S. Sudan census commissioner voices satisfaction with census process

By Isaac Vuni

Juba April 23rd 2009 (JUBA) — The chairman of the southern Sudan census commission, Isaiah Chol Aruai, said the census team of Southern Sudan has done professional, credible work and he is confident of the quality of the census process for the upcoming general elections.

Commissioner Aruai said South Sudan’s census was conducted using the latest technology that was introduced for the first time in 2007 operated by trained Southern Sudanese to ensure that all areas were covered. He noted that Southern states had been divided into 10,076 enumeration areas for extensive mapping exercise by Southerners themselves.

Addressing journalists today at a pre-census dissemination workshop organized by his commission at the Nile Comfort Inn Hotel in Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, Aruai said data-processing was completed using high-tech equipment and quality-control measures were applied to ensure accuracy.

These measures were done in Rumbek of Lakes State to inform and educate the public on accuracy and uses of census results.

Despite challenges to the census by some county commissioners who offered different claims as to geographical constituency, the census was successfully conducted and was ready by December last year. Concurrently, the census officials in Khartoum disclosed they were not ready with their data.

Funding for the census was provided by a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) while the southern government took charge of logistics and security for enumerators who were then not pay for three months, as money allegedly was not frequently sent in time from Khartoum. Nevertheless, southern enumerators rendered services as dictated on them by the 2005 peace agreement.

Although some people may claim not to have been counted directly by enumerator, at least one of their family members was interviewed, explain Commissioner Aruai. This person provided the needed information to them that warranted them being counted.

Responding to questions from journalists, Aruia denied the census results as reported in various newspapers in Khartoum, calling them incorrect because official results have not been released.

Population committee members are due to meets this coming Sunday to review and deliver the census result to the presidency for official announcement and then to the media, disseminating the results to the population at large.

Regarding challenges faced by the southern commission, he said insecurity had prevented accessibility that prompted the Government of Southern Sudan to provide six million Sudanese pounds for security upkeep and logistics, including for chartering planes.

Aruia added that the recently announced postponement of the elections had created confusion among southerners, noting also that holding of the SPLM national convention at same time as the census added more confusion.

The commissioner noted that acceptance or rejection of the results would be a political decision from the presidency that would not involve the southern commission.

Earlier, Director of Information Technology Martin Abucha remarked that 814 boxes of enumeration had been collected and taken to Rumbek to ensure a credible census result.

Whatever was done in southern Sudan was of a high standard, he said, and he challenged any politicians to contact Geography Information Service (GIS) for details, though only after the official announcement of the census result.

Charles Mona, Director of GIS, observed that this census is the first time in the history of southern Sudan that the region was comprehensively mapped.

Additionally, the southern national consultant for advocacy, Edward Terso, appealed to southern artists and musicians to compose drama and songs to promote the census. According to Terso, party interest should not have any bearing on census counting as claimed by some politicians who had encourage their people return to their respective home areas for registration.

(ST)