SB gathers data on poverty, unemployment
Isaac Pinielo | Wednesday November 18, 2015 14:51
The Botswana Multi Topic Household Survey (BMTHS) started earlier this November and will be carried out over a 12-month period ending in October 2016. The results are expected to be released in March 2017.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday in Gaborone, deputy statistician general, Burton Mguni said the study combines the labour force and Botswana core-welfare indicators planned into one multi-topic household survey.
With a total budget of P88 million provided by the World Bank and the government, Mguni said BMTHS is the baseline survey that will provide a comprehensive set of indicators on various topics and foundation for annual surveys.
“The key modules of the BMTHS at this time are labour and core-welfare and the next key modules may be different,” said Mguni.
He reiterated that the set of indicators, derived from the BMTHS, would provide baseline information that will be tracked on annual basis to inform the poverty eradication strategy and programmes.
The information will also inform the labour market indicators required for the Labour Market Information System set up by the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC).
“The plan is to have the 2015-2016 BMTHS as a launch pad for the Continuous Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey (CBMTHS), which will be responsive to immediate stakeholder data needs, by rotating modules on topics as revealed by stakeholder needs,” said Mguni.
He noted that with the survey, the statistical agency expects to release quarterly employment rate and annual poverty rates.
The deputy statistician general further pointed out that key modules of the study include the education module, which is key in influencing one’s exposure to poverty.
There is also the health module, which seeks to understand the relationship between poverty and the health of an individual.
The labour module will relate poverty and labour participation or employment status, as well as the agricultural sector, which is the largest employer by volume and participation.
According to the Mguni, the BMTHS is set out to provide socio-demographics of the Botswana population and provide among other things; poverty datum line (PDL) in the country, disaggregated information on poverty levels for monitoring and evaluation of eradication programmes on a more regular basis, and continuously provide profiles of poor households.
He further indicated that one of the most important milestones for the survey is data management comprising among others, data processing system development, data coding, data entry or capture, online editing and validation.
Mguni also said BMTHS envisages a well thought-out data processing strategy, drawing on advancements in information communication technology, to speed up data processing.
Going forward, he said, the survey plans to use Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI), which employ electronic gadgets for data collection.
“This effectively cuts on data processing because data capture is done at interview stage. The CAPI will be backed by interactive data validation, as the captured data will be sent to headquarters for online editing and validation,” said Mguni.
He said the survey would also include a diary showing all the daily household purchases. The information obtained through the diary will be used to come up with a basket of commodities to estimate the Consumer Price Index.