Census ‘report crucial to cuts’

AS GOVERNMENT prepares to implement spending cuts, president of the Barbados Economics Society (BES), Ryan Straughn, believes the results of the 2010 Population and Housing Census will be crucial to how it goes about the process and it’s therefore time that information is made available.
Straughn’s comments came against the background of several delays in the publication of the results of the survey carried out three years ago.
Barbados Statistical Service director Aubrey Browne told the SATURDAY?SUN the report could be completed in another few weeks but Straughn says the information is needed now and the necessary resources should be allocated to the department to have the results finally published.
The census is designed to assess changes in the population as well as to provide data on which social and economic programmes can be developed and existing programmes evaluated.
Straughn said that data was crucial as the Freundel Stuart administration considers how to close its $400 million fiscal gap.  (DP)