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Census kicks off in UAE

AL AIN/RAS Al KHAIMAH — Equipped with personal digital assistants for the first time, an army of enumerators has fanned out in the emirates as the Census has been set rolling at most places.

While the exercise took off in Al Ain on September 6, all preparations have been made in Ras Al Khaimah.

Humeid Ali Al Zaaby, Census's Director in Abu Dhabi Emirate has announced that census (Tidad) has officially started in Al Ain on September 6.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Al Zaaby said that there are 29 statistical centres in the emirate including 11 data gathering and training centres in Al Ain City to assure accurate census in order to comply with the Ministry of Economy and Planning objectives.

He said that there are two centres inside Abu Dhabi city, three centres in its surrounding area in Al Shahamah, Bany Yas and Mussafah, in addition to two centres in the western region in Al Rowais and Zayed City.

"The 11 training centres includes five inside Al Ain at Al Markhaniyah School, Abdurrahman Al Dakhil School, Sultan Bin Zayed School, Oud Al Toubah School and Tawam School," said Ezzat Abdul Aziz, Census Director in Al Ain. The other six centres are distributed over Al Ain nearby areas in Um Ghafah, Remah, Al Yaher, Al Hajer, Soweihan, and Al Wegan.

He highlighted that the 195 data collectors in Al Ain took eight days training period from 27 August to 3 September using Personal Digital Assistants, which is used for the first time in the UAE for the data collection process. The first phase of the census includes gathering arithmetical information of commercial buildings, trade and communal organisations.

The second stage, which will start from December 6th, and lasts for two weeks will focus on family members along with population personal information in Al Ain, he added.

All preparations have been made here to carry out the first phase, of the census, covering population as well as all types of businesses, buildings, and flats in the emirate.

'We have divided the emirates into administrative parts and drew maps for each part so as to carry the census properly and timely as has been planned,'' Najeeb Al Shamsi, Director-General of RAK Economic Department (RED) and head of the Emirate's Census Committee, said.

The census was aimed at preparing the emirate's integrated statistical book. The first stage will be completed by October 2, during which researchers will visit all companies and buildings to collect data about various issues such as type of business, how many floors, rooms and air conditioning units, etc," he said.

The committee has also established fully equipped four main centres to carry out its works one in Al Jwdah High Secondary School, Massafi High Secondary School, Al Remis High Secondary School and Tuneb High Secondary School. These centres have been provided by computer systems and have also been linked with the survey main centre in Abu Dhabi,'' he said.

Technical teams from the Ministry of Planning have conducted training programmes for the workers who will conduct the census. ''We finished training the 12 supervisors and 110 enumerators, 16 of whom are UAE national women, to carry out all the census works,'' he said. They have also been trained in using the Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), being put to use for the first time in a general census in the UAE, he added.