Deputy director general of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Leesha Delatie-Budair, says the agency is ‘wrapping up’ data collection for the 2022 Population and Housing Census.
She, however, could not state the percentage completed of the J$2.4-billion exercise that has overrun its scheduled timeline. Additionally, a new deadline was not stated.
“We’re in the process of wrapping up the Census. We wouldn’t be able or willing to disclose that process at this moment. As you know, we don’t normally release information before it is finalised. But we are in the process of wrapping up the Census at this moment, and we are ensuring that every single [enumeration district] in Jamaica is covered,” said Delatie-Budair.
The deputy director general was speaking during STATIN’s quarterly press briefing yesterday.
Census disaster
The 2022 Census has been plagued by multiple issues that have caused its delay. The exercise was initially scheduled to start in April 2021. However, it was postponed to September 2022 due to the pandemic.
December 2022 was the deadline for the data collection portion of the Census. However, the agency was met with challenges in acquiring the targeted 7,000 workers needed to complete the exercise.
The estimated timeline for completion of data collection was then pushed to March 2023. However, high attrition rates due to wage issues led to further delays. STATIN has since refused to give a new deadline for the project, as well as the percentage of the exercise that has been completed.
The deadline for the overall completion of the 2022 Census is December 2023.
The data collection phase for the 2022 National Population and Housing Census started on September 12, 2022, under the theme ‘Yuh Count, Mi Count, All A Wi Count’.
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