The government says there is no finalisation of a budget for the planned 2022 Trinidad and Tobago Population and Housing Census.
In a media release on Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Planning and Development said there has been no Cabinet approved or finalized figure.
It said the amount that was quoted to the Joint Select Committee on Finance and Legal Affairs on February 18th is an initial estimate based on the traditional methods used to undertake the national survey, which entailed highly labour intensive processes.
The Ministry said costs for field officers, data entry clerks, other levels of staff, stationery, data storage via expensive servers, security, uniform related costs and a slew of other details carry expenses that the public especially does not see.
Planning and Development Minister, Camille Robinson-Regis, said the Ministry is working with the Central Statistical Office to provide a moderate final budget with measures that will significantly reduce the cost.
The Ministry said one such measure is the use of technology.
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