POSITIONING OF THE NATIONAL
STATISTICAL OFFICE & COORDINATION
OF THE NSS
WORKSHOP ON STATISTICAL
ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT,
ANGOLA, 2-6/12/06
By Moffat Nyoni
Acting Director of Census and Statistics,
Zimbabwe
7/24/2016
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COVERAGE
•
•
•
•
What Type of Independence?
The Merits and Demerits
Which Ministry?
Coordination Mechanisms: Some
Provisions of the Census and Statistics Bill
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What Type of Independence?
• In principle there are three basic types of
independence for a statistical office.
• These are:
(i) Professional independence
(ii) Administrative independence and
(iii) Financial independence
In practice various combinations of the three are
found. Neither administrative nor financial
independence is found complete in any
statistical office.
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Type of Independence
• Professional independence requires that
the authority producing official statistics
does so without outside direction as to the
methods used or results to be produced.
• There is convergence on the need for
professional independence which is seen
by stakeholders to exist.
• This leads to the need for the
independence to be buttressed by law.
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Type of Independence (Continued)
• Generally there has always been professional
independence in most African statistical Offices, implied
in the legislation but buttressed more by tradition.
• Relying on tradition however is exposed to risk of loss of
institutional memory when there are many changes at
Ministries and in Statistical Offices. Some people may
want to or actually cross the traditional boundaries
without noticing that they have done what is taboo.
• Professional independence is a partial insurance and
assurance that only statistical methods and
considerations are used in producing the statistics.
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Type of Independence (Continued)
• Other reasons for requiring independence
demand more than just professional
Independence.
• These include the need to cut down on
bureaucracy and to craft conditions of
service tailor made for the institution in
order to attract, motivate and retain
qualified and competent staff.
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What Type of Independence?
• For that some form of administrative
independence greater that normally
enjoyed by government departments is
required.
• This gives rise to the idea of autonomy or
semi-autonomy.
• The autonomy always goes with
professional independence.
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Type of Independence (Continued)
• The third type of independence is financial. No
country has achieved such independence for a
statistical office.
• However, outside statistical circles, once
autonomy is mentioned, the expectation is that
the entity should be self financing.
• In Zimbabwe the decision to let CSO exit the
public service was taken, in 1999, by the Public
Service Commission, in the context of
Commercialization of identified government
entities.
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Merits and Demerits
• The real choice therefore is between
professional independence and
enhancement of status within the Public
Service or getting out of the service.
• Advantages of remaining within the
service include
– Remain in touch with source of funds, not
likely to be left in the cold
– Get to know about new policies/programmes
sufficiently permitting being proactive
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Merits Demerits (Remaining)
• Demerits (In the case of Zimbabwe) include
– Bureaucracy remains
– Cannot craft appropriate conditions of service
– Professional independence not visible to all
stakeholders
– Not easy to tap other sources of funding
– Coordination role may be compromised
– Allows tapping into and keeping pace with advances
in best practices in corporate management.
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Merits and Demerits (Exiting)
• The advantages of Exiting or semiautonomy can be read off from the
demerits of remaining in the public service.
For example
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Which Ministry?
• In most countries the NSO reports to the Ministry
of Finance (MoF), where there is no planning
function assigned to a single ministry, the
Ministry of Finance and Planning or the Ministry
of Planning where there is such a separate
Ministry. In a few cases they report to the Office
of the President
• Regardless of whether the NSO is semiautonomous or not it has to be accountable to
Parliament through a Minister.
• The MoF reduces bureaucracy and is likely to
have experienced staff.
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Coordination Mechanisms
Some Provisions of the Census and
Statistics Bill, 2006 of Zimbabwe.
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COORDINATION MECHANISMS
•
•
•
•
•
Minister at ministerial level
Board of Directors (key stakeholders)
Director General
ZIMDAT (a national socio-economic database
with development indicators and data)
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COORDINATING ROLE OF A STRONG STATISTICS AGENCY
Other data
producers
Data
users
Statistics
Agency
Research &
Training Centres
Data
suppliers
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• Governing body for the Agency
• 10 members consisting of:
– Director-General (Secretary to the
Board)
– Representative of the Ministry
responsible for statistics
– No more than 8 others appointed by
Minister in consultation with President
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• Minister appoints chairperson (nonexecutive) from members
• Members selected from experts in
statistics, information technology,
economics or related fields to
represent main stakeholders
• Appointed for 3 years renewable
• At least half of the other members
shall be women
• Appointments to be gazetted
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Responsibilities
• Promote and protect impartiality of official statistics
• Monitor compliance with best practices for
statistical production
• Set & monitor policy implementation for the NSS &
management of Agency
• Safeguard professional independence of Agency
• Cause minutes of committee meetings
• Annual report includes directives by Minister & final
direction taken
• Approve corporate plans, work plans & budgets of
the Agency 7/24/2016
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Disqualifications
• Not citizen of Zimbabwe
• Married to person engaged in any activity that is
likely to interfere with impartial discharge of duty
as member
• Declared insolvent or bankrupt
• Made an assignment / arrangement with
creditors which has not been rescinded or set
aside
• Been convicted within past five years
• Is a Member of Parliament
• Currently serving on two or more boards of other
statutory or corporate bodies
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
One Ceases to be a Board Member
when one:
• vacates
• becomes disqualified to be a member
• is dismissed for:
– failing to comply with conditions of appointment
– being mentally or physically incapable of efficiently
carrying functions
• On recommendation of Board for absenteeism
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• Meetings of the Board (at least six times in
each financial year of the Agency)
– 5 members form a quorum
• Committees of the Board
– Chaired by member of Board
– Non-Board members to meet qualification
conditions
– Tenure of office determined by the Board
• Remuneration and expenses of Board
members
– Paid from funds of agency
– Remuneration fixed by the Minister
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– Allowances fixed
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Disclosure of interest by member of board
• Board or Committee Member or Spouse of member
tenders or acquires pecuniary interest in a contract
with Agency
• Acquires pecuniary interest in a company or
association of persons
– Applying / negotiating for contract with Agency
– Applying for approval of project proposal by the
Agency
• Owns immovable property or holds right in
immovable property or pecuniary interest in
company or association resulting in his private
interests coming
into conflict with duty
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DIRECTOR-GENERAL & OTHER STAFF
DIRECTOR-GENERAL:
– Appointed by the Board with approval of
Minister responsible for statistics
– Candidate to be Zimbabwe citizen
– Removal from office by the Board
– CEO of Statistics Agency
– Secretary to the Board
• FUNCTIONS:
– Managing operation & property of the
Agency
– Supervise and control employee activities
– Appoint part-time authorized officers
• REMOVAL FROM OFFICE FOR:
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Same reasons
as a Member of the Board
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DIRECTOR-GENERAL & OTHER STAFF
Other Staff
• Board determine, suspend, discipline or
discharge staff
• Board with approval of Minister provide
staff salaries, allowances, pensions,
gratuities, retirement benefits
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COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
AND MANAGEMENT
• National censuses or surveys by other
government institutions
– Approved by the Board
– Results to be deposited with the National
Statistics Agency
– Minister may, by Statutory Instrument
• make rules concerning procedures to be
followed
• Issue a code of practice setting out
professional standards and ethics to be
followed by all persons producing official
statistics
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FINANCIAL
PROVISION
Funds of the Agency
• Agency to be fully funded by government
• Sources:
– Appropriation by Parliament
– Any fees or charges for any services
– Loans, donations or grants with approval of
Minister
– Any other moneys as may vest or accrue to
the Agency 7/24/2016
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FINANCIAL PROVISION
Accounts and Audit
• Agency shall keep proper books of
accounts
• Agency shall submit annual financial
reports to the Minister
• Accounts subject to audit by Comptroller
and Auditor-General and the report
submitted to the Board and Minister
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GENERAL PROVISIONS
Regulations may be provided for:
• manner of conducting a census
• specifying particulars and information to be
collected in a survey or census
• form in which any document be completed
during census or survey
• manner, form, time, place when information
is required and the person requiring it.
• matters in respect of which statistics may be
collected
• fees for services rendered or received
• penalties for contravention of regulations
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COORDINATION OF THE
NATIONAL STATISTICAL
SYSTEM
• Critical if provisions of the
legislation are to be achieved
• Possible coordination mechanisms
– Producers Committees
– User-Producer Committees
– Producer - Research and Training
Institutions
– Donors (basket funding)
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COORDINATION OF THE
NATIONAL STATISTICAL SYSTEM
• Possible coordination mechanisms
– Standardization of concepts,
definitions, norms &
classifications
(e.g. Compendium)
– Central Business Register
– Statistical Plan
– National statistical work programmes
– National databases and databanks
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Thank You
Tatenda
Siyabonga
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