NISR to roll out a new data development plan

The national Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) will soon roll out a national plan for the development of data to support the implementation of the second phase of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy.Yusuf Murangwa, the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda director general, said the second national strategy is, however, still waiting for the Cabinet approval, and would cost $92.7m to implement.Murangwa said the strategy is to prepare the national statistical systems to serve a growing economy and provide a framework that supports national development.He added that the plan will address capacity challenges, strengthen and provide opportunities in data management, quality, availability and accessibility.“We have been covering more of social welfare statistics, but we now need to focus more on business statistics, especially as the country implements its growth master plan. We need to start looking at the dynamics of our business, foreign and local investments, and their contribution to the economy, the labour market, as well as what needs to be done to meet EDPRS II goals,” Murangwa said during the 2013 African Statistics Day celebrations in Kigali. Murangwa stressed the need to lay out a foundation that allows Rwanda to function as a middle income economy by 2020.“For the country to achieve its economic objectives, we must provide quality data,” he pointed out.He warned the public and private sector officials that they could face imprisonment if they fail to give the statistics when asked for it.“Our law on statistics gathering is very strict and clear; the need to avail data to the institute is not a choice, but rather an obligation,” Murangwa said.Dr. Thomas Kigabo, the central bank chief economist, called for more systems and information technologies to be put in place to ease the distribution and sharing of data and other available materials that are very essential to the economic development of the country.“We need to be sure that the information and the statistics we gather is actually being shared by all stake holders”He also called for the strategy to strongly address the challenges facing the institute especially in the area of capacity building.Dr. Felicien Usengumukiza, the deputy chief executive officer in charge of research and monitoring at the Rwanda Governance Board, said the strategy should ensure there are harmonised indicators for conducting surveys, especially at the district level during emihingo.“There is need to harmonise some of these indictors to come up with more accurate data by different stakeholders.Resources are being wasted in duplication of data,” he said.He added that it is important that before a government agency conducts a study, it should first checks if there has been a similar study done before to save resources.Rwanda was in August 2013 ranked third in Africa after Egypt and Mauritius in World Bank’s statistical capacity indicator after scoring 77 points out of 100.The success is attributed to achievements registered by NISR since 2009 with the initial five-year national strategy for developing statistics. The plan led to improved survey delivery and more professional management as evidenced by integrated Household Living Conditions Survey, National Census and quarterly and annual Gross Domestic Product.

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NISR to roll out a new data development plan