Durban — Just days before South Africa's national census is set to begin, the government body in charge of this massive national exercise, Statistics South Africa, claims that all is well for the October 10 start, and is downplaying issues that have been identified by census workers.
Census 2011 is the third such survey to be done since the dawn of the new Democratic South Africa. The previous census was scheduled for 2006, but because Statistics South Africa did not have the capacity to conduct a successful census, this was rescheduled for 2011. A Community Survey took the place of the 2006 census instead, according to the government's website.
On the SABC public affairs programme, Asikhulume, Statistician-General Pali Lehohla failed to answer what contingency plans Census 2011 has to ensure the smooth running of this year's project and that history does not repeat itself.
Census workers in KwaZulu-Natal have related the problems they faced while preparing for the big day - during a session they called a "dress rehearsal".
"During Stats SA first publicity campaign in August this year we (fieldwork co-ordinators) were denied access at Kennedy Road informal settlement," said Nosipho Ndlovu, a fieldwork co-ordinator employed for the census. "People told us that they were not well informed about Census 2011, and another problem we encountered in our 'dress rehearsal' was that people in informal settlement put development as first priority."
Ndlovu said that people in communities of informal settlements - largely without services like water, electricity and well-built homes - want to hear about the development of their areas when government officials visit. "As a result, they are often disappointed that the census enumerators are not there to help further development, but simply to count their numbers," she said.
According to one of the fieldwork coordinators who refused to be named, citing fear of victimisation, hundreds of them were summoned to the district office in central Durban.
"We spoke to someone in the Human Resources department who told us there was a technical problem in Pretoria and we will not be paid until necessary arrangements have been made," said the fieldwork co-ordinator. "Our contract stipulates we receive a R7 000 stipend, however they have failed us."
The fieldwork co-ordinators hired and trained to conduct the census were supposed to be paid on the 30th of September but were not paid until early October, and this has caused some unrest among the workforce. They claim that Statistics South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal District failed to pay "hundreds" of its fieldwork co-ordinators in September because of what was described as a "technical problem". The government body has vowed that late payment of workers will not happen again.
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KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Census Co-ordinator Bongani Radebe said that the problem was identified at the beginning of September and senior management had taken a decision to have an alternative system of payment for the fieldwork co-ordinators.
"KZN has employed about 775 fieldwork co-ordinators, others started late, while several did not submit the relevant documentation which resulted in late processing of appointments. The system (Persal) had to close for the month and therefore alternative ways to pay them had to be devised," Radebe said.
Radebe promised that all the fieldwork co-ordinators would be paid by the end of September and promised that late payment of workers would not happen again.
Another Durban fieldwork co-ordinator demanded that the government intervene, as he had a family to take care of. "I have bills to pay, and now we are told that we will not be getting paid. I do not even understand the 'technical problem' they were talking about, this must be sorted out," he said.
