NSO runs short of K1.6bn for  Malawi census exercise

National Statistics Office (NSO) says it has a deficit of K1.6 billion for payments of enumerators for the September population and housing census.

Spokesperson for NSO Kingsley Manda said the organization is now looking up to the government for a bail out.

He said donors pledged to pump in the money out of the K6.4 billion budget but the donors have chickened out, they seem not to be interested to fund the exercise which is undertaken every 10 years.

“The development partners are not coming forthwith but we cannot postpone the census exercise, this is why we are looking up to government for help,” said Manda.

The last census, which put the Malawi population at 16 million, was held in 2008.

Ministry of Finance spokesperson Davis Sado said the government would make its position known on Thursday at a stakeholders meeting for the census in Lilongwe.

“There is a meeting tomorrow where we will make our position known in terms of financing,” said Sado.

Manda, on the other hand, has told people to ignore fake advertisements for enumerators job vacancies, they were from conmen.