GOVTS MOOTS BEEFING UP SECURITY FOR CENSUS ENUMERATORS

LUSAKA Province Permanent Secretary Robert Kamalata says the Government is considering eploying Security officers to accompany census enumerators in hostile communities such as Chibolya.
Mr. Kamalata also cautioned members of the public to be wary of some unscrupulous people who would want to disguise themselves as enumerators and yet they were criminals.
Mr. Kamalata said in an interview with journalist in Lusaka yesterday that one of the suggestions to avoid residents of such infamous embarking on ‘war without declaration’ upon seeing security personnel was to allow the officers to wear the same attire as the enumerators.
“We are still discussing thqt. We can engage security wings that can accompany these same people (enumerators) probably by also having the same kind of attire with enumerators,” Mr. Kamalata said.
He said the provincial administration was engaging the local leadership in some township to tell them about the census and it’s importance so that residents could also cooperate with enumerators.
He said he was aware that people in Lusaka were busy, as some left home in the morning and returned in the evening, but he appealed to them to spare a few minutes so that they could attend to the enumerators.
“You can imagine, we started with the Head of State, we went o the Second Family, and they cooperate with us. If that happened, why can’t they (Lusaka residents) also cooperate with us,” he said.
He said census was important because it was simply for planning purposes and that planning went smoothly if the Government, among other concerned parties, knew the country’s population.
He also advised residents to distinguish genuine enumerators from suspicious people by identifying them by their orange and green reflectors aprons which were labelled with Zambia Statistics Agency (ZAMSTATS), among other emblems.
Mr. Kamalata said members of the public should also request for identity cards or introductory letters for those that did not have cards.
He said the introductory letters should also match with the identity cards or their National Registration Cards.
Mr. Kamalata added that almost all the enumerators in Lusaka Province were paid and that those who had notd
received their money needed to query their banks.