THE Bulawayo City Council yesterday queried the preliminary results of the August 2012 population census saying there is a tendency to understate the city’s population.
Report by Khanyile Mlotshwa
The figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimStat) on Monday showed the country’s population had increased by a marginal 1,1% to 12,9 million, Bulawayo had the lowest population of 655 675 people representing 5% of the country’s population while Harare had the highest number of people at 2 084 592.
But mayor Thaba Moyo said although the local authority was yet to analyse the results of the census its estimates showed the city had 1,5 million people.
“I cannot comment on the results because we have not sat down to study them,” he said.
“But I would like to say we are not surprised by the outcome of the census as they (census administrators) have always taken our figures down.” “Our census has never reached 1 million, although as Bulawayo, we have always budgeted for 1,5 million people. “We are worried that we have never had the population of Bulawayo going up considering that Bulawayo is a city where many people across tribes and race prefer to settle in. “It is surprising that our population would go down when the cost of providing housing in the city is going up. The last time (2002) it was 750 000 and now it is 655 675.”
An official of the Matabeleland Civil Society Forum (MCSF) Anglistone Sibanda said his organisation had reservations on the way the census was conducted.
“We were monitoring the population census and had reservations from the outset about the process,” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“This process was seemingly hijacked by the intelligence officers as you are aware that Zimstat offices in Bulawayo are in the same building with the intelligence (Magnet House).
“If we are 655 000, why are we having water problems? Our dams should be able to manage like they have done in the past 20 years when the figure was around that number. As the MCSF, we go with the city council figures.”
“We expected these results and they are meant to ensure that in the next 10 years, the development of Bulawayo and Matabeleland is stifled.”
