New institute will deal with official stats
It is often joked that in the hierarchy of untruths there are three categories: lies, damn lies, and statistics. With such a widespread belief that official numbers are not to be trusted, it’s no wonder that efforts are being made to beef up the credibility of our statisticians. As News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports, some major steps are being taken.
Glenn Avilez, Director General, S.I.B.
“The C.S.O. is now dead and has been resurrected as a new body, dynamic and willing to face the change of the coming future.”
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
On April first, the Central Statistical Office became the Statistical Institute of Belize. At a ceremony this morning at the Radisson, the public was introduced to the new body and the changes that come along with it.
Glenn Avilez
“The Statistical Institute of Belize Act 2006 is by no means perfect, but it is light years ahead of the one it replaces in terms of good statistical governance. It has transferred a significant amount of the power previously vested in the Minister of Statistics to an independent board of directors representing key sectors of national life.”
“The act grants full autonomy to the head of the institute in deciding on technical and methodological issues as it pertains to the collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of official statistics.”
By removing politics from the equation, SIB is hoping to establish credibility with the public.
Glenn Avilez
“If we want to go to the next level, getting efficient use of our resources we need accurate information and you can only get accurate information if there is public’s cooperation and public trust in the figures that are produced by the C.S.O. or the Statistical institute of Belize, so that was yes, one of the main catalyst for the change.”
Kendra Griffith
“This does not necessarily mean though that the figures you all were putting out were wrong, right?”
Glenn Avilez
“Correctly. It is just perception and as they say, perception is sometimes bigger than reality, so that was something that we had to deal with.”
According to C.E.O. in the Ministry of National Development, Hugh O’Brien, the move had the full backing of Belmopan.
Hugh O’Brien, C.E.O., Ministry of National Development
“Being in the Public domain, C.S.O. faced a number of challenges, one of it, the level of public trust in official statistics. In addition, there is the perception that information provided by entities is used in a discriminatory manner, especially for taxation purposes. The Government of Belize therefore decided to pursue the transformation of the C.S.O. as an important reform initiative.”
SIB was however quick to point out that autonomy does not imply privatisation.
Omar Ortiz, Director, SIB Board
“The Statistical Institute of Belize will continue to depend on government in meeting its operational costs. This is not to say that the SIB will not strive to gain independence by virtue of the sales of its data. Instead, it signifies granting the new agency full latitude to carry out its mandate in a professional manner.”
The Statistical Institute of Belize will be overseen by an eleven-member board of directors. For more information, visit the S.I.B. website at www.statisticsbelize.org.bz. Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
The Statistical Institute of Belize is headquartered in Belmopan, but has offices in each district. It currently has twenty-seven employees.
And just in case you were wondering what kind of statistics the SIB is producing, here’s a sample taken from the recently released brochure “Know your Stats.”
Belize’s population as of 2006: three hundred and one thousand, divided roughly equally between men and women, rural and urban.
Annual population growth: three point three percent.
Percent of population under eighteen: forty-four point six percent.
Number of Belizeans employed: one hundred and two thousand, two hundred and thirty-four.
Number of Belizeans unemployed: ten thousand, five hundred and seventy-three.
Unemployment rate: nine point four percent.
Ethnic breakdown: Mestizo, fifty point seven percent; Creole, twenty-six point nine percent; Maya, eight point nine percent; Garifuna, six point one percent; and East Indian, three point one percent.
Major exports: In 2006, citrus concentrate was number one at one hundred and nine million dollars, followed by sugar at one hundred point one, petroleum eighty-eight point five, marine products eighty-six, bananas fifty point six, garments thirty-six point six, and papayas, worth thirty-one million Belize dollars.
Those are just a small sampling of what’s available from the Statistical Institute of Belize. Again that website address is www.statisticsbelize.org.bz.
