By PEARSON KOLO
PAPUA New Guinea will need to plan and budget adequately for the population census in 2021 and the national elections in 2022, says an independent researcher in the country.
Independent researcher Dr Joseph Ketan said the population census and the general election are two most important events in the country.
Dr Ketan said censuses have been poorly planned and inadequately funded in PNG and the government has yet to find money to implement the planned household data survey for this year.
“In ancient times, the Romans were good at data collection for national and empire planning purposes, and in modern times, Australia and NZ are very good at census data collection, analysis and planning,” Dr Ketan said.
“Papua New Guinea has yet to learn that censuses are very important to govern a country.”
He said national governments, under various prime ministers, have not taken censuses seriously, as reflected by poor planning and budgeting.
Dr Ketan said PNG is thus notorious for lack of reliable data for planning.
“We keep quoting outdated and unreliable statistics in official reporting and all comparative global country reports on PNG are riddled with errors. This is disgraceful.
“We do need accurate data for planning and budgeting. We need up-to-date information to plan for the next 10 years.
“I know that the PNG Government will find the money to fund the 2022 general elections. It must find the money to fund the national census in 2021 first,” he reiterated.
Dr Ketan said PNG needs support from our development partners to fund the census.
The researcher added the 2021 census and the 2022 elections need to be run well to demonstrate to the international development partners and the citizens that we are serious about restoring integrity to our systems of government and governance.