Dar es Salaam — The official national statistics provider seeks full professional autonomy promote integrity and impartiality, crucial to its functions and the development of the country.That independence would be brought about only if changes are made on the Statistics Act 2002, a senior official of the National Bureau of Statistics said this week.According to Oscar Mangula, NBS legal expert, the existing law is ambiguous as it does not clearly provide the professional independence of the bureau thus allowing interference which jeopardizes the integrity of official statistics.
The NBS provides regular statistics on the rate of increase of commodity prices, which has an impact on the cost of living, as well as on economic growth, human population, among others.In the government administrative setup the bureau is an agency under the ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. The director general and the chairman of the board are appointed by the President but other board members are appointed by the minister.
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