Chief Statistician of the Guyana Bureau of Statistics, Mr. Lennox Benjamin told the Chronicle that all measures are in place for the start of the exercise and that coordinators are currently conducting training sessions for enumerators in their respective census districts.

He explained that usually this is the "most hectic period" in the run up to census enumeration.

Benjamin said that the training for enumerators was deliberately planned for the period just before the start of enumeration so that the content would remain "fresh" in their minds.

He added that great emphasis has been placed on training because experience has shown that it is more difficult to correct errors after the exercise has been completed.

However, Benjamin expressed satisfaction with the quality of personnel recruited and observed that because of the varying background of applicants, training was completed in shorter periods in some areas. The success of the exercise depends heavily on the quality of the field work, he added.

Benjamin also pointed out that the census will provide some incidental economic benefits to communities, in that businesses in the service sector will benefit from purchases of large amounts of stationery and other relevant material, there will be a demand for transportation to move around census personnel and material, and companies involved in the maintenance of computer equipment will also be needed.

In addition, those who are already employed will receive additional remuneration and temporary employment will be provided for those who are unemployed but are working in the census exercise, he said.

The Chief Statistician pointed out that the start of the enumeration process will be staggered, with the exercise beginning first in Regions Three, Four, Five and Six, while the interior and riverain areas will start a couple of weeks later.

He, however, noted that within four weeks from September 16 the exercise will be under way in all regions.

Benjamin explained that the delay in the interior and riverain areas was due to the logistical difficulties associated with getting into those communities.

He also said that while the response from applicants to work in the census from coastal regions has been overwhelming, that from the interior regions has not been as good.

Therefore, it might be necessary to take personnel from the coast to give support to those areas, and as such training there will be delayed until personnel on the coast complete their stint.

Because of logistics and the peculiar climatic pattern in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), enumeration was completed earlier this year.

Benjamin noted that there is a global market for census information and if Guyana's is not updated, it will be compiled by other agencies which can lead to possible distortions and inaccuracies, thus hampering investments in the country.

He added that the data compiled from a census can positively impact on the education of students and also be put into a data base for the general education of the public.

Asked how the bureau plans to deal with those indigenous communities where a language barrier might pose problems, Benjamin said it will be seeking the assistance of the regional administrations and bilingual personnel have been recruited from the indigenous communities.

He also pointed out that the bureau's public awareness programme will continue until the end of October and a preliminary report should be ready by January next year, while a final report would be ready 18 months after the completion of the enumeration process.

Benjamin is appealing for cooperation from the public so that the enumeration process will be smoothly executed, stating that it would take an estimated 25-30 minutes to conduct an interview per household.

While by law citizens are obligated to give the requested information, should anyone refuse to cooperate, persuasive methods will be resorted to in the interim, and if those fail, only then the bureau will seek legal help.

The Chief Statistician also stressed that enumerators will be issued with identification cards and it is the right and duty of citizens to demand that personnel properly identify themselves when they arrive to conduct interviews.

Benjamin does not foresee any major difficulty with this as most of the personnel will be working in communities in which they are known.