• The country’s 2021 census should be prioritized and financed by government revenue.
• Information collected from the census aids in planning governance and development projects in the country.
• Advised government to channel money towards the national census.

A Development Analyst says the country’s 2021 census should be prioritized and financed by government revenue and not private entities.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Dr. Charity Musamba explained that government should mobilize public resources so that information from the census is collected as it aids in planning governance and development projects in the country.
“It is a very important national security exercise which is a duty of government to mobilise public resources so that the information gotten is owned and managed by the nation.” Dr. Musamba said.
Dr. Musamba further advised government to shift some money from politically oriented projects and channel it towards the national census which is of public and international interest.
She also encouraged government to continue engaging experts in finding ways to conduct the census as soon as possible.
“Government should utilize political experts both domestic and international such as Zambia Statistical Office (ZamStats) and the University of Zambia Demography Department,” she said.
“Further engagement with such bodies will bring out reasons that will show the importance of this exercise to be done on time and financed by our own resources.”
Dr. Musamba’s comment comes following Government’s call on well-wishers to help finance the national census which was originally slated for 2020 but moved to 2021 due to the adverse effects the economy.