Census 2011 worker caught 'fixing' information

They can go ahead and erase the data on my form - I have enough of a paper trail for the Government to know what I am up to.

I am also rather septic of one person person who, in one part of the article refers to him/herself as "we", and again as "I" in another. I could have just as well written the same article with cryptic names I got from home-sale posters.
 
I saw a group of census workers braai some viennas over a fire that appeared to be a stack of census forms in Pullenshope West. I approached them and asked them what they were doing. The responded saying they were using unused census forms as fuel for their fire as the Pretoria office was going to discard them anyway, and they were hungry. I asked for their names and where they got the viennas. They identified themselves as Skhumbuzo, Thebogo, Precious and Jaap-Marais, mentioning that they got the viennas from a passing car where a toddler was busy throwing out groceries from the window.

I asked them where there were any completed forms in the fire-pile as we saw some writing on it. Thebogo offered me a bite of his vienna but I slapped it away and demanded answers. A group of police officers, attracted by the social-looking fire, approached and I asked them whether it was appropriate to burn census documentation, unused or not. Officer Moetapele told me to calm down and attempted to reprimand me for slapping away food, asking whether I was not taught manners as a child. I reacted rageful and was immediately subdued by a passing Mamba-Security staff wielding batons and pepper spray.

As I was being pinned on the soft grass by Mamba-Security staff, the slapped-down vienna still quietly hissing next to my nose, I kept shouting that the census was a farce and that vengeance was the only good that would come from this. Officer Moetabpele then hit me with a roller up piece of paper, which I later recalled were also (un)completed census forms. When I was finally released, I got into my green Ford Granada and sped of, only to smash into a parked Kia Picanto with "Census 2011" markings on it.

That was the final straw. I walked the remainder of the 174-meters to the Pullenshope Herald to tell my story. The journalists were so overcome (with laughter) at the sight of my sad condition (as they saw what happened though their office-window) that they were unfortunately unable to take down my account. I then approached The Times who agreed to publish my story on page 13 as they needed something to stir up confrontation.
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Source: My mind and about 7 spare minutes
 
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This is the response I got from highlighting the article & thread (never hurts to bring more representatives on here)

Thank you for your mail, Census 2011 Operations will have a two week Mop Up period after the completion of the Census on the 31 October

If you are seeking to be counted, please ensure that you have included your full physical address and a contact number in the email, and we will escalate to your nearest district office, to arrange for you to be counted.

Regards

Census 2011 Team
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My mail:

Hi there,

Just wanted to draw your attention to this article posted by a freelance
'journalist' on certain census workers removing details from forms under
instruction from their supervisors.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/ilive/2011/11/02/census-2011-worker-caught-fixing-information-ilive

I would appreciate a press-release/further information as it's gotten one
forum in a tizz

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/378326-Census-2011-worker-caught-fixing-information

Thanks,

Fudzy
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They've obviously recieved an influx of people querying why they have not been counted :D
 
For R5000 I will also fill in multiple choice questions on a few sheets without leaving my home.
 
marine1 said:
And people believe stats? :rolleyes:
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A few years ago Stats SA got stuff wrong and if I remember correctly it was twice they sent out wrong info within a short period of time. What would make them any better now?
 
What a shocking revelation this is. :rolleyes:

SoulTax said:
This is a sad day in democracy. Obviously the results cant be trusted. But guaranteed, 4 years from now when some forumite links the census results as some evidence of their stance. Then another points them to this type of scandal, they will reply with, paranoid agendas, nobody tampers with results.
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Exactly!

Fudzy said:
Lol, better bookmark it now. :D

If you can think of a better way to draw overall statistics for a country, let the world know, statistics are flawed the world over.
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Funny though how it's almost exclusively the head-in-the-clouds crew that bangs on about statistics whenever they're on a crusade to counter something negative. The realists (often referred to as negative/fearmongers etc. etc.) know that the reliability of these stats, mainly through sheer incompetence and a likely dose of downright underhandedness, is sketchy at best and really only refer back to statistics like rape and murder to illustrate that these figures are at best the way things are. Good old gvt is hardly going to make things appear worse than they are, so, as an optimistic benchmark on the state of affairs, these figures need to suffice.
 
Flanders said:
What a shocking revelation this is. :rolleyes:



Exactly!



Funny though how it's almost exclusively the head-in-the-clouds crew that bangs on about statistics whenever they're on a crusade to counter something negative. The realists (often referred to as negative/fearmongers etc. etc.) know that the reliability of these stats, mainly through sheer incompetence and a likely dose of downright underhandedness, is sketchy at best and really only refer back to statistics like rape and murder to illustrate that these figures are at best the way things are. Good old gvt is hardly going to make things appear worse than they are, so, as an optimistic benchmark on the state of affairs, these figures need to suffice.
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On the flipside, how would the world know that we have a crime problem if it wasn't for stats? Newspapers? Don't make me laugh.
 
Fudzy said:
On the flipside, how would the world know that we have a crime problem if it wasn't for stats? Newspapers? Don't make me laugh.
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You have got to be joking? Crime is a problem because nearly every South African has been personally affected. Stats are manipulated.
Oh and remember the moratorium on stats reporting on crime? :rolleyes:
 
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