October 31, 2019
By Frederick V. Kanneh
Statistics Sierra Leone has on Tuesday 29th October 2019 launched the Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey (SLIHS) 2018 Report at the Radisson Blue Hotel, Aberdeen in Freetown.
Statistician General, Prof. Osman Sankoh coined his statement into a short story, which he described as nostalgia of the 1970s.
He said the just completed survey greatly reminded him of his boyhood days and wished that such method of collecting data would have been in existence by then.
He stated that it was only because of the improved method of collecting data as opposed to the 70s that has proven that the poverty rate in Sierra Leone is 56.8% while the extreme poverty rate is 12.9%
He said that the SLIHS was a living standard measurement survey of household income and expenditure survey conducted regularly in order to collect useful socio-economic data to support government planning process, adding that Stats SL together with other development partners went the extra mile to collect, compiles, analyses the high quality data in the said report.
“This report is going to be very useful to the government of Sierra Leone for informed decision making, and discussion within the government, business and the media as well as the wilder national and international community,” he said.
In his statement, the World Bank Official, Alejandro De la Fuente, commended the Stats SL, the World Bank Staff and other players who in diverse ways put efforts into making the report a success, adding that the report contained very important aspects that would serve as a guideline to the government of Sierra Leone in its joining to fight poverty.
“The report more or less tracks progress for national development. It indicates the road map as to where we would start with developmental activities, and we should use it as a guide for development, “he said.
In his statement before he launched the report, Minister of and Economic Development, Francis Kai-Kai, was quick to apologize on behave of his boss, VP Juldeh Jalloh, who he said was absent because of some unavoidable circumstances.
He added that he congratulated the Start SL and the World Bank For accomplishing another milestone in generating national statistic for development.
He said that the SLIHS 2018 improves access to information about the living standards of Sierra Leoneans and also serve as a guide in decision making over poverty reduction in our country.
He said over the over the years, similar surveys were conducted wherein their reports were never published years after the surveys.
“Today, we are here to launch the third Integrated Household Survey Report after a year of the survey exercise as opposed to the previous 2005 and 2011 surveys reports, which were launched some years after the exercises. This is an indication that the context of the New Direction is indeed in the right direction,” he said.
He added that he was happy for the SLIHS because according to him the report is a map to the government in trying to track areas that really need development.