Moi on Census

THE national census enters its third day today and whereas those carrying out the exercise were upbeat, there were concerns too about slow pace, raising fears that not all Kenyans will get to be counted before it ends.The government admitted yesterday that the National Population and Housing Census has been marred by some logistical problems with some areas still to receive materials to be used in the exercise.And last evening, former President Daniel arap Moi added his voice to the raging debate of tribe that had threatened to scuttle the exercise.

The retired President faulted the government for what he termed, fragmenting the Kalenjin community during the ongoing national census.In a statement released yesterday by his press secretary Lee Njiru, the former President said it was unfair for the Kalenjin community to be divided into sections for no apparent reasons.He wondered why the census officials insisted on sub-tribes such as Kipsigis, Keiyo, Nandi and so on, instead of just Kalenjin as was the case in past enumeration exercises.

The government has defended the inclusion of tribe question in the census saying the information will be used for planning purposes and not to advance political agenda.There have been a hue and cry over whether people should disclose their tribe during the census especially given the ethnic animosity that played a key role in the post-election violence of early 2008 and which polarised the country along tribal lines.Despite the fact that the questionnaire bears the question on tribe, KNBS says no-one will be forced to state his tribe or religion. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Director General Anthony Kilele said some districts such as Pokot North have not received materials.

However, Kilele said they have dispatched the materials and expressed optimism that the exercise will go on well. “We must appreciate that an exercise of this magnitude has a few hitches on material distribution. We expect Pokot North district to receive all materials by tomorrow (today) because pastoralists have returned home to be counted.We have also ensured that the census officials who had not received T shirts have received them,” said Kilele told a press conference at his Herufi House office in Nairobi yesterday.Apart from lack of materials, Kenyans living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps such as Olkalau boycotted the exercise accusing the Grand Coalition Government of being insensitive to their plight.

They sent away census officials arguing the exercise will not add value to their lives since the government has left them languishing in camps for the past 18 months.However, Kilele down played the issue terming the it as an isolated case which they were protesting that for not being hired as census officials. He said the Provincial Administration has sorted out the issue and they will take part in the enumeration exercise.

A number of Kenyans complained that they yet to be enumerated at the close of the second day of the exercise. Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary General Francis Atwoli claimed majority of the people he had contacted indicated they were yet to be enumerated.“The exercise is quite slow and at this speed, I am not certain whether they would be able to cover all the 30 million plus Kenyans,” Atwoli told Kenya Times by telephone.

But while allaying fears of the slow pace, Kilele admitted that census officials in Bomachoge and Shinyalu constituencies which will have by-elections tomorrow were actively engaged in campaigns hence putting the credibility of the enumeration exercise in the areas to question.“We are aware that some enumerators in the constituencies are agents for the candidates taking part in the by-elections tomorrow.The provincial administration will make sure they don’t interfere with the counting exercise,” said Kilele.The enumeration exercise was expected to concluded by today in the two constituencies to pave way for the elections but that did not happen due to logistical hitches.

The fifth national census which kicked off on Monday has also been hampered with security concerns. In Central province, where there had been fears of members of Mungiki disrupting the exercise, there was a heavy presence of security personnel. This has not only slowed down the exercise but also made it difficult for the government to achieve its targets.Yesterday, Kilele acknowledged that the National Population and Housing Census was not moving at the expected pace but expressed optimism that all Kenyans will be enumerated by Monday when the exercise ends.

Although the government had planned to cover 90 percent of the population during the first two days, Kilele said it has not achieved the target. Kilele who was accompanied by Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Ndirangu Njoroge said they expect to cover at least 60 percent of the population by today 10 pm. “We had estimated to cover 12 million households in the first day but we are not sure whether we have covered that. But we expect to count all Kenyans by Monday,” said the Director General.He said enumerators will conclude counting Kenyans in the disputed Migingo Island by today.

There have been fears that Kenyans in the Island which both Kenya and Uganda claim ownership will not be counted.“We will be through with Migingo by tomorrow (today). This is good because we were fearing we might not be allowed to carry out the exercise there,” added the Director General.On his part, Njoroge said the security situation was under control to facilitate smooth execution of the exercise. “This is the safest week in the country’s history. The rate of crime has gone down. I thank bar owners for closing as we had requested,” said the PC who is also the alternative Chairman National Census Steering Committee.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Raila Odinga was counted at his Karen home after returning from an official visit in Italy, and urged Kenyans to provide the enumerators with all the answers asked, including one’s tribal affiliation. President Mwai Kibaki, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and retired President Daniel Moi were enumerated on Monday.This year’s census is the most expensive in the country’s history costing Sh7billion compared to the 1999 one which took approximately Sh33 million.

On Monday, Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya said the country’s population is expected to hit 40 million based on the projection of the 1999 census.Oparanya said the population has risen in the country due to low HIV prevalence which currently stands at seven percent unlike in 1999 when it was 14 percent.He promised to release the provisional results by December the final results by April next year