Statistics
Some investors could be shying away to invest in Nandi County due to inadequacies of statistical economic data relevant in making key priority decisions. Nandi County Government Trade and Investment Executive Committee Member CPA Alfred Lagat expressed concern that as head of Trade and Investment Department he was not able to engage some investors since the available data is inaccurate.
“I can’t engage the investors because the data that we have is not conclusive and is based on guesswork,” Lagat told National Government and Nandi County Government Heads of Department (HoDs) gathered for an advocacy forum to initiate County Statistics Abstract (CSA) in Kapsabet town.
The Trade and Investment CECM insisted that investors were now interested with variable and available statistics before accepting to invest in a county.
Ephantus Kuria, an official from National Bureau of Statistics Nairobi, sensitising National Government and Nandi County Government heads of department on developing County Statistics Abstract at Alens Hotel Kapsabet. (Photo by Geoffrey Satia)
Lagat who previously served as Finance CECM said the Department of Trade and Investment was a key consumer of statistics and Nandi County was ready to embrace CSA which will steer the process of planning and resource allocation in the county.
“From now you must have this as part of the annual work plan document which should have set a timeline,” Lagat reminded the close to fifty HoDs in a Kapsabet hotel. He regretted that even most of the statistics data needed for budgeting were not backed with accurate figures but guesswork.
The Trade and Investment CECM said that in an era of public-private partnership available and accurate statistics where key as private sector consume data and proper statistics. Lagat further challenged the National Bureau of Statistics who are offering technical support in the development of CSA to employ the current technology in gathering and analysing of statistics as this will make the work easier.
“Please help us with easier and quicker ways of data collection and analysis. The process should be tech driven and quick for decision making,” he added. The Trade and Investment CECM however mentioned public participation as ‘the biggest competitor of statistical planning’.
According to him, citizens in the face of facts, will always insist on what they think was a priority project to them regardless of statistics saying something contrary. He opined that once the County Government starts using reliable CSA data then people will start, “appreciating the difference between the county that uses statistics versus the one that doesn’t use it”.
Ephantus Kuria, an official from NBS while highlighting benefits of CSAs, suggested that the County Government of Nandi should elevate statistics as a directorate from the current position as a unit. He said having statistics as directorate will have multiple benefits to the County Government including having reliable statistics at any given time.
Kuria pointed out that having CSA will provide a single one stop source of information which will be used by departments while planning and policy making.He revealed that the new generation of CSAs will be produced on an annual basis with follow up standards and improvement.
Nandi County Government Trade and Investment Executive Committee Member CPA Alfred Lagat during CSA advocacy forum at Alens Hotel Kapsabet (Photo by Geoffrey Satia)
NBS officials challenged Nandi County to follow in the footsteps of the six counties (Laikipia, Makueni, Kericho, Uasin Gishu, Nyandarua and Nakuru) who produced the second generation of CSAs after the first one in 2015.
The CSA sensitisation meeting was called to ask HoDs from the two levels of governments to help NBS and appointed technical staff in the collection of departmental data in preparation of producing working CSAs document by the end of the year.