Sonia Jackson; She’s counting on you

She is mother, grandmother, jazz enthusiast, avid reader, and treasurer of the Jamaica Association for the Mentally Handicapped, to which she has given her free time for the last twelve years.

She is also the Director-General at the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the agency entrusted with the Herculean task of overseeing the 2001 population census, the 13th renewal of such an exercise since it was first conducted in 1844.

The current exercise places Sonia Jackson squarely in the hot seat, as the buzzwords population census is on everyone’s minds.

Like any other CEO, Jackson carries out the ordinary functions of co-ordinating and managing the human and financial resources of the organisation. But with 2001 being a census year, the range of responsibilities at her organisation has increased, making her job an even more challenging one.

In addition to her regular tasks, a census crew of just over 6000 including regional and zone managers, field supervisors and co-ordinators, as well as census takers have been added to her employ.

The STATIN CEO told All Woman that she was born in Kingston, “too long ago to remember.” She attended the Mico Practicing School, the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now UTech) and holds a Masters in Administration from Nova South Eastern University.

She is a former CEO of the Caribbean Housing Corporation where she spent almost 20 years rising from the position of an accounting officer to running the organisation when she left to take up the position of permanent secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Housing.

Her experiences at the helm of these important government agencies has done much to prepare her for her role as the head huncho at STATIN, a position she has held for only ten months. With not much time to adjust, she must now see to the very daunting task at hand, Population Census 2001.

But why is a census necessary? All Woman asked. “It is really stocktaking, a head count where we seek to ascertain social information which will help planners in determining the needs of the population,” she explained.

A population census is the total process of gathering and compiling information on the people of a country. Where the demographic, social and economic conditions of the country is established, using methods designed to record the number of people, their age, sex, where they live, their level of education – whether they attend or have attended school. Their employment status, racial origin, chronic illnesses and disabilities and place of birth are recorded.

The census also seeks to compile information on the kinds of structure in which each member of the population lives. Whether or not there are bathroom and kitchen facilities, such as a pit toilet versus a flush toilet, whether or not a family uses gas, kerosene, charcoal or wood for cooking and so on.

The last population census was done in 1991, ten years ago and placed Jamaica’s population at 2,314,479. According to Jackson, many changes have taken place since then. Many persons have changed their place or parish of residence; changes were also made in the education system. Many people have died, and even more have been born. As such, a rapidly growing population will require new schools, hospitals, clinics, modifications in water supply and other social infrastructure, etc. Thus the importance of a census.

The parish of St Catherine she pointed out has seen a mammoth shift in population, but this shift has not been recorded in annual data. The census, she said, will give a true reflection of the numbers living in that parish as well as the concentration.

She also remarked on the informal sector for which there is no information, such as self-employed individuals including taxi operators, etc.

But Government agencies are not the only entities that require data compiled by STATIN. The Private Sector and other commercial entities will be able to use the results of the population Census to aid them in planning and organising their business ventures more effectively as it helps them in determining suitable locations for retail outlets, factory sites, etc.

“When McDonalds came to Jamaica, they came to us for information so they would be better able to scout locations for their restaurants,” she said. But they are not the only ones, supermarkets wanting to find the purchasing power of a community, churches seeking religious information, market research companies etc, use the information compiled by STATIN.

As usual, there are challenges that field workers face when they visit various households to collect information.

“They are often faced with skepticism, as many people are suspicious of anything government –related as they believe that the information gathered will be used against them.

That is why we have embarked on an advertising campaign so that people can be aware of what is happening,” she said making clear the fact that none of the information gathered, will be given to the Income Tax Department or any other government agency.

“Then there is the problem of basic safety of these field workers as dogs are turned on them in many of the higher income communities while in the lower income communities, there is the threat of violent flare ups also challenging the process. However, we hope that with the current public education campaign this will be remedied,” Jackson anticipates.

By December 31, 2001, STATIN barring any unforeseen problems should have completed Population C ensus 2001. The success of which depends on the direction of Sonia Jackson.