LIBERIA – Today is census day in Liberia. The day has been declared a national holiday by President George Weah, who is not even in the Country to be counted. The day is in a state of confusion as a result of bad organization and alleged corruption.
Processes leading to today have been very chaotic, disorderly, out of hand, and off the hook; with young people setting roadblocks in rural cities in demand of remuneration for works done.
One political analyst in Monrovia called what is taking place on census day “a major five-alarm mess.”
LISGIS, meaning the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services in a late evening press release said it was determined to go ahead with the census today Friday, November, 11,2022, amidst widespread rumors earlier that the government had call-off the census.
The census house in the release said it had completed repositioning, including the deployment of 15,595 enumerators for the census exercise.
But from what has been observed up to the publication of this article, some Liberians were reporting that they have not seen enumerators in their homes.
The confusion with the census is not just amongst ordinary Liberians. Officials at LISGIS are themselves clashing on whether to go ahead with the census, or not.
While the acting head of LISGIS, Mr. Wilmont Smith says the institution is on course with the census, his deputy for data processing and statistics, Alex M. Williams said LISGIS was not ready to go ahead with the census. Alex M. Williams had hash words for his boss. He told newsmen that his boss, Wilmont Smith must stop misleading the public that it is possible to hold the census today.
Alex M. Williams indicates that the census process is in shambles. He called on Wilmont Smith to stop misleading and embarrassing not just the President of Liberia, but the entire nation that things are in place to hold the census.
Alex said the census process is allegedly marred by corruption, dysfunction, and ineptitude. He stated that what is taking place in the name of the census was a complete mess.
Our Corresponds in the counties have reported the same thing – no enumerators.
Some Enumerators who spoke with our correspond in Monrovia said they have been waiting for LISGIS officials to be deployed, but have not seen them. “No equipment, no per diem. We have been here for hours”, they told our reporter.
Meanwhile, in wake of the fiasco, Liberians are patiently waiting at their homes to be enumerated.
