NaCCED ENGAGES STATS SL ON PUBLIC EDUCATION AHEAD OF PROPOSED 2025 CENSUS

The Chairman for the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED), Mr. Kalilu Ibrahim Totangi and team, comprising the Director of Programmes and Research, Director of Human Resources and Administration and the Communications Coordinator, paid a courtesy call on the Statistician General at his Signal Hill office in Freetown.

The aim of the meeting according to Mr. Totangi, was to rekindle NaCCED’s support to the work of Stats SL, and to discuss ways to collaborate with Statistics Sierra Leone as it prepares for the 2025 Population and Housing Census.

National Council for Civic Education and Democracy has been a key partner supporting Stats SL on public education and engagement during their programmes including on the MICS V and the 2021 Mid-Term Census.

In his presentation to Stats SL SG and team, Mr. Totangi, highlighted that it was time to commence public education on the forthcoming Census process, if the agency should avoid the bottlenecks that the census process was fraught with in 2021. He said that in line with his institution’s mandate, NaCCED engages communities on crucial issues, including the census

Thomas Johnny, Director of Programmes and Research at NaCCED stated that this time around NaCCED wants to work with Stat SL to manage their public engagement time positively which he said was a major problem for the institution during the previous Mid-Term Population and Housing Census. He reiterated that the earlier the institution works with NaCCED to engage and educate the public on the National Census the better for increased public understanding and participation for the successful conduct of the Census.

Mr. Johnny stated that NaCCED will not only focus on event-based communication but want to start holding community engagements with market women, school children, University students among others. “At NaCCED, we believe it is our mandate to educate the citizens on critical national development issues. We therefore ensure that associated engagements start in real-time to enhance public knowledge, understanding and participation”.

In his brief remarks, the Deputy Statistician General, Mr. Lansana Kpewolo Kanneh, noted that both institutions are working towards the same purpose which is for the betterment of Sierra Leone and stressed that the relationship should not be event based, adding that it should be a continuous process. He noted that sensitization and educational issues during census is very critical, and that even donors have raised the issue of delay in public education during the previous Mid -Term Population and Housing Census, while stating the importance of community education which will help to soften the ground for Sierra Leoneans to actively participate and avail themselves to be counted.

The Statistician General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stats SL, Mr. Andrew Bob Johnny, reaffirmed that the meeting was extremely important and timely noting the need to have sensitization meetings with all stakeholders, civil society organizations, and the media, among others, to make sure they are fully onboard and in-tune with the census process.

He further acknowledged that one of the major problems they had during the Mid-Term Population and Housing Census was lack of better sensitization, and that the public was not well informed

The Statistician General pledged his institution’s plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with NaCCED to further strengthen the relationship with both institutions and to achieve a better result in the upcoming census. The leadership of both institutions agreed to further the discussions ahead of the census process.