South Africa's (Stats SA) extension of the online questionnaire for Census 2022 until the end of April and encourages citizens living within the ambit of George Municipality to complete the census questionnaire.
"Statistics generated from the census are a crucial part of any development, especially local government, as this crucial information gives a true reflection of the situation and needs of citizens," said Van Wyk.
"Fiscal allocations and grants are greatly influenced by the data and information emanating from the census; therefore it is the responsibility of each and every citizen to participate in the census and make use of this extended time to help to get the most accurate statistics for the George Municipality's precinct."
Online survey
Stats SA announced on its website on 21 April that it has reopened the online census survey questionnaires for respondents to complete themselves until the end of April. "Households that are not counted can click here and fill in their name, surname, and cellphone number.
After successfully registering, an OTP will be shared which will give access to the census questionnaire.
Once the questionnaire is completed, households will get a reference number which they should keep in a safe place for when they are visited by a census fieldworker, or during the post-enumeration survey, which is a quality check for the census project," Stats SA said in the statement.
"Data collection challenges, particularly in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, which was heavily impacted by the recent extreme weather conditions, led to the decision to extend the census mop-up period to the end of April. All provinces will be able to take advantage of the extended period to ensure that they count as many households as possible," reads the statement.
Stats SA is calling on all households to ensure that they get counted in the 2022 census, either online or by a fieldworker.
"The country's socio-economic dynamics have changed a lot since the last census was conducted in 2011," said project director Calvin Molongoana. "Government and business need accurate information in order to plan, and the census is the only source of population and housing data at a local level.
"The more people who participate, the more accurate the data. It is critical that every household participates in the census, and makes sure that they get counted."
Stats SA is appealing to all who live within the borders of South Africa, irrespective of their status, to do the right thing and be counted. The Statistics Act (Act 6 of 1999) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (Act 4 of 2013) complement each other in ensuring that all data collected by Statistics SA remains confidential.
Data on an individual cannot be shared with any other agency; any data released by Stats SA is aggregated and confidential to ensure anonymity.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
