ADVOCACY FOR STATISTICS AND STATISTICAL GOVERNANCE1
by
Prof. Ben Kiregyera
Chairman Board of Directors
Uganda Bureau of Statistics
1.
Introduction
In a number of African countries, the role and importance of statistics is still not yet appreciated.
In these countries, Government machinery (planners, administrators, etc.) do not see statistics as
vital for good governance and management of public affairs and managers both in public and
private sectors do not see much relevance of statistics in their work. All over Africa, statistics
remains a myth to the general public, intelligible only to the privileged members of the
profession and related professions. Unfortunately, statisticians as well as national and
international statistical associations/societies have in the past not done much to help the situation.
In fact, in many African countries including Uganda, the national statistical professional bodies,
unlike other professional bodies (e.g. National Economics Society, Association of Engineers,
etc.), have become moribund or are not as active as they should be. For instance, the Uganda
Statistical Society (USS) which was started in 1980 is now moribund. At regional level and
international level, the situation has not been very different. For instance, the Africa Statistical
Association (AFSA) which was started in mid-80s to promote statistical development in Africa
is moribund. The International Statistical Institute (ISI) which is one of the oldest professional
scientific bodies in the world (was started in 1885 while the International Congress which
preceded the ISI started in 1853) did not do much to address the problem in the past. In fact, it
was only in 1992 that the ISI Council established an Ad Hoc Committee to "… catalogue the
problems affecting the profession due to inadequate perception on the useful role and positive
contribution of statisticians in modern society……."2.
In a sense, we have a vicious circle of statistical under-development. Little or lack of
appreciation at political and policy level of the role and importance of statistics has led to underfunding statistical production. This has led to production of poor statistics which in turn has led
to lack of demand for statistics, low priority for statistics and status of the national statistics
office and more under-funding, making it extremely difficult for data providers to meet user
requirements. This vicious circle, which is depicted in the following figure, has led to, inter alia:
poor policy design, uninformed decisions, inability to monitor implementation of policies,
projects and programmes as well as inability to evaluate the success of such policies, projects
and programmes.
1
2
Paper presented at the PARIS21 Workshop for East Africa and The Horn on “Supporting
Development Policy with Statistics”, Kampala, Uganda, 23-26 July 2001. Views expressed are
personal to the Author.
The Role of Statisticians, Report of the Ad Hoc Committee, International Statistical Review,
Volume 60, No. 3, 1992
1
l
The above scenario has led to a situation where:
 there is limited use of statistics in policy design and decision-making,
 there are weak relationships between producers and users of statistics both nationally and
internationally,
 existing data are poor (usually inaccurate and conflicting), insufficiently processed/analyzed,
insufficiently disaggregated (e.g. by gender and geographical divisions) and not easily
accessible,
 intra and inter-country comparable statistics are lacking,
 there are gaps in statistical systems and data series,
 there is inadequate coordination of statistical capacity building and data collection efforts,
both nationally (e.g. between the Central Statistical Office and statistical offices line
ministries) and internationally, etc., and
 national statistical systems are fragile, not sequenced and are insufficiently resourced.
This paper explains how advocacy for statistics and improved statistical governance can assist to
break this vicious circle in those countries that fit the above scenario. The paper draws heavily
on Uganda's experience in statistical reform and governance.
2.
Advocacy for Statistics
What is involved in advocacy for statistics and what advocacy tools exist? Advocacy for
statistics involves promoting "statistical thinking" in society and putting statistics on a front
barner; demonstrating to Governments, legislators and other users the power and use of statistics;
promoting a culture of evidence-based policy and decision making; and mobilizing national and
international resources for statistical development.
Specifically, advocacy for statistics entails (but is not limited to):
 promoting wide use of statistics in society,
 making the general case for the role of statistics in informing the process of government
(supporting decentralization, accountability and good governance), facilitating better
decision-making and hence faster growth and more effective use of valuable resources for
development and poverty reduction,
 promoting use of statistics in macro-economic management and especially in ensuring
economic stability and growth,
 demonstrating the use of statistical data for decision-making at sectoral level by presenting
examples of how policy-makers can use available data from a range of sources to improve
both policy and day-to-day management,
 emphasizing the role of statistics in supporting private sector investment and in promoting
the development of effective and efficient markets,
 making a case for specific statistical activities e.g. the Population and Housing Census,
drawing attention to the range of uses census data could be put to and highlighting the costs
and benefits of the census compared to other information sources,
 mobilizing national and international resources for statistics, and
 promoting coordinated investment in the development of the national statistical system.
2
Although the need for such advocacy has been expressed in various initiatives on statistics e.g.
the Addis Ababa Plan of Action for Statistical Development in Africa in the 1990s (the
review of the plan is now under discussion), no concerted action was taken to develop the-stateof-the-art advocacy tools. In the context of the PARIS21 process, such advocacy tools are being
developed, targeting different audiences including planners and decision-makers, other users
such as civil society organizations, the private sector, politicians, the media, donor agencies and
international organizations. The tools will include briefing notes, brochures, posters, Internet
web sites and materials for use in the press. The tools are being developed as "global public
goods" which countries can appropriate and adapt/tailor to their needs.
Such advocacy tools should be used to empower and equip statisticians to better communicate
with the media and other target audiences. They should also be used to empower communication
specialists and the media to handle statistics. It may help to include advocacy for statistics in the
curricular of statistical training institutions and in the in-service training programmes of national
statistical offices.
Opportunities for statistical advocacy are greater now than they have ever been, given the
statistical requirements for Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). PRSPs are national
strategies for poverty reduction and development. They are also instruments for developing
countries' relations with the donor community as well as a basis for concessional lending to
developing countries and debt relief under the HIPC initiative. National statistical systems
should take advantage of these opportunities.
3.
Statistical Governance
It is now well known that statistical governance, viz. legal framework, the structure and
management of the national statistical system will impact on the effectiveness of the system in
delivering demanded statistical data.
There should be a statistical legislation that ensures uttermost effectiveness and credibility of
the national statistical system by underpinning its professional independence, institutional
arrangements for the collection, management and dissemination of official statistics and
providing for the management of the system. Unfortunately, statistical systems in many African
countries are governed by outdated or inappropriate statistical legislation. For instance, there is
one country where the statistical legislation of 1963 is still in force in spite of tremendous socioeconomic changes that have taken place in that country over the years.
One way to ensure professional independence of the national statistical system and one which has
worked well in some African countries including Uganda, is to create a semi-autonomous agency to
collect and compile official statistics, co-ordinate and supervise the national statistical system.
Other characteristics related to independence of the agency include3:
 authority for professional decisions over the scope, content and frequency for data compilation,
 authority for selection and promotion of professional, technical and operational staff,
 recognition by policy makers outside the agency of the authority to release statistical
3
Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Office, 2nd Edition, National Research Council,
National Academy Press, Washington D.C, 2001
3

information without prior clearance,
adherence to predetermined schedules in public release of important economic or other data to
prevent even the appearance of manipulation of release dates for political purposes, etc.
The agency should set standards, promote quality and use of "best practices", and provide technical
back up and support to all other national institutions that produce data. It should also co-ordinate the
national statistical system in order to facilitate:
(a)
establishment of priorities for data production,
(b)
prevention of duplication of effort which invariably leads to inconsistent statistical products,
(c)
elimination of wasteful utilisation of scarce resources and facilitation of pooling meagre
resources for greater impact. This consideration cannot be emphasised enough given the
economic problems African countries face,
(d)
avoiding working at cross-purposes, and
(e)
production of improved statistical products - more relevant, accurate, consistent, timely,
comprehensive, etc..
In addition to co-ordination, it is desirable that there is collaboration, networking and information
sharing within the system. Clear arrangements for such co-ordination, collaboration and networking
should be worked out, nurtured and where possible, formalized. It was recommended by the Addis
Ababa Plan of Action for Statistical Development in Africa in the 1990s that national data UserProducer Committees should be formed to provide a forum for dialogue between the two groups
of stakeholders. Such dialogue is necessary to "advance a common understanding of policy issues
and related data requirements, set data priorities, clarify the objectives for data collection and
agree on the best methods for data collection"4 In some countries, such committees have been
formed. It has been observed that while user-producer committees formed in relation to specific
issues e.g. Early Warning Systems, Population and Housing Censuses and Trade Statistics appear to
have functioned well, attempts to establish general statistical committees have been largely
unsuccessful [5]. Also the experience in many African countries is that where the general
committees have been formed, these committees have by and large ceased to function after one or
two meetings. Some reasons for failure to establish these committees or for the committees not
being active include failure by some data users to see the relevance of some topics handled by the
Committee to their work, the practice of some users sending to meetings low-ranking officials who
may not always be aware of the data needs of their institutions, failure by statistics offices to work
out interesting agendas, etc. It is, therefore, imperative that due care be exercised in forming the
committees and working out their business.
The national statistical agency should have a Governing Board that sets policy, recruits and
remunerates staff, approves budgets and work programmes, etc. The Board should ensure that it
recruits highly qualified and skilled professional staff without external (political) interference
and puts in place incentive structures that will make it possible to motivate and retain staff.
Members of the Board should include representatives of major stakeholders, mainly data users,
data producers, the civil society and research and training institutions.
4.
4
Conclusion
Household Surveys of Agriculture: A Methodological Study, United Nations Statistical Office,
N.Y, 1991
4
In some African countries, failure to appreciate the role and importance of statistics has led to a
vicious circle of statistical under-development that has led to poor policy design, uninformed
decisions, inability to monitor implementation of policies, projects and programmes as well as
inability to evaluate the same. Statisticians and statistical organizations have in the past not done
much to advocate for statistics in part because they have not been empowered and equipped to do
so and also because there have been no state-of-the-art advocacy tools. Inadequate statistical
governance has also affected the state of national statistics in many African countries.
There are now tremendous opportunities for statistical advocacy in developing countries
including meeting statistical requirements for the PRSPs and advocacy tools now being
developed by PARIS21 as global public goods. It is expected that these tools will empower and
equip statisticians to better communicate with their clients and the public. In addition, it will be
necessary to up-date statistical legislation, improve the governance of national statistical systems
and motivate and retain staff through appropriate incentive structures.
References
Kiregyera Ben
1.
Sample Surveys with special reference to Africa, book published by PHIDAM
Enterprises Ltd, Kampala, 1999.
2.
PARIS21 Initiative: A Developing Countries' Perspective, paper presented at the Second
Meeting of PARIS21 Interim Steering Committee meeting, Geneva, June 2001.
3.
Novel Statistical Capacity Building Initiatives: Addis Ababa Plan of Action and
PARIS21, invited paper to be presented at the 53rd Session of the International Statistical
Institute, Seoul, Korea, 22-29 August 2001.
Uganda Government
4.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act, 1998.
5.
Poverty Eradication Action Plan (2001-2003), Volume I, Ministry of Finance, Planning
and Economic Development, Kampala, February 2001.
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
6.
Addis Ababa Plan of Action for Statistical Development in Africa in the 1990s, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, 1990.
7.
A Strategy for the Implementation of the Addis Ababa Plan of Action for Statistical
Development in Africa in the 1990s, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1993.
5
Figure:
Vicious circle of statistical under-development
Under-funding
statistical
production
Little/lack of
appreciation at
political and
policy level
Under-funding
statistical
production
Poor policy design
Difficulty in meeting
User requirements
Uninformed
decisions
Production of
poor statistics
Inability to monitor
implementation
Inability to evaluate
performance
Lack of demand for
statistics
More under-funding
Low priority for
statistics and status of
the national statistics
office
6