STATISTICAL LEGISLATION AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE

Ben Kiregyera

NSDS Workshop,

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

9 August 2005

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COVERAGE

I. Statistical Legislation

II. Other Infrastructure

physical environment

statistical library

statistical

ICT

management systems

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I. Statistical Legislation

Statistical legislation essential. It:

is the lifeline of a NSS

provides institutional and regulatory framework for

production and management of official statistics

ensures professional independence of NSO to enhance

integrity, impartiality & credibility of official

statistics

ensures uttermost effectiveness of official

statistics

should provide for a distinct National Statistical Office

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UN recommends that “a statistical agency should be distinct from those parts of government that carry out enforcement and policy making activities…..”

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Integrity and credibility of data better assured if:Integrity and credibility of data better assured if:

o official statistics official statistics free from free from perniciouspernicious political political

influenceinfluenceo NSO enjoys a high profile NSO enjoys a high profile (Mozambique, (Mozambique,

Malawi, S. Africa, etc)Malawi, S. Africa, etc)o best practices and highest professional best practices and highest professional

standards appliedstandards appliedo transparency of sources and methods transparency of sources and methods (GDDS)

well-definedwell-defined dissemination policydissemination policy• advance publication of release calendaradvance publication of release calendar• simultaneous release of datasimultaneous release of data

(Fundamental principle of equal access to data)(Fundamental principle of equal access to data)

o More More congenial Statistics Actcongenial Statistics Act

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Country Year

Nigeria 1957 rev.1958

Kenya 1961 rev. 1972

Zambia 1964

Swaziland 1967

Namibia 1976

Liberia 1966

Botswana 1967

Egypt 1967

Ethiopia 1972

Gambia 1972

Malawi 1967 rev.1985

Rwanda 1945

STATISTICS ACTS

o Almost all countries have a

Statistics Act

o Most Statistics Acts are

outdated (see table)

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Outdated Acts generally do not:

define the National Statistical System (NSS) provide for independence and objectivity of official statistics define qualifications & appointment of Head of National Statistical Office & staff provide for stronger coordination of the NSS provide for a professional code of conduct provide for disseminating data collected at public expense provide for equal and simultaneous data release provide for the development and maintenance of national socio- economic-demographic database

Important that Act reviewed as part of NSDS process

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Checklist of items to include in a Statistics Act

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Application of the law

spirit of the law

application of the law

(examples from Zanzibar, Namibia, Swaziland,

Uganda)

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II. Other Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure – buildings & facilities

Statistical library - focal point for increasing knowledge base Does the NSO have a library? Is the library well stocked with books & other reference materials? Does the library receive journals? Does the library have sitting space? Is the library used regularly by staff?

Statistical infrastructure

Field organization ad hoc or permanent? Effectiveness Sustainability Major constraints

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Business Registers

Basis for collecting reliable economic statistics

Proliferation of business registers?

Are registers updated regularly? When were they

last updated?

A case for a Central Business Register?

National Master Sample (NMS)

Important tool for integrating different household-based surveys or survey rounds

Does the country have a NMS?

How up-to-date is the NMS?

Apart from the NSO, who else uses the NMS?

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• Geographic frame (GF)

GF is used as a sampling frame for household-based surveys

do the Enumeration Areas (EAs) have adequate boundaries?

are EAs digitized, etc.

Population Census data

source of benchmark information

basis for calculating many rates used to

compute key development indicators

e.g. Infant mortality rates,

maternal mortality rate

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ICT infrastructure

IT policy and strategy

computer equipment – numbers, how old

Local Area Network – existence and effective use

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Intranet

Internet

GIS Infrastructure (mapping capability e.g. poverty mapping)

Databases

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Dataset

A set of data consisting of a list of subjects and data vector associated with each

Database

One or more large structured sets of data, usually associated with a software to update and query the data

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Management systems

Systems that will cater for management of both human

resources and finances

systems and procedures for staff recruitment and

promotion

Terms and Conditions of Service

Financial Regulations

Accounting Guidelines

Procurement Guidelines

END

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