The Census Act, 2002

THE CENSUS ACT, 2002 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section PART I—PRELIMINARY 25 SIGNED this 25th day of October, 2002. ALHAJI AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH, President. (LS) No. 14 Sierra Leone 2002 The Census Act, 2002 [Margin: Short title.] Being an Act to provide for the taking of census from time to time and for other related matters. [ / ] [Margin: Date of commencement.] ENACTED by the President and Members of Parliament in this present Parliament assembled. 26 No. 14 Census Act 2002 PART I—PRELIMINARY [Margin: Interpretation.]

"census district" means one of the areas into which Sierra Leone is divided under paragraph (h) of subsection (2) of section 4; "Council" has the same meaning as in the Statistics Act, 2002; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for development; "persons employed in the execution of this Act" includes census officers, supervisors and enumerators appointed under paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 3; "premises" includes any vessel or train, any plantation, mine or other place where persons are employed, any part of a house occupied separately, and any hut. PART II—OBLIGATION TO HOLD CENSUS [Margin: President may order taking of census.]

The President may from time to time, on the advice of the Minister, by order made by statutory instrument, direct a census to be taken of the population of Sierra Leone. [Margin: Taking of census by Statistics Sierra Leone.]

(1) Subject to this Act, Statistics Sierra Leone shall have the general supervision and management in the taking of any census in Sierra Leone. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), Statistics Sierra Leone shall have the responsibility– No. 14 Census Act 2002 27 (a) to mobilise resources for the implementation of census programmes; (b) to prepare, print, and issue for the use of the persons employed in the execution of this Act, such forms and instructions as it may deem necessary, and in particular, questionnaires to be filled up with such particulars as it may consider necessary in order to ensure as far as possible the completeness and accuracy of the census returns; (c) to make such arrangements as are necessary for the collection, revision and collation of the information required to be obtained for the purposes of the census; (d) appoint census officers, supervisors and enumerators required for the taking of the census; (e) to give such directions to any other person or body appointed pursuant to any law relating to census or statistics; (f) to publish the results of the census as soon as may be possible; (g) to create a public awareness of the purposes, benefits and the need for the census; (h) to do all such things as may be necessary or expedient for the exercise of the powers or the performance of its functions under subsection (1). [Margin: Chief Census Officer.]

(1) For the purposes of any census under this Act, the Statistician - General appointed under the Statistics Act, 2002 shall be the Chief Census Officer. 28 No. 14 Census Act 2002 (2) The duties of the Chief Census Officer shall be– (a) the direction of the overall technical and administrative control of the taking of any census; (b) the demarcation of Sierra Leone into census district areas; (c) the designing, testing and finalization of census questionnaires; (d) the procurement of census materials, equipments and supplies and their distribution in the different census district areas; (e) the appointment of all temporary census personnel; (f) the training of all census technical staff, including cartographers, cartographic assistants, enumerating staff; (g) the processing, tabulation, analysis and publication of census data; (h) the conduct of the census post-enumeration survey and the analysis thereof; (i) the summoning of meetings of the Census Advisory Committee at such times as may be directed by the Chairman of the Committee and the keeping of records of all the proceedings of the meetings of the Committee; No. 14 Census Act 2002 29 (j) the provision of equipment for members of the Census Advisory Committee; and (k) such other functions as may be determined by the Statistics Sierra Leone Council. [Margin: Distric Census Officers.]

[Margin: Control of supervisors, etc.]

Subject to this Act, every enumerator shall be subject to the immediate supervision and control of his supervisor, and every supervisor shall be subject to the immediate supervision and control of the field officer, and every field officer shall in turn be subject to the immediate supervision and control of the District Census Officer. [Margin: Functions of census officials.]

(1) Subject to the directions of the supervisor, every enumerator shall interview the head of every household or the person deputed by such head and in his absence the next or senior occupier of the household. (2) The enumerator shall collect information from the person interviewed with regard to every occupier of the household and shall, with the information provided, complete the questionnaire in respect of the household in the presence of the head or person interviewed. (3) Every supervisor shall be in charge of the work of at least five enumerators and shall ensure that the work is done properly and in accordance with the directions of the field officer. (4) Every field officer shall be responsible for the work of at least ten supervisors and shall ensure that their duties are carried out in accordance with the instructions of the Chief Census Officer. 30 No. 14 Census Act 2002 PART III—CONDUCT AND REPORT OF CENSUS [Margin: Obtaining information.]

Any person holding a post of an enumerator or above who produces an identification card duly signed by the Chief Census Officer and who is employed in the execution of this Act, shall have authority to ask of any person whom they have reasonable cause to believe to be able to afford the information desired, all such questions as may be necessary for obtaining any particulars required for the purposes of this Act, and every person refusing to answer or who knowingly gives a false answer to any such questions, shall for every such refusal or false answer be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand leones. [Margin: Enumerators to complete questionnaires and certify.]

(1) Every enumerator shall without delay deliver to the supervisor responsible for his area all questionnaires collected and completed by him in accordance with this Act, and shall certify in writing that all instructions issued to him under this Act have been duly complied with and that the particulars on the questionnaires have been truly and faithfully taken and that to the best of his knowledge they are correct as far as may be known. (2) If an enumerator gives any certificate under subsection (1) which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false or inaccurate he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand leones and or imprisonment for three months. [Margin: Census officials to transmit questionnaires.]

(1) After receiving the questionnaires and certificates in respect thereof from all the enumerators of his area, every supervisor shall cause the questionnaires and certificates to be transmitted and delivered to his field officer who shall in turn deliver the same to the Chief Census Officer. (2) The Chief Census Officer shall without delay acknowledge the receipt of the questionnaire and information he receives from the District Census Officer. [Margin: Powers of entry.]

Any person holding a post of an enumerator or above and who produces an identification card duly signed by the Census Officer and who is employed in the execution of this Act may enter upon any premises at any reasonable hour for the purpose of performing any duties or exercising any powers imposed or conferred upon him by or under this Act. No. 14 Census Act 2002 31 [Margin: Returns as to travellers.]

The Chief Census Officer shall obtain returns of any particulars required under this Act with respect to persons who, during the taking of the census, were travelling by rail, ship or otherwise within Sierra Leone or for any reason were not dwelling on any premises of which account was to be taken by the enumerators and shall include such returns in the report to be made under section 13. [Margin: Report of census.]

Upon receipt of the questionnaires and certificates from the field officers, and all other returns required by him for the purpose of the census, the Chief Census Officer shall as soon as may be practicable prepare and furnish to the Council a report in such form and containing such particulars as to matters provided for under this Act as the Council may require. PART IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS [Margin: Offences and penalties.]

(1) If any person employed in the execution of this Act makes wilful default in the performance of any of his duties under this Act or wilfully makes any false declaration or return, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand leones and or imprisonment for three months. (2) If the head of a household or person deputed by him or senior occupier of the household— (a) wilfully refuses or without lawful excuse neglects to answer questions put to him by any person employed in the execution of this Act to the best of his knowledge, information or belief; or (b) wilfully causes to be made, signed or delivered any false return on any matter of which particulars are required by the questionnaire, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall for each such offence be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand leones. (3) If any person— (a) being one of the persons employed in the execution of this Act publishes or communicates to any person, without lawful authority, any information acquired in the course of his employment; or 32 No. 14 Census Act 2002 (b) having possession of any information which to his knowledge has been disclosed in contravention of this Act publishes or communicates that information to any other person, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand leones or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and imprisonment. [Margin: Penalty for obstruction.]

Any person who hinders or obstructs the Chief Census Officer or any of the persons employed in the execution of this Act in the lawful performance of any duties or in the lawful exercise of any powers imposed or conferred upon him by or under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand leones. [Margin: Expenses of census charged on Consolidated Fund.]

All expenses incurred with the approval of the Council, for the purposes of any census, shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund. [Margin: Rules.]

[Margin: Repeal of Cap. 55.]

PASSED in Parliament this 19th day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand and two. J. A. CARPENTER, Clerk of Parliament. THIS PRINTED IMPRESSION has been carefully compared by me with the Bill which has passed Parliament and found by me to be a true and correctly printed copy of the said Bill. J. A. CARPENTER, Clerk of Parliament. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING DEPARTMENT, SIERRA LEONE. GAZETTE NO. 67 OF 7TH NOVEMBER, 2002.