The Autonomous Region of Bougainville has decided to postpone the 2024 national census rollout by one week. The ABG Department of Community Development’s Provincial Census Coordinator, Michael Omepa, claims that the reason for the delay is the delayed arrival of census materials in Buka.
“The final tier training for AROB census officials is happening this week following the arrival of the materials,” said Omepa.
“Due to delays in the freighting of materials, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville will postpone its 2024 Census by one week.”
After this last training session, the enumeration procedure in Bougainville is scheduled to start the following week. At the Community Government level, 39 training locations have been identified. Field equipment and census supplies will be sent to every district this week in advance of the actual enumeration procedure.
“Officers from both the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the ABG Department for Community Development are working tirelessly around the clock to sort and dispatch the materials by the end of this week,” said Omepa.
The designated training locations, which started today, consist of:
The North:
Buka: Seven locations
Nissan and Atolls each have one venue.
Selau/Suir: 1 location
Kunua: three locations
Tinputz: two locations
Bougainville’s central region:
Kieta District: Seven locations (including Panguna)
Wakunai: two locations
Bougainville’s south:
Buin: Seven locations
Siwai: Three locations
Bana: three locations
Two locations in Torokina
In order to ensure compliance with the national framework, the Bougainville Administration will adhere to the national circular on the participation of teachers and public servants in the 2024 census activity.
Accurate demographic data must be gathered by the national census of 2024 in order for the government to make well-informed choices on the distribution of resources and the provision of services. There is a substantial data vacuum that needs to be filled up for focused development because the latest national census was completed in 2011.
