UN Regional Workshop on Census Data Processing Zambian

UN Regional Workshop on Census Data Processing Zambian Experience with 2000 Census By Frank kakungu

INTRODUCTION n Brief History of Population Census Taking in Zambia n n n Censuses were undertaken in 1969, 1980’ 1990 and 2000

Outsourcing of Resources for scanning Collaborated with ECZ Considerations; n 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Little resources to acquire equipment No skilled manpower Time to train Man power EZC is Granted Aided Govt Institution Done once every 10 years ECZ had built capacity, equipment and manpower

CENSUS ENUMERATION ACTIVITIES n Shading and Editing of the Census Questionnaires n Packaging and Shipping of Census Questionnaires

POST-CENSUS ENUMERATION ACTIVITIES n Receipt of Census Questionnaires n Submission of the Census Questionnaires for Scanning n Scanning of the Census Questionnaires n Editing of the Census Data

SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS/CONSTRAINTS contd… n n The postponement of the Census resulted in work continuing into the rain season. This had a negative effect on the movement and operation of the enumerators, which delayed data collection. And furthermore posed a great challenge during scanning exercise. The non-completion of the mapping exercise led to situations where an enumeration area was too big to be handled by one Enumerator. This resulted into a number of Enumerators and Supervisors being overburdened with work. In some cases, these areas were split, bringing in a lot of inconsistencies in Geocodes

SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS/CONSTRAINTS n n Miscoding of the barcode led to a good number of orphan questionnaires. The storage facilities were not that conducive for keeping questionnaires, the place was humid. Dysfunctional rate of Scanning Machines at ECZ was very high , it derailed the work progress. The machines used were not capturing the image of the forms, posing difficulties during editing.

RECOMMENDATIONS Census exercise should be conducted during dry season to avoid questionnaires getting socked. q The Census Mapping Exercise should be completed, and maps frequently updated. Materials should be sent That CSO begin discussions with ECZ on the scanning of 2010 questionnaires q n

CONCLUSION n The scanning of 2000 Census of Population and Housing was conducted successfully. This success was attributed to the team work exhibited by EZC and CSO and other al Census staff, despite a few set backs here and there, The ECZ deserve thanks for their co-operation and support given to CSO.