Census chaos in Amudat threatens accuracy

The ongoing national census in Amudat District has been marred by multiple anomalies, raising concerns over the accuracy of the exercise.

Several areas have been left out or partially covered, potentially disenfranchising thousands of citizens.

At the start of the census, Achoririchor and Amudat subcounties were missing on the register, but were added after three days.

However, all villages in Lokosowan Parish are still missing from the register.

Local leaders assert that the exclusion of these villages could result in significant underrepresentation of Pokot communities of Amudat

"Apart from Lokosowan even Narimit Parish has only two out of nine villages reflected, while Losidok Parish has four missing villages: Kodikidik, Kongorok, Lomunan, and Apeikar," said Amudat Woman MP Betty Chelain.

"In Chepkararat Parish, Lokales Subcounty, only two villages are reflected out of ten," she adds.

Furthermore, enumerators are struggling due absence of facilitation.

"We have not received any facilitation and yet we are expected to work efficiently," Francis Nangat, an enumerator of Kamkon Village, told the Nile Post.

MP Chelai, who is currently in the district to monitor the exercise, said the number of tablets available for data collection is inadequate, and likely to delay the exercise and cause inaccuracies.

"Only 97 tablets were delivered for data collection out of the expected 390. The exercise is severely hampered," she said.

"The village chairpersons were also left out during the training. This has left them unaware of the importance of the ongoing census."

In 2014, Amudat had a population of 151,000. If these anomalies are not rectified, the current census may yield inaccurate data, potentially affecting resource allocation and development planning for the district.

Authorities must urgently address these issues to ensure a comprehensive and accurate count.