Staff Writer
FINANCE Minister , Mthuli Ncube says government cannot entirely fund the 2022 census which requires US$85.5 million.
He made the remarks in his keynote address at the 2022 Population and Housing Census Advocacy and Resource mobilisation breakfast meeting in Harare Monday.
“The cost of the 2022 Population and Housing Census is expected to be covered by the Government of Zimbabwe. However, it is likely that there will be a shortfall over the lifespan of this project, hence the need to mobilise the additional resources required, for the 2022 Population Census project with an estimated cost of about US$85,5 million,” he said.
The breakfast meeting was attended by representatives from United Nations, United Nations Population Fund, African Development Bank, World Bank and International Monetary Fund, ZIMSTAT among others.
He said the immediate objectives of the census are to measure the present size of the population of Zimbabwe, its partial distribution among rural and urban areas as well as the provinces, districts and wards.
“It also determines the present demographic, social, economic and cultural characteristics of the population of Zimbabwe,” he said.
The announcement comes at a time when Zimbabwe is facing multi-faceted challenges which nave been worsened by accelerated economic deterioration.
The Southern Africa nation is going through the worst economic crisis in a decade against a backdrop of two successive droughts which have left to date, almost 5.7 million Zimbabweans food insecure.
