Statistics agency secures Sh5bn loan in bid to boost data collection
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics chairman Terry Ryan. Questions have been raised over the quality of the agency’s data with users pointing out inaccuracies. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU
What you need to know:
The Sh5 billion loan will be spent in the next five years on implementing the KNBS Strategic Plan which puts emphasis on specifics as opposed to the generalised data produced at the moment.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has received a Sh5 billion ($50 million) loan from the World Bank as it moves to boost the quality of its data collection.
The money will be spent in the next five years on implementing the KNBS Strategic Plan which puts emphasis on specifics as opposed to the generalised data produced at the moment.
“It is a credit line to the government that envisages production of comprehensive quality statistics for informed policy making and development in the country,” KNBS said in a statement.
Both the government and the private sector rely on the agency to provide data on growth, population and other indicators such as inflation to guide in decision making.
Questions have lately been raised over the quality of KNBS’ data with users pointing out inaccuracies.
With the advent of devolution, the agency was expected to start producing county-specific data beginning with the Economic Survey 2015 but this did not happened due to lack of resources.
“Good data is not cheap,” KNBS chairman Terry Ryan said during the release of the survey. “We are doing our best but we need adequate resources to produce complete data.”
The agency, which has also lost a number of key staff to well-paying organisations, says it requires additional financing to acquire equipment and hire more workers.
At the moment, the agency has 499 staff against an expected workforce of 1,173. It also has 47 county offices but they have limited ICT infrastructure and vehicles.
“The data gaps are identifiable in the following areas: agriculture and livestock, real estate, services and informal sector,” KNBS says in its strategic plan. “Further, the industrial, environmental and social sectors equally have insufficient indicators.”
Lack of updated poverty and consumption expenditure indicators has also meant that the country continues to utilise outdated information.
The document adds that updating of the Central Business Register is not regular, which means that a lot of businesses are not captured and this impacts negatively on surveys targeting businesses.
The funding will also enable KNBS to publish more data on counties, which have become centres of investment.
“Financing agreements will be signed by the two parties after final approval by the World Bank Board,” the KNBS statement said.
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