‘Census 2022 failure a national scandal’ − DA calls for a re-run

The DA has called for the re-run of Census 2022.

This comes after Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) admitted that valuable data collected from its Census 2022 is fundamentally flawed and not of good enough quality to be released for official or public use.

The data was scheduled to be release late this month.

“Integrity compromised”

In an updated version of its publication, “Census 2022 in Brief”, on its website, income and earning, labour and employment; and mortality and fertility have been excluded amid questions about the data’s credibility.

DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp said the admission by Stats SA that it allowed serious flaws to enter the 2022 data, is a “national scandal that strikes at the heart of our socio-economic planning”.

“Census 2022’s integrity has been compromised to such an extent that data related to income, employment, mortality and fertility will not be put in public domain even after the Census cost South Africa R2.3 billion of taxpayers’ money.

“This is not merely an issue of bureaucracy; it is a failure of monumental proportions with implications for all citizens,” said Aucamp.

ALSO READ: ‘A travesty’: Census 2022 fundamentally flawed, Stats SA confirms poor data quality and bias

“Rerun Census”

Aucamp said for Census 2022 to be wrong, it is a “brewing crisis.”

“The DA is therefore calling for the next census to be significantly brought forward and for a re-run of Census 2022 to take place. The flaws in the current data are too significant to be ignored or patched up with half-measures.

“We cannot afford to base our national planning on data that is fundamentally flawed. The DA will be questioning StatsSA in the portfolio committee meeting scheduled for Friday, 23 August. We expect a thorough explanation of the damage control measures they intend to implement and how they plan to restore the integrity of our national data collection processes,” said Aucamp.

The exclusion of the data amplified the concerns previously raised by University of Cape Town demographers, Tom Moultrie and Rob Dorrington, about its integrity.

ALSO READ: Stats SA dismisses concerns over Census 2022 results