By: Adams Osman Kamara, Bo City
Communities across Pujehun District came alive on Census Night as Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) officially commenced the Mock Population and Housing Census at 00:00 hours, following a series of community engagement activities designed to raise public awareness and encourage active participation.
In a strong display of civic responsibility, hundreds of residents gathered in various communities as Stats SL officials engaged traditional leaders, local authorities, youth groups, women’s groups, religious leaders, and other stakeholders on the importance of the mock census and the role citizens play in ensuring its success.
During the engagements, officials explained that Census Night serves as the official reference point for the exercise. This means every individual is counted according to where they spent the night when the clock struck midnight.
Residents were encouraged to cooperate with census personnel by providing complete and accurate information, as reliable population data is essential for effective national planning, resource allocation, and sustainable development.
As part of the public sensitization campaign, the District Census Officer (DCO) for Pujehun District, together with the Regional Statistician, engaged the public through Wanjeh Radio, where they discussed the importance of the mock census and addressed questions from listeners.
During the radio programme, officials highlighted that census data plays a critical role in government planning, equitable distribution of resources, improvement of social services, infrastructure development, healthcare delivery, education planning, and evidence-based policymaking.
They also urged residents to welcome census teams into their communities and provide truthful responses to all questions to ensure the accuracy and credibility of the exercise.
The impressive turnout at community engagement sessions reflected growing public awareness and confidence in the census process, as residents demonstrated their willingness to support an exercise expected to contribute to Sierra Leone’s future development planning.
The Mock Population and Housing Census serves as an important rehearsal for Stats SL to test field operations, digital data collection systems, logistics, supervision mechanisms, and public participation ahead of the next national Population and Housing Census.
Statistics Sierra Leone expressed appreciation to the people of Pujehun District for their cooperation, enthusiasm, and commitment to the exercise, while encouraging residents to continue supporting census teams throughout the mock census period.
As the clock struck midnight, Pujehun District joined other selected mock census areas across Sierra Leone in taking a significant step towards producing accurate and reliable population data that will guide national development priorities and improve service delivery for citizens.