MPs question validility of national statistics

Members of Parliament put the Minister of Finance, John Rwangombwa, to task to reassure Rwandans on the validity of national statistics as he tabled the revised bill establishing the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) on Monday.Though the MPs approved the basis for the revision of the bill, they sought answers on means to patch up issues related to the publication of uncoordinated statistics.MP Constance Mukayuhi, chairperson of the budget committee, asked the minister to shed light on how the revised law would ensure that public institutions provide timely and unscattered data to beef up government’s planning processes. “We usually have problems with statistics. When research is conducted, different institutions give different figures on the same issues. What plans are there to coordinate research?” MP Theobald Mporanyi posed.The Minister responded by saying challenges in the provision of appropriate, reliable, timely and accessible statistics from government departments are now an issue of the past.“No one else is allowed to do this (carry out research) without permission. Whenever research is conducted, it is the institute of statistics that issues the visa on the methodology to be used and how data will be analysed and published,” Rwangombwa said, adding that government’s five-year plan on the development of sound national statistics has eliminated gaps.NISR is the primary statistical agency with a mandate to produce official statistics.Rwangombwa told MPs that there are clear guidelines on the coordination of research, data gathering as well as standards and methodologies of collection and publication.He said all government institutions now have statistics officers to help coordinate activities.The Minister was accompanied by the NISR Director General, Yusuf Murangwa.Murangwa told The New Times that NISR now collaborates with other government departments in “a forum” through which it endorses the statistics produced by other institutions after checking the methodology and standards. “This is an issue of the past since, until now, the problem is largely resolved. We have a five-year plan that started in 2009. But of course, building statistics is a transition. We can’t do everything at the same time but good progress is being made,” he said.The NISR was created in 2005 but a 2009 organic law requires that all laws establishing public institutions that came into force before its existence must conform to it.It is on this basis that the new NISR bill has come to the House.The journey towards rebuilding a credible national statistical system received a significant boost on February 3 when the first ever National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) was launched.This is a strategic tool to strengthen the country’s entire National Statistics Systems (NSS) – a combination of institutions that provide statistical information to the government and the public, for planning and decision making.During the February launch, the then acting Director General of NISR, Dr. Diane Karusisi, said that NISR vision was to become an efficient information support towards realising the country’s vision 2020 and be recognised as a leading national statistical system in Africa.In February, officials also announced that the cost of implementing the NSDS for five years would cost $ 80.5 million to be footed by government and development partners.