The 2012 population and housing census which will count every person and house in the TCI, officially begins Wednesday, January 25th 2012.
Months of preparatory work concluded today Monday 23rd January when the census field workers, including enumerators, supervisors and interpreters,
took their oath of secrecy in separate ceremonies on Grand Turk and Providenciales.
HE Governor Ric Todd administered the oath at the Providenciales ceremony.
Head of the Census team Shirlen Forbes has stressed that all residents of the TCI are required to participate in the census exercise.
- The Census Ordinance entrusts to the Census Officer the legal authority and responsibility to conduct the census. There is a fine or penalty for persons who do not cooperate with census officers.’ Forbes cautioned.
- During the census period, enumerators with easily recognizable census photo IDs, will visit every household in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
When visited, be sure to cooperate by responding to all the questions on the census questionnaire. If you are not visited please call or email the Statistical Office, he added.
- Ideally each adult in the household (18 years or older) should be interviewed. If this is not possible because persons are off island during the census period then any responsible adult will be interviewed provided that he/she knows all the required answers, Mr. Forbes noted.
Forbes assured residents that the information provided on the questionnaire will be held in the strictest confidence, which is guaranteed by the compulsory oath of secrecy taken by all census workers, for which any breech could lead to strong penalties.
The Census questionnaire will seek to capture information on the age, sex, religion, education, occupation and other important characteristics of each person. It also seeks to capture where a person lives in terms of type of housing and access to essential facilities.
Compilation and analysis of the census data should be completed by April this year and will provide government with accurate and reliable statistical data to guide policy formulation. The exercise is an essential step before setting up a Boundary Commission and compiling a new Electoral Register in preparation for new elections, which are scheduled for 2012.
