Hiccups as Tanzania starts housing census

Dar/Upcountry. Several issues came up as the Housing Census kicked off yesterday.

In some locations, some enumerators faced a challenge understanding the exact names of house owners while some members of the public, including house owners, were ignorant of the exercise.

These challenges were unveiled by Mwananchi during its spot check in different parts of the country on the process.

Ukonga Ward quality control officer Ulindula Mtemi said tenants’ failure to know names of house owners was a major challenge because having built the houses for business purposes proprietors had to be known.

“The component that requires provision of different information on house owners is very important,” she said, noting that census officers in his area were supposed to reach 20 to 25 houses.

Mwananchi also witnessed the challenge in lodging information in the tablets due dying of batteries for lack of power banks and poor internet connections that forced some census clerks to use a privately owned stationery services in order to meet the deadline.

A survey found 20 census clerks at the Jangwani Ward struggling to get internet connections, as confirmed by Kariakoo North census supervisor Kameta Msima.

“There is a low level of public awareness because most citizens don’t believe in the provision of information related to their houses,” he said.

However, the situation was different in Kinondoni District.

“Challenges were recorded in places where house owners were absent, therefore managed to collect information through tenants and ten cell leaders,” said one of the census clerks.

Census coordinator in Ilala District Hamis Matulanga commended the public for the cooperation during the exercise.

But, a resident of Kiburugwa in Temeke District, Mr Rashid Lizimiro, wondered why data collections for population and housing census couldn’t be done jointly. “It is a complete confusion. The exercises could have been done jointly,” he said.

Meanwhile, Statistician General Albina Chuwa clarified about census supervisors in Chemba District who defied procedures that required one LGA member.

“The district has 26 wards, but only Mrijo Ward contravened the guidelines by exceeding the number of LGA/ten cell leaders to 90 members. However, we will see they will be paid,” Dr Chuwa said.

Basic information asked by census clerks are: the type of buildings, the number of storeys, the status of buildings, conditions of construction job, residential status, buildings quality, uses, the number of units, owner’s full name, number of bedrooms, building’s value and electricity meter numbers.

Others are building’s user, legal land ownership documents, status of land surveys, used flooring and roofing materials as well as accessibility of other services.

Reported by Nasra Abdallah, Elizabeth Edward, Baraka Loshilaa (Dar), Habel Chidawali (Dodoma) and Mussa Juma (Arusha)