News / National
National Census: Binga left out due to Ndebele and Shona-speaking enumerators
28 Aug 2012 at 18:26hrs | Views
Binga residents have lashed out at the deployment of Ndebele and Shona-speaking enumerators to their area in the just-ended national population census programme, saying the language barrier had disenfranchised most of them, the Newsday reported.
Binga is predominantly a Tonga and Nambya-speaking area.
Villagers at Nangangala and Manjolo in Binga North said they were not counted as the enumerators were not familiar with the local
"Two ladies came to my homestead, but soon left as we could not understand each other. They spoke in Shona," said a villager who only identified himself as Nyamupanda.
Other villagers interviewed at Manhole business centre expressed similar sentiments."We heard of this programme during the week (last week), but it was not clearly explained what it was all about.
"Those who came (enumerators) left with little information as people could not understand them," said a villager who declined to be named.
Villagers said they were caught off guard as there is hardly any radio or television transmission in the area.
The 10-day programme to count all Zimbabweans, which officially ended yesterday, was initially rocked by logistical challenges which included shortage of stationery, Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstats) T-shirts for the enumerators and gate-crashing by Zanu PF youths and members of the State security sector. So critical was the shortage of materials that some enumerators, mostly in Masvingo and Bulawayo, temporarily shelved household visits until they received copies of the data capture documents.
In some instances, enumerators reportedly conducted business without Zimstats identification T-shirts, a development that threw a cloud of doubt on the process whose start was also marred by chaos as soldiers demanded to conduct the census ahead of other civil servants.
Binga is predominantly a Tonga and Nambya-speaking area.
Villagers at Nangangala and Manjolo in Binga North said they were not counted as the enumerators were not familiar with the local
"Two ladies came to my homestead, but soon left as we could not understand each other. They spoke in Shona," said a villager who only identified himself as Nyamupanda.
Other villagers interviewed at Manhole business centre expressed similar sentiments."We heard of this programme during the week (last week), but it was not clearly explained what it was all about.
"Those who came (enumerators) left with little information as people could not understand them," said a villager who declined to be named.
Villagers said they were caught off guard as there is hardly any radio or television transmission in the area.
The 10-day programme to count all Zimbabweans, which officially ended yesterday, was initially rocked by logistical challenges which included shortage of stationery, Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstats) T-shirts for the enumerators and gate-crashing by Zanu PF youths and members of the State security sector. So critical was the shortage of materials that some enumerators, mostly in Masvingo and Bulawayo, temporarily shelved household visits until they received copies of the data capture documents.
In some instances, enumerators reportedly conducted business without Zimstats identification T-shirts, a development that threw a cloud of doubt on the process whose start was also marred by chaos as soldiers demanded to conduct the census ahead of other civil servants.
Source - Newsday
