The National Statistics System: Our Challenge

The National Statistics System: Our Challenge

Presented by Statistics South Africa

03-04-2002

Lord Charles Hotel: Somerset West

Cape Town

Pali Lehohla

Statistics South Africa

The National Statistics System: Our Challenge

Abstract

That the implementation of a national statistics system to meet development information needs in South Africa is long overdue is beyond debate. Perhaps what could be the centre of debate would be the options for, and the pace of deliberately developing a national statistics system. Worldwide, it is observed that first world countries possess and continue to invest in well developed information and statistics systems. This statement does not suggest causality but observes this profound pattern. The paper attempts to outline what is required for South Africa to meet its development information needs within a globalising economy and an informatising society. The paper asserts that this can be achieved by developing a national statistics system. Drawing from international best practice and experiences, the paper identifies four general patterns of statistical development adopted by various countries. It observes that the development of statistical infrastructure is a long and arduous process and notes that sustained use of statistics and credibility of the system depend on quality and timeliness of the products delivered by the system. Focusing on South Africa, the paper makes a critical analysis of how the statistics system in South Africa stalled its development over time, and points out the major challenges and populates a “to do’s” agenda for South Africa to be part of the information age.

1. Background:

Governments require data and information for planning, decision-making and monitoring of social and economic development and change. Different sets of requisite information e.g., quantitative or and qualitative are used for this purpose. Data types require different methods of collection. For instance, through a snapshot household survey, quantitative data can be assembled on the living conditions of citizens; alternatively, through a continuous compilation of administrative records, an assessment of living conditions or access to facilities can also be made. The second type of data is qualitative (tending to explain an underlying phenomena), and this requires a different method of compilation including interpretation. It involves feelings and perceptions about issues. The third consists of studying existing records and documents such as records of proceedings, project documents and minutes. Information architecture and electronic data management systems enable technocrats to support politicians in decision making by ploughing through this maze of information. Project KITE in South Africa aims at achieving this goal.

South Africa, in the post apartheid era, recognises the need for a planning cycle and a framework for managing strategic policy priorities. This is captured and demonstrated in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the creation of clusters, five in all, and the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). It is admitted that had a more rigorous approach to planning been adopted, the last six years would have witnessed considerably more progress. Subsequently the President gave instructions to the Management Committee (MANCO), of the Forum for South Africa’s Directors’ General (FOSAD), to develop a planning cycle that would be underpinned by a strategic framework. This would strengthen co-ordination and alignment of plans, strategies, budgets, monitoring and reporting. In short it will enable better management of service delivery. In their Lekgotla of 2000, Cabinet instructed departments to create an information system and present progress in the next Cabinet Lekgotla scheduled for January 2001. Statistics South Africa was mandated the task of co-ordinating this effort.

The South African government like many others, through a range of departments and instruments, engages in detailed data gathering and information collection processes of one or the other form in an attempt to inform its development policies and programmes.

2. Organisation of the paper

This paper is organised into three parts. The first part focuses on country experiences, the second relates to the South African situation and the third part puts across a programme of action for the establishment of a national statistics system.

3. What is a national statistics system

“A national statistics system is a system that has a coherent body of data. It consists of users, producers and suppliers of data and information. It aims to ensure continuous co-ordination and co-operation among producers and users of official statistics in order to advance standardisation, quality, consistency, comparability and use of evidence as the basis for policy choices and decision making, and avoid unnecessary and costly duplication.”[1]

A National Statistics System “is a coordinating framework within which the required information for development in the form of indicators are generated. Outputs of the National Statistics System would be indicators and databases within the context of a Management System of Statistical Information. … A National Statistics System is a partnership between those responsible for policy formulation and those responsible for policy implementation so that the latter know precisely what the former wish to achieve, and thereby facilitate production of relevant information to reinforce the planning cycle.”[2]

4. Organisation of statistics systems

Statistics systems are either centralised or decentralised. In a centralised system, there is a single authority with a legal mandate for collecting statistics and this institution collaborates with others by formal arrangements on the collation of statistics. The Handbook of Statistical Organisation defines such organisation as follows “A system…of one department within the government to organise and operate a scheme of co-ordinated social and economic statistics pertaining to the whole country. This department collects, compiles and publishes statistical information …and, in addition collaborates with other departments of government in the compilation of administrative and specialised statistics.”[3]

Examples of countries with a centralised system are Australia, Canada and South Africa. Those known to have a decentralised system are Japan, America and the United Kingdom (UK), the latter until recently and is moving towards a centralised system.

5. What are official statistics:

Official statistics are defined by the United Nations Statistical Commission as “an indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society, serving the Government, the economy and the public with data about the economic, demographic, social and environmental situation. To this end, official statistics that meet the test of practical utility are to be compiled and made available on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies to honour citizens’ entitlement to public information.”[4]

The White Paper on official statistics in the UK define them as those statistics that “are collected by government to inform debate, decision making and research both within government and by the wider community. They provide an objective perspective of the changes taking place in national life and allow comparisons between periods of time and geographical areas.”[5]

“Open access to official statistics provides the citizen with more than a picture of society. It offers a window on the work and performance of government itself, showing the scale of government activity in every area of public policy and allowing the impact of public policies and actions to be assessed. Reliable social and economic statistics are fundamental to ...open government (and) it is the responsibility of government to provide them and to maintain public confidence in them.”[6]

An important aspect of official statistics is the trust that the participants accord the system. To retain trust, the agency should decide on the basis of professional considerations, scientific principles and professional ethics, what methods and procedures should be followed for the collection, processing, storage and presentation of statistical data.

6. Statistical development: an international perspective

In this part of the paper we explore statistical developments in a number of countries in particular, the Americas, Oceania, Europe and Africa. Finally we focus on South Africa.

It must be noted that the evolution of official statistics in each country is mainly a product of its history. A recurring feature across the country studies is the dominance of one of the three patterns in the development of their statistics. Firstly, we observe a pattern in a group of countries where statistical development has generally evolved over time without any direct intervention by the political leadership. In these countries the statistics systems succeeded or declined over time. Success stories of statistics systems where this pattern was predominant are Australia, Sweden and Canada. A decline in the statistics system has been observed largely in countries on the African continent. The UK has also had a tumultuous era in the development of its statistics system which was precipitated during the reign of Thatcher. A second pattern is that of countries where statistical development had advanced to impressive levels but collapsed dramatically towards the end of the 1980’s. In this category are the Eastern Bloc countries and China, which through their centralised planning approach developed a sophisticated battery of statistics systems for centralised economies but faced an unprecedented onslaught with the demise of communism and the emergence of the market economy. The third pattern of statistical development features in most of the third world countries. This came about with the advocacy for writing off debt in respect of the highly indebted and poor countries. With the movement towards addressing debt relief, statistical organisations are beginning to adopt strategic plans as the means of managing their affairs. In this countries we observe political leadership taking the lead to address issues of information and statistics. In this regard PARIS21 continues to play a positive catalytic role. Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda and Malawi are some of the countries that have adopted this approach. The fourth pattern of statistical development consists of a situation where countries without addressing matters of debt relief, discover that it cannot be business as usual; democracy, informatisation and globalisation demand of the political leadership to adapt strategic plans and follow them through. As a consequence the leadership put statistics at the top of the agenda. South Africa, Korea and some of the Latin American countries fall in this category.

6.1 Chile

The 1990’s witnessed relentless efforts towards reform in government systems, and since 1995 the Government of Chile had been committed to a process of state modernization. The management of the National Institute for Statistics (INE), like the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as we will see later responded to the historic importance of this initiative.

An important initiative was recognising that for INE to succeed in its modernising programme, it was essential to ensure the full commitment and involvement of staff. As a result, the staff of the institute was brought in to form joint task teams carrying out an organizational diagnosis. These teams were supported by the specialist work of a team of professionals assigned this purpose in 1998. The diagnostic exercise focused on the assessment of critical areas of management, namely: Human Resources Quality, Management Styles and Strategic Planning.

In addressing these four areas INE, ascertained that if it is to achieve quality statistics, essential skills for driving statistics had to be acquired, mastered and assimilated in the Institute. This was achieved through implementing vocation for statistical work at INE.

A key management area for analysis was Human Resources Quality. The main effort here went into ascertaining the degree to which three essential skills, regarded as the critical ones were to be addressed. Firstly, effort was put on the quality of human resources to ensure that they have been assimilated and mastered in the Institute. Secondly, focusing on responsibility and commitment towards society, which in the main emphasises the importance of statistical work as an aspect that requires to be nurtured. Thirdly, vocation for public service which emphasises user orientation in the production of statistics has been implemented. As a result of addressing this area of work a common vision between management and staff was forged.

Management Style was the second critical area analysed within INE. As regards this aspect, the diagnosis pointed out to a practice that focused on procedures and oversight of tasks and activities than towards processes and empowerment. A new management style was implemented which emphasised participation. The third critical management area analysed was Strategic Planning and the diagnosis indicated complete paucity of use of modern tools required for planning. The new design brought about a flatter structure which applied “values of quality, transparency, teamwork and respect for individuals in each and every project undertaken. It is a style that values creativity, responsibility, innovation and criticism in a context where users and their requirements are accorded the highest priority.”[7]

The changes in structure were followed through with changes in the budgeting procedures and adopting new technological platforms such as the incorporation of the intranet in the work process and extending the facility to the regional offices. The benefits have been in notable improvements in the quality of decisions being made. By automating processes the quality of data from field has also improved dramatically.

6.2 Mozambique

In Mocambique, the National Statistics Institute (INE) was created by Presidential Decree 9/96 of August 28th. INE is the central executive body of the National Statistics System (SEN) and it is charged with the production and publication of the country’s official statistics. The INE is an autonomous institution that reports to the Council of Ministers. The SEN’s constituent bodies include the Senior Statistics Board (CSE), the General Population and Housing Census Co-ordination Board, the National Statistics Institute (INE) and the Bank of Mozambique.

The creation of the SEN and the INE came as a sequel of the economic, social and political transformations that started, in particular, with the introduction of the Economic and Social Rehabilitation Plan in 1997. The structure, functions and results of official statistics activity came as a direct response to the new era of multi-party democracy, peace and market economy that emerged in Mozambique.

Within this short space of time INE conducted the 2nd General Population and Housing Census in 1997, the National Household Survey in 1996-97, the production of the Consumer Price Index, the Demography and Health Survey in 1997 and the re-launch of general and specialised statistical publications.

It is observed that INE increased its human resources, recruiting technical personnel with university degrees and promoting several short- and long-term training courses in order to meet its new challenges. The status of INE was administratively promoted to a deputy minister position, similar to the situation in Korea.