The Department of Statistics has launched its 2023 Housing and Population Census campaign, which is geared to enable the government to build and improve on social and economic policies, including health care, education, and to foster sustainable development.
The launch took place at the Grace Bay Club on Providenciales Thursday, April 13, and attracted government bigwigs such as Acting Governor Her Excellency Anya Williams, Premier Hon, Washington Misick, Deputy Premier Hon. E. Jay Saunders - under whose ambit that department falls.
Also, in attendance were Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development Hon. Jamell Robinson, Minister of Home Affairs Hon. Otis Morris, Opposition Leader Hon. Edwin Astwood, as well as other members of Parliament.
The census sets out to capture, in addition to the number of persons living in the Turks and Caicos Islands, information on the household, environment, crime, education, international migration, health, access to internet and other amenities, as well as economic activity.
The census will begin next week on North and Middle Caicos, and then the rest of the country.
For the time in the country’s history, the data collection will be paperless, as the field workers are expected to use electronic devices to collect their information, using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) system.
The CAPI system, according to Deputy Chief Statistician Sabrina Williams, will not only improve the timeliness of data collection, but also improve data quality, enable the supervisor to collect real time information from the field workers, assign or reassign field workers, identify errors and how to correct them and also to detect enumerators’ (field workers) location when they capture certain information.
Acting Governor Williams, having examined the terrains and population of the TCI, described the project as a daunting task.
“I know that this will not be an easy exercise…I think we can all attest to that,” she said, while encouraging the populace to comply with the workers. “Driving on Millennium Highway, through certain sections of Providenciales, I think this is going to be a daunting exercise for these officials, and so, I want us to really encourage them and to encourage this department, because I know it is going to be a tremendous task, but it is one that is greatly needed.”
Williams pointed out that the Turks and Caicos Islands have experienced phenomenal population growth over the past decades.
“Even looking at the numbers for the past 10 years, between 2012 to 2022, when the last estimated census was carried out, there was over a 30 percent growth in our population,” she revealed.
BELONGER POPULATION LAGGING BEHIND
She pointed out that those numbers are extremely important to know, because they provide a better understanding as to whether the population was growing or shrinking.
“In Turks and Caicos, our population is growing extremely fast. But when we look at the detail of our population and the demographics of our population, we see that our Belonger population is growing at an extremely slow rate as compared to our expatriate population.
“And so, that helps government to better able to plan its priorities, to look at what investment is needed…it is important to know the distribution of the population across the islands,” she continued.
CENCUS WILL NOT BE USED FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES
While stating that getting the information on the TCI population was critically important, the acting governor asserted and assured that the data would not be used to round up undocumented individuals, and so, that should not scare them away from participating.
“It is extremely critical for us to gather the information, and I am asking that the public be cooperative to provide true and accurate information to our census officials. This information is not to round up individuals or for immigration or other purposes,” she emphasized, noting that it is being done for the powers that be to better understand the growth and demographics.
For his part, Finance Minister Hon. E. Jay Saunders reminded the gathering that the census was not just about numbers but a reflection of the TCI society, which is said was a central tool for the country’s progress.
“It will provide vital information of our population, its composition, which is crucial to our government and policy decisions that would enable us to acquire the necessary resources, as well as to make other informed decisions,” Saunders pointed out.
He said the census will not only tell how many people that are living in the Turk and Caicos Islands but also provide the breakdown, which also included education and occupation, living conditions and what amenities they have access to, while noting that when such data is collected, government would then be able to make the decisions that would impact people’s lives for the better.
Leading up to the launch, there was a slogan, tagline, jingle, and logo competition. This chosen slogan for the census is: “Our Future Starts Here…Get Counted,” which was penned by Demari Fulford. The second place prize went to Yuah Sayao, while the third place went to Leishawn Green.
The winning tagline is: “Count Me In,” and was created by Kavya Mirwani. Jaiden James came in second, while Rylan Gibbs was third.
The winner of the local competition was Davidson Medeide, with Lerone Ingham second and Lavenia Hamilton-Bishop third. The jingle winner was Brentford Handfield.
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