Mr. Ndayishimiye specified that the month of
statistics was established by the National Council for Statistical Information
(CNIS), during its 3rd session of June 14, 2012 to be celebrated each year,
from October 20 to November 20, in with a view to highlighting the importance
that the government of Burundi attaches to the improvement of official
statistics in the service of the development of all sectors of the life of the
Burundian nation.
He added that that period was not
chosen at random because during that period, there will also be the African
Statistics Day (ASD), which was established in 1990 by the 16th Conference of
African Ministers of the Economy and plan to be celebrated on November 18 each
year.
According to him, the celebration
of that year’s statistics month comes at a time when Burundi has just adopted a
new vision, advocating to make Burundi a prosperous nation through a sustained
increase in the production of goods. and services and structural changes
leading to increased life expectancy, satisfaction of basic needs, reduction of
inequalities, unemployment and poverty in all its dimensions, he stressed.
Mr. Ndayishimiye noted that the
national statistical system (NSS) organized that activity to stay in line with
the national vision but also with that year’s themes of the African Union:
Acceleration of the implementation of the free zone -African Continental
Exchange (ZLECAf) and the African Statistics Day: “Modernizing the data
ecosystem to accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA; the role of official
statistics and big data sets in Africa’s economic transformation and
sustainable development.”
He specified that the theme was
chosen to raise awareness, at the same time, of the producers of statistical
data, the general public and political decision-makers on the crucial
importance of statistics to achieve that vision, given that the month of
statistics is coming. at a time when Burundi is in full execution of the
general census of people, housing, agriculture and livestock (RGPHAE). It is
therefore a major step forward in the path towards the development of
statistics and its judicious use for good planning and correct formulation of
policies, strategies and programs for inclusive socio-economic development of
Burundi.
Speaking about the activities
planned during the 12th month of statistics in Burundi, Mr. Ndayishimiye
highlighted visibility, capacity building and statistical methodologies. The
INSBU and the ministerial statistical services will generally continue the
collection of administrative data in the areas of their respective competences,
the production of socio-economic profiles of the provinces of Burundi, the
national consumer price index in Burundi (INPCB), the Burundi Construction Cost
Index (ICCB), the Burundi statistical directory, the sustainable human
development document (DHD), to name just a few.