A ward with men only? Zimstat offers clarification
Brian Rungano Temba
The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has explained circumstances surrounding a ward in Matobo which appeared to have men only.
When the national enumerator released preliminary findings from the April 2022 census, Ward 20 in Matobo had 85 males and no females.
The sparked the interest of the public, including opposition figures, who started casting aspersions on the integrity of ZIMSTAT.
In a statement, ZIMSTAT Public Relations Manager Mercy Chidemo urged stakeholders to engage when they are areas of concern, before blowing issues out of proportion – causing alarm in the process.
“When our enumerators entered the ward, they accounted for 85 males who spent the census night, 20th April 2022, in these temporary structures in ward 20 of Matobo area.
Kindly note that the census was conducted using the de-facto method that entails enumeration of persons who slept at a given place on the census night irrespective of their place of usual residence.
These figures are comparable to what was accounted for in the 2012 census, when our enumeratorrs accounted for 15 females and 49 males giving a total of 64 for the ward,” Chidemo said.
She explained that Ward 20 in Matobo falls in an area called Emlageni along Shashe river.
It is council land with no permanent residents. Residents from neighbouring communal areas practise partial nomadic life.
When graze for their animals diminishes in their usual areas of habitation, some locals take their animals to ward 20 for grazing.
They put up temporary structures as shelter. They will reside in this area for months and then go back to their usual places of residence when summer sets in.
“We kindly ask stakeholders who have any queries with the 2022 Population and Housing Census figures to contact ZIMSTAT for clarity before disinforming the public and condemning the census process with a likelihood of triggering alarm and despondency,” she said.
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