Census over 80% complete six weeks in

| 30/11/2021 | 28 Comments

(CNS): Having passed the six weeks mark, officials from the Economics and Statistics Office say that the fieldwork part of the Census 2021 is more than 80% complete and enumerators are doing their best to get to the remaining households that have not yet been counted. But the onus is also on members of the public to make sure they take part in this national exercise as it is an offence to refuse to answer the census questions and all non-compliant households will be referred to the Legal Department for enforcement under the Statistics Act in due course.

“We seek the public’s continued cooperation in conducting the census so that we meet the mandates of the Statistics Law,”said the ESO Director and Head of the Census Team, Adolphus Laidlow. “We are urging all those who have not yet participated to provide the information required so that the Islands can obtain the most accurate data possible.”

Census data provides important statistics about the Cayman Islands that will be used in every walk of life for the next 10 years but notably for the development of these Islands by both the public and private sectors.

“It will also inform about Planning and Infrastructure Development, Women Health and Fertility, Agriculture, Fishing and Food Security, Security and Crime Prevention, Life Expectancy and Quality of Life Indicators, Environmental usage and protection, Economic Development and Jobs Creation, Traffic Models Development for the Road Infrastructure, and Hazard Management and Disaster Mitigation. All residents of these islands benefit from this data,” Laidlow said.

Personal information provided is confidential under the law, so it is also a punishable offence attracting equally stiff penalties for the authorities to reveal any individual’s information. “People can be reassured that the information they provide will be treated with the utmost confidence. Only generic and aggregated information will be released in the census report when it comes out next year,” the director explained.

The census exercise is mandatory under the Statistics Law and Regulations and non-compliance makes people liable for possible prosecution. For instance, not cooperating with the enumerators or requests in their data gathering is a punishable offence. If proven to be in breach of the mandatory requirement to answer the census questions under the Statistics Act, a person will be deemed to have committed a criminal offence, and upon summary conviction is liable to a fine of up to $5,000.

Residents who have not yet taken part are now urged to contact one of the census offices or call the census hotline 516-3329 or ESO Office 244-4602 to make sure they are counted.


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Category: Government Administration, Politics

Comments (28)

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  1. Anon says:

    Census was done at my rental address which I was due to vacate..I was told that if visited at new address to say the census had been done at old address meaning I had no need to do again..meanwhile what happens with new Tenants at old address? Not included?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Did mine by telephone!

    Some pointless questions, though, but they explained that it was multi-informational, in order to gather info for various Ministries.

    Gather info? Yes! Use info for forward planning? In your DREAMS!!

  3. Anonymous says:

    These people are only doing their jobs to help us the people of these islands plan for our future and allow governments in the future plan based on our needs and populations numbers. Throwing them out, cursing them out, refusing to give them any information or lying if you do give the answers hurts no one but yourself.

    This is a process done all over the world. Only in Cayman do we have such selfish and irresponsible people that don’t realise the reasons for it.

    • Anonymous says:

      Needs to be done online. Simple as that.

    • Anonymous says:

      Only in Cayman do we have such breaches of confidentiality. These people tell their husbands, wives, mothers, brothers and sisters what they know and it doesn’t take long for a name to be figured out, even when they don’t divulge it.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Tired of all the threats of being fined if you don’t do, don’t do that. Nobody has knocked on my door regarding census as far as I am aware and I will not be phoning anybody to either phone not answered, leave a message or waste my money on a phone call. If we had to call then why not make appointments? You organised this and if it not organised and carried out properly – that’s on you. How would you like to receive a threatening letter saying you will be fined for not carrying out your job properly for which you are being paid?

  5. Anonymous says:

    ESO remains tone deaf on how to explain the census process.

  6. Anonymous says:

    I find it appalling that there are threats of imposing fines on people when ESO is not held accountable. I emailed twice in advance of the commencement of the Census to find out if workers would be required to be vaccinated – no response to either email. I believe that was my answer – they would mot be required to be vaccinated and going into private homes. Shame on you ESO.

  7. Robert Mugabe IV says:

    Neither the census taker and dweller neither have masks on. Setting a great example. That’s why I told the ‘census taker’ when she stopped outside my house not to get out of her vehicle as I couldn’t guarantee her safety. She laughed, I didn’t. I told her there was a pandemic going on at this moment and my dogs might not like her. Then she laughed again.
    We did census over the phone the next day. The only information I gave her is how many male/female/adult/children lived under the roof and that I got my ‘power supply’ from CUC.
    Other than that she was told ‘no comment, next question’

  8. Anonymous says:

    At least it didn’t take as long to get to 80% as vaccinations.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Who exactly are they going to fine if no one answers the door? The owner of the property who may not even live in Cayman?

  10. Anonymous says:

    I answered the questions, none of them honestly but I answered them all.

    • Anonymous says:

      I think that is what many people do

      • Anonymous says:

        and how exactly does this help this and future governments plan for this and future years. This information will be used for the next ten years. Don’t complain when this or future governments have to make decisions based on the lies you told them..

        • Anonymous says:

          Lol you really think that.

        • Anonymous says:

          Then why do they ask for a name? It is not relevant. Don’t confuse information and intelligence gathering. Many of the answers sought have nothing to do with planning.

    • Anonymous says:

      I guess that will help the government plan on how much stipend to give you??..Lord help us and when expats call us Caymanians useless and lazy, we wonder why..

  11. Anonymous says:

    No one will be fined for not taking part in the census.

  12. Anonymous says:

    I really don’t know how the questions that are being asked will help anything.

    How many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, how many tv’s, how many radios and is your stove electric or gas?

    To me it seemed more like a survey for CUC.

    • Anonymous says:

      Didn’t even ask what the residents would like to see improved, absolute waste of time and plenty of wages for friends and family.

  13. Anonymous says:

    There has been no attempt that I am aware of for any census officials to contact me or any member of my household. As for referring anyone for prosecution – go screw yourselves! Hundreds of people have had their pension monies stolen and there has been no effective action by law enforcement. Overt instances of corruption occur, with no effective enforcement. The ESO has been part of the problem, seriously undercounting the population for years.

    • Anonymous says:

      The first time they came to mine, I was in quarantine. It was the 3rd week in September, NOT October. The second time was on 13 Nov, a Saturday. It was extremely inconvenient. Even if my mom was knocking, I would not have been able to answer the door. But they left a threatening letter dated 10 days earlier, telling me they had been there several times (I call BS) and that I would be fined $5K if I did not participate… Once you lie to me you have a very hard time getting back in my graces.

      If the very first question established that I am a SWCF (single white Caymanian female) that lives alone and have never been pregnant, they could skip a LOT of the BS questions and be finished in 5 min or less. Saves a lot of people trouble time and money.

      https://www.eso.ky/user_images/Census_2021_Questionnaire_Items_Brochure.pdf

      Genuine question here – Can this be done over the phone??

    • Anonymous says:

      Same here!

  14. Anonymous says:

    Super spreader.

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