The 2021 census has crossed the six-week mark and, with 80% of fieldwork completed, Economics and Statistics Office Director Adolphus Laidlow has urged the public to continue to cooperate with enumerators.
Failure to do so, he reminded, is a punishable offence.
“We seek the public’s continued cooperation in conducting the census so that we meet the mandates of the Statistics Law,” Laidlow, who heads the census team, said Thursday evening through a media statement.
The ESO statement pointed out that participation in the census is mandatory under the Statistics Law and Regulations.
Residents, the statement added, “should be aware that non-compliance with requirements under the Law makes them liable for possible prosecution. For instance, not cooperating with the enumerators or their requests in their data gathering is a punishable offence.”
In addition, if proven to be in breach of the requirement to answer the census questions, a person will be deemed to have committed a criminal offence and, upon summary conviction, will liable to a fine of up to $5,000.
“We are urging all those who have not yet participated to provide the information required so that the Islands can obtain the most accurate data possible,” Laidlow said.
Although Census 2021 officially kicked off in the Cayman Islands on Sunday, 10 Oct., which is designated in law as Census Day, enumerators did not begin visiting households on Grand Cayman until Wednesday, 13 Oct. The ESO explained the delay was needed “to further ensure clarity on how to make sure that all in quarantine and isolation comply with COVID-19 safety protocols”.
The census for the Sister Islands started on 11 Oct.
After six weeks, Laidlow said the census team is busy continuing with the population and households count. Enumerators usually take between 15 and 30 minutes at each household to collect information for the questionnaire.
Information is confidential
The ESO reiterated that personal information provided for the census is confidential under law and anyone revealing that information is committing an offence, and liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5,000 or to imprisonment for one year, or both.
“In short, people can be reassured that the information they provide will be treated with the utmost confidence. Only generic and aggregated information will be released in the Census report when it comes out next year,” Laidlow said in the statement.
He said reminded that the census data provides important statistics about the Cayman Islands.
That information, he said, “will be used in every walk of life for the next 10 years but notably for the development of these Islands by both the public and private sectors. Additionally, the census data will inform policy on a slew of areas including Disability and the Elderly Person Services, Education and Curriculum Development, Domestic Migration, Eradication of Poverty, Land Use Zoning for Residential and Business Development.”
It will also be used for planning and infrastructure development, women’s health and fertility, and hazard management and disaster mitigation.
“All residents of these islands benefit from this data. So make sure that you participate and are counted,” he said.
Laidlow noted that it is incumbent on all residents to contact one of the census offices or call the census hotline at 516-3329 or ESO Office at 244-4602, to make sure they are counted, as all non-compliant households will be referred to the Legal Department for enforcement of the Statistics Act.
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