How census exercise unfolded on day one in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam. The national population and housing census has started off with mixed reactions greeting day one of the exercise.

Kicking off on August 23 across Tanzania, those who were lucky to get counted on day one, and a majority who are left to follow events on social media as they wait their turn shared different sentiments.

A survey by The Citizen at different sites of the city revealed some shortfalls in terms of preparedness by the census organisers, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Read: How population census has evolved since 1967 exercise

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, President Samia Suluhu Hassan was counted. During a press briefing at the Dodoma State House, Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Anne Mkinda, who is the census commissioner, said that the government planned to reach 15 percent of the targeted population by end of day one, revealing that the exercise will last for seven days.

Her reassurance came as some residents were worried whether all their houses would be reached on the first day of the exercise. This concern was shared by Elizabeth Kasambala, a resident from Ilala district.

“I ask that people remain calm. Do not fear that you will miss out on census. If you do not get counted today, you will get counted in the coming days before the end of the exercise,” Makinda assured citizens.

However, by 2pm of day one there were some clear signs that the projected 15 percent is an uphill battle. There was a noticeable slow pace of clerks reaching houses, and the cloudy weather and rain in some parts of the city didn’t help matters.

Another challenge was the unpreparedness of some citizens who didn’t have basic information on hand in order to respond swiftly to the census clerks.

Read: National census to be conducted for seven days

Survey at Ilala District

Peter Mwasimbi, the local government chairman at Kisiwani Street, said clerks at his street started working at 12:01am the night before census daybreak at specially identified areas such as guest houses, hotels to make sure even those traveling early in the morning got an opportunity to be counted.

He said a recurrent challenge was unpreparedness by citizens. “They didn’t have their information ready, saying they lacked knowledge of what was to be asked,” he said, adding that more effort will be extended to educating the rest as the exercise continues for the next six days.

On whether clerks got all their support provision for the census activity, Mwasimbi said, “four of the clerks missed out on identity cards and reflectors, making it difficult for people to allow them into their homes.” However, he says an arrangement was made to enable them to carry out the task.  

On the positive side, he said the gadgets (tablets) the clerks were using to locate the house coordinates made their exercise more precise. However, according to sources, clerks undertaking the exercise in different parts of the country ran into hurdles after the tablets they were using ran out of battery and they didn't have the chargers. It has also been reported that in Arusha a national census tablet was stolen.

Ubungo District

At Mshikamano area in Ubungo District, The Citizen has learnt of frustrations by some residents who’ve complained of the number of questions and duration taken to answer them.

"In a house of more than five people, the clerk spends about an hour interviewing each. Those going through the process for the first time might get tired of waiting and instead opt to leave their information with a third-party, such as a maid, who might not be able to fully relay the answers to the clerks,” said a resident at Mbezi Luis, Mr Haruni Alfayo.

Mr Alfayo told this paper that apart from the many questions (estimated at 100 in total), there is still a challenge of connectivity, with some areas having low internet, hence making the exercise longer.  

There is also another challenge of misunderstanding what the census exercise means, and its purpose. Some people The Citizen talked to think this is an exercise by the government aimed at taking citizens’ information for the purpose of easing the tax collection process.

For his part, Mr Straton Richard, a Dar es Salaam resident praised the exercise progress altogether, however noted a slight delay caused by internet connectivity.  

"Most of the residents we visited this morning were at home waiting to be counted, things are progressing well at the moment," he said.

A census clerk who spoke under anonymity said the exercise is going well, save for the challenge of some homeowners not knowing information of the people in their household, such as house maids.

Kigamboni District

Day one of census was a normal day in most parts of Kigamboni as people waited to be counted, especially in Maweni, Mji Mwema, and Kibada areas that are known for being busy. Today, only a handful of people were seen going about their day-to-day tasks, with some of them having already been counted and some yet to go through the exercise.

For example, Ungindoni Street is known for its Tuesday market auction, but today, the activity was suspended owing to the special national occasion.  

Public transport services

It was a tough day for operators of commuter buses as the national population and housing census kicked off across the country. The exercise virtually paralyzed the public transport system, with daily commuters nowhere to be seen at bus stands.

While most people remained at home waiting to be counted, drivers were left with no passengers and no routes around busy cities like Dar es Salaam.

The census exercise that's expected to last for seven days requires citizens to wait for clerks at their respective residents. As such, bus stands were empty in the early morning hours, with drivers hoping business will boom in the coming hours or as the exercise catches steam and the majority are counted.

Written by; Salome Gregory, Gadiosa Lamtey and  Naomi Achieng'