Thursday, Dec 29, 2005
By Ashfaq Ahmed, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Residents should not be wary of giving information to enumerators conducting census (Tedad 2005), said a senior government official.
"Our enumerators do not ask for visas, passport copy or any other identification from residents because their job is to collect data only," said Hafsa Al Ulama, Assistant Under Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Planning and Head of General Census Authority. All enumerators wear ID cards.
Talking to Gulf News, Hafsa said conducting the census is a gigantic task and they were prepared for all kind of hurdles, which were quite expected.
About some enumerators quitting the job, she said the ministry had trained 10 per cent more enumerators because it was quite expected. Some 4,000 enumerators have been trained for the job.
'Enumeration going well'
She urged residents to cooperate with enumerators and not be afraid to give the required information. The questions asked by enumerators are also available on the website www.tedad.ae. Residents can send emails if they have any queries or doubts.
Hafsa ruled out rumours that census work is hampered. "We are close to covering 75 per cent and doing very well according to schedule," she said.
The nationwide census is expected to finish on December 30. However, she said, census work will continue in the first week of January as a number of residents are on vacation.
"We can't afford to miss anyone. We have to collect data from each and every resident because it is essential for strategic planning in future," she said.
The task is bigger because the census is being done after 10 years. The last general census was done in 1995. The next census will be done in 2010 on the GCC level. "We will be instrumental in the next census as we are the pioneer in introducing technology to collect data," she said.
Residents were a bit apprehensive about details being collected. Some people feel it's an invasion of their privacy.
"I was a bit wary of the enumerator. For a minute, I thought it was someone from the Immigration Department who has come calling to check on the visa status. Though I had nothing to hide, the kind demeanour of the enumerator put me at ease," said Raghuraman, an Indian national residing in Sharjah.
Martha Stewart, a resident of Umm Suqueim, said: "For a moment, I did think why the enumerator was asking about my computer or whether I have an internet connection. Does this have something to do with a future tax regime or what if it landed in some regulatory hands? Though I had learnt through the newspaper and radio advertisements about the exercise, it would have been better if the exact format of the questionnaire was made available beforehand."
She said some of the census information, such as housing details and financial information are especially sensitive and nobody wants that to be revealed to the public.
"Anyway, the brief inhibition was put to rest by the enumerator," she said.
The Tedad questionnaire requires detailed information about individuals and households ranging from names, dates of birth, relationships and marital status, nationalities and duration of residence (for expatriates), educational and professional status, specifics about the telephone and IT gadgets at home.
Gulf News 2005. All rights reserved.
