National census moves at a snail's pace in capital

National census moves at a snail's pace in capital

JAKARTA (JP): As the month-long national census entered its
12th day on Monday, a census official suggested it possible that
data on only 20 percent of the city's residents had been
collected.

Head of the population division of the city office of the
Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Rusmandesiar said that some
census officials had encountered difficulties in carrying out
their duties, while others had resigned or simply abandoned their
jobs.

He said, however, that it was understandable to find that only
a small percentage of the population had been surveyed because
not all city residents were willing to be interviewed.

"We have received reports that census officials have
complained that people, especially those from the middle and high
classes, have proved difficult -- some even reluctant -- to be
counted as they were often not at home when the officials called.

"The small percentage is also because census officials are not
yet used to their tasks," he said.

Rusmandesiar said he was optimistic that all city residents
would be counted by June 30, the final day of the census.

He called on the people to support the census and urged those
who had not yet been counted to report to the BPS.

The slow progress can be seen from the fact that few buildings
have stickers showing that their tenants have been counted.

This year's census is the fifth conducted in the country since
its independence in 1945. Prior censuses were held in 1961, 1971,
1980 and 1990.

Guidelines for city census officials stipulate that the city
is divided into 20,000 census blocks, each containing 80 to 120
families.

There are a total of 12,065 census officials deployed in the
city, each receiving Rp 2,250 (26 U.S. cents) for each family he
or she counts.

The city has received Rp 4.7 billion from the state budget and
Rp 5.4 billion from the city budget for a supplementary question
in the questionnaire on respondents' economic status.

Interviewed separately, a number of census officials and
subdistrict officials said several census officials had resigned
while others had not been performing their duties.

Other census officials complained of a lack of coordination
with their superiors, saying they found them unreachable if they
had difficulties performing their duties.

Suwardi, RW 03 neighborhood chief in Kebon Sirih, Central
Jakarta, said the census in his area was not running well as some
officials were neglecting their duties.

"For instance, a bundle of census materials have been
abandoned by a female official at my house. I don't know where
she is now as she is not from the neighborhood.

"BPS officials said that census officials would cover their
respective neighborhoods as they know them than others. But it is
not always like that," he said.

He said that several neighborhood units in his area had no
census officials up to present.

"Three out of 14 neighborhood units here have no census
officials," he said.

M. Toyib, supervisor for census officials in Kebon Sirih, said
a big problem was that census officials came from as far away as
Ciputat in South Jakarta and were not familiar with the Kebon
Sirih area.

"Probably because of their minimum knowledge, some officials
have resigned from their duties. At present there are only 14
active officials out of a total 21 registered," he said.

Toyib admitted that he had yet to check the work of census
officials under his supervision.

The lack of coordination was also mentioned by Aditia, a
census official from Kali Pasir in Central Jakarta.

"I was given the census materials and no BPS officials have
contacted me since," he said.

He said he did not have enough knowledge on conducting the
census, although he underwent three days of training last March.

"For instance, the map of our census area is unclear. It just
shows blocks bordered with the names of the streets," he said.

Aditia also complained that they had not been informed about
the payment for the job.

"I once asked a BPS official. But he just said that there
would be some but he did not know how much," he said.

Another census official from Balimester, East Jakarta, who
refused to be named, shared Aditia's opinion, saying that he was
working like a volunteer.

"I must pay for my transportation fees, my food and sometimes
equipment like knifes and pens myself," he said.

Balimester census supervisor Fatonah said her workers had not
received the clothing, like caps, jackets and arm bands, which
had been promised to them.

Commenting on such complaints, Rusmandesiar said census
officials had not been informed of payment.

"We had not received confirmation about wages we would receive
from the state budget when the training session was held last
March," he said.

He also said that he had yet to receive reports on officials
resigning.

"The current number of census officials is, indeed, less than
at the beginning. There were 13,098 participants at the training
session, but there are now 12,065 remaining," he said. (ind)