High costs hamper census mapping

country ahead of the national population census due in August 2012, an official said on Monday.
Mapping is a pre-enumeration activity that involves updating geographical boundaries of all administration units and socio-economic infrastructure in the country.
Zimstat acting director general, Mr Moffat Nyoni told New Ziana that unexpected costs being incurred during the process were hampering progress as the budget was ballooning and the agency was finding it difficult to source money.
“As far as the mapping exercise is concerned we are not where we had envisaged being at this time,” he said.
“Other regional countries that are holding their censuses next year are three quarters through with their mapping exercises and we are nowhere near that.”
Mr Nyoni said mapping was initially pencilled to end in December this year but has been extended to June next year as high costs of goods and services have triggered a rise in the budget.
“Our budget has now ballooned to US$42 million up from the initial US$ 25 million.
“The costs are enormous for an economy like ours which is in the process of rebuilding,” he said.
Mr Nyoni however, maintained that the census will be held within the traditional timeframe.
“Despite the challenges the census is going to go ahead as planned.
“There is no way we can hold it back because it has to be held exactly ten years after the previous one,” he said.
Zimbabwe will next year hold its fourth national population census following previous ones held in 1982, 1992 and 2002.
The flight of donors beginning in 1997 has left Government to fund the census. The 2002 census put the population of Zimbabwe at 11,6 million. – New Ziana.