Census 2024: The machine is in motion
Ahmed Lahlimi chose the right timing to organize a press conference on Thursday August 29 at the headquarters of the High Commissioner’s Office for Planning (HCP). This coincided with the final stage of the face-to-face training and the eve of the launch of the household data collection operation for the 2024 General Census of Population and Housing (RGPH). The census began on September 1 and is due to end on September 30.
In any case, during the meeting, Ahmed Lahlimi insisted that the questionnaires do not include any questions relating to family income or expenditure, nor the CIN number. For the high commissioner, the data collected during this census cannot be linked to personal data included in other administrative registers, such as the National Population Register or the Unified Social Register (RSU). «These data have no role in determining the eligibility or entitlement of families to benefit from direct social assistance programs» , said Lahlimi, to reassure people against some fake-news circulating on social media claiming that the information gathered by the census will be used to calculate the RSU indicator. «As was the case in previous operations, the goals are determined according to national priorities that require statistical data, and in line with United Nations recommendations» , said Lahlimi. The overall budget for the census over the four years from 2022 to 2025, from preparation with mapping and training to completion, amounts to 1.460 billion dirhams (USD 146 million). The largest part of this budget is absorbed by the compensation paid to participants, i.e. nearly 970 million MAD (USD 97 million).
This represents around 67% of the total. As the 2024 census is totally digital, the HCP has invested in technological solutions such as 55,000 tablets, security software, platform hosting, and other solutions.
All this has channeled nearly 200 million dirhams (USD 20 million), representing 14% of the budget.
Added to this are other purchases of goods and services, including car rentals. As for mapping, it took one year of work (2023), involving almost 2,000 researchers, not to mention communication, development work, and insurance… all this is estimated at almost 280 million dirhams (USD 28 million), or nearly 20% of the total expenditures.
Mohamed CHAOUI
