Looking forward to 2017 Census, Mozambique wants to measure prices across all provinces

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Looking forward to 2017 Census, Mozambique wants to measure prices across all provinces

2:33 CAT | 05 Apr 2016

The Mozambican government plans to extend the coverage of the consumer price index – which currently covers only the cities of Maputo, Beira and Nampula – to all provincial capitals.

“In the context of the consumer price index, we have to expand the geographical coverage to all provincial capitals,” Minister of Economy and Finance Adriano Maleiane said yesterday at the opening of the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

The government’s plan comes at a time when inflation in Mozambique is under pressure from the devaluation of the metical and the decline in exports, the political and military crisis and a lasting drought in the southern and central regions of the country.

The latest consumer price index released by the INE shows Mozambique with February inflation of 2.24 percent, below the 2.65 percent recorded in January, but driving cumulative inflation in 2016 up to 4.95 percent.

The 2016 state budget anticipates annual inflation of around 5.6 percent.

Speaking on Monday to INE staff, Maleiane stressed that “the 2017 population census is the priority for the entire national statistical system,” and called for “maximum austerity without jeopardizing the quality of results”.

The findings, he noted, have application in research and innovation, and are “the basis for other statistics, including household budget surveys, family accounts and the consumer price index”.

President Nyusi challenged the INE in September to upgrade the statistical calendar to meet the government’s information needs.

Highlighting the importance of statistics in crafting and implementing the government‘s economic and social plans, President Nyusi pointed to conducting the 2017 population census and releasing the results as the main challenge facing the INE.

“Statistics should report the behaviour of economic, social and demographic phenomena, with the sole purpose of serving users,” the president said in September at the installation of Maria Isaltina Sales Lucas as the new head of the body.

Lucas has since moved to the post of Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance.

Source: Lusa