November 20, 2017 at 1:02 pm #28212

African Statistical Day

In a speech delivered on the occasion of the African Statistical Day 2017, the Minister of State for the Plan poses the problem. How, indeed, improve lives by improving economic statistics? It gives, below, a panoramic view and book tracks to explore.

Ministry of Planning

National Institute of Statistics

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTER OF THE PLAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE AFRICAN STATISTICAL DAY 2017

Congolese and Congolese,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The 18th of November of every year has been chosen as African Statistics Day, since 1993, by the meeting of the Ministers of Planning of the African countries. The objective of this Day is to make a plea to the general public, on the interest and utility of statistics, as tools for decision-making. This event is held each year around a theme. The theme chosen this year by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is: “IMPROVING LIVES BY IMPROVING ECONOMIC STATISTICS”.

As early as 2008, according to a statement from the Commission of the African Union, this day was instituted so that the African political authorities in charge of economic development should rather raise awareness about the crucial role of statistics as a public good and basic infrastructure of the development process.

By choosing this theme, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) wants to draw the attention of decision-makers, Technical and Financial Partners, Data Producers, Researchers and the Public in general, to the importance and the the usefulness of statistics for better decision-making in economic development planning and management, as well as the monitoring of policies put in place and that this can be reflected in the life of every Congolese and every Congolese.

To meet the challenge of the availability of quality economic statistics and in time, the authorities perceived very early the need to have a reference framework for the development of Statistics in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thus, the Government adopted the first document of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (SNDS 2013-2017). A second generation of the NSDS, currently in progress, should aim at strengthening the achievements of the implementation and correcting the shortcomings noted in the first NSDS.

Important activities will be carried out to improve the system of data dissemination by modern means of technology including websites, the use of statistical data with tablets by decision-makers and populations for the improvement of culture statistics in the different decision-making processes.

In addition, the ratification of the African Charter of Statistics by our country is a strong signal from the Government to comply with internationally recognized standards and principles.

To this end, I would like to reiterate my most fitting respects to His Excellency the President of the Republic, Head of State, Joseph Kabila Kabange, for having committed our country to the path of emergence by 2030.

It is also an opportunity for me to thank His Excellency the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Bruno TSHIBALA NZENZHE to engage the Government of the Republic, in the vision of the Head of State, for the development of our System National Statistics.

Congolese and Congolese,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The lessons learned from the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs in acronym, focused primarily on traditional development issues, have shown that progress is difficult to measure, especially for the least developed countries, even in the most basic areas such as the reduction of poverty or infant and maternal mortality. This difficulty is mainly due to the insufficiency of human, technical and financial resources, to which the highest authorities of the DRC are committed to remedy this durably.

After 2015, the United Nations has agreed to set up a new development agenda, called the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, whose goals and targets will pose a challenge for our National Statistical System. The Sustainable Development Goals create unprecedented demand for data in almost every field.

That is why, for these purposes, the DRC is committed to internalizing the indicators and targets to ensure that we are at the Rendez-vous with the conclusive results.

Congolese and Congolese,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me note that opportunities to leverage new data sources have increased dramatically in recent years. Indeed, in addition to information from traditional sources such as administrative data, surveys and censuses, the National Statistical System can now consider the use of data from web applications, mega data produced by commercial companies, and non-governmental organizations, as well as data collected through satellite or drone technology. This is an important aspect of the so-called “data revolution”.

Congolese and Congolese,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, we are faced with a situation in which statistical capacity-building has the power to tip the balance in favor of development and in which the old difficulties remain as new possibilities emerge.

That is why our National Statistical System needs to provide relevant, comprehensive, accurate and objective statistical information to shed light on the major social, economic and environmental concerns and issues in our country.

The data produced and published must focus on the needs and expectations of users. In this respect, our national statistical system must adjust to adequately meet this demand. Monitoring our various development frameworks, as well as the commitments to which our country has subscribed, requires us to have reliable and quality statistics.

One of the major challenges facing the National Statistical System is that of insufficient quantity and quality of statistical professionals. In this regard, the Government of the Republic has undertaken to make every effort to form a critical mass of cadres in not only national but also sub-regional schools. Thus, strategies will be developed to complete the institutional reform of the National Statistical System and, above all, strengthen the coordinating role of the National Institute of Statistics (NSI).