First Family counted in census

amid calls for Zimbabweans to co-operate as the exercise is beneficial to the country.
President Mugabe, the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe and their sons Robert Junior and Bellarmine Chatunga afforded census data processing and field operations manager, Mr Rodgers Sango, an opportunity to collect information on the First Family.

Emerging from State House, Mr Sango encouraged the nation to emulate the co-operation shown by the First Family.
“If the First Family has been counted why would someone out there refuse? We have few people out there who are refusing to be counted, but we encourage everybody to co-operate,” he said.

Mr Sango confirmed there were challenges in some low-density suburbs in Harare where some families were reportedly denying enumerators access into their homes.
He reminded Zimbabweans that it was an offence under the Census and Statistics Act to refuse to co-operate during such an important exercise.
President Mugabe officially launched the 2012 Population Census in Harare last week.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces urged the collection of honest and objective facts.
Meanwhile, a group of squatters at Treasure Consultancy Housing in Masvingo reportedly ganged up and chased away a census enumerator who wanted to count them at the weekend.

The squatters, numbering about 50, chased the enumerator and threatened to beat him up.
They were demanding to have access to clean water and electricity first before they could be counted.
Hundreds of squatters have for years been staying in incomplete houses that were built by Treasure Consultancy on the outskirts of Mucheke suburb before the company collapsed.

The squatters have been at loggerheads with Masvingo municipality officials and the provincial leadership whom they accuse of abandoning them by not connecting their area to clean water and electricity.

Population census officials were reportedly only able to conduct the counting in the area on Sunday after the intervention of police and senior officials who managed to convince the squatters the counting of people had nothing to do with access to electricity and clean water.

Zimbabwe Statistical Agency provincial technical co-ordinator Mr Jekoniya Chitereka yesterday confirmed the disturbances in Mucheke F, but said the problem had since been resolved.

Mr Chitereka said: “It was just a small problem that we had with some residents who stay on the outskirts of Mucheke F suburb and were saying they did not want to be counted as they have their own list of grievances which they want to be addressed.
“We explained to them that our job is just to count people and other issues are handled by the responsible authority and they understood us.’’

Mr Chitereka said the counting eventually took off well without any further proble-        ms.
He expressed satisfaction with the way the population census was being conducted in other parts of the province.