Cape Town - In a final and near desperate plea, the Western Cape Government and Statistics SA (StatsSA), are calling on all those who have not yet been counted in the census 2022, to do so.
To augment the count currently at just 70%, StatsSA has extended the period for data collection until May 31, in the province.
A census is the total count of a population including children, babies, homeless people and foreign nationals within its borders, with fieldworkers conducting home visits.
No further extensions will be granted past this date, without compromising census quality assurance and analysis activities, StatsSA said in a statement.
“The positive response of residents of the Western Cape to the urgent call during the past month resulted in a significant increase in the number of households that were counted from 49% after the Easter weekend to 70% on May 12.”
Premier Alan Winde said the province stands to lose R9.7 billion, or over 16% of its provincial equitable share, if only 70% of residents get counted.
“This would shave R2.6 billion in funding off our health budget and R4.2 billion off our education budget, with smaller departments also suffering losses. In short, service delivery in the Western Cape will suffer a major blow across the board if residents do not make sure they are counted,” Winde said.
StatsSA Chief Director Patrick Kelly encouraged residents to also make use of the online platform to get counted. Kelly said local teams were now working on targeting areas not yet reached by fieldworkers.
“We are very much hoping that when we do visit these areas, the residents are receptive, that they are willing to answer the census questionnaire. This is really important for the ability of the province, municipalities and others to provide services to the residents in order to improve the quality of life,” Kelly said.
The online questionnaire can be accessed on getcounted.statssa.gov.za (datafree), or contact the Census call centre for any enquiries on 0800 110 248 or via email at [email protected]