After four years of delays, the census is still less than half complete, and many of the enumerators hired to get it done have quit due to residents’ hostility, according to Central Statistics Office Director Raymond Phillips.
The exercise was initially scheduled for 2020, but officials said Hurricane Irma and then the Covid-19 pandemic caused them to push it forward repeatedly.
When it finally started last summer, the completion target was set for last December. That didn’t happen, and the target was bumped to June 30.
Now, three months after that deadline, there is still much to be done. Mr. Phillips estimated that his office has completed about 45 percent of the census, and he said he hopes to get the rest finished in the next six to eight months.
Hostility
The director blamed the recent delays largely on a shortage of enumerators. Of approximately 80 who were initially hired, he said, between 40 and 50 quit.
“They were facing a real difficult time out in the field, where, you know, persons were not being cooperative,” he said. “Persons were being mean; persons were refusing to tie their dogs and all that kind of stuff. And as a result, we lost quite a number of them.”
Residents’ refusal to cooperate with enumerators is not unique to the Virgin Islands, Mr. Phillips said.
“Practically all the Caribbean countries were kind of in the same dilemma, with a lack of cooperation and those kinds of problems,” he said.
Though he isn’t sure what is causing the hostility, he suggested it may have to do with how governments handled the pandemic.
“I’m speculating, but the only thing that we all have in common is Covid-19,” he said. “So I don’t know if, after we came out of Covid, if it left persons, you know, angry. And I wouldn’t even say with government alone, but angry with how things were done and angry at the situations that some of them were placed in.”
Fines or cooperation
In response to residents’ reluctance, the House of Assembly amended the Statistics Act in March, empowering the CSO director to impose an administrative fine of $3,000 on anyone who fails to supply required census information. Governor Daniel Pruce assented to the bill the following month.
Mr. Phillips, however, said he is in no rush to use his new power. “I’m the one that’s in charge of this process, and I have no intention of having anyone pay $3,000 unless they insist that that’s what they want to do,” he said.
He added that when he sends out the notices warning of the fines, he includes his phone number so residents can call him directly.
“Some of the persons who have been served notices, we did communicate,” he said. “And I asked them if they really want to go this route whereby you are putting yourself in a position where you have [to pay] $3,000 simply for not cooperating with the census.”
The residents he warned, he said, have cooperated.
“They cooperated, I mean, because I’m telling them the census is not about collecting money. This census is about collecting data,” he said.
While some people may be concerned that their data will be shared, Mr. Phillips insisted that is not the case.
“I’m here to assure all persons that give data to CSO, that data goes nowhere else,” he said. “It stays with CSO, and it’s used only to inform about what’s going on in the country … not about any individual.”
International importance
As in other countries and territories, the census will be publicly available once it is complete.
“Even though it’s a local exercise, it has international implications,” Mr. Phillips said.
As an example, he explained that the census is important for a bond rating the government is currently pursuing.
“Bond ratings are very important when it comes to countries seeking international loans, because your bond rating is what determines what type of interest you can get on these loans,” he said. “The better your bond rating, the better interest rate you get.”
The census, Mr. Phillips explained, can help the government secure a better rating.
“A lot of the information that they ask for is information that we collect in the census,” he said.
Census can be completed online
Census enumerators are still canvassing the territory, but residents can also complete the exercise online, according to Central Statistics Office Director Raymond Phillips.
“All they would have to do is to send their email address to the department, and then we will send them the questionnaire,” Mr. Phillips said, adding that residents can email him directly at [email protected] or email the agency at [email protected].
“For persons who want to get in contact, if they’re not comfortable calling the office, they can call me directly … [at] 468-9119.”
