THE governor of the //Kharas region, Aletha Frederick, has called for national statistics and data to be used to equitably allocate and distribute resources to reduce inequality in the country.
Fredericks said this at Keetman-shoop on Thursday.
The Statistics Standards was launched on the same day.
The World Bank has indicated that Namibia ranks as one of the world's most unequal countries with a Gini coefficient of 59,1 due to disparities in both economic opportunities and access to services.
Frederick said it is counterproductive to distribute resources equally to an unequal society.
"We are challenged as a country to address poverty, unemployment, and inequality in our society, and to eradicate those three enemies.
"We depend on accurate data that is reliable to be used for planning and development purposes," she said.
Based on a study called Poverty Dynamics in Namibia, which was based on the 1993/94, 2003/04 and 2009/10 Namibia Household Income and Expenditure survey released in 2012, inequality is the highest in the //Kharas region, with a Gini coefficient of 0,634, and the lowest in the Ohangwena region with a coefficient of 0,405.
The Ohangwena region has, however, registered a significant increase in inequality over the past five years.
The report states that changes in inequality contrast with movement in poverty, whereas significant reductions in poverty were recorded at national and regional level.
Overall, the Khomas and Zambezi regions registered increases in both poverty and inequality between 2003/4 and 2009/10, the report says.
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"It will remain counterproductive to distribute or allocate resources equally to an unequal society.
Data must not be used to deny people access to basic and essential services," the governor said.
This data has, however, been taken from 10 years ago as Namibia's 2021 Population and Housing Census has been deferred because of Covid-19-related budget prioritisations.
This challenge was highlighted by United Nations Development Programme deputy resident representative Anne Madzara during the launch of statistical standards in Windhoek last week.
Madzara said timely and reliable statistics are fundamental for measuring progress in planning and decision-making, reaching development goals, and to provide essential information about the effectiveness of policies and programmes.
"Reliable statistics help governments improve their policies, which have to be evidence based, and transparent and accountable about the delivery of development results," she said.
Namibia Statistics Agency statistician Alex Shimuafeni, during the launch, said there is a growing need for quality and timely statistics to support and inform public policymaking.
"Achieving and maintaining public trust in official and other statistics requires that those statistics are produced in an objective, transparent and professional manner, which should be adhered to by all statistics producers.
"That is simple, because wrong or inaccurate statistics are of no use," he said.
