Census to costs almost R2bn

daveza

daveza

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http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Census-to-costs-almost-R2bn-20101010

Johannesburg- South Africa will undergo its biggest census exercise ever in October 2011, providing the most comprehensive picture of society and the economy in the post-apartheid era, but it will come at a cost to the taxpayer of just shy of R2bn.

Statistics South Africa announced during a briefing on Sunday that the big count begins in 365 days time when all people within the borders of SA will be counted on October 9 and 10 2011.

"Everyone in the country counts and so that policy can plan for their needs, it's important everyone gets ready for 2011," said Statistician-General, Pali Lehohla.

The results are expected in March 2013 and R1.2bn has been provided to Stats SA to run it. But the organization is still negotiating with the National Treasury for an additional R700m.
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2 Billion ? How do they arrive at that cost.

Put the census online and it should be a hugely cheaper process.
 
daveza said:
2 Billion ? How do they arrive at that cost.

Put the census online and it should be a hugely cheaper process.
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Don't you think the results would be ever so slightly skewed if it was only completed by those with internet access? :)

AFAIK participating in the census isnt optional so it would necessitate a face-to-face with the census taker.
 
2 rand for the poor sod going door to door, 10 rand for admin, stationery and 28 rand for the bunch who got the tender.
 
bwana said:
Don't you think the results would be ever so slightly skewed if it was only completed by those with internet access? :)

AFAIK participating in the census isnt optional so it would necessitate a face-to-face with the census taker.
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What I meant was make it available online for those who have internet access.

The door to door guy really hasn't a clue whether your info is correct or not - he's not going to check if you say you have 10 children.
 
Got some figures on the US census. Says it costs $6.5 billion. I am getting +- R150 per person. Check my maths on that one.
 
How is a census in any way supposed to be cheap?
It's measuring our population, it's ethnicity, age rate and all that jazz, how is making it online feasible?

People with internet access accounts for less the 10%, that's hardly enough for a sample size, especially considering most of the ones with access to the internet would probably be white. Not to mention an online census would have dismal participation rates and higher chances of false information.
 
Why you people compare yourself to the Americans? You are a second world country at best. They are not. The census will show how many illegals are living in South Africa (or at least I hope so). I am sure they are many many more then your government does admit. On the other hand, I won't be suprised if the 'european' population dropped to 5% or so. And half of that resides in Western Cape :D
 
I concede on the online version ;)

But I doubt it would be any less accurate. The guy drops it off, comes back a day or two later and nobody ever checks the reliability of the info you provide.
 
http://www.itif.org/files/eCensusUnplugged.pdf

In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau established itself as a digital
pioneer by making the United States one of the first countries
to use an Internet-based data collection method for its popula-
tion census. Through this project, the United States demonstrated
that it was a global leader in using information technology (IT) for
e-government.

Unfortunately, though, citing various challenges, the
U.S. Census Bureau has cancelled all plans to use the Internet for data
collection in the 2010 population census.
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According to wiki the forms are either mailed or delivered and then mailed back.

US census trivia - the word ' negro ' is still used on the US censor forms.
 
With only around 5% of citizens having access to the internet, this will not be feasible.
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thats not entirely correct. if you include cellphones, over 80% of the population has internet.
 
Have it online issue the takers with laptops and Cell C data bundles send them door to door. the form is online simple clicks. quicker and no forms to print all goes into a data base and them all it needs to be is printed out it will be a lot cheaper than have the counters and recheckers to. within a week they cabn have the results and I bet at a quater of the cost.
 
I'll be interested to see what the results are.These things are expensive but they must be done.

quikdine said:
Have it online issue the takers with laptops and Cell C data bundles send them door to door. the form is online simple clicks. quicker and no forms to print all goes into a data base and them all it needs to be is printed out it will be a lot cheaper than have the counters and recheckers to. within a week they cabn have the results and I bet at a quater of the cost.
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All that equipment and the training will bring the costs up...Nice idea though,maybe in the future.
 
MickeyD said:
You are out of touch with reality.
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Agreed.

We cannot compare the luxuries/comforts of our middle class lives to the poor,who make up the majority.
Just because a poor person has a cellphone does not mean it has internet access.
 
MickeyD said:
You are out of touch with reality.
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Agreed.

1. Participation rate will be dismal. Who wants to spend airtime on a government census?
2. The assumption that 80% of the people in South Africa have smart phone's that are able to handle it
3. The notion that people live the lives we do, with cars, access to internet, have literacy.
 
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