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Better data, better lives

Source: by Pali Lehohla, Business Day, 20/10/2015


"BETTER data, better lives", is the slogan of official statistics
organisations across the world as part of celebrating World Statistics
Day on 20 October, guided by the fundamental principles of official
statistics and the assertion by the United Nations (UN) Secretary
General, Ban Ki-moon that "statistics are critical for evidence-based
decision making across all cultural and historical backgrounds of
countries, irrespective of their level of development".


Statistics should inform policy direction and, in the case of SA,
statistical data is instrumental in tracking progress towards the
realisation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 goals. This
data should be used to encourage policy reviews and adjustments where
applicable because statistical data becomes redundant if it is not
able to shape policy imperatives. Statistics SA (Stats SA) produces
statistical data to guide almost every key deliverable contained in
the NDP and this is also available to institutions that have the
mandate to carry out the implementation of the plan.


The Citizen Satisfaction Survey (CSS) currently being conducted in
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is one example of the state taking advantage of
the capabilities at its disposal to afford its citizens the
opportunity to give their opinion on government`s effectiveness in
improving their lives in the province. This survey is being conducted
at the behest of Premier Senzo Mchunu. The survey seeks to engage
citizens on the levels of satisfaction with regard to service delivery
by government departments in the province. It will also serve as an
indicator on governance efficiency (Goal 6) of the Provincial Growth
and Development Plan (PGDP). The results of the CSS in KZN will help
the Office of the Premier to make informed decisions to improve the
lives of the citizens of the province.


Stats SA continues to actively engage the international statistics
fraternity around issues related to the `data revolution`, which is a
term coined to describe the latest trends in technology that include
deploying mobile handheld devices and satellite imagery. It advocates
the use of these technologies to improve and make data collection more
affordable. Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI), which is
characterised by real-time data capturing of respondent information
onto devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants and
smartphones by a fieldworker instead of using a paper questionnaire,
is one of the latest data collection technologies adopted by Stats
SA.


The CSS in KZN provided Stats SA with the opportunity to use the CAPI
method for the first time in the country. The CAPI will also be used
next year to collect data when the second Community Survey (CS 2016)
is conducted.


Stats SA`s relies on efficient stakeholder mobilisation and much will
depend on the success of declaring 2015 to 2024 as the Decade of Civil
Registration and Vital Statistics. This is to ensure that every birth
and death is registered, including the causes of deaths, which cannot
be realised without efficient administrative record keeping by the
Departments of Health and Home Affairs.


Tourism statistics also rely on efficient data coding by Home Affairs,
which collects this data at the entry points to the country.


Stats SA does not shy away from investing in human capital
development, hence its participation in the Centre for Regional and
Urban Innovation and Statistical Exploration at the University of
Stellenbosch, where subject specialists are selected and enrolled in a
programme to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to produce
quality statistics
The media, academia and other producers of statistics remain powerful
societal influencers as citizens look up to different producers of
data to satisfy their need for information and in this way hold
government to account. It is however essential to remember that Stats
SA is the only producer of official statistics in the country. It
performs this important task through the continued engagement with
different stakeholders and partners. This is crucial to ensure that
there is a relationship of trust between the organisation and its
stakeholders.


That the statistics are trustworthy is an imperative prescribed by the
guiding principles that govern statistics agencies and to which Stats
SA subscribes, namely the UN Fundamental Principles for Official
Statistics, as well as the recently produced African Charter on
Statistics, but much work still has to be done around the
consolidation of a strategy for the harmonisation of statistics in
Africa to ensure that not a single African is left behind. This is the
relevance and importance of World Statistics Day


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